I don’t know about you, but the second I stick my neck out with a public resolution – like around New Year’s – I pretty much guarantee that it’s not going to happen. Surely there’s a scientific explanation for this. It couldn’t possibly be a lack of will power, right? So with that self knowledge I’ve decided to come up with a few work-related ‘un-resolutions’ for 2012 – things I resolve NOT to do in the coming year.
Not Say “Yes” So Much: I’m a people pleaser by nature, so my default answer to most work-related...
I’m too old to know whether people still host BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle or Beer) parties, but back in the day it was a staple of any college dorm party. Heck, even in the heart of Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom, it was just sort of given that everyone brought their own – even if you could afford to buy booze for the entire city of Palo Alto. That’s probably why I find it sort of funny to hear people talking about BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) or BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) when referring to the Consumerization...
In a recent Harvard Business Review post, technology visionary and analyst Ray Wang writes about the need for IT to accept – even embrace – the Consumerization of IT movement. But Ray goes a step further, providing a very simple and practical checklist of things that users should consider when evaluating whether an outside technology is appropriate for the enterprise.
You can view the check list...
When it comes to technology, why does IT insist on treating professional business people like children? I realize that’s probably an unfair statement, but I can’t help but think that every time I read a story that talks about the dangers of the Consumerization of IT movement, like this recent one in SC Magazine.
Sure, people lose phones all the time. And IT’s desire to be able to install security software or wipe phones remotely to protect a company’s intellectual property is a very real and legitimate concern. But...
TrackVia issued a press release highlighting some key findings from a survey it conducted with 350 front-line business workers. In short, the release confirmed what we’ve long suspected – and heard from customers over and over again. Business users are frustrated with their existing software tools – or lack thereof. (Also see story on Denver Post’s TechKnow Bytes blog and PC World)
And while we suspected this frustration, we were surprised how widespread and deep it was. In addition to the findings highlighted in our press...
You’ve heard the saying, “Eat Your Own Dogfood“. If not, it simply means using the product or service you offer to your customers. In the wake of my last post about using TrackVia to build our own custom CRM system, I got to thinking about this idea more. Does Salesforce.com us its own solution? Does Intuit or Caspio, or Zoho use their own solutions? And when I say “use”, I mean do they use it as part of their everyday jobs?
Here at TrackVia, we use our solution for virtually everything. We track sales, employee...
As reported by CIO Magazine, the US lags behind countries in emerging markets when it comes to embracing the Consumerization of IT trend, according to a survey conducted by the Accenture Institue of High Performance. It’s hard not to overlook the irony in these findings given most of these technologies were developed right here in the good old U-S of A.
A key question asked amongst respondents in various countries was whether they planned to use Consumer IT applications for work purposes more often from now on. Twenty percent...
I may get in trouble for admitting this, but up until a few months ago, we here at TrackVia used a third-party, cloud-based CRM solution. Take a wild guess which one? Never the less, like a lot of companies we paid thousands of dollars to get it installed and tweaked, and several more thousand each and every month to use it. And we used it because, well…it was there.
Of course, if you use TrackVia, you already know the overly obvious question here. Why weren’t we using your own solution to track and manage customers and...
Maybe this is old news, but it was new to me and I thought it was interesting. iStockphoto.com sent me an email, inviting me to join their referral program (see link below). In short, they provide me with a custom link that I can paste virtually anywhere (like here in this blog), and anytime someone signs up using this link, I get a $20 credit. Pretty sweet, huh?
The reason I’m boring you with this is because I find the whole “viral” marketing thing endlessly fascinating. In fact, it’s one of the big reasons I...
Earlier this week, a colleague tossed out a challenge: “I bet you can’t come up with a blog post that ties Thanksgiving and TrackVia?”
How could I possibly resist a challenge like that? So here it goes……
Every year my wife and I struggle with the same Thanksgiving Day dilemma: Do we buy a Thanksgiving Day meal from the store or do we do it ourselves at home? While my wife is a fantastic cook, the truth is that a professional chef or cook knows far more about preparing a Thanksgiving Day meal than we do.
Despite that, we almost always...
TrackVia Blog
My 2012 Un-Resolutions
Posted by cvar on Dec 30, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
I don’t know about you, but the second I stick my neck out with a public resolution – like around New Year’s – I pretty much guarantee that it’s not going to happen. Surely there’s a scientific explanation for this. It couldn’t possibly be a lack of will power, right? So with that self knowledge I’ve decided to come up with a few work-related ‘un-resolutions’ for 2012 – things I resolve NOT to do in the coming year. Not Say “Yes” So Much: I’m a people pleaser by nature, so my default answer to most work-related...
read moreBYOT (Bring Your Own Technology)
Posted by cvar on Dec 28, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
I’m too old to know whether people still host BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle or Beer) parties, but back in the day it was a staple of any college dorm party. Heck, even in the heart of Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom, it was just sort of given that everyone brought their own – even if you could afford to buy booze for the entire city of Palo Alto. That’s probably why I find it sort of funny to hear people talking about BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) or BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) when referring to the Consumerization...
read moreChecklist for Consumerization of IT
Posted by cvar on Dec 27, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
In a recent Harvard Business Review post, technology visionary and analyst Ray Wang writes about the need for IT to accept – even embrace – the Consumerization of IT movement. But Ray goes a step further, providing a very simple and practical checklist of things that users should consider when evaluating whether an outside technology is appropriate for the enterprise. You can view the check list...
read moreTreat Us Like Adults
Posted by cvar on Dec 20, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
When it comes to technology, why does IT insist on treating professional business people like children? I realize that’s probably an unfair statement, but I can’t help but think that every time I read a story that talks about the dangers of the Consumerization of IT movement, like this recent one in SC Magazine. Sure, people lose phones all the time. And IT’s desire to be able to install security software or wipe phones remotely to protect a company’s intellectual property is a very real and legitimate concern. But...
read moreTake This Job and….Well You Know
Posted by cvar on Dec 19, 2011 in Blog | 1 comment
TrackVia issued a press release highlighting some key findings from a survey it conducted with 350 front-line business workers. In short, the release confirmed what we’ve long suspected – and heard from customers over and over again. Business users are frustrated with their existing software tools – or lack thereof. (Also see story on Denver Post’s TechKnow Bytes blog and PC World) And while we suspected this frustration, we were surprised how widespread and deep it was. In addition to the findings highlighted in our press...
read moreEating Your Own Dogfood
Posted by cvar on Dec 6, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
You’ve heard the saying, “Eat Your Own Dogfood“. If not, it simply means using the product or service you offer to your customers. In the wake of my last post about using TrackVia to build our own custom CRM system, I got to thinking about this idea more. Does Salesforce.com us its own solution? Does Intuit or Caspio, or Zoho use their own solutions? And when I say “use”, I mean do they use it as part of their everyday jobs? Here at TrackVia, we use our solution for virtually everything. We track sales, employee...
read moreUS Lagging Behind
Posted by cvar on Dec 2, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
As reported by CIO Magazine, the US lags behind countries in emerging markets when it comes to embracing the Consumerization of IT trend, according to a survey conducted by the Accenture Institue of High Performance. It’s hard not to overlook the irony in these findings given most of these technologies were developed right here in the good old U-S of A. A key question asked amongst respondents in various countries was whether they planned to use Consumer IT applications for work purposes more often from now on. Twenty percent...
read moreDIY CRM in 3 Hours
Posted by cvar on Nov 30, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
I may get in trouble for admitting this, but up until a few months ago, we here at TrackVia used a third-party, cloud-based CRM solution. Take a wild guess which one? Never the less, like a lot of companies we paid thousands of dollars to get it installed and tweaked, and several more thousand each and every month to use it. And we used it because, well…it was there. Of course, if you use TrackVia, you already know the overly obvious question here. Why weren’t we using your own solution to track and manage customers and...
read moreGoing Viral
Posted by cvar on Nov 30, 2011 in Blog, Uncategorized | 0 comments
Maybe this is old news, but it was new to me and I thought it was interesting. iStockphoto.com sent me an email, inviting me to join their referral program (see link below). In short, they provide me with a custom link that I can paste virtually anywhere (like here in this blog), and anytime someone signs up using this link, I get a $20 credit. Pretty sweet, huh? The reason I’m boring you with this is because I find the whole “viral” marketing thing endlessly fascinating. In fact, it’s one of the big reasons I...
read moreTurkeys and TrackVia
Posted by cvar on Nov 22, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
Earlier this week, a colleague tossed out a challenge: “I bet you can’t come up with a blog post that ties Thanksgiving and TrackVia?” How could I possibly resist a challenge like that? So here it goes…… Every year my wife and I struggle with the same Thanksgiving Day dilemma: Do we buy a Thanksgiving Day meal from the store or do we do it ourselves at home? While my wife is a fantastic cook, the truth is that a professional chef or cook knows far more about preparing a Thanksgiving Day meal than we do. Despite that, we almost always...
read more