Over 300,000 people thought they needed one on the first day of availability.  We wanted to see this device first hand, so we met with Matina Koester, President of Digital Partners Incorporated, for a demo of the iPad.  They are Apple's only business-to-business seller of the iPad in the St. Louis region.  After playing with this device for an hour and asking tons of questions, we left their office with a new purchase and have been showing our friends and learning more about the iPad each day.  Here is a summary of our findings.

Best suited for:

If you want a really cool, sleek and powerful consumer device, this is for you.  It is fun and easy to use, which really appeals to that playful experience.  The display is bright and very sharp.  The core applications are designed specifically for the iPad, like photos, web browsing, movies and mail.

Coolest feature:

The iBooks application is definitely cool.  Imagine turning the page of your favorite book with your fingers and watch the page curl and flip to the next page.  iBooks exactly mimics that behavior through the interface on the iPad.  It would have been even cooler if Apple used these same gestures in the contacts and calendar applications, which follow the same book-style interface.

Best business application:

The iPad is being sold initially by some retail outlets and business-to-business sellers through an assisted sale model where sales people can answer questions intelligently about the device.  Matina Koester indicated that businesses want to understand how they can make money with an iPad, and she helps businesses understand how the iPad can help them.  The App Store has over a thousand applications made just for the iPad and more are coming every day.  Developers can write their own applications as well. 

We see this first generation iPad as a consumer device.  It's an enjoyable experience but we struggle with seeing the compelling business application at this point.  Mark Henman, Principal Consultant at TDK Technologies, stated, "If you already have a laptop and a smartphone, you probably don't need an iPad to lug around too.  If you only have a desktop computer, the iPad would be a great extension to it."  The mail program connects very easily to several email servers, including Microsoft Exchange.  Documents, photos, music and videos can be synced from your desktop to the iPad through iTunes.  Sales representatives, real estate companies, architecture firms and design companies may find the device very useful for presenting documents, pictures, drawings and proofs to customers through a unique and fun delivery device.

Shortcomings:

Like any new product, there are always shortcomings or things we wish it had.  There are also things we would like that were never the intent of the product.  As business users, we kept finding ourselves wanting to use this device in the same way we use our laptops.  The iPad is not a laptop. 

However, we must admit that the ability to switch between different documents and applications is a big shortcoming.   The iPad is a single tasking device, which means only one application can be open at any time.  Apple has announced that OS 4.0 will support multi-tasking for the iPhone in the Summer and the iPad in the Fall.

We also found shortcomings with the WiFi connection being unstable at times.  The video can be choppy when watching videos that were not converted to the iPad by iTunes (i.e. YouTube or internet videos).  When videos and images are downloaded to the iPad through iTunes, they are converted to a format and size that works well with the iPad.  This is great for viewing an image as is, but when you try to zoom, the resolution degrades significantly.

Cost:

The price starts at $499 for the WiFi only model with 16 GB memory, which is the model we reviewed.   The prices go up with additional memory and the WiFi + 3G models.  The 3G models allow you to purchase monthly data plans through AT&T without a contract, which is a nice feature if you are outside a WiFi hotspot.

Summary:

If you want a cool, fun consumer device to easily browse the web, mail, photos, books and videos, then go for it.  If you want compelling business applicability, we would wait and let the applications and iPad evolve.

Done

 

DO commit the time necessary to educate your IT partner on your business and your IT needs. We had a client once who handed us a short write-up on what they wanted, and expected that to be all that was needed from them. WRONG! The more you can help IT gain knowledge of your business and what you want to solve with technology, the better the solution will be. Share your business processes (under a confidentiality agreement, of course) and your pain points, and the solution can be better tailored to fit your specific situation.

DON’T feel like you have to lay out the exact software application you want built. We’ve run into many situations where what the client said they wanted and what they truly needed were very different. Keep your focus on your business processes and what you’re trying to accomplish; leave the design of the solution to the experts. (They’ll want your input on screens, reports and the like, we promise!)

DO let the IT firm know as soon as possible if a new requirement surfaces. IT people know that business doesn’t happen in a vacuum; things change. By letting your IT partner know quickly that requirements have changed, it may be possible to include it in the initial release, or it may be best to hold it as an enhancement after the initial release is complete.

DO be clear and realistic about the priorities of your requirements. Think in terms of must-have, nice-to-have, and pie-in-the-sky, but understand that if you list all of your requirements as must-have, your timeline to having software in hand is going to be a lot longer. Most software development today is done in phases, so figure out the key pieces of your solution and focus on getting them in hand first. Subsequent releases will add the additional requirements.

DON’T give your IT firm an open-ended timeline. Ask them for a schedule, and hold them to it. This is mandatory for keeping budgets in line and so that you know what you’re getting when. Understand, too, though, that the more your requirements change, the more the timelines will change, too.

DON’T be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something. IT is completely overloaded with acronyms and its own terminology, and it’s easy to get lost if it isn’t your field. In a recent meeting with a client, our software architect gave an in-depth explanation of a particular facet of the client’s software, after which the client said “I have absolutely no idea what he just said!” We backed up a step and drew pictures to ensure that we were all on the same page. Your IT partner can do that for you, too. If something doesn’t make sense, ask.

The bottom line is simple – communication is key to the success of any project. Invest the time and energy to establish good communication with your IT partner, and you will see great results.

Done

 

The true measure of success for any site isn’t the number of visits. It’s the number of conversions, i.e. how many prospective customers are navigating through the content to take the desired action. So the first step in evaluating your site is deciding exactly what you want it to do for you – develop leads, generate online orders, etc.

Once you’ve determined what qualifies as a conversion, how do you then optimize your conversion rate? Through Search Engine Marketing (SEM), a form of Internet marketing that promotes websites by increasing their visibility to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. The two main components of SEM are Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC).

SEO is considered the more “organic” of the two as it uses the content of the site itself while considering what people are searching for to improve search engine rankings. To maintain their SEO positioning, sites must consistently be evaluated and refined as search engines continue to update their algorithms for measurement, and competitors are always looking for ways to improve their rankings.

PPC is a more forced or “inorganic” tool in which ads are placed on search engine result pages next to or above the SEO results. These advertisers then pay their host only when their ad is clicked. Search engines typically auction keyword phrases that are relevant to the target customer for sponsored links, usually at a fixed price per click.

Which begs the question: to continually get more from your website, which is more important, content or keywords? The answer: Yes. It’s important to strike a balance between using a variety of keywords that direct the right people to your site, and providing content that is interesting and engaging enough to convert them once they’re there.

The web analysts at TDK Technologies are ready to help you optimize your conversion rate by collecting, analyzing and reporting Internet data to determine who is using your site and why. These results can then be applied to recommendations for improving your site, along with SEM campaigns designed to get the desired people and the desired results. Since 2001, our “business-first” approach to technology has gained us a strong reputation for delivering the solutions you need in a language you understand.

Done

 

Rather than hunkering down and waiting out the recession, forward thinking executives are looking for ways to increase corporate productivity with the remaining staff and preparing the company to explode out of the recession as the economy begins to move forward.

IT investment in process improvement and employee productivity is a lower cost approach than adding full time resources.  Some of the questions that need to be asked to determine corporate investment include:

• Are your systems integrated and working together?
• Are other functional areas (CRM/Marketing, etc.) within the company integrated with other systems?
• Are your e-marketing efforts (website) maximized with an effective SEO program?

A case in point: operational system integration.  A consumer products company, that produces novelty sports collectibles for beloved family and friends as gifts, used technology that was separate, not integrated and required many manual steps to function properly.   This manually driven system of receiving, processing, and billing orders flowed through a variety of disparate systems from retailers to corporate to the order processor to production and back through corporate finance.  Moving this manual system to an automated system of order processing was the imperative need. 

Our recommendation involved developing a unique solution that reduced labor cost, improved order accuracy, improved order turnaround, and provided a reduction in spoilage.  The result directly impacted our client financially.  They were able to reduce the cost per unit, improve their margins and utilize an IT solution that can process a dramatically increased number of orders rather than act as the limiting factor.

For their investment in this solution our client was able to:

• Generate over $30,000 in direct cost savings in just the first year
• Reduce order errors by 95%
• Reduce cycle time from 12 days to 10 days
• Reduce cost per unit by 20%

Implementation of similar technical solutions enables companies to expand and grow during these difficult economic times.  How?

• Maximize their current workforce to realize productivity gains
• Identify only necessary full-time resource additions
• Define new uses for technology to create additional products and services that generate new revenue streams

If you would like a no-cost assessment of how technology can prepare your firm for growth, give us a call: 314-878-1005 x 133 and speak with Derek Heckemeyer, or email: Done

 

IT consulting is a stable employment option.  For J2EE or .NET developers, project managers, business analysts or testers with strong skill sets and confidence in those skills, client needs are consistent.  When times are tough, companies look to technology to improve efficiencies and strengthen their position in the marketplace; hiring consultants to implement these improvements gives clients the ability to get things done without the long-term commitment to hiring full-time staff.

And when the assignment ends? Unfortunately, the days of spending thirty years working for one company and retiring with a gold watch seem to be behind us. If you're going to roll out of a client (or be laid off by your employer), do you want to go at it alone, or have a sales team with relationships in place, ready to market you to a variety of clients? With TDK's emphasis on Technology and Management Services, we're talking to our clients every day about projects utilizing these skill sets, strengthening our remarket capabilities for our consultants.

TDK was founded in turbulent times, in the months leading up to (and following) 9/11/2001. The challenge of building our brand during such a trying time gave us a unique opportunity to gain perspective on what clients need and how we can best serve them. We know how to deliver in difficult economies, providing solid technology value to our clients and challenging work to our consultants. TDK employs this same approach, whether the market is being driven by the bulls or the bears.

If you are interested in seeing what kind of options exist in IT consulting, check out TDK's opportunities. Done