Category Archives: Business Solutions

Learning Plans = Intentions

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If you don’t create the budget for learning and development, your staff will not get the training they need to stay competitive and efficient. Your organization has to set the intention, not just react to a changing IT scene or a challenging economy.

Intention is everything, from closing a deal to deciding what you want to learn this year. One way that we work with intention with our clients is to help them create Learning Plans. It’s not a new concept, but one that served me well in my higher education days and fits nicely with business and resource planning. Knowledge must be at the top of your 2013 list, along with internal and external learning.

Jim Collins www.jimcollins.com, author of Good to Great, said, “It is my belief that continuing education in a company…will be one of the distinguishing forces that sorts the great from the good brands.” Learning Plans are like timelines that help individuals, teams and organizations achieve their educational goals.

Here are a few reasons why we use them.

  • To drive adoption of new technology and business solutions
  • Provides a timeline and roadmap for organizational and individual development
  • Learning Assessments empower organizations to use the correct environment, communication styles and incentives to facilitate behavioral change
  • Enable better use and efficiency of implementations
  • Learning materials reflect the level and/or role of the learner

Here are the results of using Learning Plans.

  • Alignment between business and technology strategies
  • Culture of learning is established within the organization
  • Users engage with the new technology and become proficient
  • Metrics to measure before, during and after the project
  • Proven methods of motivation

At the organizational level, the C-suite minds decide that a new customer relationship system is going to enhance the client experience.

The questions that pop up for the IT/HR director should sound like this.

  • Will users perceive this as better than our old process?
  • How much change will be required?
  • Will this adoption be easy or hard for users?
  • How quickly will the benefits be visible?

Above all else, remember learning should be fun. Arnold Toynbee said, “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” Set your intentions for 2013. Develop and expand your employees’ knowledge and enhance their ability to make your organization competitive and successful!

The Laws of Technology Adoption: The Burning Ship

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“Quemo Los Barcos” is Spanish for Burn the Boats.

So, the story goes that in order to avoid mutiny before going into battle against the Aztecs, Hernan Cortes ordered his men to burn their ships so that they would have no other options available to them – they needed to stay and fight. There would be no going back to Spain.

It was fight and win … or die trying.

And while burning his boats may have been a really good way for Cortes to ensure his people did what he wanted them to do, we’ve learned that management by threat of death doesn’t sit well with most employees (nor with HR directors.)

Today, when it comes to technology adoption, many companies think a little like Cortes did. That is, they simply “burn down” their old systems by disabling them and leaving their people with no other options. And while this can be an effective way to get 100% adoption, we know that forcing people into behavior change is usually not a good way to get the best out of your people. Just like that old Cheap Trick song, I Want You to Want Me, we always want users to WANT to use our systems.

So, The Law of the Burning Ship isn’t about burning things up, it’s about starting emotional fires. It’s about creating a burning platform for change and helping users see the benefits that the technology will bring to them. It means fueling a burning desire within our people to embrace the technology and use it to its fullest.

So, how do we begin to create our burning platform?

First, we have to make sure we have a rock-solid business case behind the project – this is the WHY behind the initiative. To drive desire, the WHY must be compelling. If the case for the initiative is not or cannot be compelling, then there are probably largerquestions that need to be asked.

Second, the WHY must be acticulated simply – so simple a 6-year-old can understand it. If a simple explanation cannot be found, scope must be reexamined, communications re-crafted, or perhaps a new champion assigned.

Finally, communication on the WHY must be clear,consistent and relentless.Over-communicationis seldom listed asa reason fortechnology adoption failure. There should be no ambiguity from anywhere in the organization about the who, what, where, when and the Why.

Technology adoption is critical toyour organization’s success. Remember, no matter how perfect the solution, or how smooth its implementation, or how under-budget the project is at completion, it doesn’t matter oneiotaif the technology doesn’t get used as it was intended. The Laws of Adoption are real and should be considered as you undertake any technology initiative. Be sure to subscribe to Pinnacle’s free 24 Irrefutable Laws of Technology Adoption video series to help ensure your technology adoptionsuccess.

Whiteboard Session: Endless Possibilities

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A blank piece of paper is filled with opportunity. The opportunity to express feelings, thoughts, or pictures is possible with a blank piece of paper. Blank pieces of paper can also be shopping lists, invitations, maps or contracts. The possibilities are endless.

If you consider a Whiteboard as a piece of paper, and begin to think about your company goals and objectives, the current state of the infrastructure, the number of applications, data sources, workflow and processes you have, the possibilities of enhancing productivity while improving the infrastructure may also seem endless.

And though the goal of the Whiteboard Session is not to overwhelm with possibilities, we do wish to identify valuable options. We begin by engaging the customers team in formal discussions to identify the strategic layers of each organization: Business Strategy, Application, and Infrastructure/IT. Next, we provide a snap-shot of the current state of the systems and processes. Finally, we look for areas of improvement to reduce risk, enhance productivity, and align strategy and systems with the organizations goals and objectives.

Each Whiteboard Session serves as the preface to the Technology Roadmap (TR). The TR is a 90-day, 1- and/or 3-year timeline for project implementation. [Link Reference to Previous Blog about TR.] The identified projects are the result of collaboration by the customer representatives at the Whiteboard Session. After agreeing on a timeframe for the projects, we document the project in a TR for project tracking and management.

Typically, we also discover a plethora of Excel spreadsheets in use. Because Excel spreadsheets are most often created by manually inputting data, or importing information from multiple datasets, silos of data become common place. Reconciling this information to reports created by others is nearly impossible as the datasets for the two reports may be different, and/or the search criteria may be different.

We also discover infrastructure opportunities for improvement. For instance, when considering hosted or cloud applications, the infrastructure must be configured to support the user base and the hosted application. Many of the customers we meet with today are not cloud-ready. We help them budget for changes to allow for cloud adoption.

In reviewing the data sources, we identify the data sources for ERP, Sales/CRM, Data Management, Data Imaging and Line-of-Business. We look for current and missing integration points between data sources, overlaps of data, and duplicate data entry processes. It is during this review where process improvement occurs. When automation of processes and reduction of manual data entry can be accomplished, costs are reduced. Creating a system that incorporates automated processes with sharing of information throughout the organization provides a streamlined approach to managing data sources.

Once the data sources are aligned, Business Intelligence (BI) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be mined. BI and KPIs are presented in real-time to decision makers as dashboards. Where previous information was individually and manually gathered and stored in Excel and/or Access, it is now stored in SQL databases. The SQL databases are accessible by all the users (with appropriate security) and data can be mined to provide real-time statistics.

Think of three key pieces of information that you wish you had each morning that would streamline your decision making process. As an example, for each of the roles below, the following information may allow for more informed decisions:

  • Sales Manager: Total Pipeline per Rep / MTD & YTD Deals Closed / Activity Tracking\
  • Warehouse Manager: Inventory on Hand / Number of Back Orders / Efficiency of Order Picking
  • Production Supervisor: % of Scrap / Number of Lines Operational & Issues / Efficiency of Lines
  • CFO/CEO: % Sales to YTD Goals / Safety Statistics / % Scrap to Revenue

In order to gain this valuable business information, the systems, applications, processes, data sources and infrastructure must be in sync. Through the Whiteboard Session, Pinnacle identifies, advises and assists in aligning customers business strategy with IT strategy to attain achievement of company goals and objectives.

8 Is Great!

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Im not talking about Microsoft 8; well have that conversation later! Multiple Intelligences (MI) is another Learning Styles theory and also happens to be my favorite. Howard Gardner published his MI theories in 1983 with updates as his research continues. Gardners theory explains how everyone has specific intelligences. Scholars have discovered that not everyone learns the same which can affect ones professional and personal life. Learning needs to be accessible in multiple ways to ensure understanding, retention and adoption. Use this learning tool to better your life and the lives around you.

Literacy Works has a free MI quiz to find out what your intelligences are. Once you have the results, read on to learn about your MI.

http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

Visual-Spatial: (picture smart) think in terms of physical space, aware of ones environment, like to draw, read maps and day dream

  • Learn best through verbal and physical imagery, drawings, video and multimedia

Bodily-Kinesthetic: (body smart) use the body well, very aware of the body and movement, like to build things by hand, communicate through body language and is touchy-feely

  • Learn best through physical activity, role playing, hands-on-learning and building curiosity

Musical: (music smart) sensitive to rhythm and sound, love music and aware of all environmental sounds, prefer to study or work with music in the background

  • Learn best making lessons into lyrics or songs and prefer multimedia, music and instruments

Interpersonal: (people smart) understand others, many friends, empathize easily, street smarts

  • Learn best in group activities, collaboration, seminars and active discussions

Intrapersonal: (self-smart) understands the self and ones goals, interests and needs while shying away from others, very in touch with personal feelings, intuitive and may focus on health and exercise

  • Learn best through introspection and independent study with books, journaling and privacy

Linguistic: (word smart) speak very effectively with very developed auditory skills, enjoy reading, word games and creating narratives

  • Learn best by reading, dialoguing and using computers, books, lectures and multimedia

Logical-Mathematical: (logic smart) tidy, always calculating and reasoning things, conceptual and abstract thinker, sees things in patterns and likes to experiment and solve puzzles

  • Learn best using logic games, solving mysteries and investigating topics, must form concepts before handling details

Naturalist: (nature smart) in tune with nature, recognizes and categorizes features of ones environment, likes to be outside doing activities like gardening, hiking and exploring

  • Learn best when relating things to nature, prefers hands-on experiences and being outside

People vary in their intelligences; many have two or three that are dominant. Most educational tactics focus on verbal and logical/mathematical intelligences; imagine how many learners miss out on valuable learning experiences because of this. In order to be effective in your career broaden the methods you use to educate, inform and communicate with others. Next time try interactive media in your presentation or facilitate experiential learning for your clients with a hands-on demonstration.

Keep in mind that MI influences how one understands others, the self, remembers information, carries out tasks, solves problems and gauges success. There is even an Associated Thinking Language that goes along with each MI. Your inner voice and thinking process reflects your MI. If my boss is an Interpersonal MI, she would use words like interact, collaborate, connect, relate and perceive. If she was Logical-Mathematical, she would use words like generalize, abstract, sequence, analyze and classify.

The goal is to learn how to employ each of the intelligences, 8 is great! Empower yourself, use this knowledge to build better relationships and continue lifelong learningand encourage others to do the same!

WHY ARE YOU SPENDING MY MONEY?

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The following article came to me this morning via LinkedIn and I found it to be extremely interesting and applicable to our clients. Whether you work for an IT firm (like me), or you are in charge of IT at a client, there is a noticeable and very detectable change that is taking place internationally as to perceptions and roles in regards to the IT function. I think it is especially interesting to note that non-IT personnel will be deciding where to spend more of the technology budget than personnel in the IT department.

Research: The devalued future of IT in a marketing world.

Summary: New research demonstrates the changing role of IT. Here is advice to ensure your IT organization is not marginalized as a consequence of these changes.

By Michael Krigsman for IT Project Failures | September 10, 2012 — 20:03 GMT (13:03 PDT)

The world of IT is bifurcating into infrastructure providers and innovators. Its time for CIOs to get on the right side of that wave.

Gartner analyst, Mark P. McDonald, wrote a compelling piece showing IT growth rates over the last decade. Here’s his graphic showing the trend:

You can see that IT growth rates have declined dramatically and are rising slowly. Given high activity levels around computing that we see in the enterprise, Mark tries to reconcile these slowing growth rates. His conclusion:

Its difficult to reconcile these budget numbers against the level of IT activity. CIOs and IT have been busy over the past ten years. Activity requires funding, so in an environment of flat budgets, you have to ask where is the money coming from?

The answer is most of the money has come from IT sweating its assets and resources doing more with less. Or more accurately, doing more while keeping the budget flat. Outsourcing, offshoring, consolidation, renegotiating contracts all play a role in cutting IT costs and keeping them down, even in the face of increased transaction and data storage demands. This has made IT infrastructure one of the most productive resources in the organization.

We can conclude that most organizations view IT as a means to increase productivity and efficiency, rather than a source of innovation and business transformation.

As another data point, Gartner analyst Laura McLellan predicts, “by 2017 the CMO will Spend More on IT Than the CIO.” Her webinar on this topic includes the following slide, showing that marketing budgets are large and growing more rapidly than those in IT:

This next chart completes the picture: marketing is taking more control over its own technology budget and leaving IT in the dust:

The implications here are clear: the enterprise increasingly views IT as a commodity while marketing seeks to control its own technology destiny.

STRATEGY IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CIO

If you are a CIO, you can take several steps to prevent your IT organization from becoming marginalized.

Also read: Three tips to escape the tyranny of IT metrics

Consider the following points to help turn your IT organization into a source of innovation and transformation:

  • Execute with excellence: deliver your projects on time and within budget. When IT fails to deliver the basics, it loses credibility and undermines attempts to raise the bar in other areas. Make sure that IT supplies basic infrastructure, security, and reliability without a lot of fanfare. At the most basic level, IT should disappear because things just work.
  • Make friends with the business. Get engaged and meet with folks from marketing and the lines of business. If you do not understand what these folks need to get their jobs done, you diminish your capacity to offer beneficial assistance. Seriously, spend lots of time with them.
  • Take a leadership role. Having achieved delivery excellence and learned to understand the business, you are now actually in a position to make a change. Be strategic in your thinking, so the business perceives value in your proposals; if you can help drive a material transformation or improvement, the business will find your suggestions useful.
  • Communicate with simplicity. After coming up with ideas, develop simple messages and language to test your ideas with folks from the business. Avoiding all technical jargon and concepts has two benefits: first and most important, it forces you to think clearly and crisply; second, simplicity increases the chances that the business audience will understand your intent and see the benefits.
  • Repeat and evolve. Becoming an innovation partner and breaking patterns of the past requires commitment, so be prepared to invest time and energy. Continue delivering with excellence, talking with the business, being a leader, and presenting your ideas in simple, clear terms.

The world of CIOs and IT is likely to split into infrastructure providers and innovation partners. To become a genuine partner to the business, start taking steps today. If you don’t make a change soon, your IT organization will end up a commodity shop in a transforming world.

Topics: Enterprise Software, CIO, IT Priorities

SharePoint 2010 Pricing Explained

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A simple question many clients have asked me is ‘How much does SharePoint cost?’ Unfortunately, the answer doesn’t always seem so simple. The goal of this article is to help. Below are some pricing and licensing details to help you put together some budgetary ideas. In addition, there are some licensing details around SharePoint that everyone should know. They can be very helpful before buying and that might help you save money.

Quick Disclaimer: Exact pricing should always come from Microsoft or from your Microsoft Partner. Please use this article as an informational resource, but not as an official quote.

Budget Scenario 1: Deploying a SharePoint Intranet in a Small Business

As a small business, you likely may not be in a Microsoft licensing agreement. Thus, you’re probably looking at two popular ways to acquire access to SharePoint. The first, more traditional way, is to buy a software package such as SharePoint outright. However, the newer and quickly becoming the most popular way is to use SharePoint as part of Office 365. So, what does pricing look like and what things should you know?

On-Prem Products Est. Pricing Notes
SharePoint Foundation 2010 N/A Licensed through your Windows Server Client Access Licensing (or CALs).
SharePoint Server 2010 $4,926 USD Licensed per server. (Same server SKU for Std. or Ent. CALs.)
SharePoint Server 2010 Standard CAL $95 USD Licensed per named user or device.
SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise CAL Std CAL + $83 USD Licensed per named user or device. (This is priced as an add-on to the Std. CAL.)
Office Web Apps 2010 N/A Licensed through your Office 2010
volume licensing.
Cloud Products Pricing Notes
Office 365 – Plan P1 Small Business $6 USD per user/month Provides SharePoint Team Sites and web-based Office file viewing.
Office 365 – Plan E1 Midsize to Enterprise $8 USD per user/month Provides most SharePoint Server features and AD sync for easier user access.

Budgeting and Licensing Tips and Hits

  • Enterprise CAL – Since the Enterprise CAL and features are priced as an add-on, you can mix and match! You can save money by buying only the Enterprise CALs you need vs. for every user.
  • No matter the on-prem version of SharePoint, if you have purchased Office 2010 licenses through volume licensing, you have access to the Office Web Apps download and product key. This is a great add-on especially for users who want to access Office files on both their PC and mobile device.
  • “Free” – It’s Awesome, but be careful! While there’s no price to install, Foundation and the Office Web Apps are not truly free. Make sure you have enough Windows CALs for Foundation or Office licenses for Office Web Apps to cover your users.

Budget Scenario 2: Deploying a SharePoint Intranet as an Enterprise

Start your budget research by pulling out your Microsoft agreement. If you have an Enterprise Agreement or a Select Agreement, check if your users are already licensed for the “Core CAL” or Enterprise-level CAL. These packaged server CALs are designed to provide users with access to most of Microsoft’s most popular server products (including SharePoint). Depending on which one you have, you are probably already licensed for user access to SharePoint. Okay, so what’s left? And again, what things should you know?

Budgeting and Licensing Tips and Hits

  • Server licensing – As long as your users are covered through a CAL package in your agreement, you only need to budget for the number of SharePoint servers you plan to deploy.
  • Software assurance – Acquiring SharePoint through a Microsoft Licensing Agreement will likely mean that the server pricing will be a bit more, but that includes new versions. Since SharePoint 2013 is coming quickly, this isn’t a bad thing at all!

Budget Scenario 3: Deploying SharePoint Public Internet Sites

One final scenario is becoming more and more popular, to use SharePoint as a powerful web content management system. So, does this change pricing? Yes, it mostly makes it more simple to understand. However, there are a couple of licensing details to know that are unique to the public facing aspect of this scenario. So let’s begin by looking over the pricing details:

Website Products Est. Pricing Notes
SharePoint Server 2010 for
Internet Sites, Standard		 $11,793 USD Licensed per server.
License includes all Standard features.
No CALs / Unlimited external users.
SharePoint Server 2010 for
Internet Sites, Enterprise		 $41,392 USD Licensed per server.
License includes all Enterprise features.
No CALs / Unlimited external users.

Budgeting and Licensing Tips and Hits

  • Unlimited User Details – Users can include anonymous and authenticated users. So what about internal users? Website content creators, approvers, and admins are included. But, you can’t use this for your internal intranet too.
  • Domains, the “Gotcha” around Enterprise – You probably noticed the big price difference between Standard and Enterprise. Besides the additional features, why might you need Enterprise? Domains. If you plan to host websites with unique domain names, besides prefixes, you will need the Enterprise License.
  • FAST Search – Beyond multiple domains, Enterprise also includes licensing for FAST Search. This is important if you want things like thumbnails in a visitor’s search results. Just remember, FAST requires a separate server (and thus another server license).

Final Thoughts

Remember, these are prices should only be used for early budgetary planning. There may be additional details and possible discounts not discussed here (such as non-profit and government pricing). Be sure to talk to your Microsoft Partner to get the most current and accurate pricing. Also, when planning a SharePoint project, don’t forget to account for other costs. You may need to budget for SQL Server licensing and any other development, management, or add-on software you plan to use.

Further Reading

Below are some additional resources you may also find beneficial.