This has been a buzzword in technology and business for quite a while now. While everyone agrees that it's an important aspect that should be incorporated into a company's strategy, there are several definitions for it...
So I'll pose the question to you, my readers:
Is CRM...
a.) Contact management software that allows a company's sales force to better track customers and prospects?
b.) Offer delivery software that intelligently delivers the "right offer" to the "right customer" at the "right moment?"
c.) Analytical software that enables large companies with thousands or millions of consumers to determine how to market and sell to individual consumers or pockets of consumers (through segmentation) and determine best offers to deliver or actions to be taken by marketing?
d.) A way of business thinking that seeks to understand consumer interactions with your company at the individual or the segment level and tailor your brand to strategies to best maximize your relationship with each person/group that does business with you?
-or- A combination of the above?
-or- None of the above?
What are your thoughts?
My thought. Yes.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The good news about $4.00 gas
What? There's good news?
You really cannot turn on an economic or political news show today in the United States without the high gasoline prices being mentioned in some way. In many ways in this country, it represents a "crisis" of sorts because of our lifestyle choices over the past 50 years and our dependency on personal transportation (which consumes approximately 70% of our country's energy resources today).
The good news is two-fold. First, it could be worse. Gasoline remains relatively cheap in the U.S. compared to other industrialized countries. Having just been in Estonia for 10 days, gasoline there was 18 EEK (Kroons) per liter. At an approximate exchange rate of 10 EEK/$1 and considering 4 liters in a gallon, the cost of gas over there (and likely all over the European Union) would be $7.20 per gallon. Imagine the screaming on the television news shows if we were looking at $7 to $8 gas.
Second, the "crisis" is creating an opportunity for companies that are positioned to take advantage of the new environment. For example, discounters and club stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco are seeing sales increases during this time as consumers can buy in bulk at discounted prices; a benefit needed to reduce store trips and get a bigger bang out of consumers' reduced discretionary income with more of our hard earned dollars being spent at the pump. In fact, Wal-Mart is taking aggressive steps to build their brand during this economic season; highlighting the window of opportunity that the retail giant currently perceives to regain and retain customers.
The need to reduce gasoline usage can (and likely will) create huge opportunities for growth for eCommerce companies as shopping online becomes much more attractive. In fact, business models such as Peapod which were unsuccessful on a nation-wide scale during the "dot com boom" may potentially resurface if and when consumers realize that it is more economical to pull transportation resources through a service than to drive a 4,000 lb SUV 10 miles round trip to pick up $20 worth of groceries.
In addition, I believe every company that has a good eCommerce model and strategy has a chance to win in this new environment, as online shopping will gain traction if online merchants are successful in building as strong of a brand as their brick and mortar counterparts and incorporate the "save gas, shop at home" positioning into their brand. The better news for them is that the technologies and know-how necessary to execute on this strategy are in the marketplace and are improving. More to come on that.
That being said, time will tell about who will capitialize on the opportunities ahead and who will continue to struggle... potentially the real winners are the technology enablers that serve as catalysts for this eCommerce growth if it indeed occurs.
You really cannot turn on an economic or political news show today in the United States without the high gasoline prices being mentioned in some way. In many ways in this country, it represents a "crisis" of sorts because of our lifestyle choices over the past 50 years and our dependency on personal transportation (which consumes approximately 70% of our country's energy resources today).
The good news is two-fold. First, it could be worse. Gasoline remains relatively cheap in the U.S. compared to other industrialized countries. Having just been in Estonia for 10 days, gasoline there was 18 EEK (Kroons) per liter. At an approximate exchange rate of 10 EEK/$1 and considering 4 liters in a gallon, the cost of gas over there (and likely all over the European Union) would be $7.20 per gallon. Imagine the screaming on the television news shows if we were looking at $7 to $8 gas.
Second, the "crisis" is creating an opportunity for companies that are positioned to take advantage of the new environment. For example, discounters and club stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco are seeing sales increases during this time as consumers can buy in bulk at discounted prices; a benefit needed to reduce store trips and get a bigger bang out of consumers' reduced discretionary income with more of our hard earned dollars being spent at the pump. In fact, Wal-Mart is taking aggressive steps to build their brand during this economic season; highlighting the window of opportunity that the retail giant currently perceives to regain and retain customers.
The need to reduce gasoline usage can (and likely will) create huge opportunities for growth for eCommerce companies as shopping online becomes much more attractive. In fact, business models such as Peapod which were unsuccessful on a nation-wide scale during the "dot com boom" may potentially resurface if and when consumers realize that it is more economical to pull transportation resources through a service than to drive a 4,000 lb SUV 10 miles round trip to pick up $20 worth of groceries.
In addition, I believe every company that has a good eCommerce model and strategy has a chance to win in this new environment, as online shopping will gain traction if online merchants are successful in building as strong of a brand as their brick and mortar counterparts and incorporate the "save gas, shop at home" positioning into their brand. The better news for them is that the technologies and know-how necessary to execute on this strategy are in the marketplace and are improving. More to come on that.
That being said, time will tell about who will capitialize on the opportunities ahead and who will continue to struggle... potentially the real winners are the technology enablers that serve as catalysts for this eCommerce growth if it indeed occurs.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Microsoft purchasing DATAllegro
On Thursday, July 24th, Microsoft and DATAllegro announced that Microsoft will purchase DATAllegro, one of the earlier data warehouse appliance startups. I arrived at home early this week to catch up with news in the States after a 10 day stint in Estonia working with High School students, and was intreagued with this news coming from the technology world.
My amateur first thoughts on this aquisition:
1.) From knowing how DATAllegro has chosen to go to market in the past year and a half, this purchase may make the most sense for Microsoft. DATAllegro's V3 appliance was the first major DW appliance product to significantly leverage third party hardware to move the market toward more of an open platform. Most (if not all) of the other major players in this space leverage a proprietary hardware platform for their solutions. Microsoft, not being in the server business, should be able to leverage and expand upon the DATAllegro partnerships for product development as they evolve the software and database components of this solution.
2.) While the final evolution of the Microsoft-DATAllegro purchase may be unknown, I imagine that Microsoft will be working over the next months to integrate their existing BI applications and development framework into the newly purchased appliance solution. This could be a huge win for companies that are looking to leverage skill sets from their application development groups into their BI initiatives. Adding Microsoft's vast development network of Professional Services firms to that mix will provide more incentives for companies to look at Microsoft as a contender. Time will tell whether they will deliver on these aspects of their brand in regards to Enterprise intelligence... be on the lookout. If Microsoft is able to fully integrate their existing solutions and .NET (including Excel and Access... still the leading BI tools used in the market) to the DWA platform, they should have a compelling value proposition especially for mid market companies that need rapid deployment and quick ROI wins to justify projects.
3.) This move further solidifies the data warehouse appliance's position in the Business Intelligence market. Microsoft would be the third major vendor to market an appliance product (HP's Neoview and the Teradata's 2500 being the others), which provides evidence to the market that these solutions are here to stay and have support. This should help Netezza's positioning as well as they were the first player in this market space and have a lot of mind share where data warehouse appliances are concerned.
4.) If successful, could this speed the rise of the open hardware platform in Business Intelligence? There are solutions out there today (Oracle's data warehouse platform being one of them), but the jury is still out as to whether they can economically scale. When the ability to economically scale data warehouses on commodity platforms is found, it should be game changing (in the same way that Netezza's first appliance changed the EDW game).
I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
My amateur first thoughts on this aquisition:
1.) From knowing how DATAllegro has chosen to go to market in the past year and a half, this purchase may make the most sense for Microsoft. DATAllegro's V3 appliance was the first major DW appliance product to significantly leverage third party hardware to move the market toward more of an open platform. Most (if not all) of the other major players in this space leverage a proprietary hardware platform for their solutions. Microsoft, not being in the server business, should be able to leverage and expand upon the DATAllegro partnerships for product development as they evolve the software and database components of this solution.
2.) While the final evolution of the Microsoft-DATAllegro purchase may be unknown, I imagine that Microsoft will be working over the next months to integrate their existing BI applications and development framework into the newly purchased appliance solution. This could be a huge win for companies that are looking to leverage skill sets from their application development groups into their BI initiatives. Adding Microsoft's vast development network of Professional Services firms to that mix will provide more incentives for companies to look at Microsoft as a contender. Time will tell whether they will deliver on these aspects of their brand in regards to Enterprise intelligence... be on the lookout. If Microsoft is able to fully integrate their existing solutions and .NET (including Excel and Access... still the leading BI tools used in the market) to the DWA platform, they should have a compelling value proposition especially for mid market companies that need rapid deployment and quick ROI wins to justify projects.
3.) This move further solidifies the data warehouse appliance's position in the Business Intelligence market. Microsoft would be the third major vendor to market an appliance product (HP's Neoview and the Teradata's 2500 being the others), which provides evidence to the market that these solutions are here to stay and have support. This should help Netezza's positioning as well as they were the first player in this market space and have a lot of mind share where data warehouse appliances are concerned.
4.) If successful, could this speed the rise of the open hardware platform in Business Intelligence? There are solutions out there today (Oracle's data warehouse platform being one of them), but the jury is still out as to whether they can economically scale. When the ability to economically scale data warehouses on commodity platforms is found, it should be game changing (in the same way that Netezza's first appliance changed the EDW game).
I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
Welcome to Chris's Business-Technology Blog
Hello. Welcome to my blog. I hope that my readers will find what I write to be informative, thought-provoking, and useful in your decision-making process concerning leveraging technology to improve business decision-making. This blog will contain commentary and analysis on innovative uses and applications of technology for improving companies' reach and relevance with consumers, news about the Business Intelligence (applications and platforms) space, thoughts regarding evaluating technology options, and solution reviews.
I am a marketing and business development consultant with over 10 years experience in technology, including the business intelligence space. I have spent, most recently, over 3 years with NCR and Teradata as a consultant and marketing practitioner evaluating the use of Retail and Business Intelligence applications within organizations to create positive business impact and ROI. My specific expertise includes data warehouse platforms and solutions, CRM, Retail Automation, and eBusiness. Prior to that, I led the direct marketing strategy for a medical systems start-up in Austin, TX specializing in Software As A Service delivery.
Additionally, I have an MBA from the Kelley School of Business, specializing in Consumer Marketing and have consulted with consumer products companies concerning marketing and measuring marketing effectiveness.
I am a marketing and business development consultant with over 10 years experience in technology, including the business intelligence space. I have spent, most recently, over 3 years with NCR and Teradata as a consultant and marketing practitioner evaluating the use of Retail and Business Intelligence applications within organizations to create positive business impact and ROI. My specific expertise includes data warehouse platforms and solutions, CRM, Retail Automation, and eBusiness. Prior to that, I led the direct marketing strategy for a medical systems start-up in Austin, TX specializing in Software As A Service delivery.
Additionally, I have an MBA from the Kelley School of Business, specializing in Consumer Marketing and have consulted with consumer products companies concerning marketing and measuring marketing effectiveness.
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