It never ceases to amaze me in 2010 that after entering my account/phone numbers into their phone sytem, the customer service agent still asks me for it. Sometimes more than once.

I know the technical reasons for it but 5 years ago, I said if we fixed just 10 seconds worth of duplicated effort in our contact centers we'd have the potential to save over $1bn in all the call centers collectively. Truth is, I've seen Contact Centers implement simple yet powerful automations to cut call times in half or even less. Call Center Administrators and CFO's often don't believe it's possible but it is and it's not even expensive. Continue Reading...

 Well, the big day has arrived that I have been hinting at for some months now. Continue Reading...

Had a briefing with Michael Vizard a few weeks back and just picked up this piece he wrote. I like the way he has articulated our discussions around the problems as he sees them. Here's the link. Let me know what you think.

RETHINKING APPLICATION INTEGRATION

Well, for one thing, this economy has put clarity on the need to help enterprise users become a lot more productive in their environment, with applications they already have. I have pitched this message over the last 3 months, so let me try it here on you and see what you think!

"I propose that we have turned our enterprise users into manual workers". Sure, they use computers but most of their business processes are manual. What I mean is, look at an automobile factory of 30 years ago. Continue Reading...

Just posted a blog on how wrapping legacy applications is no longer limited to green screens. Technologies now exist to robustly "Virtualize" the presentation layer and this enables any kind of business application to be integrated or extend through SOA. Client side or server side.

Wrapping Legacy Applications for SOA or anything else..

The key takeaway in 2009 is, do more with less. Use what you already have. The transactions work, they are just needed to be used in different ways. We always talk about re-use. Well lets start with RE-USING what we ALREADY have. Enjoy. Feel free to comment.

 2008 seemed to all be about...

Continue Reading...

Just got back from CES. I reckon numbers were down 50% from my visit 2 years ago. How could I tell without using sophisticated integration and measurement tools? Well, I got a great rate on a top hotel and there were zero lines for cabs and buffets !

What did I see? Continue Reading...

I might bore some people with my common phrase.. "A legacy application is any application written more than 5 minutes ago" but it quite simply is true. And with that truth comes the need to integrate a 5 minute old application with some other application - older OR newer than that one.

Even if you write a bunch of SOA services and wrap those to create a new application, it's a legacy application. No developer EVER thinks of their application at the time as legacy - it's just an app!

However, it never ceases to amaze me though, how little effort goes into an applications UI to make it "open" for integration. Continue Reading...

I have always felt that desktop virtualization is a fantastic technology but the millions of end users will see only frustration on their own desktops - forcing users to rely even more on copy and paste to do integration won't get you the business buy-in!

Technologies to add API's and automations to the apps in the VM already exist, enabling desktop apps to communicate across the bubbles. It's time.

Also Check out :  Is Virtualization an Integration Solution or Nightmare?

If there ever was a time when desktop productivity will be as important as it's ever been, it will be in 2009. The cliché of 2008, "do more with less, and do more with what you have" will dominate from now on.

CIO's, answerable to their boards and shareholders will see that innovation on the business side will be the key drivers for their own success. For some, it's about survival and for others it's about bringing back profitability in the business. Continue Reading...

Very little, if anything! That's why virtualization has been harder to sell to the the business users.

Unless you put your integrated applications in the same VM, even existing desktop integrations will break. Excel in one VM and your integrated Trading System in another VM now won't be integrated (except for copy and paste )! 

There are technologies now that enable you to integrate applications running in different VM's but strangely, for most desktop applications, there are none from the VM vendors themselves.

I remember, way back when (yawn), when I had to integrate Lotus 123 with data from a mainframe through a terminal emulator - both running on a DOS PC. It wasn't easy to get these two products to integrate but thanks to both DOS products having at least a nominal API, it was possible and added significant productivity gains over the manual re-keying of the data.

27 years later, I find most enterprise users still running desktop applications with no API's or integration capabilities what so ever at the desktop. Even new applications fall foul of this. Amongst the many other pains this causes our users, dramatic productivity improvements are missed because user workflows across multiple applications are mostly manual.

There are tools today that can "instantly" create API's into any existing (new or old) desktop application. Continue Reading...

 There are 3 Priorities for IT and Business in 2009 for immediate and dramtic cost savings !

 

1. Optimize what your users already have and do
2. Optimize what your users already have and do
3. Optimize what your users already have and do

 

OK, a little tongue in cheek but it's TRUE....

Continue Reading...