It's hot (too hot, remember I'm in Florida) and sunny (we'll keep that), the days are long and IT's still humming. Surface technology is very exciting and will really make using computers more intuitive (see the article on iPhone and Milan). Wireless is growing, and growing, and growing. Over 300 municipalities are investigating the possibility of following Philadelphia in providing wireless access to the Internet throughout the entire city. The technologies get faster and cover greater ranges. We really will be able to get on the Internet from just about anywhere. This year was predicted to be a year of innovation in personal computing and just those two things help confirm the prediction. And they're great developments! Summer time is a great time for singing.
Keep up with technology!
Here's the schedule. Or you can view the complete Schedule on our website.
CSTA Web sessions:
July 25, 26
August 22, 23
September 19, 20
CSTA classroom sessions:
DC area - August 28
Atlanta area - September 12
UITJ (Understanding IT Jobs) Web sessions:
July 26
September 20
TR Web session:
July 31
September 27
Keep in touch . . .
Back to top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Evolution of CRM
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software started out as a PIM (Personal Information Manager), which was really not much more than an address book. PIMs grew into CMS (Contact Management Systems), and these turned into SFA (Sales Force Automation) systems which are the cornerstone for today's CRM systems.
CRM systems capture, store, and analyze customer information from different sources, including sales, marketing, and service. Each interaction with a customer is added to the customer's contact history and is retrievable as needed. Customers can interact with different people or different contact channels over time without having to repeat the history of their interaction each time. The channels cover phone, mail, email, and the Internet.
These operational CRM systems have actually become the corporate call center. Each time we call a company the automated system probably tells us to visit the Web site. We often find a pop-up on the Web site that connects us to the service center through instant messaging or a call-back. Or, perhaps through email, although that option is becoming less popular.
The latest addition to CRM is analytical functions. These systems analyze customer activity to help companies design and execute targeted marketing campaigns, even for specific customers. Cross-selling (buy a different product) and up-selling (buy more of the product you're already buying) are stressed. The analytical functions also help companies in product development, financial forecasting, and the probability of customer churn (defecting). Analytical CRM generally makes heavy use of predictive analytics.
CRM is software that most companies have (or want) but complain about. "Not living up to its hype," is the most common complaint the software vendors try to answer. One way current thinking is going is that CRM systems only work with actions" and in order to really understand what the customer wants, the experience must also be analyzed. CEM (Customer Experience Management) systems are starting to appear.
CEM focuses on all points of customer interaction: in person, telephone, web site and email. It includes all parts of the sales activity, but mostly concentrates on the contact center. If you've ever heard a voice say, "This call may be monitored for quality assurance," you've participated in CEM. Additional functionality will allow users to enter keywords like "cancellation" or a product name to access interactions between agents and customers and apply business rules to them. These business rules trigger the CEM system to digitally record and file the conversation for specific owners like product or marketing managers. It also allows managers to tap a single point of interest and monitor recorded calls. CEM software uses pull technology, which asks for information from the customer. It does no good at all to have great marketing systems that attract new customers, if the customer has a bad experience with the support center if, e.g., the wrong item was shipped.
Finally, CRM systems are evolving with BI (Business Intelligence) systems into BPM (Business Process Management) systems. And they work with PBM (Permission Based Marketing*). This recommends marketing what the customer has said he or she has an interest in, marketing it at the appropriate time the customer chooses, and, finally, using the most appropriate channel for the customer and their lifestyle. The existence of multiple communication channels including email, the Web, and messaging systems allows for swift communications to and from customers. By managing this communication, systems that do indeed fill the promises of CRM can be incredibly helpful" no matter what we call them.
*Did you guess that a new acronym would be coming?
Back to top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. When did Data Processing become Information Technology?
2. What's surface?
3. What's the hottest technology in wireless communication today?
4. Which of the following does not belong:
a. Dothan
b. Hydra
c. Plato
d. Sphinx
5. Can RDBMS, MDDB, and CMDB systems be used interchangeably?
Back to top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exciting news in IT! I know you've seen the iPhone ads - at least if you watch TV at all you have. And, the general reaction is, "I want one." Now, have you seen the articles about Milan? Because both of these new systems illustrate the 3rd generation of UIs (User Interfaces), a brand new way to communicate with our systems. The first generation was command lines. The 2nd generation was the GUI (Graphic User Interface), where we could use a mouse and point and click to use our computers. Now, we have surface technology - which is point and forget the click. The iPhone ads show this beautifully. Simply move your finger up or down to scroll, touch an icon to open a function, or zoom in on detail by centering the screen through touch.
There aren't any ads for Milan yet. Milan is a new computer designed by Microsoft, and currently available only to businesses so Milan systems will appear this year in public spaces in the hospitality arena--hotel lobbies, restaurants, and casinos. The computer looks like a coffee table, and the surface of the table is the screen. There's no keyboard, no mouse - using the computer is through touch and hand movements. To paint, people can pick up a paint brush or just dip their fingers in virtual paint cups. Sharing photos is similarly intuitive. A stack of pictures can be easily sorted through and shared. Flick a finger to move a picture into a folder or into the trash (some pictures really are bad). To resize a photo, just stretch two fingers apart. Pivot the fingers and the image rotates. More than one person can be interacting with the computer at a time. These systems will be available to consumers in three to four years - after the price drops significantly from the present estimate of $10,000!
We may not personally own either of these products soon, but the buzz following them indicates we will in the future. And, the whole concept of point with no click really does move computers more into the realm of "intuitive," which is what we all want.
Back to top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wireless
Wireless is another area that's growing by leaps and bounds. Speeds are getting faster, security seems to be under control, and more and more companies, organizations, and municipalities are going wireless. It's time to relook at wireless technologies.
802.11n Communications. Part of the 802.11 family of specifications. Encompasses MIMO (Multiple Input/Multiple Output) technology and will eventually raise speeds up to 600 mbps. Draft 2.0 specification approved March, 2007, and products are available. Complete specification will be draft 3.0, and approval expected by April, 2009.
ETSI HiperMAN Communications. Wireless specification created by the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) BRAN (Broadband Radio Access Networks) group to provide a wireless network communication in the 2 - 11 GHz bands across Europe and other countries which follow the ETSI standard. HIPERMAN is a European alternative to WiMAX (or the IEEE 802.16 standard) and the Korean technology WiBro.
LMDS is a high bandwidth wireless networking service in the 28-31 GHz range of the frequency spectrum and has sufficient bandwidth to broadcast all the channels of direct broadcast satellite TV, all of the local over-the-air channels, and high speed full duplex data service. Average distance between LMDS transmitters is approximately one mile apart.
MMDS operates at lower frequencies, in the 2 GHz licensed frequency bands. MMDS has wider coverage than LMDS, up to 35 miles, but has lower throughput rates. Companies such as Sprint and WorldCom own MMDS licenses in the majority of U.S. metropolitan areas. Broadband wireless still involves costly equipment and infrastructures. However, as it is more widely adopted, it is expected that the service cost will decrease.
Wibree Communications. Wireless technology that uses the same 2.4 GHz frequency as Bluetooth and will provide ultra-low power functions to Bluetooth devices. Wibree will become part of the Bluetooth specification and will connect smaller button-cell battery-powered devices, such as watches or sensors attached to a user's body. The goal is to develop specifications for two types of ultra-low-cost implementations: a single-mode implementation for watches, sensors and other tiny devices to communicate with each other, and a dual-mode implementation to communicate with both single-mode and traditional Bluetooth devices. Ultra-low-power Bluetooth will have a range up to 10 meters, similar to the Bluetooth Class 2 specification, which requires more energy. A button-cell battery-powered device, equipped with ultra-low-power Bluetooth technology, will be designed to have an average operating life of one year and can transmit data at a speed up to 1Mbit/sec. Specifications are planned to be finalized in the first half of 2008, with products on the market in the second half of 2008.
WiBro See ETSI HiperMAN.
WiMax Communications. Specification for wireless networks that proposes a range of up to 31 miles, compared with Wi-Fi's 300 feet and Bluetooth's 30 feet. Can operate in many bands within the range of 2 GHZ up to 11 GHz. Currently three profiles are being defined: one around 5.8 GHz, which is unlicensed in many countries; a second around 3.5 GHz, unavailable in North America but licensed in other regions; and a third around 2.5 GHz, licensed in the U.S. and much of the Americas. WiMax is IEEE Standard 802.16 and is being developed to be compatible with European standards. Transfers data at speeds of 75 Mbps (Million bytes per second). Called WMANs (Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks). Initially approved in 2002, and 801.16a was ratified in 2003. 802.16e was approved in 2006. First products included base stations and were certified in January, 2006. Sprint announced deployment of WiMax over its networks in August, 2006.
ZigBee Communications. Wireless standard based on IEEE 802.15.4, a physical radio standard. It operates in unlicensed bands worldwide at 2.4GHz (global), 915Mhz (Americas) and 868Mhz (Europe). Raw data throughput rates of 250Kbs can be achieved at 2.4GHz (16 channels), 40Kbs at 915Mhz (10 channels) and 20Kbs at 868Mhz (1 channel). Transmission distances range from 10 to 100 meters, depending on power output and environmental characteristics. The ZigBee Alliance is a consortium of companies working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. ZigBee can coexist with both BlueTooth and WiFi and, in fact, some devices successfully support both standards. The ZigBee 2006 Specification was announced in September, 2006.
wireless broadband Wireless technology that allows simultaneous wireless delivery of voice, data, and video, and competes with DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). It is generally implemented in metropolitan areas and requires clear line of sight between the transmitter and the receiving end. BW comes in two flavors: LMDS (Local multi-point distribution service) and MMDS (Multi-channel multi-point distribution service). Both operate in FCC-licensed frequency bands.
Back to top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. The category of information technology was created during the 1950s to fit the computer, and finally became the name of the industry during the 1980s. What's interesting is that it actually changed the meaning of the word information. Before the computer, the word information implied that a human was being informed of some piece of useful knowledge. Now the word is used to refer to a mass of facts, a static quantity of data to be gathered and managed.
2. Surface is the word Microsoft uses to describe the UI (User Interface) on their latest computer design, the Milan. It's actually the 3rd generation of User Interfaces, the 1st generation being commands, the 2nd generation being GUIs (using a mouse, point and click). The surface technology is actually the point without the click. Users can communicate with the software by simply pointing to, or touching, places on the computer screen. See the article on iPhone and Milan.
3. There obviously could be different opinions on this one, but my bet is on 802.11n. This is the latest standard for WLANs (Wireless LANs). The purpose of this standard is to raise the amount of information that can be transmitted over a WLAN to 100Mbit/sec. Then following are the 802.11a (54Mbps), 802.11b (11Mbps), and 802.11g (54Mbps) versions. They will be two to 10 times faster than current Wi-Fi technologies and will enable high-quality wireless video transmission in offices and home networks. Work on this standard is still in development with final acceptance projected for 2008.
4. Choice a) is out this time. All the others are code names for various releases of Microsoft's SQL Server DBMS (DataBase Management System). Dothan is the code name (or development name) for the second release of Intel’s Pentium M processor chips.
5. In a word, no! These are all very different database systems. RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management Systems) store data in two dimensional tables with rows and columns. MDDB (MultiDimensional DataBase) systems store data in datacubes (or hypercubes) with up to 20 dimensions. And, a CMDB (Configuration Management DataBase) system is a database used in IT asset management. It provides a common repository for all asset information and maps assets to business services. It also provides application to infrastructure dependency mapping, which shows what assets are used by each application.
Back to top
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SemCo Enterprises, Inc. respects your privacy. We do not sell, rent or share your information with anyone.
|
Forward to a Friend! 