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March 2008 Strategic Technology Horizons
Ideas and Information for Your Business
Welcome!

The movie title is wrong: the postman does not ring twice. In fact, the postman never rings at all. Too small of a building for a postal carrier to enter and deliver mail, the landlord of our office building refuses to install one of the "ugly monstrosity" mailbox centers in the parking lot. The landlord takes pride in the landscaping, having created a small oasis among the bustle of Route 9. For us, the trip the post office offers an opportunity to get out of the office and clear our minds, particularly when the weather is nice for the short walk.

There is a downside. People doing business with us need to know two addresses - our PO Box for US Mail and our street address for packages or a visit. We are often astounded at how many companies - even some of the biggest and "best" technology users - cannot figure this out. Many companies do not offer the opportunity to provide both addresses and, for those that do, they often ignore the difference.

From an Information Services standpoint, this illustrates two often-neglected aspects of business applications:

  1. To get useful information out, you need to put useful information in; and
  2. Think about how you will use the information you have.
Address these aspects of your information systems and your systems will provide the metrics and performance indicators you need to mange and improve you business.

To frame a discussion of "in versus out", we define two new words in Gozintu versus Gedouttov and outline a method for getting from "out" to "in".

Best Regards,
Allen

Gozintu versus Gedouttov
by Chris Caldwell and Allen Falcon   Graph Icon
Over the past several months, Horizon has received many similar calls from businesses looking for help with their business applications. In nearly all of the cases, they are looking to get more or better information out of the software system, or systems, they have in place. Invariably, the question leads to whether or not we can recommend and implement the technology that enables better reporting and analysis. In nearly all of our conversations, the answer is "That depends."

That depends on whether the desired information even exists, or if it can be constructed from the data already in the system. Too often, business look at business applications in terms of how well they follow and/or support processes and the information they gather. While these systems support day-to-day operations, it is often difficult to analyze data within the system and produce information that supports understanding and future planning. These systems focus on what goes into the system.

  • Gozintu: Goz in tu noun 1: Any system or collection of systems designed or operated from the perspective of data input or gathered.

    • Before you can determine the best technology for analyzing and reporting key metrics, you need to make sure the information exists. You need a system designed or operated from the perspective of the information you want to receive.

  • Gedouttov: Ged out tov noun 1: Any system or collection of systems designed or operated from the perspective of information available to the business based on data gathered or input during normal use.

    • The following method, at a high level, can guide the creation or modification of systems in to Gedouttov solutions.

    1. Define the information you want to receive and how your intend to use it
    2. Identify the data elements and calculations necessary to create the information
    3. Assess the best means of gathering the data
    4. Establish the process and timing for the calculations (you may need to alter work practices)
    5. Modify systems to implement the data gathering
    6. Add calculations to existing systems or implement the data warehouse and OLAP analysis tools for this function
    What if the data does not exist? You will have the added steps of reassign processes and operations, and potentially adding technology, to create and capture the necessary data.

    On a final note, systems should understand time and not just capture snapshots. In effect, if you run a report for January today and rerun the report a year from now, the information should be identical. If not, the system needs improvements.

    A New Service
    Allen Falcon  
    Horizon has joined the Info-Tech Research Group. As a member, we now offer our clients access to primary and secondary research on Trends and Strategies, Technologies, Implementation, and Best Practices, as well as templates and case studies focused on small and mid-size enterprises.

    Horizon's participation in the Info-Tech Research Group provides structured research and analysis, complementing the extensive peer network available through Horizon's participation in NOREX.

    Things We Like
      Innovation SBANE EOI Logo
    If you look at the past winners of SBANE's New England Innovation Award, you will see a list of some of the most innovative and successful companies in New England.

    This year is no different!

    See and be seen with this year's nominees as SBANE starts the judging process at the Nominee / Judges Reception on March 20th. Click here to register!

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