In my last post I discussed a simple but powerful intranet application, Microsoft SharePoint. If you Google SharePoint, you will find plenty of material for your reading pleasure. To save you a little time, I went to Microsoft's site and found one of their benefits pages for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2003. Even though they now have a 2007 version out, I think the benefits are still applicable. When looking for an intranet solution, you can add these benefits to your checklist of functions you should be looking for. Here they are:
1. Provide a simple, familiar, and consistent user experience.
2. Boost employee productivity by simplifying everyday business activities.
3. Help meet regulatory requirements through comprehensive control over content.
4. Effectively manage and repurpose content to gain increased business value.
5. Simplify organization-wide access to both structured and unstructured information across disparate systems.
6. Connect people with information and expertise.
7. Accelerate shared business processes across organizational boundaries.
8. Share business data without divulging sensitive information.
9. Enable people to make better-informed decisions by presenting business-critical information in one central location.
10. Provide a single, integrated platform to manage intranet, extranet, and Internet applications across the enterprise.
For two companies I have assisted in an intranet solution, the two major functions they needed included security and connectivity from anywhere with an internet link. SharePoint fit very nicely into their plans. Both entities were up and running with their own site, provided by a hosting company, in less than a day. Long gone are the days when you had to have a bunch of programmers taking months to get you an intranet solution. Stay tuned for more on this subject as well as my upcoming annoucement after the first of the year for a free teleseminar on mastering an Intranet strategy. Have a wonderful New Year's holiday and I'll be back to the blog after the 1st. kb
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Business Continuity for Small and Medium Companies
Protect your Company with an IT solution
In my last post, I mentioned that fact that today’s small and medium business owners are thinking more about business continuity since Hurricane Katrina and other recent devastating disasters. Larger companies with budgets for full time staff that design and implement business continuity plans and programs are more likely to recover from a disaster compared to the small businessman.
With the new functionality of Web 2.0, the Internet has opened up some very useful features that small and medium businesses can take advantage of to protect their business information from harm. The concept I refer to is the addition of an intranet capability for a small to medium sized business. The Intranet is basically nothing more that a “private web based” internet for a company to use as a means of internal communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
The benefits of an intranet capability are numerous. First, with storage capacity reasonably priced today, it makes sense to consider an intranet solution that allows a company to save important documentation in a manner that is independent from internal computer shared drives or servers. This is accomplished by using a hosted vender that can provide the software and storage for free or at an inexpensive monthly fee. Secondly, a company that needs to capture intellectual information must have a process that allows for the free flow of ideas, best practices and “tips of their trade”. An intranet solution supports these processes by making collaboration and information sharing very easy to use.
If you search around the web, you’ll find a number of free products, to include Google’s Business Solutions that allow for document storage and a host of other free services. But if you’re like me, you may want a solution that gives you a little more security and privacy that can be easily implemented and user friendly.
There are several companies offering a hosted solution that allows a company to have a private website available that as long as you have an internet connection, you can reach the site. This is a great advantage for companies who employ staff that work from more than one location. This functionality allows employees to be independent from the email and shared files processes we are accustomed to. If you already have an investment is Microsoft software, the application I recommend is Microsoft SharePoint. In my next post we’ll explore some benefits of a SharePoint solution for your business, whether you’re a one person CEO to a staff of 100.
In my last post, I mentioned that fact that today’s small and medium business owners are thinking more about business continuity since Hurricane Katrina and other recent devastating disasters. Larger companies with budgets for full time staff that design and implement business continuity plans and programs are more likely to recover from a disaster compared to the small businessman.
With the new functionality of Web 2.0, the Internet has opened up some very useful features that small and medium businesses can take advantage of to protect their business information from harm. The concept I refer to is the addition of an intranet capability for a small to medium sized business. The Intranet is basically nothing more that a “private web based” internet for a company to use as a means of internal communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
The benefits of an intranet capability are numerous. First, with storage capacity reasonably priced today, it makes sense to consider an intranet solution that allows a company to save important documentation in a manner that is independent from internal computer shared drives or servers. This is accomplished by using a hosted vender that can provide the software and storage for free or at an inexpensive monthly fee. Secondly, a company that needs to capture intellectual information must have a process that allows for the free flow of ideas, best practices and “tips of their trade”. An intranet solution supports these processes by making collaboration and information sharing very easy to use.
If you search around the web, you’ll find a number of free products, to include Google’s Business Solutions that allow for document storage and a host of other free services. But if you’re like me, you may want a solution that gives you a little more security and privacy that can be easily implemented and user friendly.
There are several companies offering a hosted solution that allows a company to have a private website available that as long as you have an internet connection, you can reach the site. This is a great advantage for companies who employ staff that work from more than one location. This functionality allows employees to be independent from the email and shared files processes we are accustomed to. If you already have an investment is Microsoft software, the application I recommend is Microsoft SharePoint. In my next post we’ll explore some benefits of a SharePoint solution for your business, whether you’re a one person CEO to a staff of 100.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Business Continuity for Small and Medium Companies
An Affordable Solution
With the recent ice storms hitting several cities this past week, I am reminded of the potential impact that natural disasters can have on a business owner. Many of you will probably remember the devastation to business owners due to Hurricane Katrina. For years, small and medium business owners tended to neglect business continuity planning for their companies, and as a result, lost everything or close to it after being victims to disaster. What’s an entrepreneur to do?
Business continuity planning, with the aid of technology, has gotten much easier and affordable to the average business owner. Through the improvement of web technology, it is now within the reach of small and medium businesses to be as agile as larger companies who can afford to have a team of employees dedicated to preparing and sustaining their companies ability to operate after a disaster.
Over the next few weeks I will be writing about this topic and sharing my observations as I work with clients to improve their approach to this subject. Many companies today are savvy in knowing the importance of having an internet presence on the web for customers to find you and learn more about your products and services.
With the changes in web portal technology over the last few years, in addition to public websites, more companies are building private web sites, known at intranet sites. When intranet capability first came into popularity, it was fairly expensive to hire programmers to build a customized site, but today, pricing for an intranet site is now within the reach of even a one person operation.
Many off the shelf software systems, known as knowledge management or collaboration software, are being marketed with prices ranging anywhere from free to thousands of dollars. These software products can be used for the creation of an intranet, or private website, to various degrees of capability. I will be focusing on a relatively inexpensive option that can work for a one person operation up to a 100 person company in my future posts. I will explain how you can design a capability that can be implemented in days vs. months, and will give your company the resiliency to be supporting your customers within hours vs. weeks after a disaster, especially for service companies.
For anyone looking to brush up on some simple terms before my next post, just google “knowledge management” or “intranet” to learn more. Til’ next time…..kb signing off
With the recent ice storms hitting several cities this past week, I am reminded of the potential impact that natural disasters can have on a business owner. Many of you will probably remember the devastation to business owners due to Hurricane Katrina. For years, small and medium business owners tended to neglect business continuity planning for their companies, and as a result, lost everything or close to it after being victims to disaster. What’s an entrepreneur to do?
Business continuity planning, with the aid of technology, has gotten much easier and affordable to the average business owner. Through the improvement of web technology, it is now within the reach of small and medium businesses to be as agile as larger companies who can afford to have a team of employees dedicated to preparing and sustaining their companies ability to operate after a disaster.
Over the next few weeks I will be writing about this topic and sharing my observations as I work with clients to improve their approach to this subject. Many companies today are savvy in knowing the importance of having an internet presence on the web for customers to find you and learn more about your products and services.
With the changes in web portal technology over the last few years, in addition to public websites, more companies are building private web sites, known at intranet sites. When intranet capability first came into popularity, it was fairly expensive to hire programmers to build a customized site, but today, pricing for an intranet site is now within the reach of even a one person operation.
Many off the shelf software systems, known as knowledge management or collaboration software, are being marketed with prices ranging anywhere from free to thousands of dollars. These software products can be used for the creation of an intranet, or private website, to various degrees of capability. I will be focusing on a relatively inexpensive option that can work for a one person operation up to a 100 person company in my future posts. I will explain how you can design a capability that can be implemented in days vs. months, and will give your company the resiliency to be supporting your customers within hours vs. weeks after a disaster, especially for service companies.
For anyone looking to brush up on some simple terms before my next post, just google “knowledge management” or “intranet” to learn more. Til’ next time…..kb signing off
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Building your Personal Brand
Call to Action Through Learning
Last week I covered a small step you can take to start branding your image by simply creating a signature block for you email account. This week I’d like to introduce you to two books I recently read that I recommend to improve thriving in your workplace. Kevin and Jackie Freiberg’s newest book, Boom- 7 Choices for Blowing the Doors off Business-as-usual, is a must read if you’re feeling stressed about work or wanting to re-program yourself for a different future. You will read throughout their writing a theme that focuses on personal choice, challenging yourself, attitude, passion and service. If you are experiencing anxiety or stress that is impacting both your professional and personal worlds, you will find some comfort in their words. I came away realizing that personal choice and gratitude impacts everything you do or say, and by understanding how to reprogram your mind to act and think differently, you can improve your situation, no matter the circumstances. You’ll read how to wake up and smell the coffee, re-invigorate your call to service, and building a signature performance attitude.
To compliment the Frieburg’s book, I recommend you pick up a copy of Bruce Judson’s book, Go It Alone. If you make a decision to go solo in a new endeavor, Judson’s success principles can help you shape your plans. Judson describes in great detail several principles that can kick start a solo effort in a new product or service business. You will read about extreme outsourcing, affirming you determination, building relentless repeatable processes, and using to your advantage off the shelf products and services. In today’s information overload culture, you’ll need to figure out how to take yourself off the clock, be flexible,
and be a continuous learner and innovator. Judson will give you some great insight on these as well as business system creation, market development, and using Application Service Providers (ASPs). Just click on the Amazon links to the left to order your copy today.
If stress and anxiety are creeping up on you, take a few minutes to listen to a Coming Up for Air podcast from a good friend of mine, Dr. Brian Luke Seaward, owner of Inspiration Unlimited.
Last week I covered a small step you can take to start branding your image by simply creating a signature block for you email account. This week I’d like to introduce you to two books I recently read that I recommend to improve thriving in your workplace. Kevin and Jackie Freiberg’s newest book, Boom- 7 Choices for Blowing the Doors off Business-as-usual, is a must read if you’re feeling stressed about work or wanting to re-program yourself for a different future. You will read throughout their writing a theme that focuses on personal choice, challenging yourself, attitude, passion and service. If you are experiencing anxiety or stress that is impacting both your professional and personal worlds, you will find some comfort in their words. I came away realizing that personal choice and gratitude impacts everything you do or say, and by understanding how to reprogram your mind to act and think differently, you can improve your situation, no matter the circumstances. You’ll read how to wake up and smell the coffee, re-invigorate your call to service, and building a signature performance attitude.
To compliment the Frieburg’s book, I recommend you pick up a copy of Bruce Judson’s book, Go It Alone. If you make a decision to go solo in a new endeavor, Judson’s success principles can help you shape your plans. Judson describes in great detail several principles that can kick start a solo effort in a new product or service business. You will read about extreme outsourcing, affirming you determination, building relentless repeatable processes, and using to your advantage off the shelf products and services. In today’s information overload culture, you’ll need to figure out how to take yourself off the clock, be flexible,
and be a continuous learner and innovator. Judson will give you some great insight on these as well as business system creation, market development, and using Application Service Providers (ASPs). Just click on the Amazon links to the left to order your copy today.
If stress and anxiety are creeping up on you, take a few minutes to listen to a Coming Up for Air podcast from a good friend of mine, Dr. Brian Luke Seaward, owner of Inspiration Unlimited.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Government Blogging
For my government clients, you may be interested in reading an article on government blogs in the December issue of Government Executive, pg 47, or online at: http://www.govexec.com/features/1207-01/1207-01admt.htm
More agencies are exploring how blogs can be used in a positive way for collaboration, stakeholder communications, etc. Check out some tips for government blogs at: www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/blogs.shtml . kb
More agencies are exploring how blogs can be used in a positive way for collaboration, stakeholder communications, etc. Check out some tips for government blogs at: www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/blogs.shtml . kb
SharePoint Videos
To view any SharePoint videos on my blog, scroll down to the bottom of the blog. Click on the arrow to start. Enjoy! kb
Monday, December 3, 2007
Branding your Professional Image
With all the hype on having a presence on the internet, how does one build a professional image without resorting to a personal website or MySpace.com? Through a little bit of trial and surfing, I found a few free options that can help you get "a presence" on the web without too much pain. These steps can potentially improve your connectivity to your professional and business associations who may want to "check you out" for potential business teaming and or other opportunities. There's probably several different freebies you can choose from. For an easy approach to create presence, follow the steps below to create the two that work for me.
Steps: (Create a BLOG account)
1. Go to Google: sign up for a free blog by joining blogger.com
2. Follow the prompts to set up your blog template
3. Click on the "Post" to establish the RSS feed for your computer.
4. Create your first blog. You're in business !
5. Tip: you will find Google won't pick your blog up at first till you get some usage going. See below for steps to get the search engine thing going.
Steps (Create a Professional Profile site)
1. Browse to http://www.linkedin.com/ and create an account.
2. Follow instructions to build your profile
Now with these two applications done, the last step is to create a nice looking signature block you can use in your email that directs people to these two sites as well as your company or personal website if you have one.
Inside LinkedIn, look for "email signature" available when the My profile tab is clicked on.
There are several galleries to choose from. One way to customize it is to copy and paste it into a word document. You can add your phone numbers, address, etc. The Key part is to create the hyperlinks for your LinkedIn profile and your blog. You can add your website too if you have one.
Once completed it should look something like this:
You now have a pretty powerful brand signature block with links to your company, email, your LinkedIn profile (lots of professional details) and your professional blog. By creating your professional brand, you will be in a great position to grow your business network for the future. Good luck!
Note: You should use the Blog you've linked in the signature block for professional material only. Posting personal stuff is at your own risk! Use your professional blog to post links to YouTube videos, write articles (like this one), etc. Have fun with it!
Tips for getting your blog search engine recognition (see credit to blogger who provided this at end the para).
You have some work to do - you won't get listed by Google (or any other search engine), automatically. You have to do some work, let them know that you're there, that you want to be listed, and that you are worthy of being listed.
1) Get your friends to link to your blog, where your blog is relevant.
2) Participate in forums, where your blog is relevant, and include the URL.
3) Comment on other blogs, in relevant comments, and include the URL.
4) Put relevant and useful content in your blog.
5) Some search engines may index your blog using the site feed. Be sure to activate the feed.
6) When you have done all of the above, your blog will have some weight.
Submit your blog to the search engines, for indexing. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/2006/07/publicising-your-blog.html
Remember though, none of this happens overnight. Search engines can take months to index your blog fully. And even when indexed, don't expect for a search to some key element in your blog to give you an entry on the first page of the search hits. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/2006/08/patience.html
Chuck [Blog*Star 2006 - 2007] Real Blogger Status: http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/
Steps: (Create a BLOG account)
1. Go to Google: sign up for a free blog by joining blogger.com
2. Follow the prompts to set up your blog template
3. Click on the "Post" to establish the RSS feed for your computer.
4. Create your first blog. You're in business !
5. Tip: you will find Google won't pick your blog up at first till you get some usage going. See below for steps to get the search engine thing going.
Steps (Create a Professional Profile site)
1. Browse to http://www.linkedin.com/ and create an account.
2. Follow instructions to build your profile
Now with these two applications done, the last step is to create a nice looking signature block you can use in your email that directs people to these two sites as well as your company or personal website if you have one.
Inside LinkedIn, look for "email signature" available when the My profile tab is clicked on.
There are several galleries to choose from. One way to customize it is to copy and paste it into a word document. You can add your phone numbers, address, etc. The Key part is to create the hyperlinks for your LinkedIn profile and your blog. You can add your website too if you have one.
Once completed it should look something like this:
You now have a pretty powerful brand signature block with links to your company, email, your LinkedIn profile (lots of professional details) and your professional blog. By creating your professional brand, you will be in a great position to grow your business network for the future. Good luck!
Note: You should use the Blog you've linked in the signature block for professional material only. Posting personal stuff is at your own risk! Use your professional blog to post links to YouTube videos, write articles (like this one), etc. Have fun with it!
Tips for getting your blog search engine recognition (see credit to blogger who provided this at end the para).
You have some work to do - you won't get listed by Google (or any other search engine), automatically. You have to do some work, let them know that you're there, that you want to be listed, and that you are worthy of being listed.
1) Get your friends to link to your blog, where your blog is relevant.
2) Participate in forums, where your blog is relevant, and include the URL.
3) Comment on other blogs, in relevant comments, and include the URL.
4) Put relevant and useful content in your blog.
5) Some search engines may index your blog using the site feed. Be sure to activate the feed.
6) When you have done all of the above, your blog will have some weight.
Submit your blog to the search engines, for indexing. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/2006/07/publicising-your-blog.html
Remember though, none of this happens overnight. Search engines can take months to index your blog fully. And even when indexed, don't expect for a search to some key element in your blog to give you an entry on the first page of the search hits. http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/2006/08/patience.html
Chuck [Blog*Star 2006 - 2007] Real Blogger Status: http://bloggerstatusforreal.blogspot.com/
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Improving Integrated Processes
I'm currently working with a client to prepare for a KM software migration to new servers. The platform is SharePoint and the migration will be the easy part. The hard work is the upfront decisions that need to be made to implement new business rules for future content mgt, knowledge and information sharing. The client has 4 web portal applications at their disposal and my goal is to assist them in framing an effective utilization strategy keeping both internal and external stakeholders in mind as they grapple with optimal solutions for the organization. A huge challenge but the client is committed to improvements,which is always a good thing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
