Transcript Cis 301 Technology

Cis 301
Technology
Lecture, Week 3
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Introduction
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Technology Issues, Changes,
Trends
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Topics of Discussion
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According to a recent Boston
Consulting Group study published
in Inc. Magazine, “One quarter of
all business-to-business purchases
will be made online by 2003.”
The transactions will be worth an
approximate $2.8 trillion
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Small business software
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To buy or rent?
Software now available for small
business owners that allows similar
automation to big companies
Application service providers,
Internet business services, online
outsourcers to the rescue
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Application Service
Providers (ASPs)
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Many services are free or offer free
samples
Applications run off remote servers
and accessed through a web
browser
Businesses don’t need to install or
manage any new software
ASPs act as a virtual tech
department
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ASPs--Small business
answer
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Saves time and money
Reaps benefits of complex
applications without investing
heavily or committing too deeply
Great concept
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Real Life--The Other
side of the story
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By nature, small business owners
are control freaks
Owners are reluctant to give up
control over certain core business
functions
And if they are financial in nature,
prepare for a struggle
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What This Means
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On the tech side, entreprenuers
are still on somewhat shaky
ground when it comes to tech talk
On the truth side, the entreprenuer
is not losing control because:
 information
often resides on a
shared server
 information can be accessed 24
hours a day, 7 days a week
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Next Steps
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Find the right ASP, do some research
Examples:
 NetLedger
Inc.--an online accounting platform
 Salesforce.com--collaborates and shares vital
data with entire sales force
 Stamps.com--print postage from a PC
 Agillion--Manage interactions among coworkers, business partners, and customers
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Technology--Changing
Face of the workplace
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Your office can be anywhere--boat, car,
bar, beach
With a cell phone, a pager, an answering
service, and a laptop or a combination of
any of these, work is anywhere, anytime,
anyplace
Working from home surged 24 percent
between 1998 and 1999 to 20.1 million
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Imported Labor
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Improved telecommunications and
the need for around-the-clock
service are driving companies to
look overseas for labor.
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And where do they
look?
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Eastern Europe has a surplus of skilled
mathematicians and engineers but there is
lack of legal protection there for US
businesses
Israel is known for sophisticated
programmers and product developers but
labor costs are no cheaper than in the US
Phillipines offers a cheap, English fluent labor
force, but workers lack the skills of Indian
programmers
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And why India?
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In India, a company can hire
managers who are ex-military, exbrigadier generals, people with
good leadership skills, good at
following rules and directions.
And beginning computer
programmers earn $600-$1000 a
month in India, compared to $4000
to $5000 in the US
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But there are other
costs, beyond wages
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In India, overhead is about twice as high per
engineer as in the US
Companies there pay a premium for international
satellite or telephone transmissions
The cost of air conditioners to keep computers at
room temperature can be exorbitant
Transportation to and from work is a fringe benefit
because many Indian workers don’t own cars
Free tea service comes to every desk four times a
day
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Communications
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More than the cost of workers
communication is what makes or
breaks companies that hire
workers overseas
It’s very important to understand
how to communicate a sense of
urgency.
 Example:
Be explicit. Is this a
quick and dirty job or do you want
it to be bulletproof from Day One?
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Other issues
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Backup is critical
Customer service must be
stressed
Indian partners tend to work
according to personal
relationships, not contracts
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Time differences
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India is 12 1/2 hours ahead of California--the
half hour addes so that the nation can be on
one time zone.
Corporate officials on the different continents
schedule weekly teleconferences before or
after regular working hours so they can
communicate.
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Biggest Challenge
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Convincing technologically savvy
Indian workers to tailor their
products to foreign consumers
In a foreign country, they don’t see
the user and so they don’t have to
worry over user-friendliness
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Survey reveals traits of
firms using the Web
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Internet users are more likely to
be:
 based
in large metropolitan areas
 have at least 5 employees
 anticipate faster sales growth
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Case study
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Establish groups and complete the
Sears case study on pages 69-70
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