THE MARK BLOG

written by Mark H. Varner, MBA/MSIS Mark has over 15 years experience in information systems consulting and is the lead developer and designer for all IOWACOM's valued client systems.

Get To Know Knowledge Management
Does it save time to document all complex procedures and
functions for your business? Maybe.
Business process takes the activities of business and distills them into functioning parts. Then the waste and inefficiencies are driven out to create a finely honed machine. But not all business involves repetitive process. Much of the back office work involves solving problems that are different each day. Or at least they seem different. When in reality, many problems are reoccurring.

It’s the “Ground Hog Day” effect. Like in the famous movie with Bill Murray, where an arrogant weatherman is forced to relive the mistakes of each day over and over, until he finally gets it right.

In a sense this is what Knowledge Management or KM is all about. KM takes the experience and wisdom of the past and captures it to be reused. This knowledge helps organizations avoid future errors and delays.

As recent as 10 years ago, valuable knowledge was locked between the ears of seasoned managers and executives. This knowledge was doomed to be lost forever upon retirement or down sizing. Now, using the technologies of Data Base Management Systems, Document Storage Systems, and Advanced Search Algorithms, this valuable information can be captured and easily retrieved.

In business, time is money, and many activities add few substantive benefits to the firm or customer; like filing quarterly returns, negotiating tradeshow space, or calling the right contractors. With the advent of an efficient KM system, all this information can be retrieved to save future employees valuable time.

The success or failure of KM is measured by its ability to solve problems. Saving mundane or trite information for the sake of building a knowledge base is a waste of time. The knowledge must deliver real results in terms of time saved, problem solved, or sale gained.

Should the firm then be selective about the knowledge that is gathered? Two or three years ago, I would have said yes. Today, with advanced searching technologies and virtually unlimited hard drive space and processing speeds, it’s hard to discern.

Perhaps we should document all processes, procedures, and techniques. Then dump the knowledge into the system and let the user decide if it’s of value. For example, say I’m doing a 1000 letter mail merge, sorting the addresses by zip code, and delivering them to the Post Office. Are the documented steps in this process of value? Maybe yes. What if an employee in another department needs to do the same thing 6 months from now? Won’t she save time by reviewing my notes? Did we just save the firm's resources? Yes we did.

In general, if an activity is complicated, requires special knowledge, or special experience, then it should be documented and entered into a Knowledge Management System to save time and resources in the future.

Predicting Future Purchases with "Recommender Systems"
Ever wonder why Amazon tries so hard to sell you another book.
Being able to predict future buying behavior based on demographics and past purchasing trends is a valuable skill in business. Particularly businesses that require the ordering of inventory to meet customer needs or businesses that try to bundle or suggest products during the purchasing process. There is believed to be four approaches to creating Recommender System:

•Personalized recommendation - recommend things based on the individual's past behavior
•Social recommendation - recommend things based on the past behavior of similar users
•Item recommendation - recommend things based on the item itself
•A combination of the three approaches above

These different techniques can become extremely valuable when trying to “up sell” a customer who has already chosen a product. So for instance, let’s say you’re standing in line at AMAZON. Of course there is no line at AMAZON, but there is a checkout process that involved. During this process AMAZON is trying to get you to purchase additional goods.

Up selling is very profitable because it has a higher “flow through” than the original item. In theoretical terms you have covered fixed operating costs with your first purchase. Your second and third or fourth purchases go straight to variable costs. So more money “flows” to the bottom line when you make an additional purchase.

Actually each additional item becomes progressively more profitable for the business. The fourth item is more profitable for AMAZON than the third, which is more profitable than the second, and so on.

So by using personal information about you, about your social group, or about the product you’ve purchased, AMAZON suggests more items for you to buy. And the success of these recommendations can have a huge impact on bottom line profitability.

Is the Right to Privacy Respected in Data Mining?
Data Mining Creates a Privacy Uproar
Managing privacy concerns when data mining would seem like a simple task. Simply eliminate the name and contact information from the data file and it would be impossible to track the information. This however is not the case. The process of data mining involves the accumulation of multiple databases into what I would refer a Core. The Core is then used to extract patterns that can be helpful in business or research related activities.

Once the Core is created, data questions (SQL queries) can be designed to show patterns in the data that represent a viable pattern or trend. These patterns, once discovered, can be laid over existing data – which includes name and contact information. Even though my anonotized data maybe anonymous – as the phrase indicates, with just a few basic data characteristics like city, gender, & age; reasonable assumptions can be formatted to discover the persons identity.

This practice may seem obscure, but with a just few pieces of information, people can be identified. Of course this doesn’t work in all cases – but the threat is real. For instance, let’s say you’re a female Med Student who lives in Hardin County Iowa and you participate in a medical study. Even though your personal information was stripped from the data patterns of the study, we may know your county of origin, your gender, and that you are a med student. These factors could be reconstituted to identify the participant.

But does this practice of identifying anonymous information represent a threat to privacy in the United States. Is it reasonable to assume that there is a right to privacy in these cases? Most people believe that they have more rights to privacy than the law in the USA recognizes.

Privacy is the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed in a private place will not be disclosed to third parties, when that disclosure would cause either embarrassment or emotional distress to a person of reasonable sensitivities. Information is interpreted broadly to include facts, images (e.g., photographs, videotapes), and disparaging opinions. (http://www.rbs2.com/privacy.htm)

Simply attaching identities to patterns in data, then using that information to assist in marketing efforts probably does not incur embarrassment or emotional distress on a person of reasonable sensitivities. Of course, that depends in part upon the product or service that is being sold. But for a person who participated in a medical study that indicates she has dry skin, and that information is used to market skin lotion to that person, does this create a breach of privacy. Yes it does. But is their any damage, distress, or embarrassment for the person in question? That depends on each situation. But in general I believe that attaching identities to data patterns will become an important marketing tool in the future. And people will become desensitized to these types of intrusions. And I believe that the mild nature of these intrusions will not be enough to stop the avalanche of data that business collects on us everyday to improve their profits. It’s only going to get worse.

Web Service with a Smile
Linking business processes with web services leads to innovation.
Today’s value network requires the interaction of processes between different organizations. These interactions make up an extended network of available services to create a loosely coupled mesh of suppliers that deliver value to customers. By communicating with customers and value chain partners across global resources, today’s firm can provide the framework through which the customer co-creates (self-customizes) their own consumer experience.

The future looks different as the resources of many can now deliver value to the needs of one. New competitive advantage arises from the ability to convert raw materials, skills, and technology into customer-centric products. Access to labor, technology, and resources are no longer differentiators. In this configuration it’s not necessary for firms to own the resources – just having access to the resources is enough.

For businesses to succeed in this changing environment, entrepreneurs will need to develop customized products from distributed resources. This will increase the need for advanced collaboration between businesses, suppliers, and customers. This collaboration requires levels of communication beyond the level of today’s current software. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web Services have the potential to improve information flow in this process; allowing distinct systems along the value chain to communicate in a single ubiquitous language across a common connection.

Why Does Microsoft Fear Google?
Maybe you noticed or maybe you didn’t, but the definition for “network” has changed over the past 5 years. Oh, and the definition of “computer” has also changed. A computer used to be a machine. Now a computer is a mechanical organism like Google. Google is now a computer. Yes I know it is 250 giant servers networked together in multiple locations – but for all practical purposes – Google.com is one machine. And Chrome is the looking glass that connects you to this computer – the world’s largest computer.

Now think about what the words “computer” and “network” used to mean. You know back in the days when Microsoft dominated the network architecture, operating system, and productivity software markets. This was the time when Bill Gates became the richest human on earth.

Now think again. Chrome connects to the world’s largest computer that runs every office productivity tool you could possibly ever need. Logging into the gmail system is like logging onto your computer’s desktop. Files can be shared, workspaces generated, and team projects can be created. Emails read and shared, files opened and closed, appointments made and system backups completed in a virus free environment.

Did I just say good bye to Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft File Servers, and all Microsoft Collaboration Systems. Yes I did. So now the network doesn’t exist in your office. You don’t need to setup client server systems with homogenous workstations and virus protection. You are now connected to the network if you have a computer that runs Chrome.

Do you see what Bill Gates is afraid of now? That’s why he needs Yahoo. Bill doesn’t want Yahoo for advertising money – it much bigger than that. This battle is over the future of business information technology architecture.

Microsoft will own Yahoo before you know it. Because Microsoft desperately needs more ammunition and resources to stop Google from running them out of business. Microsoft is just waiting for Google to eat more Yahoo profits away. Then Microsoft will swoop in and pick up Yahoo at seventy-five percent off. Google will also seek to buy Yahoo, but the FTC won’t let it happen. This is good for Microsoft, because they’re going to need all the help they can get.

Is Information Technology Bad or Just Misunderstood?
As Information Technology becomes more prevalent in our workplace, it will always tend to get better and faster and reduce the number of workers required for the same unit of productivity. Such is the value of IT, IS or anything that runs on computers or starts with “I” or “E” for that matter?

Technology always has to get better, it doesn’t stop moving forward. Information Technology is very dynamic in nature – unlike normal assets (like trains). Purchasing technology is not like putting down railroad tracks. Information Technology doesn’t last forever and it must always improve. The question isn’t whether people have stopped needing IT; the question is “Does Information Technology still need people?”

All trends point toward more IT and less people per unit of productivity. The direction is unmistakable. Businesses that rule the markets will have the best IT systems. Those market leaders will automate every process that can possibly be automated. Basically Information
Technology will eventually automate all business functions that require the use of data and decisions.

Each business recognizes the plateau they must achieve play this game. But that plateau changes continuously, so managers have to pay attention. In today’s IT world things are starting to slow down and spending has diminished. But just because IT budgets are under control, doesn’t mean spending has stopped. Business managers are just plain better customers today.

The business manager’s challenge is to create new and betters ways to operate his business using technology. But managers must also measure computer investment with bottom line results, sacrificing other investments, or keeping the profits. Leaders need to “Think Twice and Buy Once” when they invest in new technology. Hold On, maybe they should think 3 or 4 times, then ask somebody who has done it before. That’s probably better advice.

WHAT ! - Online Games Build Leadership Skills
Online games can be informal yet realistic simulators for contemporary leadership training. Many players believe that being a game leader online has improved their real-world leadership capabilities. Players are known to develop assertiveness as these team members are frequently pushed beyond their boundaries.

In online virtual worlds, the organizational leadership problems are familiar: recruiting, assessing, motivating, rewarding, and retaining talent. Leaders frequently examine multiple streams of incomplete and constantly changing data in order to make quick decisions that have widespread effects. Risk taking is encouraged. Failure is a frequent precursor to success. These online warriors and their leaders are not afraid to try it again. Online failure in the short-term is tolerable. It is not accepted in the long term.

Some very distinctive leadership characteristics develop from playing online games. Leaders are required to make fast decisions based on incomplete data and then modified their approach as more data becomes available. Leadership is seen more as a task than a position. Leaders routinely switch roles. Frequently swapping roles also helps eliminate burn-out.

In these games, individuals acquire skills and tools that allow them to advance to the next level of play. Confronting risk routinely with a level head is an important skill. In online games an atmosphere of intense honesty develops that many players say gradually makes them less adverse to group conflict in the real world. You find in online simulations that individuals who would not typically be identified as “high potential” for management training end up taking on significant leadership roles in the game. Within teams members adopt different roles and responsibilities to get things done on behalf of the group.

The Employees Are Revolting
Business authority structure has changed drastically in the last 20 years. Top to bottom hierarchies are out and flat efficient organizations are in. The problem with hierarchies is that they separate the governors from the governed. In the past middle mangers acted as communication channels in a human relay race. Today these antiquated systems have been replaced by IT circuits and information systems. And as organizations become flatter and flatter the noise from the bottom gets louder and louder. The concept of Social Networking is recognition of this change in hierarchy.

But is it really important for people to communicate and collaborate in a computerized environment? Do social networks drive profit to the bottom line? Does the value of a network grow exponentially as the size of the network increases?

The jury is still out….but right now, all signs point to YES. Collaboration implies a certain type of collective intelligence: a shared group brainpower that emerges from sharing information up and down hierarchical levels. Social media and other collaboration tools have at their core one common feature – communication.

Various online tools can be used by groups and teams in structured team applications. These tools can accomplish a variety of tasks like: Group and Collaborative Editing, Email and Messaging, Team Scheduling, Voting, Decision support, Brainstorming, and Knowledge Management. As guidelines for developing successful collaboration applications, the tools must develop trust and communicate frequently, clearly, and openly.

Experience tells managers that the bi-product of open collaboration and communication networks are employees with understanding in multiple disciplines. This is a crucial component in today’s team environments, where a variety of multi-disciplined team members work together to solved non-standardized problems.

There are two approaches to innovation in the workplace. You can allow innovation in a controlled framework. Or you can just let it happen, no matter what the effect. The concept of innovation without permission is a bitter pill for many IT managers. In deploying web 2.0 technologies that facilitate social networking, the greatest concern is security. Today’s IT managers are slowly embracing these information sharing networks. But many networks happen without the blessing of IT. This is because many Social Networking technologies are free. It’s tough to hold back the tide of progress - especially when it’s free.

But should YOUR organization implement these new social network sharing tools. Everyone else is doing it. Is that really a good reason to jump off a cliff? Technology should not be implemented for the sake of technology. It needs to serve a purpose. The social media that I think has the most potential are Wikis for internal staff, Blogs for customers, Facebook for sales people, and Video Sharing on the public website to enrich content.

Steve Jobs Is Taking Over Your Network
When Steve Jobs returned from his years in the wilderness to take the helm (again) at Apple, he knew what needed to be done and acted swiftly. He saved no sacred cows. The first thing Job’s did was make a treaty with his longtime rival Bill Gates. Jobs secured a cash infusion from Bill Gates of $450 million. Jobs then set about the business of rebuilding Apple.

With his smug superiority and his obsessive perfectionist nature, Jobs created a vision and a future for Apple– here once there was none. He streamlined and reinvigorated Apple’s product designs, terminating more than half of its existing projects – and started selling expensive computers just as the PC became a commodity. Jobs saw a monolithic market of clone computers running the same software and coming in the same metal box, so he pressed his developers to come up with an aesthetically appealing device that was simple to use. The result was
the I-Mac.

Jobs continued his relentless assault on convention computer shape, size, and functionality. Apple created new lines of desktops and laptops that became the envy of every youth in America. The Apple name had become synonymous with a trendy and technically savvy youth culture and the company’s shine was directing computer buyers directly to the Mac Store.

According to a survey of 1200 undergrads by researcher Student Monitor this year, 43% of college students whointend to buy a laptop plan to buy a Mac, up from 8% in 2003. “Many of today’s technology decision-makers will ultimately be replaced by Mac users,” says Eric Weil, managing partner of Student Monitor. Source Business Week, May 12, 2008.

Apple is in the process of a grass routes rebellion of sorts. Even though Apple does not court corporate IT budgets, they are being slipped in through the backdoors. Many users are given the choice to pick their computer – and they are picking Apples. Among users under 24 – Apple is the predominate market choice for their next computer. Moving to Mac isn’t as difficult as it used to be. Since apple adopted to Intel’s microprocessor as it’s brains – Macs have been able to run Windows just like any Intel-based PC. Macs can even run the windows operating system and the Mac operating system at the same time. Apples niche has been quality and style. These are benefits that often get the ax in corporate IT budget meetings.But corporate Information Technology staffs are in open rebellion of Microsoft. Bill’s strangle hold on the server rooms and workstations are creating expensive and unnecessary changes to corporate networks. Each time Microsoft offers an upgrade it requires new equipment. The new operating systems create compatibility problems with legacy systems and force IT staff to re-install software and virus protection software on computers across the enterprise. Corporate customers are in open revolt and they say there is no business reason to upgrade operating systems on a perfect functioning network of computers.

There are still headaches with network architecture, security, and virus protection that will require additional training of IT staff to overcome. Apple isn’t even courting the corporate world. They don’t have a structure of sales force to handle the corporate domain. Plus there are few industrial strength applications that can run on Macs. Onpositive note, up until now, malicious virus authors have ignored the Mac architecture – choosing instead to hate Bill Gates and Windows. On the negative side, the average cost of a pc has dropped in the past 3 years, while the average cost of a pc has risen. This is due to Macs focus on innovation and high R & D investments.

But Macs are beginning to take hold in the corporate IT world again. And it’s not just from marketing execs and graphic designers. Real users with real needs are turning to Mac because of its style, simplicity, and functionality. These users are becoming the foundation of this revolt. Because each Apple user is a raving fan. As a lifetime PC user – I find this behavior strange and hard to understand, but soon Mac Network Security Training will be a required course for all computer technicians.

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