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Saving Money with IT
Making use of new information systems can save time and increase your profit margin
Greetings -- and welcome to the first of what will hopefully be a long series of columns on business information technology that you will come to regard as both helpful and profitable. If you're at all like me, you've found that you simply don't have time to plow through all the available information relevant to the most routine aspects of your life, much less the data generated by the incredibly dynamic and burgeoning collection of industries that together contribute to what we call Information Technology (IT).
That's why I hope you find this column helpful and profitable. After juggling the demands of your 50 hour (plus) workweek, the spouse and kids, the yard and car maintenance, and the need for just a little time of your own, come to this column for a helpful monthly synopsis and analysis of the industry news that you need to keep current on issues and technologies that affect your bottom line. Most managers have discovered that the blend of computing, databases, and telecommunications that constitutes IT is essential to practically every aspect of customer service and profitability.
If you're in a position to recommend and/or make decisions concerning your firm's use of IT, then kindly lend an eye. With the end of the fiscal year looming (for most of you) and decisions to be made for the next, here's some news on a couple of fronts that you may find helpful.
Those of you who run or work in a multi-computer, networked environment know that a lot of time and expense can be devoted simply to trouble shooting and correcting software and hardware problems. If you're interested in reducing those costs, check out a couple of solutions on the horizon. CyberMedia, Inc. (http://www.cybermedia.com/), which specializes in software diagnostic tools, and Phoenix Technologies (http://www.phoenixtech.com/), makers of system-level diagnostic software, are teaming up to create a package that enables PCs to figure out what's wrong with them, and fix themselves. ActiveHelp, due out in the first half of 1997, will be able to replace damaged or missing drivers and will prevent system crashes from occurring.
Meanwhile, the ubiquitous Intel (http://www.intel.com/)has already launched a new line of products that CEO Andy Groves predicts will result in a 15% reduction of the total cost of ownership of business PCs. The systems include software and hardware solutions that allow technicians to analyze and repair PCs from a remote location, coupled with a microprocessor that tracks temperatures and voltages in PC networks.
Converts to Internetworking will continue to be bombarded with innovative ways to use the Internet both for intra-business communication and as a means for enhancing marketing presence. One development that deserves serious consideration is the use of the Internet for long-distance calling. The savings over long-distance tolls are radical, and usage is growing. While some predict that over a million people are now using the Internet to place calls, Jeff Pulver, of Voice Over Network (VON), says his best estimate is about 55,000 calls a week, up from 30,000 a week just two months ago.
If you've been trying to figure out how to increase traffic at your company's Web site, you may be interested in Netscape's (http://home.netscape.com/) InBox Direct software. The package allows users to receive Web pages as e-mail via the e-mail client embedded in Netscape's Navigator 3.0 browser. Rather than wait for your potential customer to come to you, you can now identify your strongest prospects and e-mail your HTML-formatted marketing and product information directly to them.
Until next month, remember: IT is the ticket to running your business better, to gaining an edge in existing markets, and to creating product and market innovation.