How will large companies adopt knowledge management technologies?
Advice needed for smaller businesses for the credit crunch, can you help?
How to determine the net benefits for a distributed workforce
Closed: 15 Dec 2010, 11:59PM PT
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UPS loves logistics and is looking to start engaging with others who share its passion -- and who have an appreciation for the modern complexities of combining the latest technology with efficient supply chains. The global economy is more interconnected than ever before, and global logistics can make the difference between success and failure. The competitive advantage that integrated global logistics provides can help to improve customer service, to expand into new markets and to improve the bottom line -- and we'd like to hear about your stories.
To start off this conversation, we're interested in hearing about "new logistics" -- such as experiences involving small businesses that have leveraged logistics to take advantage of international markets, or how logistics helped you and your company to better compete with larger companies by creating new opportunities, or simply explanations of what "new logistics" means to you and how it has helped build up your company's operations.
Relevant information to include in your insights:
6 Insights
Closed: 30 May 2010, 11:59PM PT
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As you know, we've been running the ITInnovation.com tab within Techdirt since last year, sponsored by Sun (now Oracle) and Intel. We've had a series of fascinating discussions within blog posts and webinars during that time. We've also continued to regularly refresh the IT Innovation Resource Center, which includes a rotating list of useful tools and white papers provided either by us or the sponsors of IT Innovation.
We'd like to get some feedback and insight into the quality of these resources and how they might be improved upon. Listed below are six currently available white papers in the Resource Center. If you are familiar with these topics (i.e., you work in IT), please review the white papers and write up your insights and comments on the whitepapers: what's good about them, what could be improved, what would make them more useful, etc. You are free to provide insights on as many of the white papers as you would like, but we ask that you submit insights on each white paper as a separate insight, rather than combining them into a single response.
Server sprawl, software licensing fees, and facilities costs are sending datacenter operational expenses through the roof at a time when every penny is being scrutinized. As a result, low utilization rates and wasted power/cooling resources are no longer acceptable, and smart companies are looking to consolidation and virtualization to trim expenses and increase operating efficiency.
To accomplish the objectives of making more-efficient use of IT resources, lowering power consumption, and reducing operating expenses, many companies are turning to server consolidation and virtualization efforts—endeavors that increase server CPU utilization and reduce the number of discrete servers in a datacenter.
Midsize companies often face the same competitive pressures as large-scale enterprises. However, they may not possess the resources and staff to invest heavily in complex computing systems. Yet it’s critical for IT organizations within these companies to ensure that they have the strongest, most expandable systems in place, so that their companies have the requisite flexibility to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, roll out new products and services in shorter cycles, and become more effective competitors.
Traditionally, when companies need more computing power to deal with expanding amounts of data, they increase the number of servers, the number of compute cores per server, and the memory capacity of each server. Today’s high-powered blade servers save space and help enable significant gains in computing performance, especially when workloads are consolidated efficiently and datacenter resources are utilized most effectively. To accommodate this increase in capacity, however, the network infrastructure carrying the data must also be upgraded.
Most companies keep their servers for three to five years—a time frame that seems reasonable given current economic conditions. Despite the savings this would seem to imply, however, extending server life in the datacenter in this way may not be the best strategy, even in the toughest economic times.
This document is intended as a technical guide for developers and system administrators that want to understand the precise details of how Oracle® Solaris and the Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 and 7500 series can improve your application solution environment.
20 Insights
Closed: 20 May 2010, 1:46PM PT
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Our entrepreneurship series - sponsored by AcceptPay from American Express - is compiling interesting resources, valuable tips and useful services that can help out small business owners. One of the key themes we want to discuss is the process of invoicing -- because what could be more relevant to a small business than getting paid? Every business (small or large) needs to deal with billing customers and efficiently accepting payments. For smaller companies, though, invoicing and payment collections can become a more time-consuming process than it should be.
For those of you out there who are already happily invoicing -- what kinds of invoicing software do you use? What kind of billing solutions have you tried? What is your opinion of online payment solutions? (full disclosure: AcceptPay is a player in this market.) How would you evaluate an online payment system for your company?
However, if you've ever encountered invoicing challenges that started to eat into the enjoyment of actually running your business, do you have a happy-ending story for your billing solution? What would you recommend for other small businesses that might have similar experiences? What kind of procedures have you developed to make your accounts receivable easier to handle and more reliable?
To other helpful folks who aren't (yet?) entrepreneurs, what types of small companies do you think might benefit from using online payment solutions (that may not already be doing so)? How would you describe the market for online payment services? What recommedations have you seen for small business invoicing software?
We're looking for your input on these topics, and the best response will be published on the Entrepreneur's Corner edition of Techdirt, as well as receive a monetary award. Other high-quality insights may also receive monetary bonuses, depending on the content and how many insights are submitted.
7 Insights
Closed: 3 Dec 2008, 11:59PM PT
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Intel and IBM would like to get the Insight Community's thoughts on what virtualization (in the IT context) means to you.
They will be hosting the best thoughts on this subject on their new site, Virtualization Conversation.
Pick ONE of the following topics and expand on it to discuss your views on the subject in approximately 750 to 1,500 words.
We're looking for views from folks in the IT world, giving some insight into their real world experiences on these topics. Eight Three responses will be chosen and placed on the Virtualization Conversation site.
Update: Intel and IBM were so pleased with the quality of responses, that they have increased the number of insights that they would like to use from three to eight. Thanks everyone for your excellent insights!
17 Insights
Closed: 5 Nov 2008, 11:59PM PT
Qualifying Insights Split a $4,000 Bonus.
We're looking to get insights into how individuals and the workplace are changing due to an increasingly "mobile" workforce -- thanks to things like widespread laptop and mobile device usage, as well as wireless connectivity. These days, "working" no longer means "being in the office." People and employees have truly become "Digital Nomads." We're hosting a series of cases exploring different aspects related to this new mobile workforce. Dell is sponsoring the conversations here, and the best results will be placed on a site sponsored by Dell: http://whitepaper.digitalnomads.com/. The content may later also be added to a whitepaper and a wiki on the subject. While Dell is sponsoring the conversation, the content is vendor neutral. Just provide your insights on the question at hand.
One of the biggest challenges a digital nomad faces is keeping in touch with coworkers, team members or partners, when the group is not in the same physical space most of the time. These days, many rely on tools like instant messaging, wikis, collaborative workspaces, email and other tools to keep everyone on the same page. What are some tips and tricks that you've found for keeping a group of digital nomads working together well? What were some of the downsides and challenges? How were those overcome or minimized?
24 Insights
Closed: 2 Jun 2008, 11:59PM PT
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10 Insights
Closed: 27 Apr 2008, 11:59PM PT
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Accounting software solutions have grown in complexity with an ever increasing number of features aimed at small businesses as well as large enterprises. Now, software focusing on medium-sized businesses is becoming a more important area. How can software solution providers better serve this middle segment? What are the unique challenges facing mid-sized businesses that small or large organizations aren't dealing with?
For those of you who have transitioned from Quickbooks to Intacct Enterprise, NetSuite, SAP BusinessOne, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, Sage MAS 90 or another mid-market solution, how did you know it was time to upgrade? Please describe your successes and failures in making the transition and how the transition ultimately helped or hurt with your company's growth. What advice would you give small and medium-sized business owners to help them to avoid pitfalls and better make this transition?
For those of you who haven't done this switch, but are familiar with these products or the space, what do you think are the key factors in moving up to mid-market solutions and what are the biggest pitfalls and risks that companies face in making that transition?
Responses for this Case will be used in a whitepaper being created by Techdirt for MyVenturePad and included with the results of a survey we are conducting. Please take the survey and we will share the results with you.
5 Insights
Closed: 21 Apr 2008, 11:59PM PT
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Cadbury Schweppes sells a wide variety of beverages in the US including brands like Seven-Up, Dr. Pepper, Snapple, Motts, Hawaiian Punch, Canada Dry and A&W. The company is looking for ways to go beyond the normal web offerings of online coupons, and they want to create real value for their retail partners -- using the internet to drive customers to those retailers.
They want to focus their efforts on their top retail channels in the US, like Kroger, Safeway, Food Lion, Albertson, Stop & Shop, Wal-Mart, McDonalds, YUM, 7-Eleven, CVS. The key goal is to find ways to use Cadbury Schweppes brands as an asset to bring shoppers into the stores (not just to buy Cadbury Schweppes drinks). Don't limit yourself to just focusing on drinks. The ideal project drives more interest in getting shoppers into retail partners, increasing the overall amount of consumer spending.
What innovative and new ideas are there for engaging shoppers with retailers & Cadbury Schweppes brands online that can translate to added profitable sales for retailers? Please describe specific examples of strategies that could be employed, and estimate budgetary and return on investment factors for any proposed solutions.
16 Insights
Closed: 24 Jan 2008, 11:59PM PT
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While there's been plenty of talk about the move to software-as-a-service, an equally interesting one may be hardware-as-a-service. Certainly, Sun and IBM have pushed for utility computing offerings -- and Amazon has done quite well with its EC2 offering. There's been talk for years that Google could get into the space as well.
However, even with all the ROI support that marketing folks from Sun and IBM throw around, it still seems risky. We're trying to understand if it makes sense for large IT organizations to look seriously at moving over to "on-demand" computing systems, or if it pays to wait. Under what conditions would it make sense and what are the biggest risks involved? If you were a consultant, in charge of making the case for or against a utility computing move to a Fortune 500 company (recognizing that there are different issues involved with every individual company) what key points would you focus on?
Clarification: This is about making the case for the company to *using* utility computing, rather than offering it as a service.
15 Insights
Closed: 3 Dec 2007, 11:59PM PT
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21 Insights
Closed: 19 Nov 2007, 11:59PM PT
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With the news that Sprint and Clearwire have dissolved their relationship to jointly build a nationwide WiMax network in the US, what will it mean, from an investor's standpoint, for the following companies: Sprint, Clearwire, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Intel, Qualcomm, Comcast.
To be clear: Sprint and Clearwire had an obvious lead in deploying a fourth generation wireless network in the US. By splitting up, we're wondering if this helps or hurts the various players in the space, such that any of the above may now be over- or undervalued, thanks to greater or fewer opportunities in the wireless broadband market. How big an impact will that be (in dollar values) over the next year? For example, does this make a marginal difference in Qualcomm's bottom line as they get to sell more EVDO chips rather than losing marketshare to WiMax? If so, by how much?
5 Insights
Closed: 27 Aug 2007, 11:59PM PT
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14 Insights
Closed: 20 Aug 2007, 11:59PM PT
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Google has received quite a bit of attention for the beginnings of its office productivity suite that can operate collaboratively online (as well as offline with Google Gears). But there are already several non-Microsoft office suites that are much more mature than Google's current office apps. However, by adding the weight of its brand to the Web2.0 productivity market, Google has apparently stolen the "thunder" of the upstarts who were pitching stones at Microsoft. As one of these alternative office suite developers,
1) What are the weaknesses of Google Docs & Spreadsheets?
2) How does a smaller office software firm promote itself with two giants in the same arena?9 Insights
Closed: 15 Oct 2007, 11:59PM PT
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18 Insights
Closed: 23 Jul 2007, 11:59PM PT
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As a Fortune 500 company considering a consumer-focused branding campaign that incorporates user-generated content, we are an office equipment and services provider looking to maximize the benefits of an online video campaign using YouTube and other online video communities. Obviously, we are aiming for a fresh and vibrant (and perhaps viral) response, but we also realize there may be somewhat negative portrayals of our brand.
1) Given our broad audience of consumers, how can we best encourage positive entries and on-message responses? Suggest online venues where the prevailing tone is upbeat -- or virtual locations that should be avoided if they are known to be too crass. How can these characterizations be determined?
2) Suggest creative ways to promote the collected video materials, after the submission period is officially over, that leverage online communities.
3) Other than ignoring or deleting content that may be negative, how should we handle submissions that are not entirely favorable to our brand?
11 Insights
Closed: 24 Jun 2007, 11:59PM PT
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5 Insights