Join us in exploring the world of modern development, evolving technologies, and the art of future-proof software
Why don’t you have business dashboards yet? In my experience, if a company doesn’t have business dashboards, it’s usually for one of two reasons: Either they don’t see the value, or they think it’s too difficult.
What’s the value of a business dashboard? A good dashboard gives you a clear view of your business, improves your decision making, and helps you find problems before they get out of hand. …
A customer portal (or customer extranet) is a secure area of your website designed for your customers. They can log in and perform a number of different tasks, such as pay their bill, view their information, purchase new products, ask a question, etc… If your business has customers (and I hope that it does), you should really have a portal set up. Why? I could rattle off a number of reasons, but here are the two biggest ways a portal/extranet will help your business: …
2 ways a portal will help business (and how to make one)Read More »
I’ve recently noticed more and more companies asking this question: “Can you integrate this dashboard with Sharepoint?” While it seems like a basic question, it highlights an underlying trend. I’ve noticed a shift in the business dashboard landscape. Business dashboards are no longer good enough. The question is not, “Do you have a dashboard?” Now, the question is, “Where can you integrate/access your dashboard?”
What do I mean? I’ve noticed that more and more companies want dashboards that:
…
Pivot tables are great analytical tools—they sum up large amounts of data and let you view it in just about any way possible. More importantly, they help you quickly analyze business information, discover trends, and make better and more informed decisions.
Pivot tables are typically found in spreadsheet software, such as Excel. Spreadsheet-based pivot tables are great as single-user tools, but you run into problems if you want to distribute, share, or let multiple users alter or view one spreadsheet. Also, if security or data accuracy are necessities, spreadsheet-based pivot tables aren’t ideal. …
Building and using Pivot Tables (explained via video)Read More »
An extranet is an extremely useful resource for many companies. For those unfamiliar with the term, it is a computer network that allows controlled access from outside the company. For example, here are a few ways extranets are used:
1. Extranets can be set up for customers to log in and view important data.
2. Extranets can be set up for employees to log in outside the office. For example, your sales force could log in to the extranet and view their sales numbers.
3. Extranets can be set up for distributors to log in and view orders, purchase more products, and view new products. . …
Report writers are pretty easy to understand, aren’t they? If your company stores data in a database (as most companies do), you need reports. To create all these fancy reports, you need a report writer.
However, beyond the basic features like exporting to Excel and creating pretty graphs, you’ll find that report writers vary in capabilities. While they may all address the same problem (your need for data), each one offers different features. Figuring out what’s best for your company can be difficult if you’re unfamiliar with essential report-writing capabilities. …
Critical questions to ask before buying a report writerRead More »
Someone in one of my LinkedIn groups asked this question: “Where is the best place to outsource?” Now, he was from an outsourcing company and was only trying to raise awareness for his company, but the responses made me smile.
Most responses mirrored my advice: Avoid outsourcing if at all possible and keep it in house. I understand…many companies outsource because they feel it’s their only option. They can’t afford to keep the work in-house and outsourcing makes perfect financial sense on paper. …