Yellow Pages Antarctica

Every new economy recovery and boom brings new type of business paradigm. It is true about economy in general as well as every market niche. General economic development should be left over to the economists and philosophers to review. Here we will try to draw the trends as we see them through the golden Clinton era time to the recession of 2000-2004 and now economy recovery for ERP consulting company. In our case we are Microsoft Business Solutions and IBM Lotus partner. This small article is not intended to become an initial topic for the discussion - it is rather targeted for ERP client to analyze the trends in our industry and make right decision on the system and business partner:

• ERP market consolidation. As ERP (Accounting, Logistics, Distribution, Warehouse Management, etc) become more and more mature product, we see less and less attempts to build new ERP package from scratch again - it would seem as reinventing the bicycle. We see the consolidation on the mid-market level: Microsoft Business Solutions: Microsoft CRM, Great Plains, Navision, Axapta and Best Software: MASXXX. When large companies serve mid-market through their VARs and implementation partners - the barrier to enter into the niche increases and it is difficult to start new business, targeted to midmarket clients: certification, initial purchase/investment, etc.

• VARs consolidation. When we saw large number of independent Great Plains Software resellers, competing fiercely with each other (especially in Los Angeles and suburbs) - consulting rates were on the relatively low level ($130 per hour) and you, as a potential customer could get a deal on the software price discount. When recession hit the market, customers placed the hold on new ERP purchases as well as new computer equipment, this trend left ERP consulting companies without cash flow and forced them either close the doors or merge with auditing firms to survive. New conglomerates dictate higher consulting rates and stay firm with the software pricelist. This strange fact leaves huge opportunity for opening new businesses simply hoping to provide decent service with small company low overheads

• Consulting Paradigm Change. If you read classical business consulting literature, you can learn that 1960th were the time of business consulting, when you were going to the client to train them in classical marketing, management, accounting, etc. Universities took it over and all these disciplines soon become imbedded into the standard knowledge set of the university graduates. In the earlier 1990th consultant was onsite at the client place to train users to use ERP application. Now we have universities doing this job and employer is hiring graduates trained to use one or another ERP. Now we expect technical and application consulting combination, especially considering next bullet

• Different Platforms Harmony. In 1990th such platforms as Windows, Macintosh, Unix (Linux, Solaris, AIX) considered counterparts as enemies and were fighting for the market to take over. Little by little they become to the conclusion that they all have rights to the existence and they need to communicate to each other in order to survive. Such inventions as multiplatform Java/EJB/J2EE, XML, HTML, JSP prove the future harmony. For the ERP consultant it means that she/he should be familiar with the competitors and be ready to suggest the integration between the platforms

• Offshoring. This is really dangerous trend for the folks who are trying to make the career of the computer programmer in the States or Continental Europe. However most of these guys are from India, Russia, Pakistan, East Europe, Philippines, Brazil, so instead of giving up - go ahead and launch your own practices and deploy the expertise of your overseas friends. Manufacturing is now went offshore - now it is time for the programming to go offshore.

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies - USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Australia, UK, Canada, Continental Europe, Russia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

Comments Off

Cell phones probably will not look any different in the future,
but what they will be capable of doing will significantly
change. By the year 2010, 85% of U.S. households will own mobile
phones. Here are some examples of what future cell phones will
do:

High Speed Data Acess. Imagine your Cell phone browsing the
internet at DSL speed. Browsing the internet on your cell phone
is nothing new, but DSL speed would be.

Video Cameras - This technology is actually already here. While
currently a cell phone camera may have limited capabilities,
it’s only a matter of time for it to exceed and surpass the
performance of astand alobe video camera, although there is some
concern over somebody being videotaped without their consent.

Watching TV or movies - Provides live streaming television
content for mobile phones. Everyone who has seen this demo
nstrated in person is amazed at the quality as well as the
experience. “The video quality is very, very watchable and quite
enjoyable” says Marilyn Pearce of Chicago who has seen the
MobiTV’s streaming video. . So expect entire 30 minute video
clips to soon become reality.

Fuel Cell - Battery life often holds tech products back, and
fuel cells could provide a boost. Fuel cells are like tiny
engines that generate power through chemical reactions. If you
need more power, you put in more “gas” — in most cases, a
mixture of methanol, or wood alcohol, and other chemicals. The
methanol will likely be housed in a replaceable cartridge, much
as printer ink is.

Manufacturers and service providers watch these new advances
closely so they are not caught short of what the consumer wants.
A lot of this technology already exists but has not yet been
widely accepted. But that is just a matter of time.

Cell phone carriers have truly embraced the multimedia
revolution and decided to make our life cell phone centric. With
technology like MP3, Video streaming and photography
consolidated into these small devices, you can expect cell
phones to become the only piece of electronic on us at all
times. Play music, store all your images, carry all your medical
records, GPS navigational information, if you dial 911 you can
be tracked, check in at the airport., TV broadcasts, use it to
entertain your children while you drive, web shopping… Is
there anything a cell phone will not be able to do apart from
making a warm plate of ‘angel hair marinara’ ?

http://www.getacellphone.com

Comments Off

Many free web hosting accounts are free to use, however they will cost you a lot of money, time, and customers as well if you have a site that is meant for business purposes and is more than the simplest site imaginable. Consider the following items as to why free web hosting might cost you more than you had bargained for when you signed up.

Consideration #1 Bandwidth
Frequently, free web hosting providers offer you little bandwidth which means it will take longer for your page to load. When your page takes more than 10 seconds to load you will lose visitors because they will simply move on. Because of this, you might lose a lot of customers and sales from your free web host.

Consideration #2 Advertising
Many free web hosting companies are “free” to you, however, you will have advertising posted on your website as well as pop up ads. Most people do not like this and will not visit your site because of it. Be careful about signing up with a free web hosting company that uses advertising. It might not bother you, but it will probably affect your traffic and sales.

Consideration #3 Web Space
Since the web host is free, you cannot expect a whole lot of web space. Frequently people do not have the space they need to upload their web page and include all of their information. Be sure to check with your free web space provider or the ones you are considering to make sure you will have enough web space to host all of the required elements of your web pages.

Consideration #4 Reliability
Another consideration with free web hosting companies is reliability. Often times limitations are put on your traffic flow and if you exceed this, your site may be disabled for a period of time or you may even receive a bill. Find out what the rules are for traffic and what the consequences are for exceeding your limits.

Consideration #5 Limitations
More often than not, your free web host will have rules regarding the size of photos, icons, and more that you can upload. You will want to check into this before you sign up for free web hosting because if you cannot upload what you need, it is time to look at other options.

While free web hosting is technically free, it frequently costs websites more money in the long run because it limits activity and business from occurring at the rate set by consumers. Because of this, if you have a growing site it will eventually be too big for the free account and you will have to make some changes. Instead of dealing with the hassle, figure out if a free server will really be worthwhile and make a plan for change and growth ahead of time.
About the Author

Michael Turner reveals his foolproof way to increase website traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it free right now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

Comments Off