The amount of data available to businesses is growing at such an exponential rate that many are simply overwhelmed. Most of this data can be utilized in some way, be it to help make decisions or even judge the overall success of operations. One of the major ways to measure success is through the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). But what exactly are they?

Below is an overview of KPIs for business.

Define: KPI The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a tool used to measure performance of a business or employees. Many businesses use this tool to look at either the overall performance and success of all or specific operations. To many, the terms performance and success are synonyms.

How do KPIs work? Most modern versions of this tool come in the form of software applications that track specific data and criteria set by managers or owners. The software allows them to compare these criteria, commonly referred to as Score Cards, with the established goals and gauge overall performance or success.

This data, usually collected from spreadsheets, databases or even manual data entry, is displayed to the user in an easy to read format called a dashboard. The dashboard is typically a graph or similar visual display.

A common dashboard is the traffic light. Let's say for example that a company is measuring the success of their latest marketing campaign. A green light indicates that the expected number of conversions is being met or exceeded, yellow means actual conversions are slightly below normal and red means actual are well below expected.

Benefits of KPIs The biggest benefit of these tools is that they allow users to easily gauge the performance of a business. Beyond that you can set many KPIs with triggers that will alert you when the measurements are poor. This will allow the company to figure out ways to fix issues before they can cause bigger problems.

Effective KPIs For many businesses, effective KPIs are tailored to the needs of the business. For the majority of businesses, KPIs need to be: Measurable, achievable, specific and result-oriented. The best way for a business to figure out the which will be the most effective is for the manager or owner to look at the aspects that are most important to a business.

This can be hard to figure out, especially for business owners who often think that everything related to their business is important. A business intelligence expert or IT partner can help define what really matters most and help to implement the tools needed.

If you are looking for a better way to measure the success or performance of your business, please contact us today.

Data: A set of values that belong to a set of items, is important to every business; it is largely useless in it's raw form though. Through the use, manipulation and analysis of data we get useful information that we can use to make decisions, gauge the health of our company or even tell how popular our Facebook Page is. While it is important, data can be hard to analyze without the right tools.

Here's a brief overview of five data analysis tools that you could use in your business.

BigML

One of the more common uses of data is to help a business manager make predictions. We all know predictions are among the hardest things to do. Enterprises hire staff and invest in systems solely with the aim of making predictions. If you're a small business, you likely don't need expensive software that is hard to use.

Enter BigML. How it works is you define and upload a set of data and format it. BigML will then take that data, help you to create a prediction model which you then can apply 'what-if' variables to and have it generate predictions. The site runs on credits; you pay for a set amount of credits and each part of the process - dataset, model and prediction - is worth a certain amount of credits. Prices start at around USD$6.50 for credits, which gives you 10MB of data, 5MB worth of models and 10K predictions based on this data.

Wolfram|Alpha's Facebook Reports

WolframAlpha is a search engine that collects data and uses algorithms to interpret it. One feature of this site is that you can develop reports, one of the more useful being Facebook Reports. You can access the report feature by clicking here. Alternatively, you can go to the WolframAlpha website and search for Facebook.

This report provides users with a glimpse into their Facebook Page's information. It provides you with information on who are the most active posters, how many shares/likes, etc. you get and other useful information in easy to read charts and graphs. The key here is that the report can show you how customers access your Page and where they come from. You could use this information to see what posts users liked and didn't like, and provide more engaging content.

The basic version of the report is free. More advanced controls and data analysis is available for USD$4.99 a month.

Many Eyes

Many Eyes is a data analysis and visualization tool developed by IBM Research. If you already have data sets then you can upload them to the website and use one of the many different visualization tools to create charts, graphs, etc.

A cool feature of this site is that it has the ability to analyze written documents. Say for example you are writing new content for your website, you can copy and paste the content and get a visual representation of the words you use, how you connect words, etc. If you have a set of keywords you would like to use for SEO and search purposes, you can manually compare them with the visualization. If you notice that an important keyword is missing, or not represented enough, you can go through and re-write the copy a bit.

Best of all, it's free.

Tableau Public

If you have an idea about Business Intelligence, or have worked with data on a regular basis and have sets that are structured, Tableau Public is probably the most powerful free analysis tool available for small businesses.

While powerful, it isn't the most user-friendly of options. To get the most out of this program you are going to need to know the basics behind data analysis. If you feel comfortable with the basics, you'll be creating dashboards, charts, interactive graphs, maps, etc. that look great and can be embedded on your blog or website. Oh yes, did we mention it's free?

Excel

Big data is all the rage these days, it's hard not to hear techies and data specialists talk about it. While it is an important part of many large businesses' data analysis practices, the truth is many small businesses don't need big data just yet. If you have simple data you need to analyze e.g., how many hours have your five employees worked this month? Why not stick with simple spreadsheets like Excel or Google Spreadsheet.

As long as you have data entered in a logical way, you can easily create graphs and charts that can help you visualize and analyze your data.

Data is a word you hear continuously thrown around these days. We know that the amount of data generated and available to us is increasing. Most businesses use the data they have as a judge of how they are performing or meeting goals. With the growth of data, analysis becomes increasingly challenging, and consequently many companies have turned to dashboards to help.

A dashboard is an easy to read and comprehend representation of data that indicates the current status of a company. Most dashboards look at a company's Key Performance Indicators (KPI), and display information graphically, and more often than not in real-time. This study of performance is often referred to as analytics, and companies can use KPIs, and the dashboards that represent them, to predict, describe and even change performance.

Dashboards have become an integral part of any analytics process, and can really help a business. However, they need to be implemented properly if a business is to benefit. Here's five tips that can help you launch useful dashboards.

1. Focus on the important Dashboards allow you to track almost any form of data. This doesn't mean you should, however. In fact, it's a good idea to step back and identify the most important, or most integral processes of your business. You could start with two or three of these that you can clearly track from beginning to end.

2. Do your tech due diligence The number of programs and full solutions that offer small businesses dashboards are plentiful. You should think about what exactly you want to track and your overall goals before you talk to a vendor.

With the information and metrics identified, you should look for a solution that allows you to track these to the level you want. If you're only being offered once a week views, for example, and you need updates once a day, you're better off continuing your search.

Beyond this, you should be careful to look at the options each dashboard has, and the information it follows. You don't want to be tracking information you don't need, as this could throw off the effectiveness of the solution.

3. One solution won't fit all It's important to bear in mind that different departments or roles will want to track different information. You should include the different team wants, along with their representatives, when looking at solutions, so you can get a better picture as to what you need.

4. Benchmarks Once you have set your goals or objectives and before you implement your new dashboard, it is a good idea to track any related information. This should give you a solid idea from which you can compare changes once the dashboard is implemented.

This pre-system tracking doesn't have to be long, maybe three to six months - enough time to give you a solid grasp of what you want to look at. After implementation, track the same data for six months and look again. Any changes will become the new benchmark which will allow you to launch new solutions, or gauge effectiveness of the data you are collecting.

5. Back up your data As with any tech system, all dashboard software will have the occasional bug or glitch. It simply cannot be avoided. Developers and vendors know this and many have backup solutions to ensure data loss is minimized. It is a good idea to consult with them to ensure their backup meets your needs, or look for one who can work with existing technology to ensure data won't be lost.

Tracking data and information that is critical to a business's operations can help you gain not only a clear picture of just how well your company is doing, but also highlight any need for changes or improvements. If you would like to find the right dashboards for your business, please contact us, we may have a solution that will drive your success.

Data is commonly defined as a collection of numbers, words, charts, etc. Every technological gadget produces data these days, and the processing of this turns it into information. It’s this information that we use to make decisions, which generate more data. There is so much data available that it can be challenging to keep track of it all and turn it into valuable information for decision making. Because of this, the idea of big data has arisen. Media outlets have highlighted big data, causing many businesses to become curious about it. Are you one of them?

A study published in mid 2012 by Harris Interactive looked at what exactly big data is. The research polled 154 companies, more than half of which were small businesses, on what they think the definition of big data is. The results? No one really agrees on a definition of big data.

The survey found that 24% of respondents believed it’s the technology that allows the management of massive amounts of data, while 28% believed it’s the idea of massive growth of transactional data. The survey concluded that nearly 80% of businesses identify big data as some form of opportunity in the near future.

Beware of big data hype
This goes to show that businesses are aware of the trend, and may feel that they have to be a part of it to gain any sort of competitive advantage in the near future. However, this is the wrong way to look at big data. The fact of the matter is, while big data is here to stay, many small business simply don’t have the resources – monetary, staffing, knowledge, or otherwise – to launch big data initiatives.

Do focus on the data
The amount of data available and being generated is growing at an exponential rate, and even small businesses are overwhelmed with often unintelligible data. The danger is that if you turn your back on data you might soon find yourself lagging behind your competitors.

If big data and ignoring data are out, what’s left? The middle road, or in this case, small data. Take a look at your business and identify and prioritize the most important data for your business. For example, a dentist is probably going to want to know how many patients are walk-ins or appointments. From here, you can analyze the data and begin to pick out trends, anomalies and weaknesses, etc. Taking the dentist example above, if data identifies that walk-ins are 10 times heavier on a Monday morning, it may be better business practice to have more staff on Monday mornings to better deal with customer flow.

Baby steps leads to big data
The key is to start in a small and manageable way. Focus on understanding critical data by getting to know how to collect and analyze it. This will provide a platform from which you can launch bigger data initiatives in the future. Once you are comfortable, you can introduce more advanced dashboards to better utilize your data. If you do methodically, you should be aligned perfectly to take advantage of big data when it becomes viable for all businesses.

Interested in learning more about data in your organization? Contact us today to see how we can help you.

Many companies have closed the books on 2012 and are now looking forward to the rest of 2013. One of the major things companies tend to look at this time of year are their marketing plans. When it comes to marketing plans companies are starting to integrate a more tech-based approach. As such they are eager to know what marketing oriented tech trends are likely to emerge throughout 2013.

Here's an overview of what we think will be the five biggest tech-marketing related trends for the coming year.

1. Increased mobile demands With a crop of excellent, affordable and capable devices released this past year, it's a sure thing that many of your clients will be getting new devices for christmas. This will result in an increased demand for mobile friendly sites that are simpler, lighter on text and more interactive. 2013 will be a good year to review your website and optimize it for mobile users.

2. Increasing local demand With the increasing adoption of mobile devices many users are changing the way they use the Internet. Computers and laptops are increasingly being used for general searches while mobile devices are used almost exclusively for local searches. If you don't have a local presence that's optimized for local searches (e.g., Google Places) you will be missing out.

This 'localization' trend is referred to as SoLoMo (Social-Local-Mobile) and is the idea of businesses adding local information to their online platforms to capitalize on the increase of mobile users. 2012 has seen many companies begin to really use this by pushing locally oriented ads to mobile users. It's highly likely SoLoMo will become even more integral in 2013.

A recent infographic from Monetate highlights the importance of SoLoMo and how mobile users shop. The most interesting finding in relation to local search is that many customers use their mobile device to find out what's around them, and then will purchase either in-store or online. This trend should continue well into 2013.

3. Apps with better mobile ads Let's face it, smartphone users have gone app crazy. In the past few years many of the apps have come to include mobile ads shown to customers. Many of these ads aren't targeted to the user, but this is slowly changing as ads that are shown are becoming more trustworthy and targeted. There should be an increase in both the number of click-throughs and apps through 2013 which means it may be the perfect time to either develop your own app or invest in app advertising.

4. Increasing adoption of new payment methods The way customers pay for their purchases is changing. With the steady adoption of NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, mobile payment systems like Google Wallet, and coupon systems like Apple's Passbook, 2013 should see a shift away from paper and plastic to electronic.

This has already started with huge companies like Starbucks announcing they will be launching payment services provided by Square which allows for mobile payment. It's not hard to see that 2013 will be a big year for mobile based payment.

5. More mobile marketing competition With the general increase of mobile adoption it makes sense that 2013 will likely see more companies looking into mobile related marketing. This will make this medium a little more crowded and competitive. What this equates to is that companies should move to take advantage of mobile related marketing, or at the very least take steps to optimize their processes for mobile.

All signs point to 2013 being a year of mobile oriented advancements. Indeed, most of the customer/consumer oriented tech advancements of the past two years have almost been exclusively mobile oriented. Mobile adoption and the data that comes from the different advancements and trends should be something companies factor in when they are making operational decisions for the coming year. If you would like to learn more, please contact us.

One of the most important business tools is email. It allows us to stay in touch with the office and each other regardless of our location. While email is useful, it's not perfect. One issue is that we receive so many emails, with up to a 100 a day or more. This has led to many an overload and meltdown; there's just simply too many emails to get through. So, what do most people do? Delete them. However, this deletion could lead to problems.

When it comes down to it there are usually two options for users to keep their inbox from overflowing. They can either archive or delete emails.

Archiving or deleting emails These are features that are available to most email clients. By archiving email you essentially remove them from your inbox, usually into another folder. When you archive emails, they are still retrievable, and you are still able to search for them and access the information within them.

Deleting emails on the other hand is different. Yes, your emails are removed, but they will usually not disappear instantly. Most email programs move deleted emails into a trash folder. Some clients are set up to empty the folder on a daily basis, while others delete instantly or when they've set the program to. However, once you empty the trash, it's very hard to get these deleted emails back.

To archive or delete? The issue of whether to delete or archive emails is a bit cloudy. For personal accounts it's a little easier: If the email is junk, spam, or contains useless information, it's safe to delete it. For businesses, you can go ahead and delete junk emails, but for many other emails it may be a better idea to archive emails. Here's a number of reasons why:

It's the law Depending which country and industry your company operates in, there may be rules and regulations that state how long you should keep emails in your system for. For example: The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FCRP) in the US state that if a company can anticipate legal action from information contained within a message, or series of messages, it must keep/store (archive) them.

The EU has similar, yet slightly more complicated rules. The Data Protection Directive (DPA) of the EU states that, "Personal data must be stored, but no longer than necessary...The subjects of emails, the “Data Subjects,” have the right to access information about the storage and access to their personal data and to request accurate copies. If you operate in the EU, you must furnish personal information stored in email or otherwise, if asked for it. The kicker is: If you've deleted emails with such information, you are obligated to provide these as well.

Most other countries have laws similar to these, so it's better to err on the safe side and check with a lawyer to ensure you know exactly what the rules are.

Storage isn't an issue In the past, emails took up precious storage, so you really had no other choice but to delete messages. Nowadays, that's not an issue, especially for users of services like Gmail who get upwards of 10GB (more than enough to store all of your emails). This allows you to archive emails while keeping your inbox clean, and not having to worry about the law.

Email is a form of data Data is becoming big business. While it's highly likely that many small to medium businesses won't be implementing Big Data practices anytime in the near future, data in emails is still important. Say for instance you get an order for X amount of Y last year, and you were so busy you just filled the order but didn't fill in the proper records. When that client emails again, the only other information you have is from previous emails. If you delete it, that information is gone.

Beyond that, many decisions are made through and recorded in email these days, delete that important email with next year's budget decision on it and you could be in trouble.

Archive or delete? We're not suggesting you should keep all of your emails. In fact, the above reasons for archiving all have one thing in common: Useful information. This is key, as if information in an email isn't useful to you, your company or colleagues, or is stored in another location, you can probably delete messages.

Some people disagree with this view though and in fact some lawyers advise deleting emails due to the fact that they could turn out to be a liability one day. There are tons of stories of someone sending an inappropriate email to friends, only to have it leak to an unintended recipient. Situations like this could ruin your company.

What do you do/think? Do you delete your emails or archive them? Let us know.

When it comes time to update your systems and you start looking for computers it’s almost maddening at how many there are available, making your choice harder. Even experts can’t seem to agree, ask 10 different people and get 20 different opinions. Recent developments in the tech industry, more specifically the cloud, are set to make choosing devices a lot easier.

Computers have gone from widely singular machines to being networked together and able to share information between other users quickly and easily. The latest evolution of this network is the cloud. While the cloud is still in it’s early stages, it’s advancing at such a fast pace that we could soon be operating largely in the cloud. In fact, there are a number of services that when combined allow businesses to operate almost entirely in the cloud.

Here’s a simple example of how a company can operate almost exclusively in the cloud. Company XYZ uses Google Drive and Gmail for storage, document production and email (Microsoft Office 365 and SkyDrive is another option); Amazon Web Services for cloud server hosting; and VoIP for phone and fax systems. Couple this with a solid Internet connection and almost every major business function of Company XYZ can operate in the cloud.

While Company XYZ operates almost exclusively in the cloud, many modern businesses still rely on older, ground based systems. If current trends hold true, they will be integrating more cloud solutions in the near future. Because the cloud moves a large part of business and ‘computing’ off the computer on your desk, the way you select your next computer has also changed.

Traditional computer shopping focuses on four things: hard drive space and memory; program availability and integration; hardware specs; and price. Companies running cloud solutions still have to look into these four areas, but in a different way:

Hard drive and memory One might think that as files are stored in the cloud, there’s no real need for hard drives or systems with a ton of RAM. In truth, the hard drive and RAM are integral components of the modern computer. Companies using cloud systems will store the OS, essential programs and files, and backups on the hard drive of the computer. This means physical storage is still important. The cloud is dependant on your Internet connection, and if it goes down, you’re stuck. So, having file systems in place you can use while the Internet is down is a big help.

Aside from that, RAM is important to the computer as it allows computers to run. The more of it you have, the faster a computer will be at running programs, and the more it will be able to do at the same time. Rather than space, companies will pick a hard drive and RAM combination that focuses on operating speed. This will likely be done through heavy use of Solid State Drives that are lower in storage capacity - for now -, but are a lot quicker.

Programs All of your essential programs will be online, reducing the need to pick and stick with one OS or system. You could allow your employees to choose the system they want to use, or even use their own systems. The one issue you will have to look into however is if your current systems can be integrated with cloud solutions. Don’t worry too much, as most modern programs have cloud based options.

Hardware specs The most important components for a cloud based computer are USB ports to connect your peripherals, HDMI connections to connect monitors and Internet connection - ethernet or Wi-Fi. Other components, like processor, DVD/Disk drive, etc. play less importance as cloud solutions are typically less resource intensive. In other words, you can get away with systems that have lower, and therefore cheaper, components.

Price Price has been and will continue to be the main determinate of which computers you buy for your company. The main difference here is that cloud services make more than one set system available, so you can shop around a little and maybe find a better computer, for less.

The cloud is set to change the way we conduct business and even the way businesses choose computers. If you’re looking for new computers or would like to move into the cloud, please contact us.

Risk is something we deal with on a daily basis, many of us have a risk threshold we won’t cross. This threshold carries over to businesses and managers when they are looking to adopt cloud solutions in the office. Some managers are hesitant to adopt cloud services because they deem them to be too risky. The simple truth is: Yes, there is risk related to the cloud, but proper risk management makes it a viable solution.

Here are the three main types of perceived cloud risks that companies need to be aware of in order to effectively introduce a cloud solution.

Preventable risk Preventable risk is risk that is largely internal, or risk that arises from within the organization. This form of risk is largely preventable and indeed should be dealt with before the adoption of any new cloud solution.

Most companies have found that preventable risk results from employee actions, usually actions that are illegal, unethical or are against established procedures. Before the adoption of any cloud solution you should take steps to first define these internal risks and how they fit with the parameters of the proposed solution, then take steps to address these risks. This normally includes constant monitoring of the use of current systems, along with established boundaries of use.

If you don’t address internal risks - e.g., employees sharing illegally downloaded files, (which could land you in some very hot water legally), risk will be increased exponentially, or the project could fail.

Strategic risk With new technologies like the cloud, that can be disruptive, there is always a higher level of risk involved. This form of risk, that is a risk involved with a strategic decision that will net the firm higher returns, is inherent. While it’s not bad, it should be accepted in order to realize gains of any kind.

In other words, the higher the pay off, the riskier it will be. To manage this type of risk you need to have a plan that prepares for this. Cloud technology is still in its infancy, so there can and will be problems which may or may not put your entire organization at risk. Relying 100% on it is a poor way to manage risk. A strategy that includes backups of data and operations in the cloud, or having another system that can function in reserve, is an effective way to manage strategic risk. By employing something like this you can, in turn, take a larger risk; more cloud solutions.

External risk External risk is any risk that companies can’t control or influence. This includes risks due to natural disasters, upstream/downstream production strikes, political situations, etc. Because it’s nigh on impossible to manage these risks, a strategy that aims to identify potential external risks and then take steps to mitigate fallout from occurrence is needed. This process is commonly called ‘business continuity’.

A good example of nature affecting the cloud happened in recently, in late June, when Amazon’s data storage facility was struck by lightning, and backup generators failed, which took many services offline for hours. Companies that relied on Amazon’s cloud servers like Pinterest and Instagram, who didn’t have backup sites, were forced offline, causing a large loss in profit, not to mention some very unhappy users. This could have been prevented if A. Pinterest and Instagram had backup sites, and B. Amazon had a more robust redundant system.

Naturally, it’s easy to be Captain Hindsight and go around pointing out what should have been done. You can learn from these incidents and look at how the company mitigated risks before and after, and try to implement them into your organization. If you need help identifying and coming up with ways to mitigate risk related to the adoption of cloud solutions, give us a call, we can help.

One of the latest industries to be developed in the past 50 years is Information Technology, or IT. Many aspects of IT have become essential parts to every business and household. We rely on products and services offered by IT to conduct business and live our daily lives. It’s highly likely that IT will continue to play an important role in nearly everything, and a recent report has been released to corroborate this.

A report released in the summer of 2012 by Gartner, Inc. an IT research and advisory firm, states that in the year 2012, companies will be spending a worldwide total of around $3.6 Trillion on IT related products and services.

This represents a year on year growth of 2.5% in spending when compared with 2011. Growth like this is nothing to sneeze at, and it will continue to grow as more products and services are invented, developed and released to the mass market.

The report noted that the largest sector of the IT market is in telecommunication services, with an expected growth of 1.4% this year. It also stated that companies in emerging markets will spend more on Internet technologies and consumer electronics. This means that with more capital, tech companies in these industries will be able to invest in and release more products.

One IT silo is expected to have significant growth over the next four years. Cloud tech spending is forecasted to grow 19% year on year, and double again by 2016. This indicates that companies and developers are incredibly interested in cloud computing, and it will continue to be an important part of modern technology.

While this report is primarily inward facing towards the IT industry, it does showcase the fact that IT is an integral part of modern business infrastructure. This report also highlights the impact that companies in the IT industry will have as they continue to innovate and release new products. If the past half decade is anything to judge by, new technology will continue to get more complex. The result of this is that businesses will benefit from close relations with IT providers and subject matter experts.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the increasing complexity of programs and solutions, take a logical and simple step in the right direction and contact us. We’re here to help ensure your IT experience is as smooth as possible for the future.

When running your own business, one of the most important things to know is where your money is and the return on any investments you’ve made. There are many ways to calculate this and small business owners in different disciplines will give you slightly different ways to calculate returns. The majority of these methods are based on Return on Investment, or ROI.

When investing in, or looking for investment in your next IT project, or any project for that matter, you will need to calculate ROI and what factors to consider when making investment decisions.

ROI Defined ROI is calculated by taking the gain on an investment, subtracting the initial investment amount and dividing this number by the original investment amount. If calculated correctly, you will get a decimal that can be multiplied by 100 to get a percentage. If you take this percentage, and multiply the original cost by the percentage, you will get your total gain or loss.

To calculate ROI of a product, project or anything that brings in direct income - sales - to your company take the amount of money you will save or make over the life of the product and subtract the cost of the product over the total expected life. Divide this number by the cost to get an ROI in decimal point, which should be multiplied by 100 to change it into a percentage.

ROI in example Assume you’re looking to invest in a new CRM system based in the cloud that costs $50.00 per year and plan to use it for three years. You also estimate that by using this software, you will save $75.00 per year. With these numbers your calculation would look like this: Cash saved: 75 x 3 = $225 Cash spent: 50 x 3=$150 ROI= (225-150)/150 = 0.5 x 100 = 50% This means that your ROI will be 50% of your initial investment, in other words, you will make $75 (225-150).

Why ROI is important ROI, in percentage form is one of the most important factors to investors, as it gives them a number with which they can compare other investments. For example, when comparing two investments, one that returns $5,000 and one that returns $3,000. On these numbers alone, it seems the $5,000 return is the better. Looking into the costs however, you find that $5,000 return carries a cost of $4,000, while the $3,000 investment carries a cost of $1,800. The ROI on the bigger investment is lower, meaning you end up making less money.

ROI is a simple calculation that helps you determine the bottom line of different options. When investing in a project or product with established, historical ROIs, be aware that these are based on past measurements, not future measurements. This means that you may not achieve the same ROI. If you’d like to learn more about technical products and services that can help increase ROI, please contact us.