Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Trainee Business Consultants
Business Development & Administration Assistant: 6 to 12 month Internship
Apply directly (Log in to keep track of your applications)SalaryPaidAdditional salary infoThe successful candidate will receive between £16,000 - £20,000 pro rata salary. ContractFixed termWorking hoursFull-timeNumber of vacancies1Start dateWinterClosing date11/11/2013 LocationGreater LondonFull location detailsWC1H 8BBThis is a new position for a Business Development (BD) assistant within the Cedar Consulting team based in our Kings Cross office, London. Reporting directly to the BD Manager the successful candidate will work on and help drive a variety of marketing, business development and communications projects targeting existing customers, new prospects and key partners. This internship will be for 6 to 12 months with the opportunity to apply for a full time position at the end of the period. This is a varied role and key tasks that the successful candidate should expect to be involved in include (but are not limited to):
- Working closely with Oracle and the BD Manager to promote customer focused events such as dinners and seminars.- Help prepare and manage exhibition stands at select industry shows.- Help with the execution of marketing campaigns.- Help increase our social media impact.- Assist in market analysis.- Undertake general marketing support for the sales effort.- Bring fresh ideas to the team.- Developing marketing collateral.- Assisting with admin tasks in other parts of the business.You will need to have
- An honourable work ethic.- A good university degree, preferably in one of the following key areas: Marketing, Event Management, Business or Social Media. We will also consider candidates with other degrees who can demonstrate the relevant skills and experience.- A strong interest and ideally experience in Event Management and/or working on promotions.- The flexibility to work independently or as part of a team.- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.- Working experience in Microsoft office suite - particularly Word, XL and Outlook.- Confidence on the phone.- Good time management and proven track record of working to deadlines.- The flexibility to work occasionally outside the usual business hours to complete certain tasks.- A passion, energy and drive to be successful.- Permission to work in the UK and Europe.It would be desirable if you have- Experience of working in a marketing team in a B2B environment.- Interest in the Information Technology market place.- Business Development Experience.- B2B Social Media experience.- CRM system experience.- Clean driving license.About Cedar Consulting
Cedar Consulting is an established software services consultancy and has been in existence for over 18 years. With offices across the globe it has an enviable client base including many blue chip companies, United Nations agencies and other large non-profit organisations. As one of Oracle’s key partners for both PeopleSoft and Fusion projects, Cedar Consulting is privileged to work across all business sectors. Driving our success is a joint Oracle and Cedar Consulting events and marketing programme going back over 10 years. At the heart of our business are our people, we aim provide a great environment to further a career and develop new skills.Please apply with your resume and a supporting covering letter. Deadline for applicants is the 11th November.
AMEC 2014 Business Functions Graduate Programme (Oil and Gas)
Graduate Programme - Business
Apply directly (Log in to keep track of your applications)SalaryPaidContractPermanentWorking hoursFull-timeStart dateAutumnClosing date20/10/2014 LocationWales, East of England, Edinburgh and East Central Scotland, Greater London, Glasgow, Stirling and West Central Scotland, West Midlands, East Midlands, North East England, North West England, South West England, South East England, Yorkshire and the HumberWhat do you think about when you hear the name HP? Is it printers? Laptops? Maybe it’s Beats Audio™? Most people do. It’s understandable – these are our products people see every day. But what about the other sides to HP? The side that helps the MOD get a 3D view of a battlefield? The side that brings a kung fu panda to life or changes the way people see and interact with the world? We’re a multi-faceted company. Join one of our graduate programmes and you’ll see them all.
Consulting
On this programme, we’ll use our resources and expertise to turn you into a trusted Technical or Security Consultant. In these roles, you’ll be building strong relationships with our clients – advising them how they can use our technology to their advantage.
Business
On this programme, which typically lasts up to 24 months, we’ll use our resources and expertise to turn you into a trusted member of our Business team. You could work in Global Procurement, Sales, Presales, General Management or as Business Analyst. Whatever the role, you'll be at the heart of the profitability of HP – getting the most out of our resources, dealing with our customers, driving sales or delivering the business strategy that keeps us competitive.
IT
The IT programme also lasts up to 24 months, and like the business programme, we’ll use our resources and expertise to turn you into a trusted Technical Architect, Solution Architect or Developer. You'll already have some IT experience. This programme will help you build on it for a rewarding career with one of the largest technology companies in the world.
Project/Programme Management On this 24 month programme, from inception to delivery, you'll get full exposure to a project's lifecycle, learn about our client relationships and the businesses expectations and strategy and we will do all we can to prepare you for a role as a Project Analyst. So, if you want a development scheme that teaches you about business and consulting then this is for you.
It all begins with an induction where you’ll get to grips with our business and how you fit into it. You’ll attend workshops, work on projects and undergo intensive professional, technical and project management training in order to prepare you for your new role. After that, you’ll have the chance to put your classroom learning to the test on live work. Wherever you join, straight away, you'll be working with people who are experts in their field. But we’ll still expect you to give your insight and opinion, and make a real contribution every day.
To help you, throughout this scheme, your training and development won’t stop. You’ll attend sessions designed to hone your soft skills, such as presenting, influencing and communicating effectively. And you’ll have the support of your line manager, an assigned mentor and a graduate-level buddy. Through ongoing appraisals and feedback processes, you’ll plot and control your career – taking you from entry-level position to specialist, expert and beyond.
You’ll need a minimum 2:1 degree for all programmes with a business-related discipline for Business; a computing-related discipline, plus a good understanding of IT for our IT Programme; IT skills coupled with an analytical and numerate mind for Project Management; a relevant technical field, such as Computing, Computer Science or Computer Security for Consulting;
For all programmes you will need to be customer-focused, you'll be an enthusiastic and driven team player, combining a proactive and positive outlook with a good work ethic and desire to learn. Experience of excelling in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment would be a real advantage
computer sciences and ITbusiness and management studiesTo find out more about the programme, how to apply and details of our other graduate opportunities, please click on the Apply button.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Barbarella, Leticia and Lulu still in business
SINGAPORE — MediaCorp recently released a statement addressing the minor furore that arose last Friday, when actress Michelle Chong remarked via Twitter that she was being banned from playing the characters Barbarella, Leticia and Lulu.
On June 14, Chong had tweeted: “So what’s this I hear about Mediacorp’s Higher Management banning me from playing Barbarella from now on (sic)?”
She followed this with a Mandarin phrase to the effect of “There’s no need to be afraid if you have the goods”, and another tweet: “They not gonna sell character license to anyone to use my characters anymore so no more Barbs, Leticia, Lulu etc anywhere (sic)”.
All three characters, which were played by Chong, appeared in the first five seasons of the Channel 5 sitcom The Noose. Season Six, which ended its run a few weeks ago, did not have her as part of its cast. Nevertheless, Barbarella, Leticia and Lulu have resurfaced recently in advertisements for a condominium.
MediaCorp’s Vice President, Channel 5 Branding and Promotions Serene Choo said: “The characters played by Michelle Chong from The Noose have never been disallowed or decommissioned by MediaCorp. As shown in the recent TV advertisement, these characters will always be given due consideration as and when commercial interests arise.”
She added: “To bring a fresh and current perspective to Singapore Day 2013, the event will feature popular characters from the latest season of The Noose, which do not have characters played by Michelle Chong.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to clarify MediaCorp’s position on Michelle Chong’s characters in The Noose.”
In an e-mail reply today (June 17), Chong said: "I thank MediaCorp for this statement and also the audience for their kind support. I hope they will continue to support The Noose, whether or not I'm in it, and I look forward to rehashing my Noose characters should the opportunities arise, because it would have been a shame to say goodbye forever to these characters who have built a rapport with the audience over time."
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CRM Watchlist 2013 Lifetime Achievement: IBM Institute for Business Value
Summary: The 2013 CRM Watchlist Liftetime Achievement Award, the second annual one, kicks off the reviews. This is probably the kindest of the reviews that you'll be seeing in this entire 40+ series of them. Because the IBM IBV is SO damned worthy. How can I be edgy?
In a lot of ways this gives me an enormous amount of pleasure. It’s my second annual CRM Watchlist Lifetime Achievement Award and it goes to an organization that has had long term and continuous (meaning year over year) impact on the business world especially that focusing around customer facing industries and practitioners. Last year, the inaugural award rightfully went to the Peppers and Rogers Group, who were pioneers in one to one thinking and personalization and continue to be leaders in how customers and companies interact and need to.
This year, however, it goes to a very different kind of organization. One that I’ve had the honor of knowing and trusting for a long time and one that if you are part of this industry in any way, knows is perhaps the most quoted and trusted research organization in the world of business. One that has had perhaps more impact on driving vendor and practitioner strategies around market trends and best practices than any other organization that I can think of. One that has had its studies and data quoted almost ubiquitously and is omniscient in the discussions around how to proceed with the present and future business of business. One that never has had its veracity questioned despite its ties to one of the most significant businesses on the earth. One that seemingly has no agenda despite those ties – it is an institution that lives to produce the quality of work that it does. A true impact player.
It is my honor to announce that the Second Annual CRM Watchlist Lifetime Achievement Award goes to…
The IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV)
(Clap! Clap! Audience goes wild). I suspect if you know anything about these guys that when you saw the award went to them, you went “of course; it’s so obvious.” And it is obvious. From their every-two-years (biennial?) CEO report to their work on big data analytics to their research on social business and social CRM, they have become what is probably, at least in the technology world, the most quoted business research group ever. Anecdotally, I’ve seen a slide on the perception gap between business and consumers when it comes to social channel use (source: From Social Media to Social CRM, Part 1, 2011) used in more presentations than any other single chart in my life.
But this goes way beyond anecdotal evidence. Their results have driven decision-making at companies across the spectrum – ranging from technology companies and consulting firms to manufacturing and CPG businesses. Despite their connections to IBM, no one I know in any industry presumes they have any agenda other than producing extraordinary research to provide some fundamental insights for those reading it.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Eric Lesser, who is the Executive Director – the guy in charge – of the IBV. He is the kind of guy who engenders the personal trust of those who deal with him – and he is as big a Yankees fan as I am. J. I told Eric about this award and asked him for a statement that speaks to who the IBV is. So, before I go on any further, ladies and gentlemen, Eric Lesser:
The Institute for Business Value, the research and thought leadership development arm of IBM Global Business Services, develops practical, fact-based points of view on a variety of industry, cross-industry and role-based topics. I have been proud to have been part of this group, which is comprised of leading subject matter experts from around globe, since its inception in 2002. In the IBV, we develop perspectives as well as share the results with executive audiences. We work in collaboration with internal and external industry experts, leading edge clients and IBM’s own consultants to provide practical recommendations built on a foundation of fundamental research.
Since 2002, we have produced over 250 studies over the last ten years, which are disseminated through a number of delivery channels, including our website and tablet app. This base of knowledge provides IBM with the insights needed to develop deeper relationships with its customers and demonstrates its commitment to leading business thinking.
From the beginning of the group, we have developed a range of marketing and consumer-based insights. Starting with research on customer relationship management, we have continued to expand our coverage to understand global consumer opinions in the retail, telecommunications, banking, automobile and insurance industries, as well the impact of emerging topics such as Social CRM and Collective Intelligence. One of our flagship studies, the 2011 Chief Marketing Officer Study which is based on face-to-face interviews with over 1,700 marketing leaders, has shed new light into the challenges faced by senior executives on the use of social media, customer data and the future skills needed for marketing success.
I am honored to be part of such a great group of individuals, who have really helped shape business thinking over the last several years, and made a significant contribution to IBM and its clients.
I expect that the IBV’s impact will not only continue but grow over the next several years because the C-level studies are iconic reference points for those people who care about not just data and trends, but about possible practices that work in the rather confusing world of 21st century. The IBM Institute for Business Value has been and is one of the beacons that help us light the way. For that reason, they win the CRM Watchlist 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award AND what will be my kindest review of any of the winners of this award. J
CONGRATS to the IBM INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS VALUE, the 2013 CRM Watchlist Lifetime Achievement Award!
There are currently no prices available for this product.
In addition to being the author of the best-selling "CRM at the Speed of Light: Social CRM Strategies, Tools, and Techniques for Engaging Your Customers," Paul Greenberg is President of The 56 Group, LLC.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
CRM Watchlist 2013 Winners: Variety is the spice of business
Summary: We're heading into the homestretch. Let's see what this year's highest scorer Blackbaud, NexJ, Coveo and Thunderhead.com have to say when it comes to impact.![Paul Greenberg]()
We're heading into the homestretch for the Watchlist 2013 winners reviews.
When all is said and done it will have consumed 4 months of my life. But, in the course of that time, I'll have gotten to analyze and write about 38 great companies who are having an impact.
This week we review the last of the vendor winners (minus the two CRM Idol 2012 winners who are automatically placed on this list) and with these four the vendors go out on a high note. Let's see what this year's highest scorer (2 years straight) Blackbaud, NexJ, Coveo and Thunderhead.com have to say when it comes to impact.
Let’s do the housekeeping first.
On Wednesday February 20, 2013 at 7:00am ET, the CRM Watchlist 2014 registration process began. Yep, right in the middle of the 2013 reviews. Progress (and time) wait for no man (or woman). What that means is that if you are a technology company or consulting/systems integrator business that does "customer facing" things which means software or services products/solutions, you become a candidate for the CRM Watchlist 2014. That means that:
You can request a 2014 registration form from me at paul-greenberg3@the56group.com.When you receive it, fill it out exactly according to instructions and in return you will get the questionnaire for 2014 - either the vendor questionnaire or the consulting/SI questionnaire which are slightly differentYou have until November 30, 2013 to fill out the questionnaire.If you send in the registration form to me, I will presume that you are going to fill out the questionnaire by the due date and will start tracking you as soon send the registration back to me. Please don't waste my time and request the questionnaire and then not fill it out. I'm tracking you for the better part of a year if you do send it.Previously on CRM Watchlist 2013:
CRM Watchlist 2013 Lifetime Achievement: IBM Institute for Business ValueThe Sweetest Suites: Part 1 of 3 – salesforce.com; MicrosoftThe Sweetest Suites: Part 2 of 3 – SAP, OracleThe Sweetest Suites: Part 3 of 3 – Infor, NetSuite, SugarCRMMarketing Puts Itself Out There - Aprimo, Eloqua, Hubspot, Infusionsoft, Marketo, NeolaneCustomer Service Served Hot – KANA, Moxie, ParatureThree Kings: Sales, Process, Analytics - Xactly, Lattice Engines, BPMonline, Pegasystems, Clarabridge.Social is as Social Does the Mainstream Part 1 – Attensity, Gigya, JiveSocial is as Social Does the Mainstream Part 2 - Get Satisfaction, Lithium, NimbleWe now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
What is fascinating about these four vendors is that there is one uniform characteristic. They have dominant products. I mean that arguably in all four cases, they are best in class and that is where they truly have an impact. What makes up a great product? Let me make a universal and short statement. It is the level of thought that goes into the ideas around the uses of the products and the intelligence with which the products are then developed. Details aren’t ignored, real life is not shoved away on behalf of a developers dream suite. These products all serve the markets they are in. They are extraordinarily well engineered in all four cases. Additionally, these companies all have strong management teams; have deep domain knowledge and are open to hearing what they need to do from customers. Without exception, these four companies are the likely best in their areas with the most substantial futures.
Does that leave them without “things” to do? Nope. Each of them also has specific needs to fulfill and anomalies to exploit. We’ll take a look at what that means posthaste.
First up the verticals.
There isn’t a lot of representation for vertical industries. Partially because the companies that specialize in customer-facing applications for specific industries tend to be on the smaller side and focused on a very narrow slice of even the industry that they are involved in. Also, because many of the technology companies with broader portfolios have their own vertical practices or foci. Witness Parature and the public sector; Amdocs and telcos; SAP and dozens of industry solutions with CRM-related pieces.
But there are some outstanding ones out there who are vertically focused. But even “outstanding” doesn’t get you recognition for the CRM Watchlist. In order to win the Watchlist, the vertically focused technology company has to either have an impact that is so dominant that they own the space or have an impact that goes beyond their immediate focus – not an easy thing to do in either case.
Yet, this year, once again, we have two winners – and it’s the same two as last year. That would be our also once again, highest scorer in the entire Watchlist Blackbaud and financial and health services rock star, NexJ. These guys just raked up the points when it came to the score, with their quality and scope – and their ability to get outside the narrow confines of their industry.
So, yay! to Blackbaud and NexJ – and let’s see what they bring.
I’m going to start this with an anecdote about our once again highest scorer, Blackbaud.
CRM Idol 2011 had several CRM for Non-Profit offerings among the contestants. When we were questioning one of them during their demo, I asked them, “What is your target market?” Their answer was, “anyone that Blackbaud doesn’t want.”
That’s how dominant Blackbaud is the non-profit world. They are a mega-giant with 2011 revenues of $370,868,000, up from $327 plus million the year before and approaching a $450,000,000 run rate by 3rd quarter 2012. Until 2012 they only had one major universal rival, Convio. They don’t anymore, because they bought them. They have 27,000 customers. BIG numbers.
Keep in mind that the needs of non-profits, while they overlap with standard business needs, are not identical with for profit company requirements. In fact, as I mentioned in last year’s review, it isn’t called customer relationship management in the non-profit world, but constituent relationship management.
Some of the specific non-profit operational challenges as identified by Blackbaud in the 2011 annual report:
Solicit funds and build relationships with major donorsGarner small cash contributions from numerous contributorsManage and develop complex relationships with large numbers of constituentsCommunicate their accomplishments and importance of the missionComply with complex accounting, tax and reporting issues that differ from traditional businessesSolicit cash and in-kind contributions from businesses to help raise money or deliver products/servicesProvide a wide array of programs and services to individualsImprove the data collection and sharing capabilities of their employees, volunteers and donors by operating and providing distributed access to centralized databasesI would add a couple of other kinds of challenges that plague non-profits and have throughout time immemorial:
Understand that their volunteer and donor might be the same personCommunicate the mission for sure, but run a non-profit business with an emphasis on business. This is a business with a cause that supersedes the business operations – but can’t ignore them nonetheless.What makes Blackbaud’s success even more remarkable is that just because something is called a non-profit doesn’t make it the same as the next non-profit. For example, several years ago, I went on a non-profit national speaking tour with a large consulting firm and we had attendees ranging from the American Red Cross to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry to the American Medical Association to the Rockefeller Foundation attending. The only thing they had in common was 501(c)(3) status. Each of them had an entirely different purpose, business model and ROI they were looking for. Daunting job; but Blackbaud does it.
The acquisition of Convio, who had a strong non-profit CRM suite strengthened Blackbaud’s CRM offering which is now integrated, for the most part. What this gives them is a fairly complete non-profit CRM platform – not just a set of applications. In fact it actually is more of an ecosystem than just a platform.
While their platform offers a complete set of applications (fundraising, major giving, campaign management, content management, reporting, analytics, etc.) and associated technology services including a strong API for integration and third party possible apps (though I don’t see much evidence of that – even if it’s there), that is only one-third of their total offering. The power of Blackbaud is not just in the comprehensiveness of the platform, but in the extent of the ecosystem.
There are three parts to the ecosystem – and the platform spans two of them. Part one is constituent management which involves business processes, analytics, campaign management, etc. Part two is digital engagement (their Luminate Online product) which brings advocacy, content management, email marketing peer-to-peer interaction and fundraising to the fore. To complete the ecosystem, they also offer strategic services which means consulting, data services, interactive services, campaign planning etc. This “power of three” (who knows the pop reference?) is where they truly shine.
Blackbaud also proves that they take their business seriously by their active participation in what is often called “good works.” To see the incredible list of what they do to foster corporate citizenship, check out their 2012 Corporate Citizenship Review here. Suffice to say, in 2013, they are adding to this remarkable effort with the Blackbaud Community Matters Grants Program, which will give grants to non-profits in areas they have offices and Blackbaud Cares which will support employee led activities worldwide.
But dominance aside, they, like any company of their level, are in a position where they have to keep upping the ante. So….
Up their game in the CRM world a bit – Blackbaud has what can be characterized as a complete CRM solution for non-profits. But damned if most of the CRM world really knows that. They have attended and spoken at events like CRM Evolution but what they lack substantially is the intellectual property around CRM that they should have. For example, go to their website and try and find much beyond their CRM blog and you don’t. BTW, this isn’t more than a serious tweak of what they do. They have the opportunity with the acquisition of Convio, to be a player in CRM at a level that gets them the broad impact on the CRM stage, not just the non-profit stage. Which, for them, may or may not be meaningful. But, let’s just say, I’d think about it. More IP, more involvement than just conference attendance.Make analyst relations, 20th century into influencer relations, 21st century – Blackbaud’s analyst relations in a 20th century world is right and true – regular interactions with Gartner, IDC, Forrester and Saugatuck. But this isn’t the 20th century and they need to rethink some of what they are doing. They need to adjust to the realities of the 21st century analyst world – it’s become more influencer relations and the boutiques and independents are almost as influential if not as influential as the institutional analysts of yore. AND as I’m sure they well know, its particular analysts at the institutional analyst organizations who are the truly valuable, not the company per se, if looking at real value. I can speak to this as an independent – when I speak with independents or boutique firms, they don’t really know much about Blackbaud – and have uniformly been surprised at how big the company is and how dominant they are. If they had been taking a 21st century approach, they wouldn’t have been surprised. I’ll leave it at that.BIG consulting and systems integrators – Oddly, unless they just didn’t tell me nor could I find it, they don’t seem to have any strategic relationships to the big consulting and SI firms which is just outright strange. To make this one easy, there is no reason that I can see why they shouldn’t and no reason why the big boys like Accenture, Deloitte, Ernst and Young Advisory, CSC or PwC shouldn’t be interested. I’d make the move if I were Blackbaud, unless they have these relationships already - invisible as they may keep them.There is a reason that they have been the highest scoring company for two years in a row. They are a dominant force in the non-profit world. But that dominance comes with a price – the cost of keeping it. This year, if Blackbaud continues down the road they are on, they will remain as dominant as ever. But to make this sustainable over many years, well, hopefully they’ll take the suggestions and run with them. But either way, they win.
In last year’s CRM Watchlist, NexJ was a walk-on who submitted a questionnaire. They won, as one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of last year’s effort. This year, like all participants, they did the questionnaire and they won again. Not a surprise at all, though what they do and how thorough they are a source of actual delight.
A lot of what I said last year, strong management team, award winning software/services in the financial services space, and so on, holds for this year, so I won’t repeat myself. If you want to see what I said, go here. This year, I want to focus on something different.
NexJ has world class financial services related applications – especially in the insurance and wealth management domains. The analyst firms recognize the value. The thought leadership NexJ does around it is excellent. Their customer list is fantastic.
If you look at their recognition, it’s in those areas. In fact, Aite Group recognized them as best-in-class for large wealth management firm – and the market agrees. Three of the top 6 wealth management firms are their customers.
Their marketing is focused around their financial offerings. Their submission to me was focused around financial offerings when it came to market reach and thought leadership.
But I think that their real opportunity lies in their health services offering and this year they won the Watchlist not only on the strength of their financial services offerings but on the power of their health services capabilities.
Look at it this way. Health services is one of the industries I call an “emotional vertical.” The impact that a diagnosis or even the anticipation of a diagnosis has on the emotional state of any individual or their loved ones is not anything I have to explain, because every one of you reading this has been there. Additionally, we’ve seen the desire, the need for information grow so dramatically and the way that health information is both distributed and consumed change so dramatically, it’s a bit of a cliché to say that you found out about the treatment “on the Internet.”
Plus, health care information technology systems is an industry – and a big one at that. Marketsandmarkets estimates that it will be $53.8 billion by 2014 – a staggering number that means a huge opportunity. The entire world health IT market is estimated to be at $162.2 billion by 2015. HUGE.
Now, take the NexJ next gen approach to health care and wellness and here’s how it (in a nutshell breaks out):
NexJ Health Exchange – Health Exchange does what it’s named. It helps disparate health information systems, electronic health record systems and health information exchanges by normalizing terminology and document formats so that they can create interchangeable longitudinal electronic health records.NexJ Connected Wellness Platform – This is an on target, next gen solution. This is the nexus of “patient interaction” and “patient engagement.” The idea is to have tools and a platform that allows patients and caregivers to both interact and exchange information – and manage personal wellness from the patient side. Some of the apps that NexJ references directly are: Personal Health Coaching for diabetes, hypertension, weight management and exercise; Transitional Care Management; Scheduling; and Assessments. The value of this isn’t in the wellness management tools per se but the ability of the patient to control those aspects of their healthcare that they can control – their preventative health care, access to their records and communications with health professionals.NexJ Contact for Health – This is the core CRM system or Patient Relationship Management system with an emphasis on the word “management.” This is where the healthcare faciltiies and hospitals meet the payers and insurance companies. Its purpose is a single view of the patient or patient group across organizations that need to interact with the patient. Back office systems from admittance to claims are all part of the patient record which is organized as the proverbial 360 degree view of the customer.NexJ Disease Screening – This is designed to manage screening and surveillance programs across groups for major medical conditions like cancer. This is designed to provide “proactive population based screening solutions” that ID treatable diseases AND (a big kicker here) can, once the disease is identified, coordinate inter-organizational action and analyze results. It allows for early detection, which as you know, can save lives. In fact this has been such a success that it won a CDN Channel Elite Gold award for best cloud computing solutionThe combined elements of this health and wellness solution are complete and completely rock. The wellness component is entirely geared to a 21st century healthcare model- enabling patient control over their own health, without losing the diagnostic or managerial control that the medical authorities and facilities have to have to make sure that the patient is not only treated well, but in compliance with the law. Who else does that?
I think this is where NexJ has its next great opportunity and has the chance to, if not be disruptive, to be a market maker. But while doing that they also have to expand their global reach. Right now they are known in the U.S and Canada, of course, but to the players in their verticals more so than generally. So there is a bit of a conundrum. How do you expand your universal presence while blowing up the health services market, should they decide to go for it, which would entail a change in focus.
That means….
Go horizontal, not just vertical – This company is one of those best kept secrets outside of Canada and the verticals they serve. As you saw, they are rock stars, one of the fastest growing companies in North America, with outstanding bonafides in pretty much everything. But when I ask around in the CRM analyst world, not too many have heard of them and even those who heard of them know very little about them (with one exception). It’s even worse when I speak with the broader enterprise software influencers, they almost to a person don’t know them. If I were them and I was claiming CRM, I’d have a considerably stronger footprint in the global CRM market and start by getting to all the analysts, journalists and influencers they can. Show up at events, give regular briefings, and send out the press releases to the list of influencers, among many other things. Establish a market presence that is noticed and thought leadership that emphasizes “CRM” not the just the verticals they specialize in. This proposition goes considerably beyond what I suggested for Blackbaud. All in all, given how well NexJ is doing, do they have to do this? Well, no, but if they want to have the impact they could, rather than the impact they are having, I would seriously advise it.Push the content around health services - While they are strongest in the financial services (insurance, et. al) area, this could be their future crown jewel. The applications and services are strong, next generation and focused around what might be the biggest area for growth in the technology world for this century – health services. (That’s an opinion, not a research-proven statement). This is where they can grab mindshare and market share over the next several years.Expand their partnerships – specifically. Most of the time when I suggest expanding partnerships, I’ve been somewhat categorical, rather than specific and pretty certain of my suggestion. I’m making a markedly different proposal here. I think there are two partnerships that NexJ should look into to see if there is any synergies that work. First, one with SAP around integration with HANA so that they can handle their data at the scale that HANA allows with the speed that HANA provides. This is necessary given the number of patient records, the amount of medical entities and the richness of medical data. Additionally, they should consider a possible partnership with what might be a competitor – Microsoft. For years, Microsoft has been acquiring health services companies (e.g. Azyxxi in 2006 and Medstory in 2008) because they understood the immense possibilities in this area. But even with their abiding interest in health services, they have nothing that does what NexJ does. A complementary alliance In concept similar to the one that Microsoft Dynamics CRM has with Moxie makes some sense here. All in all, these specific partnerships might really propel NexJ to another level, but I’d tread gingerly. There might be fits with SAP and Microsoft or there might not. It’s worth an investigation.So, NexJ, you are going to have an impact because you’re a very smart company with outstanding products and leadership. But go for the gusto with your little sister service and products and, I’m guessing, in a few years, you have a HUGE impact and a Fast 50 growth rate for global companies.
How many flippin’ times have we heard about Big Data, actionable insight and customer experience in the last year? Let’s see, strict Google Search…
Big Data = 21,300,000Customer Experience = 17,500,000Actionable Insight = 565,000Needless to say, that’s a lot. But CRM (the acronym) is at 131,000,000 so none of them are quite there yet. However, what we can say about all three is that they are hyped heavily; they are related to each other: and all three are being addressed by technology vendors and strategists with an eye to figuring out how to make them all work together; which means when that happens, there is value and lots of it, to be had.
The simplest formulation for value is that Big Data is focused on, captured, turned into information, turned into knowledge and then that knowledge is used for the development of insight. Actionable insight is the best kind – the kind of specific idea about someone or something that leads someone or something else to do something with it – not about it.
Our winners in this category, Coveo and Thunderhead are both coming at from entirely different standpoints. Coveo from Big Data and knowledge management leading to actionable insight; Thunderhead from customer experience analytics and management leading to actionable insight. So the end result is the same even though they are radically different.
How radically different you might say?
That, my friend, is the ideal segue into this section. It’s now time for Coveo and Thunderhead.
What can I say about Coveo that I haven’t said more than once? They have a product that just works. It does exactly what it sets out to do which is to provide dynamic information that leads to valuable insights that can impact companies. It is far more than what it started out as – an enterprise search service. It is an incredibly versatile product. For example, it is being used by the contact lenses manufacturing division of Johnson and Johnson to monitor each and every one of the 3000+ points of production along the creation and assembly path of a contact lens. If there is something wrong, Coveo’s engine finds it down to the single place the problem exists – and voila problem can be solved.
In the last year, what might be the most important development at this exciting, growing company is that they have done a full blown integration with salesforce.com that has been developed on the salesforce Force.com platform. I’ve seen this integration and it is so tight it is literally part of the salesforce Service Cloud services. Case information, subject matter expertise and references and solutions to problems are represented from within the salesforce system in what I have to say is a seamless and easily manageable way – which, while probably a more industry standard terminology than I normally use, still gets across the point. There is added power to salesforce. This has been such an impressive addition to the salesforce ecosystem that Coveo holds a coveted “strategic partner” status and is involved in multiple deals with salesforce.
Even with this rather brilliant additional product in their portfolio, it hasn't been easy for Coveo, over the last couple of years to define themselves, because they are so much more than an enterprise search engine. But they are getting there, positioning themselves around being an insights solution and around knowledge management. That is their core. They provide near real time insights based on their ability to capture, aggregate and organize knowledge dynamically.
They have become increasingly visible and important as CEO (and former Taleo chairman) Louis Tetu gets out more and more as a public spokesperson. They are also making themselves more visible in the industry via webinars and attendance at events. Thus with the new product and the solidification of their positioning they are growing in influence and impact at a consistent pace.
But to escalate that impact they need to do a few things – or the steadiness will become a slowness.
Build up their thought leadership IP by several magnitudes – This is one area that they don’t have enough intellectual property around their insight and KM positioning. For example, if you look at their landing page, there is too much evidence of their legacy enterprise search roots slapping you in the face. They need to build up the concept papers, the web assets, redo the positioning on the site; speak at conference on insight solutions, knowledge management. In other words build the case for who they actually are.Mad pace to increase their partnerships – In the interests of disclosure, they (as are several other Watchlist winners – and losers) are a client. While speaking with them, they know this. Their integration with salesforce is superbly done and they have the technical chops to build other integrations. They provide what perhaps no other company can – a platform and framework for uber powered and easily accessible knowledge that is specific to the person asking for it. That means they can sit as a layer in multiple CRM systems. Companies aside from salesforce.com will be excited to see what they offer. Now, given that these partnerships take time and money, they have to choose who they go after and make the commitment and go git ‘em.This is a company that is going somewhere. But how big they become getting there is still up for debate. They are a leader in their category and they have what is perhaps a unique product. But to expand their market opportunities, to increase their credibility (which is already high) and to gain mindshare, they will have to do what they need to do. I trust they will and if they do, they will succeed.
If this was 2011, I would have gone “who?” if you asked me who Thunderhead.com was. They piqued my interest because an old friend of mine, the former CMO of KANA, Marchai Bruchey, told me that she was now part of it as CMO (now Chief Customer Officer) and I should take a look. Because I trust her, I did. And, as they say in the bible, it was good. (Parenthetical note: Relationships over time work as far as getting an influencers ear. Take note, young AR/PR people and take your time to develop them).
This company showed me something completely unexpected – arguably one of the best customer experience focused applications I’ve ever seen. What blew me away was that it was damned close to real time in how it well it showed the customer journey at the macro and micro levels – and, of course, all about the cloud.
They had no slouch of a history either. Founded in 2001 by current CEO (and truly nice person) Glen Manchester, They were (and are) a leading provider of a document collaboration platform for capital markets – and are well known in that world in fact.
Which is the also the subject of their dilemma. But let me wax enthusiastic for a while longer before I get to that.
They describe their customer experience product as a “true SaaS-based customer engagement platform” which is an accurate description despite its buzz wordy nature. They also call it customer journey management. What it does, to put it concisely is to both track customer journeys enmasse – meaning follow multiple customers’ activities as they “hit” touchpoints along their journeys and allows you to drill down to an individual customer journey and to develop an appropriate communication in what they label rather cleverly “right time.” It’s something you have to see rather than read a description of – but it’s worth the time. From my perspective, having seen it in detail last year during an advisory day with the company, it was the best in class – in fact the best I had ever seen for CJM (customer journey management. All RIGHT! Another acronym. Hooah!).
This is a company that gets customer experience. In fact, the ambiance of their experience center – their London HQ – shows you they understand what it is. When you walk in, there is an embedded high definition TV that isn’t showing you boring videos of what they do, but instead, old black and white movies, remastered for HD. It engages instantly. And it’s just one of the touches of their office – and a reflection of the warm and playful culture they have.
But they do have a real dilemma and it’s because they are so good at what they do. They have two distinct products. The document management product for capital markets which is so good that 14 of the top 15 investment banks use it. The customer journey platform which I think is best in class. But they have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to reconcile the two – the constant generic theme is customer communications platform – which doesn’t’ really work. The two platforms are very different and aimed at different targets. Two bows rather than a double bow are likely the better approach when shooting at two targets. That awkward metaphor shows you how little I know about bows and arrows.
This is a company with tremendous potential. They are well regarded by the analyst community; they produce quality products; they have an engaging culture and a strong management team. They are also well established in one market and new to another. To deal with that, they need to settle on either a reconciliation or separation of the two themes – and do that post haste. Thus….
Figure out how to handle their two businesses – Thunderhead.com made its bones through an incredibly tight and clean document management service and application for capital markets. They now have a rather remarkable cloud based customer journey application that is among the best out there. They have been trying to reconcile the two businesses and developing a story that can show the relationship between both. It isn’t easy. Each of them is a business unto itself; each has real possibilities. The capital markets document management business will remain their backbone for the immediate future, but their CJM applications/services have almost unlimited potential – providing they can get its story clear. Truthfully, it might be a good time to start thinking about two business units. Complete the already embarked upon cycle to find out if the story of the two as one can be told, but if it can’t, don’t try to force something that may not be there. I’ll leave it at that.Seriously escalate social media presence – As of now, their social presence and participation is fairly minimal. Contrast it to the work done by Jon Ferrara at Nimble who is probably the baseline for smart interaction on social media and you will get the picture. For a company making serious moves around customer experience which is a right brained endeavor a social presence at a substantial scale is necessary. Almost a consumer – level of thinking should be involved – highly personalized. That means company employees and management involved as themselves though of course they represent the company. It means IP that might be a web app rather than a white paper so to speak. But it does mean a much richer social media presence, than is currently extant.Thought leadership refresh -Thunderhead has a substantial body of intellectual property. But it’s around their core business – the above mentioned collaborative document management for capital markets. They have little beyond some press (though good press) when it comes to mentions or even conceptual materials around customer experience. They need to get off the dime (or 10 pence) here and build up a body of rich media work around customer experience so that their customer experience story is more pristine than it currently is – and defensible via the thought leadership body of knowledge they should provide.This is their first year on the Watchlist and thus they may not be used to the tough love I like to give, but I suspect they can take it. Their boundless potential around their CJM platform is not just exciting to me but to all those that they interact with. The quality of their stuff is what gets them to this year’s Watchlist and if they take 2013 to mature their themes, their future on Watchlists is assured – as well as their position as a market leader in a truly hot market.
_________________________________________________________________
Okay, that’s it for this episode – Next up – the penultimate episode – we are going to see reviews, though shorter ones – for CRM Idol winners Crowdtap and Artesian Solutions and a paragraph or two on each of the Ready to Leap companies and Companies to Watch. Stay tuned.
Topics: Tech Industry, Emerging Tech
In addition to being the author of the best-selling "CRM at the Speed of Light: Social CRM Strategies, Tools, and Techniques for Engaging Your Customers," Paul Greenberg is President of The 56 Group, LLC.
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.Monday, April 29, 2013
CRM Watchlist 2013 Lifetime Achievement: IBM Institute for Business Value
Summary: The 2013 CRM Watchlist Liftetime Achievement Award, the second annual one, kicks off the reviews. This is probably the kindest of the reviews that you'll be seeing in this entire 40+ series of them. Because the IBM IBV is SO damned worthy. How can I be edgy?
In a lot of ways this gives me an enormous amount of pleasure. It’s my second annual CRM Watchlist Lifetime Achievement Award and it goes to an organization that has had long term and continuous (meaning year over year) impact on the business world especially that focusing around customer facing industries and practitioners. Last year, the inaugural award rightfully went to the Peppers and Rogers Group, who were pioneers in one to one thinking and personalization and continue to be leaders in how customers and companies interact and need to.
This year, however, it goes to a very different kind of organization. One that I’ve had the honor of knowing and trusting for a long time and one that if you are part of this industry in any way, knows is perhaps the most quoted and trusted research organization in the world of business. One that has had perhaps more impact on driving vendor and practitioner strategies around market trends and best practices than any other organization that I can think of. One that has had its studies and data quoted almost ubiquitously and is omniscient in the discussions around how to proceed with the present and future business of business. One that never has had its veracity questioned despite its ties to one of the most significant businesses on the earth. One that seemingly has no agenda despite those ties – it is an institution that lives to produce the quality of work that it does. A true impact player.
It is my honor to announce that the Second Annual CRM Watchlist Lifetime Achievement Award goes to…
The IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV)
(Clap! Clap! Audience goes wild). I suspect if you know anything about these guys that when you saw the award went to them, you went “of course; it’s so obvious.” And it is obvious. From their every-two-years (biennial?) CEO report to their work on big data analytics to their research on social business and social CRM, they have become what is probably, at least in the technology world, the most quoted business research group ever. Anecdotally, I’ve seen a slide on the perception gap between business and consumers when it comes to social channel use (source: From Social Media to Social CRM, Part 1, 2011) used in more presentations than any other single chart in my life.
But this goes way beyond anecdotal evidence. Their results have driven decision-making at companies across the spectrum – ranging from technology companies and consulting firms to manufacturing and CPG businesses. Despite their connections to IBM, no one I know in any industry presumes they have any agenda other than producing extraordinary research to provide some fundamental insights for those reading it.
I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Eric Lesser, who is the Executive Director – the guy in charge – of the IBV. He is the kind of guy who engenders the personal trust of those who deal with him – and he is as big a Yankees fan as I am. J. I told Eric about this award and asked him for a statement that speaks to who the IBV is. So, before I go on any further, ladies and gentlemen, Eric Lesser:
The Institute for Business Value, the research and thought leadership development arm of IBM Global Business Services, develops practical, fact-based points of view on a variety of industry, cross-industry and role-based topics. I have been proud to have been part of this group, which is comprised of leading subject matter experts from around globe, since its inception in 2002. In the IBV, we develop perspectives as well as share the results with executive audiences. We work in collaboration with internal and external industry experts, leading edge clients and IBM’s own consultants to provide practical recommendations built on a foundation of fundamental research.
Since 2002, we have produced over 250 studies over the last ten years, which are disseminated through a number of delivery channels, including our website and tablet app. This base of knowledge provides IBM with the insights needed to develop deeper relationships with its customers and demonstrates its commitment to leading business thinking.
From the beginning of the group, we have developed a range of marketing and consumer-based insights. Starting with research on customer relationship management, we have continued to expand our coverage to understand global consumer opinions in the retail, telecommunications, banking, automobile and insurance industries, as well the impact of emerging topics such as Social CRM and Collective Intelligence. One of our flagship studies, the 2011 Chief Marketing Officer Study which is based on face-to-face interviews with over 1,700 marketing leaders, has shed new light into the challenges faced by senior executives on the use of social media, customer data and the future skills needed for marketing success.
I am honored to be part of such a great group of individuals, who have really helped shape business thinking over the last several years, and made a significant contribution to IBM and its clients.
I expect that the IBV’s impact will not only continue but grow over the next several years because the C-level studies are iconic reference points for those people who care about not just data and trends, but about possible practices that work in the rather confusing world of 21st century. The IBM Institute for Business Value has been and is one of the beacons that help us light the way. For that reason, they win the CRM Watchlist 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award AND what will be my kindest review of any of the winners of this award. J
CONGRATS to the IBM INSTITUTE FOR BUSINESS VALUE, the 2013 CRM Watchlist Lifetime Achievement Award!
There are currently no prices available for this product.
In addition to being the author of the best-selling "CRM at the Speed of Light: Social CRM Strategies, Tools, and Techniques for Engaging Your Customers," Paul Greenberg is President of The 56 Group, LLC.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - April 12
April 12 | Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:17am EDT
April 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* Cyprus must soon raise 13 billion euros ($17 billion) - nearly twice the amount the government thought it would have to come up with just a month ago - to keep its debt and deficit from spinning out of control and to meet the terms of a 10 billion euro ($13.1 billion) international bailout. ()
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in the labor market after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. ()
* U.S. retailers reported that a benchmark sales figure rose slightly during the month as shoppers held back on spending because of cold weather across the nation, particularly in the Midwest and East Coast, and continued fears about the economy. ()
* A multibillion-dollar consulting industry came under the spotlight in Washington on Thursday, as lawmakers questioned the quality and independence of companies that guide banks through regulatory scrutiny. ()
* U.S. federal prosecutors revealed a brazen two-year insider trading scheme involving Scott London, a former senior partner at the accounting giant KPMG, and a longtime friend. ()
* J.C. Penney Co Inc has hired the Blackstone Group to help it raise cash, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday, as the embattled retailer seeks a turnaround after replacing its chief executive. ()
PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - April 12
April 12 | Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:17am EDT
April 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* Cyprus must soon raise 13 billion euros ($17 billion) - nearly twice the amount the government thought it would have to come up with just a month ago - to keep its debt and deficit from spinning out of control and to meet the terms of a 10 billion euro ($13.1 billion) international bailout. ()
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in the labor market after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. ()
* U.S. retailers reported that a benchmark sales figure rose slightly during the month as shoppers held back on spending because of cold weather across the nation, particularly in the Midwest and East Coast, and continued fears about the economy. ()
* A multibillion-dollar consulting industry came under the spotlight in Washington on Thursday, as lawmakers questioned the quality and independence of companies that guide banks through regulatory scrutiny. ()
* U.S. federal prosecutors revealed a brazen two-year insider trading scheme involving Scott London, a former senior partner at the accounting giant KPMG, and a longtime friend. ()
* J.C. Penney Co Inc has hired the Blackstone Group to help it raise cash, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday, as the embattled retailer seeks a turnaround after replacing its chief executive. ()
PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - April 12
April 12 | Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:17am EDT
April 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* Cyprus must soon raise 13 billion euros ($17 billion) - nearly twice the amount the government thought it would have to come up with just a month ago - to keep its debt and deficit from spinning out of control and to meet the terms of a 10 billion euro ($13.1 billion) international bailout. ()
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in the labor market after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. ()
* U.S. retailers reported that a benchmark sales figure rose slightly during the month as shoppers held back on spending because of cold weather across the nation, particularly in the Midwest and East Coast, and continued fears about the economy. ()
* A multibillion-dollar consulting industry came under the spotlight in Washington on Thursday, as lawmakers questioned the quality and independence of companies that guide banks through regulatory scrutiny. ()
* U.S. federal prosecutors revealed a brazen two-year insider trading scheme involving Scott London, a former senior partner at the accounting giant KPMG, and a longtime friend. ()
* J.C. Penney Co Inc has hired the Blackstone Group to help it raise cash, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday, as the embattled retailer seeks a turnaround after replacing its chief executive. ()
PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - April 12
April 12 | Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:17am EDT
April 12 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* Cyprus must soon raise 13 billion euros ($17 billion) - nearly twice the amount the government thought it would have to come up with just a month ago - to keep its debt and deficit from spinning out of control and to meet the terms of a 10 billion euro ($13.1 billion) international bailout. ()
* The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, easing fears of a marked deterioration in the labor market after a surprise stumble in job growth in March. ()
* U.S. retailers reported that a benchmark sales figure rose slightly during the month as shoppers held back on spending because of cold weather across the nation, particularly in the Midwest and East Coast, and continued fears about the economy. ()
* A multibillion-dollar consulting industry came under the spotlight in Washington on Thursday, as lawmakers questioned the quality and independence of companies that guide banks through regulatory scrutiny. ()
* U.S. federal prosecutors revealed a brazen two-year insider trading scheme involving Scott London, a former senior partner at the accounting giant KPMG, and a longtime friend. ()
* J.C. Penney Co Inc has hired the Blackstone Group to help it raise cash, people briefed on the matter said on Thursday, as the embattled retailer seeks a turnaround after replacing its chief executive. ()
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