Dragging Software Development Into the 21st Century

Companies spend billions of dollars every year on developing their own software applications or purchasing complex enterprise software applications. This includes not only the cost of software, but the hardware infrastructure required to support the software as well. Rather than spending this money on software development, a company should put it to better use to improve the core business of the company. That is, the company should be focusing on what it is that they are really in business for rather then being distracted by software development.


Current software development practices for enterprise applications often result in products that are too expensive to develop, acquire, implement, integrate and then maintain. The typical software development cycle starts with a base product that is developed and subsequently sold, if external, or delivered, if internal, to a client. If the base product is lacking in functionality, then additional modifications must be made to the base product, adding to the cost of development. Once modifications have been completed, the implementation and integration phase starts. This phase has high costs associated with it; usually surrounding customization in order to get the software to interface with existing legacy systems. Finally, annual maintenance and service fess are charged, which usually do not include future upgrades. Clients are frequently less than happy with the results. The software development entity is often unaware that the client is not happy until the next development cycle is well under way, at which point it is too late and too expensive to address the problems. This results in an endless cycle where the software developed for a client continuously lags behind the client’s actual needs. Financial and human resources, which could be used too much greater effect elsewhere, are absorbed into a cycle that could be avoided altogether.


One of the highest costs involved in software development is the cost of developers. Over the past few decades computers have automated most industries. Ironically, the one industry that has not benefited from automation is the software development industry. Writing software is still a manual process involving monotonous and repetitive tasks. Techniques, such as code reuse and code generation have been developed over the years to reduce the workload. However, developers are inherently resistant to change and to anything they perceive as being able to “replace” them. Either they do not trust someone else’s code, or they think they could write better code themselves. For whatever reason, developers wind up reinventing the wheel project after project and billing for that work. Since developers are reluctant to utilize tools and techniques in their own development, they become their own worst enemy. The computer is the greatest tool ever invented and developers, the ones that make this great tool work, are reluctant to take maximum advantage of it.


If there is an industry that should be automated it is the software industry. All business applications perform the same basic functions and they interact with a database the same way, doing inserts, updates, queries, deletes, etc. They interact with the user through a user interface allowing the user to input and retrieve data. The internal plumbing that ties everything together is the same. What makes an application unique is the business rules, logic, and workflows (how the user moves through the application). Ideally there would be a tool that would “create” these common features and help “manage” the unique parts.


A tool is needed that would allow a developer to focus on the “what” or the rules and workflows instead of the “how” or the plumbing. A tool is needed that would take care of the monotonous and repetitive tasks. These laborious tasks are precisely where a computer excels. This tool has been created and it is ready for those who can accept giving up total development control and let the computer do what it was invented to do: expedite commerce. For more information on how your business can benefit from custom software development visit cerkitek.com.

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Cox Communications Achieves Millions in Productivity Savings with webMethods Business Process Management

Keeping competitive is critical for Cox—like all telecom companies. To lower costs, Cox needs to update a nearly defunct work-order management system.

Replacing the system also will help Cox increase customer satisfaction when its 3,500 technicians are on site, installing or repairing video, telephone and high-speed Internet service.

Cox uses the webMethods Business Process Management (BPM) Suite to create a new field-service portal known as iWerks. An easy-to-use tabbed environment integrates with a hosted work-order management system, called ETADirect, to revolutionize Cox’s productivity and customer service in the field. The BPM Software solution gives Cox a platform to build even more productivity-enhancing solutions in the future.

Adding up BPM Benefits

• By saving 10 minutes per tech per day, Cox expects $4.4 million in annual productivity gains, nearly $40 million in net present value

• iWerks up and running faster than expected—in less than two months

• Project aligns with Cox’s process excellence strategy, thanks to end-to-end BPM and Service-Oriented Architecture lifecycle governance

• Quality design assured due to guaranteed design-time governance

• Assets can be re-used in future projects

• Collaboration improves with a cross-project view of service development

Increasing productivity and improving quality

With an aging work-order management system, Cox Communications was looking for another solution that would help keep field technician costs low and provide the necessary flexibility and extendibility to introduce even more productivity solutions into the business.

“We needed a system that would keep up with the ever-changing capabilities we wanted our techs to have at their fingertips,” says Mark Leuenberger, Director of Field Service Technology. “The goal for the new capability was a time savings of up to 10 minutes per tech per day. Although the primary business challenge was the need for productivity improvements, a strong secondary challenge was the need to extend tools and capabilities to the techs that would help ensure quality. We wanted to make sure we met a customer’s needs the first time.”

iWerks is an “all-in-one” system. According to Dziczkowski, “the overall solution has proven itself in the field as we continue to deploy it across the enterprise.”

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Web Based ERP Software

Web Based ERP Software is basically an open source ERP system for Small and Medium sized Enterprise Segment (SME).
There are basically following types of Functionalities are present in the web based erp software:

* Sales Order

* Purchase Orders

* Accounts Receivable

* Inventory Management

* User defined sales analysis

* Accounts Payable

* General Ledger

* Manufacturing

Web ERP software requires only a web browser and PDF reader to use. The features set in web ERP software are continually expanding as new businesses and developers follow it.

Web Based ERP has a wide range of features best suitable for so many businesses like Printing company, Readymade Garments, Textile ERP, Pharmacy Industries etc.

The Web Based ERP code has been extensive match reviewed but more importantly extensively tested in the field. It is very much flexible in its configuration and platform so it can be easily configured on virtually any web server.

Web ERP Software developers are very keen to work with your business to develop solutions.

Web ERP is very easy to access on can access it from any where any time from desktop, lap-top, PDA or internet cafe.
Web ERP has a very wide variety of features that are suitable for managing businesses of so many differing forms like from simple menu structure to complex business and easily accessible like multiple currencies, multiple inventory locations, lot and serial number tracking of inventor.

There are following some general properties:

* Entirely web based

* Runs on web-server that can accommodate PHP

* Portable Document Format reports – PDF for accurate positioning of text

* Multi-language – user can see the interface in their preferred language

* Minimal use of java-script for maximum compatibility with all web enabled devices and web-browsers

Eastern Software Systems A SEI CMM, Level 5 Company ISO 9001 : 2000 Certified Company offering Web Based ERP Software.

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The Paperless Office ? What’s stopping you?

 

Over the years, the phrase ‘Paperless Office’ has become something of a distant dream to many businesses. Sure there are document management systems out there that will take your paper, read it, sort it and process it without human intervention, but such systems are usually very expensive and hard to justify. But once you’ve seen the big beasts, the rest seem to be something of a compromise. You don’t get all of the features, but you still need servers, software, training and someone to look after things, take backups, set up new users and filing systems. It’s a daunting task that many small and medium sized businesses look at and then run a mile from. The benefits really don’t outweigh the costs and effort in many situations. There has to be a better way…

In today’s world, a business is going backwards by standing still. Managing,  controlling and reducing the paper that is received or generated in even the smallest office can produce significant benefits – tangible ones like saving storage space and intangible ones like being able to find the information you need more quickly, answering queries more efficiently and just feeling more in control of your daily routine.

 

The IT industry refers to as ‘Document Management’. I prefer to think of it as ‘Common Sense’ – we’re not talking about an all-encompassing system that controls every piece of paper within a business and tracks it, routes it and makes decisions on it. That kind of thing is overkill to many businesses – in fact, it often hinders the flexibility and adaptability that give smaller businesses an advantage over their bigger, less personal competitors.

 

What really makes a difference to most businesses is having a simple, useable filing system that can manage their paper and electronic documents easily, keeping them safe, secure and easily retrievable. Even a system like this can be relatively expensive, requiring investment in hardware, software and training, and there’s usually an ongoing annual support and maintenance cost, not to mention consultancy and setup fees.

 

That’s where online document archiving solutions come in.  It’s different because the service provider will look after the system, the hardware, the backups, the security, the updates and the anti-virus, and all the users have to do is log in. By providing ‘Software as a Service’, all of the start up and ongoing management costs are eliminated, so it’s a far more cost-justifiable way of bringing document management to a business – a fixed monthly fee is much more comfortable to commit to than a hefty internal system would be.

 

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Web Based CRM Software Makes Telecommuting Easier

After years of the promise of being able to telecommute and work from home, it looks like there is finally some progress being made in that arena. Now more than ever, with traffic getting worse and commute times getting longer, people want the ability to be able to work from home. For salespeople, this is getting a lot easier with smartphones becoming more common and, especially, with more and more companies adding web based CRM software to their tools that they make available to their sales reps.

CRM software is a database for a salesperson that holds all the vital contact information on prospects and customers. CRM Software can be as basic as a simple database that holds the contact information, or you can use it to send email, direct mail, and postcards all on a set schedule. CRM Software is a tremendous tool for salespeople that are looking to take it to the next level. Regardless of what you may believe, most salepeople are just masters in process and sticking to a particular process. Once they find the formula that works, the good ones document the process and then setup a system in which all leads are handled. That can mean that after an initial contact, leads are put in a certain sales funnel, then they go through a set of predetermined steps that are proven to convert leads into customers. Until recently, most salespeople needed to be in the office to have access to their CRM System.

Web based CRM is the next generation. No longer are you tied to your home computer, but you can access your CRM Software via any web connection. That means that if there are certain days where a salesperson just plans on making outbound telephone calls, they can do it from the comfort of their own home. Even better for their bosses, this means they can still get work done if they need to be at home with a sick child or if the weather keeps them from coming in the office.

Many employers don’t like the idea of telecommuting because they fear employees might start slacking off. But really, for salespeople who are measured by goals that should be a non-issue. Whether they are working from home or the office, a manager should not care as long as they are hitting their numbers. And too often, managers confuse ’showing up’ with productivity. What a sales managers stance really should be is that they shouldn’t care how or where you work as long as you are bringring in prospects.

So if you are looking for a little more flexibility in your sales career, you should definitely be checking out a web based CRM software solution. The combination of a good software program and the ability to access your information anywhere can be a powerful tool in your sales arsenal. It will give you the flexibility you need to stay in touch with prospects without being tied down to the office. And anytime away from an office is a good thing!

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