Summary: A detailed description of content management and document management systems.

A content management system is an application that can be used to organise, publish and manage large amounts of content. This content can be images, documents, and other types of multimedia files. Content management systems typically offer:

· Ability to import and develop content

· Control of different versions of files

· Detection of system users and assignment of roles

· Alerts for developers if the content is altered

· Publication of relevant content to a specific storage area

These systems are also intended to handle the logistics of collaborative document development.

Document management systems are one subset of content management systems. These can be used by organisations to trace and warehouse both electronic documentation and scanned versions of paper-based documents. These systems aim to simplify document retrieval, security, file management, archiving, distribution and workflow.

Summary: A look at the benefits a content management system can offer throughout the life cycle of your organisation’s content.

The entire life cycle of a document or multimedia file needs to be managed. This includes tasks such as storage, tracking of changes, archiving and clean up. Content management systems can do all this and also offer:

· Collaboration during content creation: This is often an extremely critical feature because there is plenty of scope for chaos during collaborative content development. It is useful to have a system that facilitates and simplifies the process by ensuring correct versioning and providing alerts to developers when content is changed.

· Easy management of versions: The management of various versions of a file, from creation to publishing, with all the editing required during the workflow, can be daunting. With reliable content management software, the risk of the wrong version reaching the final stage is greatly reduced.

· Access to mission-critical content: A good content management system ensures a business can access its mission-critical content whenever it needs to. This can increase the efficiency of the department or organisation that needs it.

· Guaranteed publication to target audience: The system will ensure that the appropriate content is published to a location where the relevant audience can access it easily when required.

· Security of sensitive information: A management system will help ensure that the information is available only to the appropriate audience. This ensures that sensitive internal information does not reside in public spaces. The content management system also provides the means for tracking any malicious activity.

· Adherence to regulatory standards: In today’s regulatory environment, it is critical for a business to ensure compliance in every aspect. Content management systems can ensure that all documentation complies with the necessary criteria.

Summary: Factors to consider when selecting a suitable technology and vendor for your business.

The following are factors that many chief technology officers consider when deciding on the right technology and vendor for their IT support and consultancy services. Consider these, but make sure you keep in mind the specific requirements of your own business.

Use existing infrastructure: An IT consultancy service should give your business access to the latest technology. But the service provider should also try to maximise the use of your existing IT infrastructure. This will help to reduce the cost of conversion and adoption of the managed service. Leveraging your current infrastructure also allows you to reduce capital and operational expenditure.

Ease of operation: Ensure that the package and technology you choose is easy to use, as this is key to employee retention. Search for an IT service supplier that can provide you with software that is simple to deploy and does not require too much staff training. The cost of training must not eliminate the positive return on investment of a well-designed and implemented system. Simple deployment allow for an easy transition from previous systems, so ensure that the service provider offers a simple solution that encompasses your full requirement.

Technology platform: Check and understand the pros and cons of the underlying platform of your system when selecting a service provider. This may mean doing some research, but it’s worth the effort. This system will be the fundamental building block on which all your transactions may be processed, so knowing its weak points will be extremely useful.

Sign an appropriate service-level agreement: It is important to put everything down in a service agreement that lists your requirements and establishes the standards of performance you expect from the service provider. Ensure that your service provider has understood your requirements at the initial stage. Clear guidelines about penalties for levels of performance lower than the established standard must be documented because they will help ensure high performance levels in the future.

Managerial control: It is extremely important that you retain control of the overall management of the IT systems if you outsource any essential function. From a business management standpoint, the ownership and responsibility of all systems related to your business must rest with you. The service provider should have the capability to allow this seamlessly.

Summary: A detailed definition of IT support and consultancy, with a focus on managed services.

Information technology (IT) support and consultancy firms provide advice and support services to help you use IT to best serve your business goals. These consultants are experts in their field and offer implementation, deployment, administration and back-end support for IT systems and packages.

Many of these consultancies operate as managed services. This involves the transfer of daily tasks and management of IT systems to a third-party service provider. The aim here is to increase the efficiency of your organisation. The service provider is accountable to your organisation, which retains control and ownership of the system. This type of transaction is known as business process outsourcing. It has grown in importance thanks to the widespread use of IT systems in most industry sectors.

There are two main categories for IT consulting services:

• Professional services companies that have a large staff of consultants and experts to assign to your project for a fee. Billing can be by the hour or by the deliverable results. Increasing numbers of their consultants come from developing nations such as India and the Philippines. This is because of the comparative cost advantage for the services firm. And this can translate into savings that are passed on to your organization.
• Recruitment firms that temporarily staff your organisation with an appropriate expert in IT, as per your requirements. These firms may also use the cost advantages of bringing in technology workers from nations with lower pay scales. These service providers typically have time-based fees, which are based on daily or hourly rates.

There are also independent technologists, which can provide expert consultancy based on in-depth knowledge and expertise in a particular niche. This type of consultant acts as a hybrid between the other two main types, providing customised solutions and support, and often working in-house for long periods.

Summary: A look at the benefits that IT support and consultancy services can bring to businesses.

Companies like yours will find different advantages in using IT consultancy services. Some of the main benefits are below.

Expertise: Outsourcing complex needs related to IT support and services allows your business easy and timely access to specialist knowledge and skills. The lack of in-house experts in a company need not stand in the way of taking advantage of the latest technology in the market.

Lower cost of ownership: A managed service allows you to extend internal resources at minimal cost. The need for infrastructure and capital outlay is done away with, and the incremental cost of add-ons to the system is lower. Further, the trend for managed IT consultancy service providers to bring in staff from low-cost nations allows greater savings that can be passed on to you.

Focus on core competencies: The adoption of managed services for IT systems allows your business to make optimal use of existing resources by reducing the pressure on your employees. This will allow your staff to focus on your company’s core competencies rather than on IT support tasks. Faster implementation time for IT systems translates to reduced time to productivity. It also reduces the impact of exiting experienced support personnel.

Business efficiency: The use of IT services can result in higher levels of efficiency thanks to a more focused use of limited business resources. The business processes will improve through the establishment of best practices.

Return on investment: An outsourced service means that return on investment is clearer thanks to measurable outlay, more effective cost control and service-level guarantees. Budgeting becomes easier because you are guaranteed fixed IT system costs.

Customer satisfaction: Easier access to new technology and an increased focus on delivery of products or services means that customer satisfaction levels will be higher. This is because employees will be able to concentrate on your customers, so the quality of service is likely to improve.

Summary: A definition of e-commerce and an overview of its impact on business.

Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, refers to the use of the Internet at any point during the buying and selling of goods. The term is commonly used to refer to transactions where an actual payment has been made online via a credit card. But e-commerce also involves other online activities such as marketing, distribution and servicing of products over the Internet. E-commerce often relies on technologies such as e-mail and enterprise resource planning applications for transaction completion and order fulfilment.

The term e-business is usually interchangeable with e-commerce. However, some definitions treat e-commerce as a subset of e-business. In these cases, a clear distinction is made between transactions that involve the exchange of money online and those that don’t. A transaction where a payment is made online is defined as e-commerce. And e-business is used to refer to all non-fiscal online transactions that facilitate and support the actual sale.

E-commerce can involve commercial activity between different interest groups. These could be business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), business to administration (B2A), business to employee (B2E) or customer to customer (C2C). These classifications can be broken down into further sub-groups. For example, a B2B activity could be a vertical e-marketplace that offers goods or services to businesses within a specific industry segment. Alternatively, it could be a horizontal e-marketplace that offers services to businesses irrespective of industry segment.

E-commerce continues to grow in popularity and a large amount of business is transacted online every year. But it’s worth noting that it also presents many challenges for governments and regulatory bodies, which can also affect your business. The United Kingdom has relatively clear e-commerce definitions and laws. But with its decentralised and complicated tax structure, the United States still has a moratorium on new, multiple or discriminatory Internet taxes. In 2000, an advisory commission on e-commerce in the United States failed to reach a conclusive agreement on e-commerce taxation.

Summary: Factors to consider when selecting an e-commerce supplier and technology to suit your needs.

The right blend of services, individuals and approach is what makes an e-commerce project successful. Selecting the right supplier to build an online store is a vital part of this process. We point out some important issues you need to consider during this process.

Use a consultant: Strategic thinking is the base on which successful e-commerce sites are founded. It is a good idea to partner with an experienced consultant before selecting a particular supplier. An experienced consultant can set the project criteria on which the supplier’s deliverable and the Web site can be measured. A consultant's input adds value to the proposed solution. 

Specification documents: All e-commerce projects require technical and functional specification documents. These have to be created and agreed upon before any development or designing efforts. The features and functionalities to be implemented within the site are provided in detail in these documents. They act as a blueprint for the whole project. With this type of documentation in place, it is easier to resolve any queries that may arise during the course of the project.

E-marketing: Check whether the e-commerce supplier provides e-marketing as a core service. A large portion of the budget is going to be used for marketing your e-commerce site, and it is essential for you to ensure that the supplier understands this. The marketing and search-engine optimisation aspect has to be built right into the structure of the site.

Supplier appraisal: The efficiency of a supplier can be measured based on the success of past clients and the quality of its portfolio. The factors that are clear indicators of the vendor’s capabilities are overall appeal and clarity of the Web site, inline delivery of the project, diverse market sectors serviced and objectives achieved.

Underlying technology: Ensure that your e-commerce site is driven by a solid business model and not by limitations in technology that have been imposed by the supplier.

Support: Support options and costs should be taken into consideration before a project commences. Verify that the e-commerce supplier is able to handle technical issues and provide the correct application and hosting service level.

Summary: Best practices you should adopt for successful online commerce.

E-commerce can involve selling products or making purchases through Web pages, online banking, transferring funds or any other transactions of money conducted through the means of an electronic data exchange. You need to implement best practices like the ones outlined below to ensure successful operation of your e-business.

Use the personal touch: Remember that your customers should never feel like they are dealing with a huge or impersonal space. Use tools such as member profiles, wish lists and cookies to identify individuals and their preferences. Personalization of a site is a very important aspect of e-commerce and those who ignore this are missing out on tremendous opportunities to understand and serve their customers.

Invest in marketing: The right kind of marketing contributes immensely to the success of the site. Your online business site should be found easily when people are looking for you or something similar. Take advantage of search-engine optimisation, but focus on organic search practices such as solid, informative content rather than keyword spamming.

Ensure customer loyalty: Loyalty programs are an extremely important and successful way to hang on to your best customers. The ability to keep track of customer activities and preferences is essential for online business. Proactively plan your strategies for this and offer programs such as rewards. Reach out to your customers through e-newsletters using your ready-made customer database.

Offer different payment options: Ensure that your Web site provides customers with adequate payment options. This is essential for good customer service and ensuring that you make the sale. Statistics suggest that online customers feel more comfortable paying through online bank accounts, PayPal accounts and debit cards.

Use good business sense: The same business logic that applies to your offline business should apply to your e-commerce site. Changing technological trends means that your e-business has to move with the times, so be prepared to change your business processes and rules. Try to integrate offline and online channels to take advantage of the best aspects of each. Your e-business should not rely on self-service and automation exclusively; customers may need personal assistance. Selection and convenience often have a greater value than coupons, so don’t compete on price alone.

Summary: A look at how e-commerce packages can benefit businesses.

By 2011 shoppers in the United Kingdom will be spending approximately €263 billion online. Figures like this should convince you that you need an online presence for your business. But if that doesn’t convince you, these benefits might.

Better customer relationship management. New e-commerce tools allow you to interact with customers in real time just as you would in a shop. A well-designed online store can enhance the customer experience. You can also monitor customer purchase histories and preferences to plan more effective sales strategies for the future.

Security of payments. Ignore the hype about online fraud. Traditional forms of receiving payments via credit card are sometimes more insecure than the encrypted, secure and efficiently managed payment methodologies adopted for online transactions.

Reduced marketing and customer acquisition costs. You can easily drive significant traffic to your Web store with simple search-engine optimisation techniques. A good online marketing strategy can lead to new customer acquisition at a much lower cost than with marketing an offline business. By offering several language choices, you can expand your market reach at no extra cost. And because your online store remains open all day, you can reach a much wider market with minimal outlay.

Lower business costs. Manpower, rental, administration and other costs for online stores are much lower than for traditional “bricks and mortar” businesses.

Efficient and simple business management. Your Web store can be integrated with back-office management such as accounting, CRM, logistics and supply chain packages. This leads to better management and administration reports. This in turn makes it easier to identify factors that lead to increased sales and reduced costs.

Supplier and dealer integration. An online presence can avoid unnecessary middlemen in the sales chain. But online information can also aid better communication with suppliers and dealers. Special tools allow you to manage your sourcing and supply strategies in real time based on instant and easily accessible sales information.

CRM, or customer relationship management, can be defined simply as a strategy that focuses on how you interact with your customers. But there’s much more to it than that. And to put your CRM strategy into action, you’ll need software tools that track the responses and actions of customers, employees and others involved in your business relationships.

Good CRM also requires the broader process of monitoring and analysing the data that these tracking tools record. By obtaining valuable feedback on transaction behaviour and how customers and employees think and interact, you can develop relationships and increase repeat business through greater customer satisfaction. Thus, not only will CRM save you money through increased staff efficiency, it will also bring you more money through increased business.

Traditionally, only larger enterprises could think about implementing CRM. But nowadays, all businesses are realising the importance of this technology. With the internet revolution changing the options for businesses like yours, CRM has become more accessible. You now have access to Web-based CRM tools and packages that allow you to easily organise your client data.

Another option available to you is hosted CRM solutions. With these, the data resides with your service provider and is hosted in a well-protected environment. In effect, this does away with the need for IT infrastructure development costs and allows you to save money by transferring that cost to the provider.

Major names to look out for in the CRM market include Siebel, Salesforce.com, Microsoft, RightNow Technologies, NetSuite and open-source player SugarCRM. You’ll hear terms like operational CRM, analytical CRM, collaborative CRM, hosted CRM, on-premises CRM and CRM on demand. This probably sounds rather overwhelming, which is why we’ve created this buy guide to help you make the right choices.