Content Management System (CMS) roll outs frequently present many challenges, one of the biggest being usability. Some of the commonly heard customer feedback and queries include:

• “My business users are not able to understand this new technical tool. What they need is a very simple way to add/edit some text, add images, videos, submit for approvals and publish new stories. We do not need all the technical bells and whistles!”
• “What is the use of this button on this screen? I do not need this. Please remove it!”
• “Why do I need to perform extra 3 clicks to do this task? Why can it not it happen in a single click?”
• “Have you configured this right? I would like to validate it with a product vendor or some external CMS experts to ensure it is correctly configured.”

CMS Usability: 10 Tips to Consider

CMS usability is one of the primary concerns among business users. While rolling out a new CMS platform, it is important to consider CMS usability from the project initiation phase. It should be well integrated into the CMS design process. Below are a few tips and techniques from a CMS usability standpoint to consider while planning and preparing for a CMS rollout (more…)

The last few years have seen tremendous changes in the business world; particularly the way customers, employees and partners are interacting and collaborating to conduct their business. Customers are making decisions to buy or discontinue a service with a click of a button. The “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) trend involves employees bringing their own smart phones and tablets to work, which is significantly impacting both IT and business. Brokers and agents are leveraging smart gadgets to speed up the business cycle by educating, building relationships and doing business with customers.  For example, using a tablet, an insurance agent can instantly run illustrations and compare premium quotes for insurance products simultaneously, making it easier for clients to see the various options. The “consumerization of IT” trend is having an enormous impact on businesses and is something they must take steps to embrace. In other words, the “empowered consumer” has arrived and is here to stay! (more…)

Agile is hot – and has been so for a while. The multitude of benefits offered by Agile, particularly its ability to bridge the Business – IT divide, has clients naturally gravitating towards it. Sadly, we’re also hearing horror stories, where agile development ended up being ‘fragile’, causing expensive project failures. The perfect storm is usually a combination of one or more factors: an offshore-based outsourcing model, ‘fixed price’ contracts, large engagements and even over-zealous customers and/or vendors with no prior experience with offshore agile. The question is, how do you setup agile projects to succeed under these kinds of complex environments? (more…)

In my last blog, I wrote about how ‘Social’ was revolutionizing BPM, providing a gateway for enhanced process efficiency, and in some ways influencing the way we ‘manage’ our process. In certain areas, 2011 was the doorway to the new influences on BPM. The year saw significant advancements in the BPM space with Adaptive Case Management, Social Media and Collaborative Process Modeling re-defining traditional BPM process development and BPM, opening its doors to a ‘ Mobile’ environment. We now find ourselves looking at year 2012.

Looking into the crystal ball, what might we see? Technology advancements will continue and that is obvious, but where will that lead us? (more…)

The economy has disappointed in 2011, and 2012 looks similar. In the US, the housing crisis and high unemployment persist. The euro debt crisis threatens Europe with recession. Healthier regions like Asia are too small and too export-oriented to escape a downturn in the West. The best macro case appears to be halting progress on structural issues and continued weak growth.

Despite this, IT spend in banking and financial services grew in 2011 and looks poised for modest growth in 2012. Why is this happening? Banks and securities firms feel pressure both to reduce costs and to innovate. There are multiple ways to cut costs but the only way to simultaneously reduce unit costs and innovate is through (more…)

How about a data Web that understands not only the meaning of data but also the relationships between them like humans do?  Something that ensures targeted and personalized content delivery to the user, delivering intelligent data in its true sense. A Web that anticipates and answers your questions even before you come up with them! Semantic Web or Web 3.0 does it all through use of hyper-structures leading to entities of hypertext.

Semantic Web and Enterprises

To remain competitive in the marketplace, enterprises need to effectively use information to make better decisions. Enterprises in general collect and analyze large amounts of ever changing information from multiple sources, available in multiple formats. However, for the enterprises, the need is for actionable information which can help them build competitive advantage. This is where Semantic Web technology comes into play for an organization. (more…)

With the world getting more ‘social’, individuals are transforming the way they go about their daily lives. Businesses have recognized the need to rethink their strategies and reevaluate their operating models and have commenced to align them with customer expectations and customers’ perception of value. From focusing only on optimization of supply chains, penetration of new markets and scaled bottom lines, companies are now opening their eyes to the new world – a world which is moving towards a greater impetus on having a more social identity. Today, people across the globe rely on social networks for finding lost friends, making new ones, buying new furniture and selling antiques — interacting with technology for almost every activity in their everyday life. You no longer get a wedding invite delivered by post to your doorstep; you get an event invite via Facebook delivered to your inbox!

BPM has taken cue from this world-wide phenomenon and has been quick to embrace ‘social’ and embed it into its very design. (more…)