Leading IT Transformation – Workshop 16 (Effective Partnerships)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Leading IT Transformation is provided by Ms. Drabenstadt MBA BBA Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 24 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
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Learning Provider Profile
Ms. Drabenstadt is a Certified Learning Provider (CLP) at Appleton Greene and she has experience in Information Technology, Information Governance, Compliance and Audit. She has achieved an MBA, and BBA. She has industry experience within the following sectors: Technology; Insurance and Financial Services. She has had commercial experience within the following countries: United States of America, Canada, Australia, India, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Her program will initially be available in the following cities: Madison WI; Minneapolis MN; Chicago IL; Atlanta GA and Denver CO. Her personal achievements include: Developed Trusted IT-Business Relationship; Delivered Increased Business Value/Time; Decreased IT Costs; Re-tooled IT Staff; Increased IT Employee Morale. Her service skills incorporate: IT transformation leadership; process improvement; change management; program management and information governance.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
IT transformation of an organization does not just need suppliers or service providers. It needs strategic and effective partnerships that last and give the business a competitive advantage. IT transformation relies on technology partners for a lot of functions, starting from strategizing, planning, procurement, and deployment. Every organization may have different needs and based on those needs, partners have to be selected strategically. There are usually three main pillars supporting a partner ecosystem – development platform partners, technology partners, and implementation partners. The development platform partners are chosen based on what kind of a project the organization is working on. Platform vendors provide the development platform where all the applications will be built. Technology partners are the ones providing the hardware, software, SaaS, OEM, and other solutions. They have expertise in their respective domains and help add the desired feature to the applications. And lastly, the implementation partners are the system integrators who help deploy the applications and technology developed in the organization. Effective partnerships can make digital transformation much smoother. Picking partners that understand the business and how transformation works, partners who can work as a catalyst in making the IT transformation a success, is essential. Not just picking the right partners but building a relationship that benefits everyone is important as well. Partners need to work in close collaboration. Neither the organization nor the partners should focus on individual goals and self-interests but should work towards a common goal. Effective partnerships can make the transformation process more agile, flexible, and economical.
Objectives
01. Development Platform Partners Overview: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Technology Partners Overview: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Implementation Partners: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
Strategies
01. Development Platform Partners Overview: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Technology Partners Overview: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Implementation Partners: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
Tasks
01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Development Platform Partners Overview.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Technology Partners Overview.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Implementation Partners.
Introduction
Why a Partner Ecosystem is Key to Digital Transformation
“By 2021, 75% of organizations embarking on an IoT project will work with a system integrator to strategize, plan, deploy, and/or manage the initiative.”
– IDC FutureScape 2020
Go Farther With a Digital Transformation Partner
There’s an old African proverb that says “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” In this workshop, we’ll discuss the importance of partnerships for digital transformation programs and how building a community helps your company make changes that stick.
84% of Digital Transformation Projects Fail
Transformation is hard, and digital transformation is even harder. Imagine incorporating digital technologies into all facets of your company, including product development, sales, and marketing strategies.
According to a McKinsey global survey on digital transformation, just 16% of projects are successful in this area. The success percentage is a little higher for businesses in the tech sector (such as high tech, media, or telecom), reaching up to 26%. Only 4 to 11 percent of the enterprises questioned, however, have successfully digitally altered their businesses in more traditional areas like oil and gas, the car industry, and infrastructure. How come, though?
Projects involving digital transformation may be too complex to handle alone.
You have at least once seen or experienced the difficulty of digital transformation initiatives, whether you are a technology vendor or an enterprise attempting to integrate new technologies into your business.
You frequently need at least 5 essential systems in place for a digital transformation project to ensure that the solution is adequately designed, developed, implemented, and maintained without any hiccups. These systems often include the network, data input, data storage, and data processing, web services, and integrated apps or systems. Each system has deeper layers of cutting-edge technology and more requirements.
Is there a single business or entity that can handle this complexity alone?
Maybe. However, it will take them years to amass all the required systems, technologies, and requirements. And by the time the initiative is deemed “successful,” they have fallen behind in the market. The initiative therefore joins the 84% of failed attempts at digital transformation.
This brings up the most important issue: how quickly and effectively can we put up a digital transformation project?
An ecosystem of partners offers the most obvious path through.
Partnerships that changed the world: Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Who would have guessed that two years after these Stanford University classmates started working on a collegiate research project, Google, an algorithm-based search engine that surpassed everything that had come before, would be founded. In fact, it has become so successful that the verb “google” has been given its own noun form. Without it, where would we be?
What is a Partner Ecosystem?
A Partner Ecosystem consists of 3 main pillars:
• Development Platform
• Technology Partners
• Implementation Partners
Let’s examine each pillar and see why, when combined, they are essential to the success of the digital transformation.
Development Platform
The development platform, on which you create your application, is one of the most important components of any development project, similar to the foundation of a building. It affects if you’ll construct a single-family house or a skyscraper, whether you can expand your application as your client’s business expands or if you’ll be forced to settle for a fixed set of capabilities.
There are several platform providers available for organizations to select from, depending on the specifications of the project. In addition to price and budget, you should take the following into account while choosing an app development platform:
• What are the Platform’s Core Capabilities, and do they align with your project’s goals? Before starting your search, make a list of the technologies needed for your project and their priority. You would want to know, for instance, whether the platform can handle massive volumes of data processing in real-time, support image recognition, or interact with sensors and other hardware.
• What is the Platform’s Development Environment? Will it increase productivity for your engineers or developers? Are low-code tools available, or will your developers have to write each line of code from scratch?
• What is the Platform’s Deployment Environment? Is it trustworthy? Can the application function flawlessly and smoothly after it has been created? More significantly, will this platform make it simple to expand the project if your clients want to add additional features in the future?
Partnerships that changed the world: Francis Crick and James Watson
The two scientists from Cambridge University, Watson and Crick, are credited with finding the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, despite the fact that many other researchers were working on the same subject at the same time. The genetic code for every living thing is contained in these coiling double strands. We wouldn’t be able to use DNA to our advantage in forensics, history, or anthropology without this discovery.
Technology Partners
Technology partners make up the second pillar of the partner ecosystem. Hardware vendors, independent software vendors (ISVs), OEM vendors, SaaS vendors, and others are examples of technology partners. Technology partners’ function in the ecosystem is to offer the necessary technological capabilities at each stage of developing the solution.
Every partner has a specialty, from supplying technology for smart manufacturing to implementing machine learning algorithms to spot unusual trends. They are the puzzle pieces that, when correctly assembled, will produce potent characteristics to fuel an application.
However, without the final pillar—implementation partners—technology cannot function in the ecosystem alone.
Implementation Partners
Systems integrators (SIs) with experience developing solutions are implementation partners. They gather all the technological components, lay them out on a platform, and then piece together a comprehensive solution.
By 2023, 75% of firms starting an IoT project are expected to collaborate with a SI to develop, plan, deploy, and/or manage the endeavor, according to IDC.
Partners in implementation have a big impact. Here are only a handful of things SIs undertake specifically for a project including digital transformation:
• Determines how to integrate a new solution into your legacy architecture
• Understands the technologies required to solve potential business problems
• Brings expertise through experience and domain knowledge
• Acts as an advisor during the planning phase, evaluates workforce readiness for digital transformation, and delivers customizable applications
IDC advises businesses dealing with SIs to take into account using a management platform that provides visibility into the various outside partners and to develop cross-departmental teams to decide project goals and outcomes. Additionally, businesses should look for integrators who have built apps and systems for particular industries.
Partnerships that changed the world: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
Together, Wozniak and Jobs were destined to become titans of the digital industry thanks to Wozniak’s expertise in technology (he conceived and built the original Apple computer). Despite the fact that the two had a tumultuous relationship and Wozniak left Apple in 1985, their initial focus on developing alternative user-friendly computers is what allowed us to have intuitive gadgets like the iPhone and iPad at our disposal today.
Partner Ecosystem: Overview
In summary, the partner ecosystem aids in the coordination of digital transformation projects in the following ways:
• Development Platform – Provides the core environment to design, develop, deploy, test, and maintain mission-critical applications.
• Technology Partner – Provides key technologies to meet specific project requirements.
• Implementation Partner – Integrates everything and fills in the blanks of your solution with experience and expertise in the industry you are trying to enter.
Partnerships that changed the world: Bill Gates and Paul Allen
In the 1960s, the Microsoft founders initially connected over a computer terminal while attending school in Seattle. The two teamed together and made a pact to use the computer for free if they found vulnerabilities in the system because using it cost $40 per hour. Together, they created Microsoft in 1975, forever altering the computing industry. Even though Bill Gates is well-known, he was cited as saying that without his friend, “personal computing would not have existed” after Paul Allen passed away from cancer in 2018.
Choosing Strategic Partners for Digital Transformation Has Many Advantages
For an organization to get the biggest benefits from digital transformation, it must be fully implemented. Any bottleneck in the data throughput hinders the efficiency and efficacy of all systems involved, given the interconnectedness of systems and processes in this digital age. Therefore, larger businesses that may benefit from economies of scale in their efforts to change to digital models are best served by collaborating with subject-matter specialists who can assist them in making the most of the available technologies.
As leaders in their industry, Trackmind helps businesses restructure their operations and adapt to the changing needs of the digital market by sharing its vision and broad perspective. They have so far gathered a small number of advantages from picking strategic partners for the digital transformation that show the practicality, efficacy, and long-lasting impact of choosing a partner with real knowledge and experience across the many dimensions of digital transformation.
Save Costs
The term “digital transformation” is broad and includes practically everything from marketing strategies to accounting procedures. Building an internal workforce that is extremely proficient in such a wide range of tasks is costly, time-consuming, and a constant drain on resources that could be used to improve other operational areas.
Expertise
Technology never stands still; instead, it constantly develops to satisfy the rising demands of a competitive, frequently tense market. The ideal partner for the digital transformation journey will be constantly monitoring the pace of technological advancement and will seek out solutions from vendors that are most suited for both the needs of today and those of tomorrow.
Flexibility and speed
A key competitive edge for rival businesses vying for the same target market and operational savings is the ability to quickly harness technology. A partner in digital transformation enables businesses to find the best solutions and implement them effectively by assisting them in swiftly identifying areas and business operations that could benefit from digital technology. By maintaining systems, assessing their efficacy, and upgrading or scalability as necessary after implementation, that partner may also guarantee the solutions continue to be effective.
Best Practices
No two businesses are alike. Digital transformation is rarely, if ever, a one-size-fits-all endeavor because every organization has a different combination of objectives, requirements, and demands. A strategic partner with extensive experience in a wide range of industries will have knowledge and viewpoints that are incomparable to anything else. Companies that spend significant time troubleshooting or debugging malfunctioning systems and functionalities may find themselves at a significant disadvantage as rivals scramble for any opportunity to gain market share. The ideal digital transformation partner will have a sizable library of best practices to guide their choice-making and swiftly assist in resolving any problems or challenges that may emerge.
Choosing a Partner for Digital Transformation
Of course, selecting the ideal partner is a crucial initial step in the procedure, and many firms fail to invest enough time and effort in this step. A few straightforward guidelines can assist in selecting a partner who possesses the perfect blend of experience, expertise, and competence to meet an organization’s unique needs:
The partner should be seeking for the best solutions, not vendors and goods that suit their best interests, from an agnostic perspective of the digital market.
A company and a digital transformation partner can develop a long-lasting, fruitful relationship based on trust and a shared vision with compatible objectives, cultures, and values.
Service: Seek out a partner who shines in both good and bad times so that when problems develop, the business knows it can rely on the partner’s support and assistance, especially when deadlines are tight and stress levels soar.
Partnerships that changed the world: Serena Williams and Venus Williams
The Williams sisters are both incredibly talented singles tennis players in their own right, but when they play together they become an unstoppable force. They have more gold medals combined than any other tennis players in history thanks to their victories in tennis doubles, where they have won 14 Grand Slam competitions and three Olympic medals.
IT partners: Crucial to a successful IT Transformation
These days, the only thing that is guaranteed is uncertainty because of the pandemic’s quick changes in consumer and company behavior.
The surprise move by luxury brand LVMH to assist in addressing the spike in demand was brought on by the heightened emphasis on personal hygiene, which led to a shortage of hand sanitizer (paywall). Walmart has observed a 74% increase in grocery pickup and delivery services as a result of stay-at-home orders and social seclusion. Businesses need to take risky decisions, move quickly, and adopt a flexible digital strategy in order to adapt to this quickly changing environment. This can help them sense disruptions and pivot in order to prevent them.
A clear vision, the proper people, and complex coordination of IT operations and infrastructure with business and digital partners covering all areas of the company are necessary for digital transformation. Because 85 percent of digital transformation projects fail to produce the anticipated financial results, it must be done correctly. When compared to the accomplishments of more recent market entrants and agiler technology firms, the combination of huge companies in sectors like retail, healthcare, and transportation working with their legacy technology vendors results in a very slow pace of innovation and time to market. Companies need to collaborate with dependable digital strategic partners that can help them build their digital transformation vision while enabling the firm to remain laser-focused on its core competencies, rather than relying on a wide range of IT vendors with a cost focus. The objective is to improve and accelerate digital work by identifying reliable partners who can foster a long-lasting co-creation culture. They must carefully strategize, choose, and persevere in order to get there.
Plan: What do we need?
It’s critical to match the speed of the digital transformation to the pace of the shifting business environment because firms presently face an onslaught of demand shocks and other surprises. Companies need more than just IT providers to hasten the digital transformation; they also need to deliberately build partnerships to manage and deliver IT. These strategic partners assist firms in minimizing oversight and maximizing operating expenses, which increases the emphasis on the growth of business competence. Strategic alliances with infrastructure providers aid businesses in laying a firm foundation for technological modernisation in the infrastructure and technology sectors.
For instance, a large healthcare provider had extensive operational knowledge in staff and patient scheduling across more than 1,000 clinics nationwide, but its internal IT systems lagged behind due to an antiquated, monolithic design and a primitive technological stack. By integrating its IT operations on a platform with machine learning capabilities and extensive workforce scheduling knowledge, the healthcare provider changed its business model toward one of strategic technology partners. The complementing skills created the path for the creation of a digital alliance that altered the provider’s fundamental scheduling operations, leading to considerable cost savings and well-integrated, standardized, and streamlined IT systems that can swiftly adapt as operational requirements change.
Partnerships that changed the world: Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright
These aviation pioneering brothers successfully completed the first prolonged flight of a “heavier-than-air” craft on December 17th, 1903 in North Carolina, USA. They also developed a three-axis steering control system, which is still employed on fixed-wing aircraft today due to its superiority. Without The Wright Brothers, your annual vacations may look very different (and be much closer to home).
Select: do we have a true partner?
A true partner has two key characteristics: a shared understanding of technology strategy and a desire to work together. True partners work together to realize their shared goals. These collaborators might already be a part of the business’ ecosystem of technology suppliers, or they might need to be located elsewhere. In either case, a partner will oversee all aspects of IT; organizations’ efforts to undergo digital transformation and future operations will be hampered by piecemeal solution suppliers. The partnership strategy offers significant advantages in terms of capability development, cost reduction through scale, and operational efficiency. In terms of technology, this strategy results in quicker decision-making, a shorter time to market, and a more uniform, straightforward technological environment.
To stay competitive in a sector that was being severely disrupted by technology, a major retail chain started a transformation program. The business made the decision to collaborate with a technological service provider to create and provide a unique client experience because time is of the essence in the race to secure market share. The parties worked well together to achieve their shared goal of changing the in-store experience to fit the very varied needs of their store and customers, which resulted in a successful collaboration rather than a purely buyer-supplier relationship.
Sustain: how do we make lasting change?
A digital transformation effort’s long-term success depends on enduring partner relationships built on trust and shared responsibility for outcomes. Relationships with cloud service providers are essential in these cloud-based times and may serve as a jumping off point when looking for vendors who can operate as true partners. Alignment and outcomes are ensured via outcome-oriented contracts that evaluate partner performance based on factors including customer satisfaction, net promoter scores, and operational and financial efficiencies. By encouraging the technology partner to go beyond the base case, shared risk-reward agreements further strengthen the partnership component of the relationship. Key elements of the commercial setup include innovative incentive frameworks and a strong penalty mechanism.
Tomorrow is just a day away
While it takes work to quickly improve the IT organization and create a permanent digital transformation, the benefits are well worth the effort. Today’s issues are increasing enterprises’ willingness to carry out the expedited change needed to satisfy new customer expectations and demands. The time has come to make the audacious choices required to begin the co-creation process with genuine digital allies.
Partnerships that changed the world: Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan
In 1887, and at just the age of 20, Anne Sullivan made it her mission to teach Helen Keller – who was deaf, blind and dumb – to communicate. In spite of being partially blind herself, Sullivan used innovative techniques to teach Keller to read braille, learn her multiplication tables and use sign language within a matter of months. Keller subsequently became the first deaf-blind person to graduate from college in the US.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Development Platform Partners Overview
What is the common denominator that facilitates digital transformation?
Digital transformation would only exist as the stuff of legend without the innovative software products and technology that are the driving force behind it.
These two technical ideas, however, are mutually exclusive. Digital transformation has had a profound impact on the software development workforce and industry. For instance, automating simpler processes that were previously completed manually enables software developers to perform more productively and effectively.
Additionally, the digital transformation enables software developers to work remotely, which has been nothing short of a blessing, particularly during the recent pandemic.
With the digital transformation, developers’ work hours have become more flexible, enabling them to collaborate with a wider range of clients.
Working remotely has also greatly reduced overhead expenses for software development organizations, which has enhanced profit margins. As a result, the software development business will probably continue to undergo major change, hopefully for the better, as the digital transformation continues to advance.
The importance of software development in the digital transformation.
In order for organizations to stay up with change in a quickly evolving digital world, software development is essential. Software development is by definition an iterative process that is continually changing in response to fresh difficulties and possibilities.
It is thus perfectly suited to accelerating digital transformation. Organizations can continuously enhance their systems and processes through software development, which makes them more adaptable and change-responsive.
Additionally, software development can assist organizations in automating routine processes, freeing up staff to concentrate on more strategic projects.
Software development has been and will continue to be a key driver of the digital revolution as the world changes at an ever-increasing rate. Additionally, the caliber of software development is becoming increasingly important as software is used in an increasing number of goods and services to enhance functionality and modernize current infrastructures. As a result, the software solutions available today have directly impacted the financial success of various companies.
However, creating software alone is insufficient to maintain industry dominance. You can beat the competition and increase customer loyalty, trust, and enthusiasm by using software solutions that offer distinctive and simple user interfaces.
As a result, in this constantly evolving world, creating software with quality and the customer experience in mind has become crucial to company maturity.
The Rise of Agile and DevOps
Software development teams are under pressure to provide faster, more agile software as a result of the advent of digital transformation. They are therefore using new technologies and frameworks to hasten the supply of software.
This is demonstrated by the continually rising rate of acceptance of the Agile and DevOps techniques, which facilitate the quick development of high-quality, client-focused software solutions. Let’s talk more about these two software development and digital transformation pillars.
An effective method for producing high-quality software at scale is agile software development. The agile development process emphasizes incremental software delivery across short sprints or iterations, as well as ongoing code integration and testing.
The Agile methodology produces final products of higher quality by enabling quicker feedback and course adjustment. Agile places a lot of focus on teamwork between the development team and the client to make sure the finished product fulfills the client’s needs.
An increasingly well-liked digital productivity framework is DevOps. Similar to Agile, DevOps is a collection of principles that aids in the quicker and more effective delivery of software by software development teams.
DevOps engineers can speed up software development and raise software quality by automating software delivery procedures and performing frequent software deployments.
These two frameworks demonstrate how software development has a significant impact on how firms function and provide their goods and services to customers, which is essentially what digital transformation is all about.
Putting It Altogether
The overview of software development and digital transformation is now complete, but it is still a complex beast.
We hope this article has given you some useful tips on how to use technology to scale your company by digitally transforming it and offering simple customer experiences.
Chapter 2: Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
What is a content management system (CMS)?
A content management system (CMS) is an application that is used to manage content, allowing multiple contributors to create, edit and publish. Content in a CMS is typically stored in a database and displayed in a presentation layer based on a set of templates like a website.
The following are common features of a CMS:
• Content creation, allows users to easily create and format content
• Content storage, stores content in one place, in a consistent fashion
• Workflows, assigns permissions for managing content based on roles such as authors, editors and admins
• Publishing, organizes and pushes content live
Benefits of a content management system
The collaborative nature of a CMS is one of its main benefits. Users can log in to schedule, manage, or contribute to content that will be published. A CMS can be accessible by any number of people from any location because the interface is often browser-based.
A CMS’s ability to make it simple for non-technical individuals to manage and develop their own web content is its second main benefit. Users can add text and upload photos using the drag-and-drop editors of a normal content management system without having any prior knowledge of HTML or CSS (programming languages).
When a business publishes its web pages using a CMS, it relies less on front-end developers to make changes to the website, which speeds up and simplifies the process of publishing new web pages.
CMS examples
Hundreds of CMS platforms exist, but the following list includes some of the more well-known ones:
• Optimizely Content
• Cloud CMS
• Drupal
• Joomla
• Magento
• Squarespace
• Wix
• Squarespace
• Wordpress
What to look for in a CMS
It is a good idea to start by considering how your website and content will be consumed before selecting a content management system.
Making a list of the business issues you’re attempting to resolve and any particular requirements you might have must come first. This will assist you in selecting the appropriate content management system, one that meets your business needs rather than the most well-liked or popular one.
Every CMS has a unique combination of features and advantages and comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some are best suited for bloggers, while others might be made with capabilities for pricing and online store functionality for ecommerce websites. Depending on the demands and resources of your business, specifics may change.
When choosing the ideal CMS for your situation, take into account the following factors:
What is your budget?
There are several quite complicated content management systems with features made to make the life of content creators and editors easier, if you have unlimited resources to invest. However, if you have a tight budget, your options will be more constrained. Consider the fees of a domain and web hosting before making your decision as your web content management system will require hosting.
What business processes must the CMS support?
Which company functions the CMS must support comes next in importance after price. Do you have to release hundreds of fresh films every day for your business? thousands of products’ pricing per day? image hosting for blog posts?
Working as a team to manage publishing a lot of modifications and creating new material can be very time-consuming. To make organizing and collaborating on material easier, think about utilizing a (free) content management platform.
What technologies does the CMS need to support or integrate with?
If your business already employs a CRM, ERP, or web analytics tool, you’ll need to take into account a CMS that integrates with that software. It may also be necessary to have a strong API and documentation if you have developers on staff.
How easy is it to create and edit content?
The end user of the CMS will be further away from the person who builds it the larger the firm. The back-end of the system should have capabilities like a WYSIWYG drag-and-drop editor, which enables editors to edit digital content without understanding how to code, as well as being user-friendly and intuitive. A headless CMS can be a viable option for more advanced businesses who wish to design more than just templates or need a CMS for mobile apps.
How many various user groups will there be?
What kinds of rights your CMS needs at different levels is one thing to think about. Think about the various user responsibilities, such as the managers’ responsibility in assessing the content that has been scheduled. These various user classes require document management for CMS files like PDFs and photos. Excellent digital experience creation depends on effective digital asset management (DAM).
How big is your website and company?
Your needs will vary depending on the size of your website or business. Larger organizations frequently have more stringent standards for content management software and may even demand features that are only available in enterprise content management systems. However, because the teams that administer the software program are often smaller, small businesses should concentrate on choosing a user interface and maintenance that are simple.
How will you assess your progress?
You should strongly consider adopting a web analytics tool like Google Analytics or Mixpanel to measure conversions depending on the purpose of your CMS, such as a blog or an e-commerce site. With the use of a CMS, authors can quickly edit your content without the need for a front-end developer. By doing an A/B test, you can determine how these modifications are affecting your website. You can accomplish this quickly and easily with great CMS software without having to create difficult connectors.
Is the platform SEO-friendly?
It is crucial to consider how visitors will access your website. You’ll want a CMS with automation for fundamental on-page optimization activities like title tags, urls, alt tags on pictures, and a strong internal linking structure if being ranked effectively on search engines (SEO) is crucial to your business. To address these requirements, CMS software frequently has plugins. Search engine optimization techniques often also benefit your website’s visibility on other media, such as social media and when users share links to it.
What technology is it built on?
The majority of CMS solutions interface with your current marketing systems and employ customized templates. This calls for the assistance of a developer or implementation firm, and not all developers and firms are able to work with all CMSs. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose software that your developers can operate with. A server-side Java(script) CMS, a.NET CMS, or PHP CMS are common programming languages for platforms.
Chapter 3: Technology Partners Overview
The reason technology partners are frequently referred to as integration partners is because they are other software firms that your product is meant to integrate with or who build integrations for your product themselves.
But a partnership cannot be formed by integration alone. Technology alliances succeed because of the increased visibility they give your product.
Online marketplaces are used by more company purchasers to conduct digital research and purchases; this trend has been driven by office lockdowns and the move to remote work. According to Forrester, 17% of B2B purchases will soon be made through online marketplaces and e-commerce, from major players like the AWS Marketplace and the Salesforce AppExchange to smaller specialized (yet focused) channels.
In these marketplaces, business buyers are learning about new items, and they frequently favor a marketplace’s convenience to a drawn-out sales procedure.
In this course manual, we’ll explore how a technology partners can help you:
1. Generate more qualified leads
2. Drive revenue from referrals
3. Create new revenue channels
4. Attract more product integrations
5. Close the most important deals
Atlassian and Slack are a wonderful example of a tech alliance.
Over ten product integrations are part of the Atlassian/Slack relationship. Included are Slack apps for BitBucket Cloud, Confluence Cloud, Halp, Jira Cloud, and Halp.
Together, these tools promote improved teamwork.
The members of this partnership transitioned from being rivals to collaborators, and they don’t shy away from the difficulties of that overlap, which is why this is a strong technical partnership example. Instead, they have developed a number of technologies and a strong co-marketing strategy to better support clients.
Realistic Thinking
Although the term “digital transformation” has become a “buzzword,” there is a chance that firms will mistake it for a utopian picture of the future. Companies must first embrace realism given the volume of operational effort involved. Overestimating their own talents and thinking it would be easier and faster to handle everything yourself would be mistakes they would only make to hurt themselves.
Comparative advantage is a foundational principle of our economy, so it should be applicable here as well. The most effective path toward a successful digital transformation is to involve specialized technology partners while keeping in mind the aforementioned rules.
Chapter 4: Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
What is advanced analytics?
Advanced analytics is a data analysis methodology that employs statistical techniques, deep learning, machine learning algorithms, predictive modeling, and other ways to analyze corporate data from many data sources.
Beyond conventional business intelligence (BI) methodologies, advanced analytics employs data science to identify trends and calculate the chance of upcoming events. As a result, a company may be able to respond faster and make decisions with a great deal more precision.
Advanced analytics tools are frequently used by data scientists to extend and combine prescriptive analytics and predictive analytics while also adding a variety of options for improved visualization and predictive models.
Why is advanced analytics important?
Enterprises can benefit from advanced analytics because it gives them the ability to extract more functionality from their data assets, regardless of where or how they are housed. Traditional BI reporting cannot help with some of the more complicated business issues that can be solved with the aid of advanced analytics.
For instance, a maker of consumer packaged goods might need to consider the following issues while developing a contextual marketing engine:
• When is a customer likely to exhaust their supply of an item?
• What time of the day or week are they most receptive to marketing advertisements?
• What level of profitability is achievable when marketing at that time?
• What price point are they most likely to purchase at?
By combining consumption models with historical data and artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics can help an organization determine precise answers to those questions.
Examples of how companies actually use advanced analytics
Perhaps the clearest example of a company that has mastered data analytics is Amazon. One of the most seamless and customized consumer experiences are offered by Amazon.
They employ business intelligence to generate recommendations based on past purchases, as well as what other consumers have purchased alongside particular things, browsing patterns, and other variables.
Starbucks is another another illustration of effective advanced analytics. Starbucks employs data analytics to improve the layout of its menu and selection of goods. The café chain assures it can remain competitive by matching its product ranges with consumer preferences.
Startbacks makes use of digital menu boards, which provide the business the flexibility to change the products it offers on its menu to strategically increase sales at various times while taking into account changes in demand.
American Express is utilizing cutting-edge analytics approaches in the financial sector to increase service delivery performance and speed. The business analyzes historical data and more than a hundred characteristics using advanced predictive modeling to forecast probable client churn, enabling it to accelerate and optimize marketing efforts to keep these customers.
The number of actual businesses that use advanced analytics is endless, but these three instances suffice to demonstrate that it can be used in a wide range of industries and by some of the most prosperous businesses in the world.
Chapter 5: Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
AI comprises a group of real, game-changing technologies that are the key to completing a successful digital transformation.
The “science of making machines smart,” or AI, is educating machines to perform jobs that humans do. We train computers to see, hear, speak, write, predict, offer advice, and make decisions.
AI has the capacity to evaluate big volumes of data and then generate predictions using that data, unlike traditional software (such as your normal automation, CRM, and operational software). Following that, AI can enhance its outcomes over time by learning from the data.
Machine learning is the capacity for improvement that provides many AI technologies the ability to learn on their own.
Understanding why AI is important to digital transformation depends on data. Given that data is the foundation of digital transformation, AI is crucial.
The lifeblood of any modern firm is data. Data is produced by each encounter your company has with its markets and customers.
This information is gathered from a wide variety of sources, including online orders, social media, website analytics, CRM systems, and marketing platforms.
The vital information in this data keeps your company effective and competitive. insights such as:
• What consumers want and don’t want.
• How consumers find and engage with your company.
• What products and services are most useful to create and promote.
• What behaviors make consumers likely to buy.
• What your competitors are doing to win market share.
• How to achieve better efficiency and productivity.
• How to achieve better profitability.
• And much, much more.
These insights enable you to quickly reach smarter judgments that significantly enhance business outcomes.
There is only one issue: The value in your data is difficult to unlock using traditional technology.
Your current traditional technology is purely rule-based. It has been specifically programmed to carry out tasks by a human. However, it can only carry out instructions. Without updates from human programmers, it never adjusts or gets better.
Thus, data analysis is not possible with conventional technologies. It is unable to learn from data. Furthermore, it cannot modify its operations in light of fresh data. Because of this, conventional technology is essentially useless for the digital transformation.
There is no denying the value of conventional technology. Historically, it has been utilized to automate and/or accelerate tasks, resulting in cost savings and productivity increases. Additionally, it offers improved activity tracking. (For instance, marketing automation software has streamlined the process and increased the emphasis on KPIs.) That was effective in the early days of the internet, when businesses still relied heavily on offline operations and inadequate online presences.
Today, though, this technology appears utterly ridiculous. It can track data and automate tasks. It can’t, however, actually evaluate or forecast anything. It is unable to adjust to new information or change. AI alone can.
How Digital Transformation is Driven by Artificial Intelligence
Due to its distinctive qualities, AI is a must for the digital transformation, not a good to have. Your digital transformation will fail if you can’t evaluate, predict, and optimize based on data.
In fact, that’s exactly how easy it is.
Data may now be provided and visualized using old technology, which is useful but already ubiquitous. However, they lack machine learning, which can use that data to learn and improve.
AI has. It must therefore be the main focus of your work on digital transformation.
It’s another reason why a lot of firms nowadays are utilizing AI to support the digital transformation of the majority of their industries.
These are the top five departments using AI now, per statistics from TDWI Research:
• IT — AI is used to detect and prevent security breaches, and automate processes.
• Operations — AI is used to partially or fully perform repetitive, data-driven tasks, like accounting functions.
• Engineering / R&D — Predictive models use AI to do everything from simulate outcomes to perform preventative maintenance.
• Customer Service — AI chatbots and intelligent assistants are used to provide fast, convenient, and rewarding experiences for customers.
• Digital Marketing — AI has hundreds of marketing use cases, including predicting churn and conducting behavioral analysis on your customers.
In their work on digital transformation, firms mostly use time series, text, and structured data, according to the same research. This is logical. AI can be used in all three of these fields to derive insights and make predictions.
A few key use cases, according to TDWI, predominate in digital transformations powered by AI:
• Building predictive models across a range of business use cases.
• Automating insight generation.
• Building intelligent apps for internal and external use.
• Automating data quality.
• Using robotic process automation (RPA) to automate activities.
• Deploying conversational AI in the form of chatbots and intelligent assistants.
Chapter 6: Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
Intelligent Automation Defined
A type of IT automation solutions known as “intelligent automation” makes use of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).
ML uses algorithms to make outcome predictions based on data. The algorithms use statistical analysis to anticipate outcomes and future events by identifying trends, similarities, and correlations between variables. The algorithms then continue to refine their predictions while the program continues to run using new datasets.
AI refers to any software, application, or system that is capable of making judgments and acting on them without human intervention.
Any IT automation solution that may enhance human decision-making with data analysis, optimize IT resources, and improve efficiency is referred to as intelligent automation.
Machine Learning for Workload Automation
Reporting tools that gather information about each job and the servers those jobs are run on are frequently included in workload automation solutions and job schedulers. Some automation providers have been able to use ML to add intelligent automation to their platforms by gathering this data.
ML algorithms examine the past and current data of each job done on the platform as part of intelligent it process automation. This data’s analysis enables the IA tool to:
• The environment’s dynamic resource requirements
• What is statistically likely to cause a job failure or SLA breach
• What the typical, day-to-day job flow looks like
• What steps should be taken to prevent a job from failing or breaching its SLA
Source: Softwebsolutions
The IA tool can accurately forecast the quantity and quality of resources needed in an hour or a day’s time thanks to the ML algorithms. In order to maximize efficiency and enable IT to automate processes that have grown too complex to be finished manually, the IA can allocate jobs and queues, coordinate workflows, and reserve resources in advance.
The success rates of the IA tool increase over time as it does more jobs and grows its datasets, boosting its algorithms and prediction accuracy.
Thanks to these capabilities, there are several common applications for IA.
Why Intelligence is Important for Automation
Intelligent process automation has become critical to long-term business growth for three reasons:
• Digitalization
• The IT Skills Gap
• Business Requirements
Digital tools have been created to meet every business demand as digital technology have advanced. We can carry out a myriad of essential business duties from our laptops and mobile devices, including scheduling meetings, running end-of-day reports, processing client claims, and much more.
The rise of digital technologies, or “digitalization,” has been beneficial for business, increasing efficiency, cutting costs, and minimizing human mistake.
However, this influx of digital tools has put a pressure on IT. Today, IT must manage dynamic, dispersed environments that rely on various technologies and services, rather than merely managing a mainframe. In 2019 compared to 1999, there are a lot more digital processes, applications, platforms, and tools for IT to handle.
Not to mention the data explosion brought on by digitization, which IT must also handle.
The demand for more IT personnel has increased along with IT’s duties. Surely, with more work comes more employees? In an ideal situation, absolutely.
Unfortunately, there has been a persistent shortage of IT professionals for a number of years, and demand for labor is much higher than supply. Automaton architects, cloud architects, and GPU engineers are just a few of the positions that IT teams need to fill; none was prepared for them five years ago.
Organizations still rely on IT to oversee and maintain vital infrastructures, create new digital capabilities, and propel organizational transformation. To succeed in business, these objectives are essential.
A company needs to be able to switch to new business models quickly, create new services and products quickly, and scale up new tools and technologies swiftly if it wants to be competitive in today’s market.
IT is expected to deliver these crucial competencies, according to business leaders. IT must therefore provide scalable, adaptive infrastructures that can react swiftly to changing business needs in order to assist the enterprise and stay ahead of market changes. IT can use intelligent automation solutions to reliably manage manual, time-consuming operations, allowing them the time they need to finish high-value work, in order to meet these difficulties (particularly during a skills shortage).
Intelligent automation enables IT to do more tasks with fewer resources, boost job success rates, and significantly reduce idle machines.
Scalable resource provision requires an environment to be dynamically managed. Additionally, it is necessary for monitoring and upkeep of the expanding libraries of digital tools used by businesses. IT already has too much to do; it can’t handle everything by itself.
Intelligent automation aids by streamlining procedures, lowering administrative expenses, increasing job success rates, and giving IT the time and efficiency required to stay ahead of the constantly shifting demands of the business.
Chapter 7: Implementation Partners
To make sure your clients are utilizing your product to its full potential, implementation partners work closely with them. An implementation partner can be compared to tech support. Tech support staff members are frequently trained by the business they work for to provide effective solutions for issues.
The distinction between implementation partners and tech support is that the latter can gain from a rise in leads and brand recognition. If you collaborate with them, you can promote their services to users who might want assistance using your solutions beyond initial onboarding.
What is an implementation partner?
The organization that they support has given an implementation partner permission to introduce new customers to its product or service. For firms that rely on software or products or that need an onboarding procedure, implementation partners can be useful.
Consider collaborating with implementation partners if your software, such as a CMS, requires time to learn and implement. They would not be a part of the onboarding team you have previously assembled. They would concentrate on providing a thorough introduction to your product that was tailored specifically for that client.
If you want to give customers alternative ways to learn how to utilize your technology, you might hire implementation partners. When providing individualized solutions, implementation partners have the bandwidth that parent firms might not have. With partners, a “do it for me” strategy is therefore more practical.
Implementation partners may offer customers a practical way to choose and comprehend your services. Partners with lesser overhead may offer lower pricing if you impose an onboarding fee that some customers cannot afford, for example. In this manner, you would ensure that a customer with a limited budget has a quality onboarding experience and wouldn’t lose out on them.
Some partners can also serve larger clients and can adapt to client needs as your company grows. For instance, IMPACT, one of HubSpot’s agency partners, is an expert in assisting big teams become used to their platform. They provide an interactive training course that is created especially for the company they are collaborating with.
The Scope of an Implementation Project
Implementations come in a variety of forms, and each project is distinct based on the end user, use case, and business.
In certain instances, a company just needs to add an application or integrate it into an already-existing IT platform. For instance, Salesforce users might just use a small portion of the Salesforce ecosystem and then decide to add another native solution, such as Pardot.
A bespoke integration or API can be used to use external technologies in a similar way. This is true when combining Salesforce with programs like Quickbooks or Dropbox.
Working With an Implementation Partner
Implementation partners wear many hats.
Although every partner is different, the ideal implementation partner should be able to handle all aspects of the process from beginning to end, including technology, training, human resources, and support for post-production. They are strategic to particular demands but also to factors that clients might not have even thought about, like techniques for lowering technical debt, suggestions for future scalability, or strategies for persuading skeptics among process owners or stakeholders.
Curriculum
Leading IT Transformation – Workshop 16 – Effective Partnerships
- Development Platform Partners Overview
- Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
- Technology Partners Overview
- Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
- Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
- Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
- Implementation Partners
Distance Learning
Introduction
Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Leading IT Transformation corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.
Study environment
You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.
Study tools & rules
Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.
Successful distance-learning
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.
Self-assessment
Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.
Accepting responsibility as a student
Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.
Planning
By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.
Management
Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.
Study objectives & tasks
The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.
Study forecast
As a guide, the Appleton Greene Leading IT Transformation corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.
Performance management
It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.
With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.
With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.
Keeping in touch
You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.
Work colleagues and family
You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.
Making it relevant
The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.
Distance-learning check-list
Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Leading IT Transformation corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Leading IT Transformation program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Leading IT Transformation corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.
Making structured notes on the course manuals
When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.
Organizing structured notes separately
You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.
Question your understanding
Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.
Clarifying your understanding
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.
Question your interpretation
Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.
Clarifying your interpretation
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.
Qualification Requirements
The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Leading IT Transformation corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Leading IT Transformation Specialist (ALITTS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.
Leading IT Transformation – Grading Contribution
Project Study – Grading Contribution
Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%
Qualification grades
A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.
When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:
Pass with merit
A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory
Pass with distinction
An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory
Preliminary Analysis
Online Article
“Accelerate Digital Transformation In 2021 With Stronger Partnerships
Daniel Newman,
Jan 6, 2021
Let’s face it: 2020 was a hard year. The only thing harder? Trying to chase 2020 with a new year filled with forced digital transformation, a quickly changing digital marketplace, and arguably just as much uncertainty as we’ve been facing for the last 12 months. Luckily, many companies are finding that creating strategic partnerships within smart, purposeful business ecospheres could be one fail-safe solution to staying in business and relevant in 2021.
According to the Dell Digital Transformation Index 2020, “Too Few Technology Partners” is a common obstacle to successful digital transformation for more than 20 percent of companies surveyed. That means 1 in 5 companies doesn’t feel they have the right partner ecosystems to enable transformative success. Still, the opportunity is there—and plentiful. What’s more, those companies ready and willing to embrace the role of “digital adopter” and “digital leader” will be able to use their resources, expertise, and solutions to create value for others at almost every level.
The following are a few ways partnerships make a difference and how they can help further enable digital transformation in 2021.
Expand Your Capabilities
Some 2/3 of business leaders agree curating effective ecosystems is the only way to succeed in the current business climate. Why? Because they realize technology isn’t an end-all, be-all solution in the marketplace. Every tech investment requires time, resources, and skill, all of which can be in high demand (and low availability) in the marketplace. Imagine if, in order to use AI in your company, you needed to employ your own AI developer. Your own coder. Your own infrastructure architect. Most companies would be out of business in a week—or in tears trying to write accurate job descriptions. Rather than trying to keep everything under one “house,” companies are realizing that they can simply partner with the best people in other organizations to make even stronger products and services. And moving forward, tech will become so much more complex, that working with partners will likely be the only realistic option.
What happens to those who choose not to develop within a complementary ecosystem? Just ask Europe. Reports show Europe is falling behind in the AI race. Why? Studies show 60 percent of their companies don’t share data with other businesses. Even worse, 58 percent of companies that do receive data from companies don’t reuse it! This is a culture problem? It’s an anti-transformation mindset? Perhaps it is related to data privacy laws and a misunderstanding of how to apply them? Regardless of the reason, continuing to turn inward is costing Europe on its own tech race. And it won’t be able to pull forward until it turns—you guessed it—outward.
Expand Customer and Partner Pool
What happens when you enlarge your network? You grow your prospective customer and partner base. That’s exactly what building tech and business ecosystems is all about. When you allow other companies to do what they do well, while continuing to do what you do well, you automatically open yourself up to a new range of people willing to work with your company. Rather than looking at every qualified business as a competitor, you realize they are prospective opportunities—opportunities to grow, learn, and expand both the people willing to buy from you and the people willing to augment your services and skills on different levels.
In the past few years, we have seen a significant migration toward deepening tech partnerships to drive digital transformation. The big systems integrators have long understood this with companies like Capgemini and Accenture tightly aligning with the likes of SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle to consult and deliver enterprise software solutions at scale. However, those partnerships are expanding rapidly with new relationships being forged to help enterprises scale faster and deliver on the promise of technology for complex problems. A good example of this was Splunk and HPE working together to deliver complex hybrid cloud requirements for Wells Fargo where compliance and regulatory challenges only made things more challenging. We are also seeing industry giants that compete come together to solve problems like the Microsoft, Adobe, C3.ai partnership to disrupt CRM or even Microsoft and Amazon linking up to accelerate global sustainability and climate change initiatives.
Long and short, partnerships are evolving and companies that get it, tend to see better results. Many businesses can benefit from partnerships, especially when it comes to expediting digital transformation.
Improve Your Ability to Win Customer Contracts
When it comes to winning major business contracts, the company with the broadest skillset often wins. Partnering with those who have different skills and contacts not only makes you more attractive as a company, it opens you up to new contract opportunities—ones you may never even have known about others. And it qualifies you for larger or different jobs than you would have been able to manage on your own.
The Caveats of Transformative Ecosystems
A few caveats before you head off to create a new ecosystem of partnerships for your company. First: building strong and successful tech ecosystems requires more than complementary skillsets. It requires a shared commitment to the same values. A similar culture that values co-growth and learning. That’s not something that comes easy for every company. In fact, while many realize how important business ecosystems and partnerships are, more than 50 percent of those polled said they are skeptical of them.
One way to start creating a culture that can succeed in ecosystem development is to put the customer journey at the center of everything you do. By always coming back to the customer, rather than individual sales, growth, or other competitive metrics, you will always stay on track and open to partnering with others who may do certain things better than you do. Because the truth is, your customers don’t care who is doing the work with you. They just want it to be done well.
Second, ecosystems aren’t just developed outside a company—they’re also nourished from within. Be wary of nurturing a culture so focused on competition that internal conflicts you’re your ability to create value. Always hire those with a value mindset, who are willing to align your business and customer priorities over their own personal wins. Yes, I realize the market is a competitive one. But your company will never “win” the digital transformation race if everyone within your organization wants to win the race alone.
Digital transformation is a huge, unwieldy, ongoing process. It’s no longer possible to do all of the work alone—even as a singular enterprise. If you want to make it for the long haul, find other companies who have the values you do and the skillsets you don’t.”
If you would like to view the original article, please visit: www.forbes.com
Online Article
“Choosing The Right Digital Transformation Partner
Alex Adamopoulos,
Aug 12, 2022
In today’s ever-changing markets, business leaders understand the benefits of digital transformation. In fact, a PwC study found that 60% of executives worldwide believe enterprise digital transformation is a critical growth driver, whether that growth goal involves improving customer experience, productivity, products or services. However, a business transformation of any kind can be a strenuous lift for a company, especially when most businesses have little to no internal transformation capability.
It’s one of the many reasons organizations seek help from outside consulting partners. In fact, 88% of businesses use third-party providers for at least one component of their digital transformation. While leading businesses around the world have recognized for decades that consultants can be an incredibly effective way to remain competitive, I do not believe the adage “nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM” translates to digital transformation partnerships. The fact of the matter is that while the global consulting industry continues to grow (with an expected estimated value of $525.57 billion by 2027), the market for experienced digital transformation consultants is scarce. With countless consulting firms to choose from, it is critical for businesses to avoid a partnership with a vendor that lacks digital transformation expertise.
Identifying An Inexperienced Digital Transformation Consultant
To spot inexperienced digital transformation consultants, you must look beyond industry buzzwords and go deeper to uncover the real value they offer your organization. What types of expertise do they have on staff? What experience do they have in your sector? What experience do they have taking an organization through a change or transformation program? What processes and client management processes do they have in place?
If they can’t answer those questions well and instead try to put decision makers at ease by making the complexities of digital transformation appear easily digestible, they are probably not the right fit. The right transformation consultants will take into account a company’s distinctive business processes—how they manage customers, employees, business operations, etc.—in order to uncover where and how digital intervention can improve business outcomes.
Ready-made methodologies and recommendations also usually oversimplify digital transformation solutions and create an inaccurate reflection of the effort and time needed to complete certain projects successfully. Further, these undefined, broad strategies cannot address the specific needs of an organization, leading to one of two outcomes.
• An under-addressed digital transformation strategy that leads to a less productive and not fully optimized digital business operation.
• An over-addressed digital transformation strategy that requires drawn-out or never-ending consultation that can quickly evaporate a company’s budget.
In either case, hiring the wrong digital transformation consultant can adversely affect a business’s productivity and bottom line and lead a company’s hiring manager to the unemployment line.
Hiring The Right Digital Transformation Consultant
When hiring a consulting group for digital transformation, to find a true transformation partner invested in your organization’s success, business leaders should look for a consultant that takes a personalized approach, aligns objectives with business goals and has an exit strategy.
Every company’s operation is unique and requires an equally unique digital transformation plan. That is why finding a vendor that does not push simple, one-size-fits-all transformation strategies is essential. Instead, look for consultants that take a personal inside-out approach. A robust digital transformation strategy should start with a structured analysis of an organization’s situation that includes data on current operations, past experiences with implementing change and work culture. A well-rounded analysis will also consider a company’s employees, understanding their knowledge of innovative tools and processes and ensuring they are on the same page with the digital transformation plan.
A formidable consulting team should also work with business leaders to clearly define the business outcomes they hope to achieve for their customers. This, in turn, will help the company and its partners better understand the problems they are trying to solve and help to align objectives with business goals and customer outcomes. For example, suppose a company’s goal is to provide quicker customer service. In that case, an aligned objective could be to implement CRM software or automated tools like chatbots for customer support operations.
Finally, a digital transformation consultant truly invested in a company’s long-term success, more times than not, will introduce an exit strategy. While a complete digital transformation can be complex and ever-evolving, the right consulting partner will create a plan that, over time, teaches a business the skills to not only sustain but implement positive change to its digital operations on its own. That is why it is imperative to seek out digital transformation consultants that focus on empowering employees by teaching them agile methodologies and forward-thinking through knowledge-based learning.
While the digital transformation consultant pool is not necessarily deep, business leaders who know what to look for will have the most success finding a partner focused on their company’s continued success. And by noticing the warning signs of an inexperienced digital transformation vendor, decision makers can avoid unnecessary costs or the potential for an unsuccessful digital transformation.”
If you would like to view the original article, please visit: www.forbes.com
Online Article
“The importance of partnerships in the digital world
Published on March 28, 2017,
By Emiel van Schaik
We live during a time of unprecedented transformation, one in which a torrent of new technologies is changing the business landscape at an exponential pace. Indeed, it’s astounding to consider the dramatic changes companies have undergone in just the past few decades.
I started working in IT in the 1980s, the age of automation, in which businesses sought to automate manual and machine-based processes.
A decade later, we were in the age of standardization. All of the automation of the 1980s made business faster and more efficient. But as companies examined their procedures in the 1990s, they realized they could make them even more effective and interchangeable.
In the early 2000s, we entered into the age of simplification, a time when there were so many standards and building blocks available. By regrouping and integrating those building blocks, businesses were able to simplify their operations, driving cost and risk out of their organizations.
Today, we’re in the age of digitalization. As businesses undergo digital transformation, they’re re-automating processes previously automated in the past, only this time they’re doing it with no – and not just less – manual intervention. At the same time, companies are reimagining entire processes and creating disruptive business models that don’t just make them super-fast, but also far better.
The risk of piling change upon change
During an era of hyperactive change, success can feel like a game of chance. As writers Peter Dahlström, Driek Desmet, and Marc Singer put it, “Being the CEO of a large company facing digital disruption can seem like being a gambler at a roulette table. You know you need to place bets to win, but you have no idea where to put your chips.”
To avoid getting left behind, some organizations are placing their bets on cutting-edge technologies. Yet companies that do so run the risk of implementing piecemeal solutions that don’t take into account the end-to-end needs of the enterprise. They also waste time piecing together disparate solutions and managing multiple relationships, slowing their potential for growth.
Take a chemical company that builds a digital dashboard to monitor control valves utilizing the Internet of Things, for example. Digitally monitoring these valves isn’t enough. To become truly predictive and responsive and to maximize safety and reduce the risk of leaks, the digital dashboard needs to be tied to the underlying production processes of the company. And that requires a sustained partnership with a technology company that can help transform your business from end to end and combine the best of both worlds, enterprise and digital.
The importance of mutually beneficial partnerships
Companies that piece together multiple technologies also jeopardize their growth by limiting themselves to a series of transactional customer–vendor relationships. While these types of interactions were once sufficient, they make it difficult to stay competitive during a time of rapid change.
As with a personal relationship, it takes time for an outside technology company to obtain a deep understanding of your day-to-day operations, how the business is integrated, and the complex challenges you face. By forming a mutually beneficial partnership with just a few innovative technology companies, you have the opportunity to learn one another’s organizations and people over time, making it easier to work together and constantly adapt to sudden market shifts.
Even more exciting, these partnerships can better equip companies to seize the new digital momentum to co-create compelling innovations and business models that disrupt entire industries. Ultimately, mutually beneficial partnerships can help both organizations improve everything from how they interact with customers and partners to how they compete, dramatically increasing their profitable revenue.
The value of a strong digital foundation
At SAP, we believe that a strong digital foundation is essential, especially during times of rapid change. With a digital core in place, your company can respond quickly and agilely to new business opportunities and changing market conditions. It can also transform itself into a Live Business that creates differentiating innovations on top of its digital core.
To undertake such a transformational digital journey, companies need strong, mutually beneficial partnerships – and that’s exactly what SAP offers. We’ve been in business for more than 40 years, serving as a sustained partner that delivers the high business value and innovations our customers need to succeed across time.
The SAP Global Strategic Customer Program is a win–win for both SAP and our customers. We offer an end-to-end approach to our customers’ businesses that balances their need to achieve profitable growth and continuous competitive differentiation with our ability to drive effective innovation and our desire to earn the right share of their business.
For example, one of our long-term consumer packaged goods customers is working with SAP at the research and development phase to co-innovate breakthrough solutions, becoming the early adopters and earning both companies a competitive edge.
Partnerships such as this allow both SAP and our customers to grow together, strategically harnessing new business opportunities. Our customers can take advantage of rapid digital innovation to create new business models, enter new markets, and accelerate profitable growth. At the same time, SAP enhances its preferred business position with its customers, encouraging them to share their unique experience with us as a trusted innovator.”
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Online Article
“Why Leveraging Technology Partners is Essential in Building Successful Digital Ecosystems
January 20, 2021,
Tricor Global
Businesses are under pressure. It may feel like the fast-forward button has been pushed, and they have limited time to complete their digital transformation efforts. And it’s not just the pandemic that is forcing the issue; companies are also increasingly aware that the adoption of technology is more than just a way to reduce costs. It’s now a vital aspect of their entire organization. There is, however, a solution – find the right technology partners.
The Key Digital Transformation Barrier – A Lack of Capabilities
Research has identified a major cause behind unsuccessful digital transformations as a lack of capabilities. Companies find themselves unable to bridge the gap between relatively straightforward small-scale projects and introducing bigger changes across the organization.
Take a sportswear brand, for example, that wanted to give customers the option of personalized athletic shoes with a quick turnaround time. When it ramped up its operations, the firm discovered that the new technologies required could not sync with existing processes, and the company had to eventually close the facility.
A proven solution was offered – look outside to close the gaps.
The Benefits of Using Partnerships to Drive Innovation
Successful digital transformations are all about scale. Technology is always evolving, so staying ahead of the game is difficult even for companies which specialize in these technologies, it’s even harder for those in entirely unrelated fields. Achieving scale requires speed, something many of the largest tech companies today have realized. Trying to achieve digital transformations alone without the benefit of specialist technology partners – the “lone wolf” mentality – is a slow and inefficient strategy.
If firms can’t keep up the pace on their own, it’s time to call on outside help. By using the skills of technology partners, companies are offered three benefits:
• Specific expertise
• Improved time to market
• Agility (since these partners can be classed as a variable, rather than a fixed cost)
Technology partners can be an integral part of a company’s “digital ecosystem” – an interconnected group of resources (both internal and external) that are all working toward shared objectives. They can also make all the difference between a successful digital transformation effort and one that fails. Choosing the right one is crucial. Here are four guidelines that companies can use for the selection process.
#1: Assessing Specific Capabilities
At the top of the list sits the specific capabilities of the prospective technology partner. Do they have a proven track record of successfully delivering digital transformation projects? While this will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, it is worth keeping in mind a dangerous myth: every tech vendor is automatically an expert in digital transformation. They’re not.
A vendor may have helped other clients create new digital experiences, but it does not automatically make them an expert in digital business transformation. Companies should hold back from selecting the first supplier and do their research. It’s beneficial to look for real-world case studies that are relevant to a firm’s specific needs.
#2: Analyzing Compatibility
A technology partner may be capable, but will their solution be compatible with a company’s existing systems? Organizations should look at factors such as integration standards and request a “roadmap” for how the partner plans to harmonize its solution with their own architecture. This will provide more clarity and save a lot of effort down the line.
#3: Evaluating Processes
After capabilities and compatibility comes process. Digital transformation is not a “plug and play” operation. It is often an ongoing process, where every stage of development will likely provide new feedback that will be used to remove any roadblocks.
Companies must be aware of how the partner handles periods of uncertainty. Will they only stick to pre-established procedures, or are they flexible enough to go the extra mile – even if it lies outside their standard processes?
#4: Conducting Upfront Due Diligence
With the pressures of the pandemic forcing companies toward rapid digital transformation, businesses risk rushing through the due diligence process and selecting the first technology partner that comes along.
This is a mistake. Using the services of technology partners is a recipe for successful digital transformations. Selecting the appropriate partner is vital to the entire effort, and companies should not skimp on process. The opposite is the case – they should be even stricter.
Businesses should ensure that each member of the partnership brings equal value to the table. This is not to be confused with similar expertise. Each partner should have differing areas of specialisation that can combine to create synergy – one could have deep industry expertise, while another may possess a cutting-edge technology platform, and another a robust database for analytics.
The goal here can be summarised in a common saying – the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts.
Realism Required
Digital transformation is powerful, but there is a risk that businesses could see it as an idealistic vision of the future – especially with the term having reached “buzzword” status. Given the amount of operational effort required, companies must embrace realism first. Overestimating their internal capabilities and believing it would be quicker to do everything themselves would be an error that will only do themselves a disservice.
Our economy is built on the principle of comparative advantage, and the same should apply here. Engaging specialist technology partners – while keeping in mind the above guidelines – is the most efficient way forward toward a successful digital transformation.”
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Course Manuals 1-7
Course Manual 1: Development Platform Partners Overview
IT Transformation: The important roles of developers
To make digital transformation successful, management teams will typically rely on internal IT departments and their team of software engineers. In this situation, developers will be in charge of the process of creating software and tools for the digital transformation, which are required to offer a new and improved experience to both customers and internal staff.
But one of the biggest issues businesses run into is a shortage of technical staff to carry out the shift.
Businesses who have a significant technical skills gap between their in-house developers and what is needed for digital transformation are under pressure (DX). Another difficulty with digital transformation is that business users who own digital processes are unsure of how to begin their DX projects, necessitating strong cooperation between the two teams.
Not only do emerging technologies need to be adopted, but software development and delivery processes also need to be modernized.
The likelihood of success for the digital transformation can be indirectly increased by successfully modernizing the development process.
How should the development team proceed given that IT departments and developers are key players in a digital transformation initiative?
Before starting their DX project, organizations should take into account the following crucial factors:
Purchase vs. In-house development
The intricacy of the business requirements and DX objectives will determine whether new tools and software applications need to be developed internally or obtained from a third party.
The key here is that companies must be able to decide whether they want to build themselves or buy ready-made solutions; the answer may be a combination of both. Off-the-shelf purchases can speed up the process, but creating internally ensures that unique development can be done to meet the organization’s specific needs.
Therefore, all business requirements should be carefully analyzed before deciding to “purchase or create” internally. The majority of the time, a pre-existing solution may be used to accomplish the same goal, saving developers the time and effort of having to start from scratch. This also frees up developers’ time so they may concentrate on other projects that will have the biggest impact, which will speed up project completion.
Agile Software Development Methodology
Business companies should anticipate defects and faults to be found and reported for mending and enhancements after the software applications are made available and published to the general public. This should happen quickly to ensure customer happiness. Developers must continuously work on rolling out updates and new builds.
However, when it comes to digital transformation, developers must move more quickly to keep up with the quick pace at which business requirements are changing. The IT department of your company has to create an agile culture since engineers in particular will need to learn quickly and iterate more frequently.
Adopting DevOps can also enable your operational development team to collaborate closely, improving communication and speeding up delivery. This strategy also makes it possible for your company to follow Digital Transformation techniques, provide a better user experience, and guarantee a single source of a shared database.
Any future planning, such as annual or quarterly plans, that is generated and carried out in silos, independently slowing down the execution of the digital transformation, may require developers to be aware of it. Businesses can acquire insights into the actual progress of transformation by harmonizing the entire operation. They can then take the necessary actions for improvements and create a culture that embraces change.
Software Architecture
Companies must carefully evaluate the software architecture since changes are very likely to occur and because they do so regularly. This will enable the development team to respond to changes effectively and on schedule.
A less tightly tied, modular design can assist the development team in completing their jobs more quickly and with fewer dependencies, enabling them to make adjustments and updates as well as replace parts over time to satisfy users’ needs and business requirements.
The benefit of being able to reconfigure or replace components without having an impact on the overall system supports the decision to purchase vs. develop internally, as the developer’s team can add-ons later to quickly address issues.
Interoperability
The way that company systems are run today is collaborative and networked.
When firms introduce new software applications to the market as part of their digital transformation project, interoperability, data exchange, and external APIs are all essential. It all comes down to building a digital ecosystem that permits communication both inside and outside of the digital revolution. These aforementioned variables must be carefully considered by business organizations to enable a well-rounded and seamless digital transformation approach.
DX should be an ongoing process, Not a Destination
Instead than thinking of it as a final product, a successful digital transformation project should be viewed as a long-term ongoing process. Digital transformation is essential for businesses to be competitive, keep up with market trends, and become lean and agile because the digital world is always changing.
As soon as your company reaches a significant milestone, new adjustments are presented that force firms to keep inventing and revise their work in order to meet the upcoming objectives. The development team will be well-equipped to complete the change successfully if they take a process-oriented approach.
Companies That Succeeded With a Software Partner: Whatsapp
Jan Koum and Brian Acton, two close friends and coworkers, were unhappy with the idea of bulk advertising on pages while working for Yahoo. They established the firm in 2007 after leaving Yahoo, with little money left over, and were motivated to cut expenses. They were determined not to sacrifice quality this time.
They established WhatsApp in 2009 with the explicit goal of providing the greatest services free of advertising after experiencing many highs and lows.
They made the decision to hire talented, experienced Russian app developers to handle their web development. They benefit from a vast pool of qualified developers who could be more expensive to locate locally, as well as reduced operational costs. Years later, the business had enormous success, and currently WhatsApp ranks third among all Android apps in terms of downloads globally, with 25.6 million users as of 2021.
Partner roles are evolving, especially in industry 4.0.
Companies would own and control their product distribution in a typical tech environment. They would assemble an internal team, conduct market research, and essentially develop the MVP within the team. Rarely would they enlist the help of a partner or distributed team to handle the added workload. Businesses would conduct the key services internally, and partners would handle the less important duties.
However, as we enter the era of industry 4.0, partner roles have reversed.
Business partners are becoming more than just a way to share the workload. They contribute to the growth of the offerings, the acceleration of innovations, and the production of goods that satisfy the demands of a reimagined customer experience. Businesses want to create intelligent solutions that can be introduced quickly and cheaply in the current partner ecosystem.
All in an effort to improve business operations and client outcomes.
The companies that offer and search for software development are one of the leaders in this partner ecosystem’s progress.
Currently, businesses of all sizes and varieties outsource their technology needs. Additionally, their software development partners aid in revenue maximization and business process optimization.
Today, both small and large businesses are turning to software development outsourcing as a solution to their software needs.
Millionaire businesses like Slack, Whatsapp, Skype, and even Google invest in software outsourcing to jumpstart their operations. Selecting a custom software development business can be difficult and overwhelming. Finding the ideal candidate for your firm requires taking into account a variety of factors during the search process.
You shouldn’t worry about it, though. In this manual, we’ll help you find the ideal software partner for you and address all of your business challenges.
In order to proceed, let’s first define a software development partner.
Who Is a Software Development Partner?
When it comes to software development, different firms have different needs. Some people search for a single software developer to create their SaaS product. Some people prefer their project to be handled by a software development team that is entirely devoted to it. Others, on the other hand, desire managed development partnerships with software development firms.
Indeed, what constitutes a software development collaboration might vary depending on the individual. And the type of software development partner you can work with depends on your requirements.
If we were to attempt to define the word “software development partner,” we would discover that it refers to a business or team of professionals who assist you in the creation of your software. People can:
• Deliver end-to-end software development
• Provide you with one or more remote developers
• Build a feature/s or functionality of the existing product
• Refactor your software
• Modernize legacy apps
• Build a complete team of development experts
A software development partner is typically an outsourcing company that guarantees you will receive knowledge, technological capabilities, and rapid development at a significantly reduced cost. They have years of experience creating items of your size and in your sector, and occasionally even in your specific specialization. This helps to lessen the complexity and load of the software, product, or even your SaaS development lifecycle.
What Benefits Can a Software Development Partner Bring?
We need to know what a software development partner brings to the table now that we’ve defined what they are precisely. You cannot just employ any bunch of experts to develop your program. If chosen wisely, a software development partner can contribute much more to your project than just technical expertise.
You can definitely have the following expectations of your software development partner:
Speed & Agility
Working with an established software development business gives your project the speed and agility it needs. They have a history of dealing with difficulties and meeting deadlines that are short.
Endless Talent Pool
Your physical limitations are no longer an issue. You may tap into a vast talent pool with countless opportunities when you work with a software development partner. You can work with a business that will assist you in locating the best professionals, technologies, and knowledge without sacrificing anything.
Early Proof of Concept
You can count on the development team to offer an early proof of concept. It will provide you access to MVP development, which will enable you to test your startup app or company idea and begin scaling up and iterating your product depending on customer input.
Mitigating Risk
Any form of software development and launch carries a lot of risks. A software development partner has knowledge of spotting problems and controlling risks. They can assist you in overcoming any outsourcing or development obstacles with ease and guarantee that all of your risks have been fully taken into account.
Technical Expertise
The technical knowledge that a software development business have is the next crucial factor that enters the picture when you work with them. This would enable you to fill up any technical gaps and improve your technological capabilities. A technological partner can undoubtedly help your product have smarter, more sophisticated features.
Innovation
To better serve their customers, businesses must constantly innovate and embrace the creative side. In order to make your product more unique, they offer early proof of concept and even assist with incorporating adjustments as necessary.
New Perspective
One of the least discussed benefits of working with a software development company is this. It brings in a different set of eyes for new viewpoints. Over time, internal teams may have tunnel vision.
Flexibility
A long-term commitment to the same team is required for in-house development. But when you outsource to a software development business, you have the freedom to pick and choose different developers or even change the size of the team as needed depending on the project without being bound by any agreements.
Scalability
Working together with the ideal software development partner overcomes this difficulty by supplying the top specialists worldwide and enabling businesses to scale more quickly and adaptably. As the project advances, there’s a potential that the scope will also shift. To spark and actualize the software you’re going to produce, the entire software team must work together. You can adjust the number of resources you need in response to peak and off-peak times by using an outsourced team. While you push changes for maintenance, the team’s familiarity with the product will not change.
Unquestionably, a software development partner will provide a wealth of resources to your project. You will be able to recognize the benefits of working with an agency. And all of these advantages do encourage firms to collaborate with a corporation. The difficulty arises when they choose to pair and must select the ideal match for them.
Companies That Succeeded With a Software Partner: Slack
Slack promoted the motto “Be Less Busy,” however during its first two years of operation, the company was extremely busy expanding the business in every way.
Slack is an instant messaging service that was developed to take the role of email and provide a more effective and efficient method of communication. Through several channels available for group discussions or private chat rooms for one-on-one messages or file sharing, its workspaces allow slack users to make communication effortless.
Slack made the decision to contract out the design of its logo, its marketing website, and a few pieces of software required for online and mobile development. A Canadian outsourcing business handles the task.
Slack’s deliberate choice to work with an overseas company shows how outsourcing done at the beginning of product development can be quite successful.
Currently, Slack has over 10 million daily active users and generated US$401 million in revenue in 2019.
Selection Criteria
For many firms, working with a software development partner can be beneficial. The biggest difficulty, though, is in locating one.
This chapter of our handbook for software development partners will be of assistance to you in this regard.
The best-fit scenarios—where businesses should collaborate with a partner rather than build it internally—have been covered in this chapter. Once everything is resolved, we will talk about the selection criteria or a brief checklist that will make it easier for you to assess software development partners.
When Do Businesses Need A Partner in Software Development?
It is essential that you as a business owner use the top software to manage business operations and increase sales.
For the growth of your firm, partnering with organizations with excellent knowledge is essential. They employ clever strategies, a talented workforce, cutting-edge technological know-how, and other things. A fantastic end will be produced by your project when all factors are combined.
The majority of businesses nowadays want a dependable software development partner for the following reasons.
Budget Overruns
Particularly when it comes to startups, businesses frequently have a tight budget and little money available for investment. A significant sum of investment is necessary to start the software development process.
Overruns occur occasionally when software outsourcing organizations are unable to accurately predict the quantity of labor required to produce the requested software. As a result, you might need to re-plan your budget to account for unforeseen increases in development costs. In such circumstances, your well-planned strategy for contacting your intended audience may not achieve its full potential, and you risk losing money.
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Identifying business requirements, software planning, design, development, pre-marketing campaigns, post-launch marketing, cold outreach, social media campaigning, advertising, etc. are just a few of the many tasks involved in the software development process. For software development to be successful, each of them requires significant human work, time, and resources.
Constant Release Dates
Another factor contributing to companies’ urgent need for a software development partner is subpar project management that frequently causes delivery delays. The development team frequently completes the development work on schedule but waits for the release of the last step, which has not been finished for a while.
Imagine the state of MVP development today. The MVP app functions flawlessly, and you get input from the product’s early adopters. However, the developer keeps pushing back the release date.
Early on in the software development process, software testing is crucial. Debugging delays can increase expenses and lengthen the time it takes to develop a product. The software development process could suffer from the lack of a skilled QA staff.
Delays On Project Completion Dates
The modern software sector is incredibly competitive and expanding at an exponential rate. It won’t be long before someone uses a product idea comparable to yours because creative ideas are fermenting in the minds of budding entrepreneurs. As a result, you’ll attract your target market and occupy your market niche more effectively the quicker you turn your idea into market-ready software or at least a marketable product. However, as we all know, uncertainty exists everywhere. The process of creating software might be unpredictable at times.
Software companies frequently offer software development services without any prior experience using cutting-edge technologies. Delays may result from inadequate project management and a lack of qualified specialists.
Lack of attention to the outcome
Some software companies devote all of their resources—including valuable time and money—to the development process. You will receive regular information on newly installed features and functionality as well as future development action plans. However, it won’t be able to determine whether the software now satisfies your expectations.
It is preferable to take into account software companies that employ Agile technique, which ensures a quicker product launch. Instead of long-term planning, this adaptable technique aids in obtaining immediate user answers.
poor scaling management
The software outsourcing company will need to hire more developers and divide up existing and new projects among them in order to meet the many demands on time.
Some programmers lack the tools, knowledge, or experience necessary to scale. For instance, small businesses might not have enough professionals. Even if they have, a skilled project manager who can effectively prioritize features and scale is still required.
Companies That Succeeded With a Software Partner: GitHub
A Microsoft subsidiary, GitHub is a well-known hosting site for software development. In addition to its built-in functionalities, it offers Git’s distributed version control and source code management (SCM) capabilities.
An outsourced company that later rose to the position of chief information officer wrote the backend coding for GitHub. The co-founder and CEO of GitHub, Chris Wanstrath, discovered that Scott Chacon, a man from San Francisco, had a remarkable and in-depth knowledge of Gits.
Initially, the GitHub founders lacked the resources to hire Scott. So they made the decision to contract out the MVP development.
Today, GitHub has more than 40 million developers and 44 million repositories that were added in the previous year. More than 100 million repositories have been hosted by Github overall.
Guidelines For Partner Software Development Selection
Now that we are aware of the situations in which you should select a software development partner for your next project, it is time to move on to the selection criteria, which make up the bulk of this chapter.
It’s not easy choose a reliable development partner for your program or app. If not done carefully, it can occasionally be a difficult, expensive, and complicated task.
Let’s now get into the aspects or standards you should consider while choosing the best software development partner.
Size & Structure of the Company
Two of the most important variables that must be taken into account when choosing the best partner are the company’s size and organizational structure. This is crucial since it indicates whether they can fulfill your project’s requirements on their own or whether they will need to further outsource.
One of the most crucial factors to take into account when choosing the best software development partner is a company’s size. It’s likely that the vendor will give your particular project less attention if they operate mostly with huge corporations and are a large company themselves. On the other hand, a small business might not have the resources or knowledge necessary to handle complicated projects.
When selecting a partner, it is ideal if their team size is comparable to yours. You would be given the respect due to a valued customer.
Additionally, it would be nice to look over the company’s entire portfolio and previously completed projects before contacting them to have the initial talk.
Choose a partner that has a sizable, talented team of experts for all stages of the software development cycle, such as business analysts, UI/UX designers, database specialists, architects, etc.
Work Methodology
What types of engagement approaches and methodologies does your software development partner employ? Do they adhere to Agile/Scrum principles? Utilizing the newest technologies, are they creating solutions? How many professionals with specialized knowledge are there on the team?
Today, each software development company must have expertise of agile development methodologies.
As is well known, there are several advantages to the agile software development approach over the now-outdated waterfall method. Agile will assist you with obtaining your Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as quickly and inexpensively as possible. Therefore, understanding agile development methodologies is now essential for any organization that develops software.
Additionally, by entering the market as soon as possible with the least amount of risk and expenditure, with MVP you will realize the full potential of your idea.
Once your proposal has been approved by your intended audience, you can quickly expand it and include new features in response to their comments and needs. To underline the value of company flexibility, it is equally important to implement agile methods.
Make sure the software development company you choose is adaptable enough to accept change as your company expands.
Technology Stack & Expertise
You should be aware of the company’s technology knowledge in addition to its working technique before partnering with them. What benefit could a company offer if their technological capabilities are equivalent to yours?
Because of this, a software development partner’s technological stack and area of competence in technology are important considerations.
Experience and expertise
In order to turn your ideas into solid solutions, subject matter expertise (SMEs) and domain experience are essential.
It’s important to carefully review the job experience and the software competence before shaking hands with the software firm you shortlisted.
Expert professionals can provide you a wide range of add-on solutions and greatly increase the value of your software project because they have knowledge in a certain field. Your company will gain benefit from this. On the Clutch or Good Firm listings, you can look up the company’s industry experience. Additionally, it’s simple to view the profile and see how many tasks the business has completed. What sort of remedies have they created?
Continue to look for tasks they completed for your industry. Additionally, the software development company needs to have a wealth of expertise working with other reputable companies and remote teams using a variety of communication channels and technologies, like Jira, Confluence, Slack, etc.
The certifications the developers have attained would be a great approach to determine their level of technical knowledge. Since the field of software development is always expanding, top developers are constantly working to expand their skill sets.
Market Presence and Reputation
Finding a software development partner through suggestions and references is one of the greatest methods.
A software development company will have a strong online presence on digital media if it provides top-notch services.
Visit well-known review sites like Clutch, GoodFirms, and AppFutura when selecting a software development company to receive some actual client feedback on various vendors. Examine evaluations on Facebook and Google as well. It will give you accurate insights into the business’s operations and level of customer service.
Additionally, think about the most prestigious industry honors to aid in your selection of the greatest software development firm.
Additionally, look at your clients’ testimonials to gauge their level of success.
Communication
When developing software, communication is viewed as a crucial component of a system. Typically, when businesses are searching for a reliable software development firm, their top concerns are the size of the organization, the price structure, the level of skill, the level of industry experience, and a host of other factors.
But communication is the aspect that they unquestionably ignore. They hardly ever bring up communication. Here, we emphasize the importance of this criterion to the success of the project as a whole.
Lack of emotional intelligence, cultural diversity, poor English skills, and other factors can all contribute to ineffective communication.
Always make sure there is no miscommunication or misunderstanding. Therefore, you have to have confirmed the communication channel and ensured that both of you have a reliable infrastructure to facilitate smooth communication.
In general, while most businesses may have a competent English-speaking sales team, their development teams may fall short. Therefore, make sure to communicate with the project manager who will be in charge of your project.
Your thoughts should be easily and quickly transferred during the communication process.
Models for pricing and engagement
Making the best choice when choosing a software partner involves considering price. Nowadays, the majority of firms prefer the most cost-effective software solution than the cheapest one.
The engagement approach you decide to choose will affect the project budget.
Many software outsourcing companies typically use one of two pricing structures.
The Predetermined Lump Sum Project Cost is another name for the Fixed Price model, and Time and Material is another name for the Hourly model.
Fixed-Price Model
When an organization has well-defined and pre-established goals and business requirements, a fixed price model is frequently selected. The business requirements, the time and date of delivery, and the project budget are all determined in a fixed pricing model. Comparatively speaking, the model is less flexible than others. A fixed pricing strategy makes it challenging to manage risk as well.
The project costs in this instance are connected to specific, measurable project deliverables.
T&M (Time And Material Model)
In this model, the hourly fee is established based on the experts’ specific skill set and work history. The software developers bill you according to the amount of hours used to create your project. The price covers the price of the supplies and third-party plug-ins needed to create your strategy.
The benefits of this concept include flexibility and a faster time to market. You may get continuous software delivery by using agile or scrum software development strategies.
Companies That Succeeded With a Software Partner: Alibaba
Many of us mistakenly believe that outsourcing solely occurs from the United States to nations like China or India when we talk about it. That’s not always the case, though!
The e-commerce behemoth Alibaba disproved everything. It provides a convincing illustration of the benefits of outsourcing, demonstrating that even the most developed nations outsource portions of their development to developing nations.
Alibaba.com began as a little Internet business many years ago, but it has since grown to become one of the greatest worldwide e-commerce platforms.
In the beginning, Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma hired a U.S. company to develop its website. He made the decision to hire web developers from the United States because of the dearth of experienced labor in his own nation.
Currently, the business still outsources production to partners, most of whom are based in China.
Investopedia claims that the company’s operations are responsible for more than half of all e-commerce sales in China. However, Jack Ma outsourced software development at first as well.
Jack Ma spoke about how the business made the decision to start outsourcing in his autobiography, “Alibaba: The Inside Story Behind Jack Ma and the Creation of the World’s Biggest Online Marketplace,” which was published in 2009.
Checklist for Choosing Software Development Partner
Since we now understand the various aspects to take into account when choosing a software development partner, we are aware that you should have more comprehensive information at your disposal. Here is a quick summary of the considerations you should make when assessing the partner.
• Experience: The years of experience that the company possesses hold the utmost importance in assessing its expertise in the niche.
• Technology Stack: Different projects require different technologies to create features and functionalities. You need to assess the software development company’s tech stack to be assured they are technologically capable.
• Niche Expertise: Software development agencies cater to different niches. Some hold expertise in building products with new-age technology. Some specialize in building software for particular industries. You need to be sure that they have worked on something similar to your idea.
• Budget Bracket: Companies also have budget brackets within which they work. It would be easier to shortlist the companies you can partner with and not have to deal with funding later on.
• Project Portfolio: The next important thing that you need to check is the project portfolio of the company. It’ll tell you about the features they’ve built, functionalities they can offer, and more.
• Engagement Model: You should also be checking on the type of engagement that they can offer. If they can manage your entire project or deliver developers or complete teams for building your product.
• Engineers On Board: The number of engineers the company has an association with is another important factor to check in. It will help you know how quickly they’ll be able to find your talent in case of scaling.
These are some of the crucial things that you should certainly keep in mind while you are looking for a software development partner.
Preparing For Partnership
Finding a software development partner on its own does not ensure that you enter the correct kind of cooperation.
For your partnership to succeed, you must also be prepared on other levels.
We will cover how to prepare to work with a software development business to make your product digital in this chapter.
Steps For Self-Preparation
Simply choosing the correct business to partner with when outsourcing software development is insufficient. Additionally, you must be organized for the procedure. And for the overall cooperation in software development process, that would be one of the key phases.
Without further ado, let’s get started on the preparations you can do for the partnership.
Define Goals
Identifying your project needs is the first step in getting ready for something. You must begin by examining the requirements to determine what you must delegate to your partner.
Choose a strategy
The strategy for the collaboration is the next decision you must make. Depending on your needs, your budget, the talent you have access to, and other factors, you can pick between offshore, nearshoring, or onshoring.
Get Your Budget Planned
Your budget is the next consideration you need to make. You could prepare much better and set things up more clearly if you did this. The majority of businesses even have predetermined budgetary ranges that might speed up the partner search.
Start Documentation
Everything from your technological prowess to other suitable requirements that can facilitate your cooperation can be documented. Your companion could use these records as references.
Assign Roles Within Organization
Management would have to take on the project as part of yours. A manager would be available as a point of contact. In addition, you might look for others to assign various tasks and duties to.
Be Clear in Your Communication
Communication is the next important factor. To communicate, you must have access to clear platforms and tools. Make that all of the arrangements for communicating with the partner and the external dedicated team are in place.
You can now begin looking for your software development partner once you have everything prepared.
However, there are a few other considerations you should make when seeking for a mate. And in the section after this, we’ll talk about that.
Things to consider
There are several things that you might forget while you get ready for your software development partnership. However, this could result in a lot of unspoken assumptions and misunderstandings. Here are a few things that will help you better prepare so you can prevent all of that.
#1. Learn The Tools
Learning remote working technologies is one of the most important steps you can take to get yourself and your team up for an external software development relationship. You must have project management, collaboration, and communication technologies available. To effectively manage the tools and maintain smooth collaboration with the outside software development team, you should be hands-on with them.
#2. Designate a PoC
Always have a team member on hand who is well-versed in your project and capable of working closely and rapidly with your software development partner on it. They ought to devote themselves to the project and be accessible anytime the development team plans to meet or have a conversation. If they are using an agile software development methodology, ongoing sprint planning and other talks are necessary for producing better iterations. You ought to have a PoC who could be reached quickly for this.
#3. Prepare The Team
In-house teams are frequently wary of working with a software development partner, especially if you work in the IT industry. You must now provide your team with an explanation of why. You must be prepared to provide justifications for hiring an outside partner to do remote product development. You can also encourage greater collaboration and openness to ideas inside the team. Even when the product is being created remotely, they should be able to accept it.
#4. Set-up The Process
Your success also depends on getting the process just right before working with a software development partner. For instance, knowing the SaaS development lifecycle might help you optimize the process if you are creating a software as a service product. Research, planning MVP development or prototype, product development, integration, testing, and other activities will all be covered in your allocated sprints.
#5. Ensure Communication Bandwidth
You also need to be ready for changes in communication bandwidth. You need to be aware that if you have an internal team, there will be regular communication even though you are using an external software development business to create your product. Demo days, sprint meetings, discussions of the project progress reports, and other events will be held. For that, you must become ready in advance.
#6. Recognize All Associated Costs
The expenditures are among the most crucial items to plan for. The cost of outsourcing is reportedly about half that of producing the product internally. You must be aware of the overall expenses associated with outsourcing. Although outsourcing software development will save you money, there are expenses involved that you should be aware of. The price of employment, knowledge transfer, and other expenses would be included.
#7. Assess The Risks
While working with a partner in software development might be beneficial, you need also be aware of the hazards. These might have to do with intellectual property, the caliber of the codes, and other things. For this reason, it is usually recommended to just outsource related jobs rather than the core company functions.
#8. Limit The Liabilities
You need to be certain that collaborating with an outside team for your software won’t result in any liabilities. Make sure you are not generating any obligations when you outsource that could subsequently have an impact on your organization. To maintain control, you need make investments in service management and integration.
#9. Prepare A Service Level Agreement
The service level agreement is yet another crucial component to have in place as you get ready for a software development partnership. Unquestionably, it ranks among the most significant legal documents for your partnership. Everything, including the services you anticipate receiving from the service provider, should be included. Once it’s set up, any uncertainty or confusion will be absolutely gone.
These are some of the most important considerations that you should make if you intend to enter a software development partnership. You can prepare for outsourcing software development by taking these actions and doing these activities.
Companies That Succeeded With a Software Partner: Google
Google, a leader in technology, is a terrific example of how to conduct effective company operations. It’s really cool to explore the Google platform and its offerings.
According to Google’s outsourcing approach, even the largest workforce of 89,000 developers in the world requires outside perspectives and ideas.
Furthermore, Google did not outsource work to brilliant coders around the world because they lacked the necessary internal skills. This is due to the fact that lower costs make investors pleased and provide the internal staff more time to concentrate on their primary tasks.
However, even one of the biggest businesses, Google, uses remote workers for some of their work.
According to Google’s strategy, everything depends on the kind of business you have, the requirements for that firm, whether you need outsourcing or not, your priorities, and your budget.
Course Manual 2: Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
A software application that allows users to create, modify, collaborate on, publish, and save digital material is known as a content management system (CMS). Enterprise content management (ECM) and web content management are two common uses for CMSes (WCM).
How does a CMS work and how is it used?
Without having to start from scratch with code, a CMS offers a graphical user interface with tools for creating, editing, and publishing web content.
A content management application (CMA) and a content delivery application are the two halves of a CMS (CDA).
• The CMA is a graphical user interface that enables users to design, create, modify and remove content from a website without HTML knowledge.
• The CDA component provides the back-end services that support management and delivery of the content once a user creates it in the CMA.
What’s the difference between a CMS, ECM and WCMS?
A CMS, ECM and WCMS all manage content, but there are differences between them:
• The ECM system was developed before the CMS. A content management system (CMS) provides a location to generate, manage, and store digital information. Structured content, like documents and database records, works best with a CMS.
• Both organized and unstructured material is managed using an enterprise content management system. In order to manage material successfully, it consists of software, tactics, and security.
• A web content management system is comparable to an enterprise content management system (ECM), but it differs in that it manages web content, such as the product pages on e-commerce websites. It contains a publishing mechanism and makes group authoring easier.
Source: Techtarget
CMS features
Although there are several CMS offerings, the following essential features are always present:
• Intuitive indexing, retrieval, and search. These capabilities allow users to search by criteria like publication dates, keywords, or authors and index all material for quick access using search functions.
• Format management. This facilitates converting legacy electronic documents and scanned paper documents into HTML or PDF files.
• Features for revision. These capabilities make it possible to change and update content after it has been published. Revision control keeps track of all alterations that users make to files.
• Publishing. With the use of wizards and other tools, users can create and modify content using a template or set of templates that have been approved by the company.
A CMS might also offer options for individualization or targeted advertising. One-to-one marketing refers to a website’s capacity to modify its advertising and content to a user’s particular attributes utilizing data a user supplies or a website collects. For instance, if a user searches for digital cameras on popular search engines like Google, firms that offer digital cameras may appear in advertising banners rather than businesses that sell gardening supplies.
Other popular CMS features are:
• Search engine optimization-friendly URLs;
• Integrated and online help, including discussion boards;
• Group-based permission systems and security;
• Full template support and customizable templates;
• Easy wizard-based install and versioning procedures;
• Admin panel with support for multiple languages;
• Minimal server requirements;
• Integrated file managers; and
• Integrated audit logs.
Benefits of using a CMS
Using a content management system has a lot of advantages, such as:
• Ease of use. Even persons with no technical expertise can use the software because of its graphical user interface.
• Easy to search for information. Users can utilize an integrated search feature to enter what they are looking for and receive results much like a Google search engine.
• Easy to manage content. Content removal is just as simple as content creation. To keep websites current, content may be easily unpublished using a CMS.
• Accessible from anywhere. Users can access material from any location using a device that is linked to the internet and a CMS that is either on-premises or in the cloud.
• Allows multiple users. The management of publishing permissions is simple with a CMS.
• Instant content updates. A CMS enables users to manage and update content in real time – without needing to wait for a developer.
• Easy to scale. Without the need for a developer, a CMS makes it simple for businesses to create new web pages as their operations expand.
• Easy to update. Updates can be released by development teams with a few simple clicks.
How to pick the ideal CMS for your website
The number of variables that must be taken into account before a company decides to invest in a CMS is practically without end. There are a few fundamental features to always look for, such an intuitive editor interface and insightful search options. However, some businesses have more specialized needs that dictate the software they employ.
Think about the organization’s size and geographic distribution, for instance. The CMS administrator needs to be aware of how many users the program will have, whether multilingual support is necessary, and how big a support staff will be required to keep everything running smoothly. The degree of control that administrators and end users will have when utilizing the CMS should also be taken into account. Businesses must also take into account the variety of electronic data formats they employ. All forms of digital content ought to be quickly indexed.
Here are some more guidelines for selecting the ideal CMS:
1. Consult with the workforce and the executive team. It’s crucial to understand who will use this new CMS and for what purposes. The marketing team, the chief content officer, the IT personnel, and others should be involved.
2. Examine present and upcoming business requirements. A CMS must take into account both the organization’s present demands and any potential future business objectives. Whether the system will interact with the company’s present technology stack and whether the CMS includes cutting-edge capabilities like RESTful APIs are important factors to take into account.
3. Research your options. Businesses must narrow down the software solutions that best suit their requirements and educate themselves about these choices, which includes speaking with customers who have comparable use cases to learn about their experiences with the products.
4. Compose a request for proposal. Vendors will have the chance to talk about a company’s requirements and justify why they can offer the best software for the job.
5. Examine supplier responses. Businesses should take into account the functionality, support, and training that each provider provides. Demos help companies comprehend how each system functions and the integrations it offers.
Examples of different CMSes
There are many free and subscription-based CMSes available for personal and enterprise use. Here are some examples of the more popular content management system providers:
1. Joomla. A MVC framework served as the foundation for this free and open-source web content management system. With capabilities like caching, RSS feeds, blog entries, search, and support for language translation, Joomla is created using the PHP scripting language.
2. WordPress. This is another free and open-source WCMS based on PHP and MySQL. Businesses can implement WordPress on a local computer to operate as their own web server or use it in the cloud. With a wide selection of WordPress plugins and themes, this program is extremely adaptable. It is also a well-liked platform for blogging.
3. Backdrop CMS. This is a free and open-source CMS that is part of the Drupal project and provides affordable CMS for small- and medium-sized organizations. On its own, Backdrop offers just the most basic web content management features, but it can be extended with the help of the various modules.
4. Wix. This CMS offers both free and paid plans. Features include team collaboration tools, third-party integrations, enterprise-grade security, hundreds of design templates and the ability to add custom code. Wix also provides 24/7 customer support.
5. HubSpot CMS. This paid CMS features a drag-and-drop page builder, SEO recommendations and website themes. HubSpot’s free CRM platform is also included in each CMS package, enabling users to keep track of customers and content, all in one place.
6. Magnolia. This is an open-source, headless CMS that enables integrations with numerous marketing technologies — including CRM systems, analytics and marketing automation tools. Features include personalization and optimization, and digital asset management.
Famous Partnership: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield made life taste a little sweeter.
While ice cream might not seem quite as important as the rest of these inventions, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have done the world a favor by setting the bar high for interesting and unique ice cream varieties. Cohen’s insistence on the chunky texture that makes Ben and Jerry’s unique, combined with Greenfield’s focus on the rich and complex taste of each ice cream, have led a veritable ice cream revolution. Making the world a better place with chunks of fudge brownie and chocolate chip cookie dough is definitely one way to put collaboration to good (and delicious) use.
Course Manual 3: Technology Partners Overview
What Are Technology Partnerships?
Technology partnerships aid in the implementation and optimization of an organization’s technical systems. These partners are tech firms that collaborate to create products like plugins, integrations, and mobile applications.
Types of Technology Partnerships
Technical partnerships come in a wide variety of forms. These alliances frequently last a long period, therefore they frequently change over time.
For instance, a collaboration that starts out as technical may later evolve into a marketing, channel, or strategic partnership.
For a firm, integrations, apps, and other technology can require sizable investments. As a result, even more limited technical collaborations may change to other kinds of partnerships to maximize the return on investment.
Try to identify the tech partnership in each of the following three scenarios:
The relationship between Salesforce and DocuSign is in technology.
App Development
Partnerships for app development produce unique online and mobile applications. They might also entail adding a new app to an already-existing app store or market.
Reviewing the following points is crucial as this cooperation develops:
• App portfolios
• Customer and partner testimonials
• Project management, especially for tight timelines
• Security
• Reliability
Integrations
Partnerships for integration create integrations between two well-known products. For a strong product, they might also develop additional product integrations.
Partners in integration work on more than just enhancing and extending excellent technical products. The goal of them is to combine the potential of two unique tools or services. The emphasis then switches to making that offer known to the clients who require it.
Building successful integrations takes time. It’s crucial for partners to establish early guidelines for data sharing, product introduction, and marketing.
Marketplaces or App Stores
These tech alliances could be a significant help to your company. They can make it simple to identify and comprehend your apps and integrations. This is crucial for new or complicated items in particular.
Consider the scenario when you are searching the Apple store for a phone app that will allow you to update your blog. The market offers a wealth of information that might assist you in selecting the best software. This comprises:
• Product descriptions
• Keywords
• Customer ratings
• Reviews
• Images and videos
These alliances involve more than just adding your software to the store or creating a market for your goods. They focus on fostering community. Finding out what your users value and making it simple for them to get what they’re looking for are key.
Plugins, Add-Ons, and Extensions
Technology alliances for add-ons might broaden and enhance your offering for particular customers. They may also present an opportunity for you to enhance a product you already adore. These digital collaborations might be a quick and affordable method to give a website or product greater functionality.
Other Channels for Tech Partnerships
Even though a technical partnership typically focuses on technology, it’s crucial to keep in mind why your company is looking for one.
For instance, if your company wants to raise brand awareness, a new app that is available in all the major app shops can:
• Increase brand visibility
• Link potential customers to your site
• Offer new platforms for promotion and referrals
Because of this, the majority of technical relationships between your organizations will also involve other partnerships. When you partner with a tech company, these are some of the most typical additions.
Strategy
Strategic teams frequently cooperate with one another in other ways that benefit both businesses when they enter into a partnership.
This might entail continuing to collaborate on:
• Growth strategies
• Product development
• Supply chain
• Financial investments
• Licensing
• Charitable work
Media
When your business makes a new technology investment, they’ll need a strategy to announce it. Media collaborations can benefit both parties by increasing traffic and favorable coverage. They can also give your company more reputation, create new revenue sources, or present opportunities for experimentation.
Affiliates
A new tech solution can also be promoted through affiliate relationships. You can easily share the following in earnest by combining the affiliate programs of both partners:
• fresh testimonies
• product demonstrations
• highlight features
This may accelerate the rate at which users add your new plugin or app. Additionally, it increases the likelihood that people will talk about your most recent release.
Marketing
Another common outgrowth of a strong technical partnership is co-marketing. For both parties, marketing alliances can promote lead generation, brand awareness, and product uptake.
The following are just a handful of the numerous options you have for marketing with your IT partner:
• Co-branding
• Content marketing
• Sponsorships
• Product placement
Technology Partnership Examples: Google Cloud and Splunk
The collaboration between Google Cloud and Splunk makes it simpler for businesses to make data-driven decisions. It enables businesses to access and analyze data in bulk. Incorporating AI and machine learning for data processing and use is another integration from this relationship.
Why this is a good example of a tech partnership: Through enhanced data exchange, this technology alliance benefits both companies’ businesses. Customers of the Splunk Cloud, for instance, also benefit from the AI, security, and networking features of Google Cloud. Splunk’s data visualization capabilities are advantageous to Google. The fact that Splunk already collaborated with AWS makes it competitive.
Benefits of Technology Partnerships
Tech partnerships can expand your company in a variety of ways. They can help you speed up the sales process, enhance client satisfaction, and better satisfy user needs. But relationships are frequently taxing. They require time and may divert your team’s attention from important objectives and benchmarks.
How do you determine whether a tech partnership is the best course of action for your company?
Grows word-of-mouth and brand awareness.
Does your business have a problem with brand recognition? If so, collaborating on technology is a fantastic approach to raise awareness.
They can enhance brand awareness and the frequency with which new clients test your goods and services. Connecting with a company that your clients regard as reliable can also enhance word-of-mouth referrals. It aids in fostering brand loyalty.
Improves lead generation.
A relationship can enhance lead generation potential in more ways than just introducing new technologies and channels to your company. Your business may benefit from a strong lead pipeline thanks to second-party data from reliable partners.
Leads from tech partners are a fantastic approach for your sales team to grow qualified leads and improve lead insights.
Increases customer referrals.
Before starting to collaborate on new technology, many technical partners seek for a referral or marketing relationship. This is due to the fact that outstanding technology partners ought to likewise be terrific referral partners.
Do you want them to mention your product in informal conversations? emphasize features in email newsletters? Or do you want them to refer customers to your company directly?
Referrals can be a great asset no matter how you choose to handle the situation. Customer recommendations might also contain valuable information that your company can use to develop or change directions.
Helps expand your partner network.
Before starting to collaborate on new technology, many technical partners seek for a referral or marketing relationship. This is due to the fact that outstanding technology partners ought to likewise be terrific referral partners.
Do you want them to mention your product in informal conversations? emphasize features in email newsletters? Or do you want them to refer customers to your company directly?
Referrals can be a great asset no matter how you choose to handle the situation. Customer recommendations might also contain valuable information that your company can use to develop or change directions.
How to Build and Maintain Technology Partnerships
Even though you may have have a lot of partner experience, tech relationships are special in a few respects. These are some helpful starting steps, whether you’re searching for a refresher or connecting for the first time.
1. Reach out to internal teams for suggestions.
It could be challenging to listen for partner suggestions in the business kitchen because many teams operate remotely. Instead, join the appropriate Teams or Slack channels. You may get a feel of the tools your staff use or suggest by looking at these areas. They can also assist you in understanding the specific customer problems that new technology can resolve.
Another choice is to schedule a series of brief one-on-one meetings with team members. Consider which departments might be knowledgeable about a product. Next, find out which firms or goods they enjoy and why.
You could also wish to reach out to your customers. Pay attention to any requests for integrations or apps from prospects and clients. Additionally, it might be wise to look at:
• Feedback from your customer service team
• Social media posts and comments
• Online customer groups
2. Figure out your tech requirements and timeline.
Your team will be more effective in a collaboration if it is better prepared. The majority of businesses will begin by evaluating their technical competencies. This might comprise:
• API availability
• Team size
• Developer capabilities
You should review your buyer persona tech stack and customer journey map as well.
Create a sample scope of work that describes your ideal working relationship and outputs next. Together with each partner, you will edit and update this document. Having said that, it’s helpful to identify your priorities before approaching prospective partners.
Lastly, sketch out your desired timetable. While some technical partnerships may need three to five years to complete a plan, others may just need 45 days. The schedule will be determined by the demands of your business, the extent of the assignment, and any potential obstacles.
3. Do your research.
It’s time to start looking into potential partners now that you have a complete set of information and concepts. Find technology partners now who are capable of more than just the bare minimum.
You can use this research to locate partners who align with your objectives for:
• Culture alignment
• Brand visibility
• Innovation
• Customer expectations
• Trust
• Mutual needs and benefits
Establishing a foundation of similar values and objectives might help new collaborations grow over time.
4. Reach out to potential technology partners.
If you’re just starting out, you might have to get in touch with prospective partners directly. You can discover additional routes for collaborations and partner referrals as your network grows.
Make a one-sheet that explains your offer to further entice potential partners. Additionally, you should make a pitch deck containing statistics, research, and other information that demonstrates your value proposition to high-level partners.
5. Outline expectations and goals.
Technology relationships are no exception to the rule that partnerships may be complicated. It’s common for development teams to encounter unforeseen difficulties that can derail a project. Because of this, setting clear expectations in advance is crucial.
Make a clear shared document before you start any project, no matter how straightforward. This summary could include:
• Key team leaders
• Revenue goals
• Approval processes
• Other partnership expectations, like co-marketing
• Sales targets
• Data sharing
• Support needs
Sketching out cultural objectives for your tech collaborations is a smart idea in addition to tactical documentation.
6. Decide how you will measure success together.
It is simple to postpone success evaluation until after a project has begun. However, it’s a good idea to lay out the information your teams will use to determine the worth of your relationship, both separately and together.
The majority of organizations will enter a collaboration with their own procedures and data requirements, even though partners may share certain important data points. Both sides risk not having the information they require if this is not handled in the early phases of the cooperation.
It’s also a good idea to schedule check-ins with partners at this time. This schedule can support proactive partnership maintenance on the parts of both teams.
Technology Partnership Examples: Amazon Appstore and Microsoft
Thanks to this collaboration, Appstore developers may reach millions of users. At the same time, it gives Microsoft a chance to showcase Windows 11’s
Why this is a good example of a technological partnership: Working together, these two big businesses increase brand recognition. Their collaboration gives them more media coverage and gives clients access to intriguing new possibilities.
What Makes a Great Technology Partnership
It’s helpful to establish rules and processes as you start your first technology partnership to ensure that your combined efforts provide excellent outcomes. These are some guidelines for IT partners to succeed.
1. A Systematized Collaboration Process
Ask your new technology partner to describe their collaboration method to you and provide some examples of how they’ve collaborated successfully with other companies.
Create a communication strategy that complements the operations of both organizations. Find out how each other works and where there are gaps in knowledge and resources. By using this data, you may decide how to allocate project resources most effectively and develop repeatable procedures that can be used for all projects and collaborations.
2. Flexibility
Not to contradict what I just said, but it’s still crucial to maintain your flexibility. Attempt to modify your strategy as needed. There will never be a similar project twice, and no two businesses operate in the same way.
Make sure your partner has the flexibility you require and can react rapidly to change as the project progresses and you begin to make modifications.
Finding a partner who comprehends your sales process is also beneficial. By doing this, you may fill the gap between what your sales staff can give potential customers and what can actually be implemented on the technical platform.
3. Partners Involved in the Planning Stage
You are finally prepared to begin your preparation! Include every significant participant in the project from the beginning. For instance, be sure to involve any agency partners you hired who have knowledge of content or design early in the planning process. You risk damaging the final product and jeopardizing your capacity to gain from your cooperation if you skip this crucial phase.
4. Established Project Governance
As soon as you can, complete this step. Establish the organizational structure, decision-making hierarchy, and communication procedure before you plan or begin your first project. You and your partners’ project execution methods will be guided by these choices.
By establishing this early, the project will continue to advance. Consider creating a table outlining who needs to weigh in on which decisions and what information is crucial to them. This will stop you from hiring executives before their opinions are useful. Additionally, it will assist you in ensuring that the appropriate individuals are present for crucial strategic choices.
5. A Central Depository of Resources
A 2020 Wellingtone report lists poor resource management as one of the top three difficulties facing enterprises. You both need access to crucial information, content, and other resources in order for you and your collaborators to produce the best work possible.
These documents need to be version controlled and well managed because team members access project information (specifications, plans, roadmaps, etc.) during co-development. To ensure that everyone is on the same page, one source should be created and used by all parties.
6. Clear Project Goals and Benchmarks
Set clear targets and benchmarks for each team as the project progresses as you establish the project’s overall strategy and roadmap, especially if it’s a lengthier project. It might be simple for a project to go off the tracks without milestones and delivery timelines that allow everyone to observe positive progress.
7. Full Transparency
Transparency will be your most valuable resource when your project gets started. Invite the partner and any pertinent team members to strategy, design, and planning meetings to ensure you get their full input.
Not only does this help us get closer to their final vision, but it also prevents the need for major revisions when you learn you’ve gone too far off scope or that your fancy new web design won’t work with the CMS your technology partner chose.
8. Efficient Meetings
Satya Nadella routinely advised staff members to leave meetings they were asked to if they weren’t absolutely necessary during his first year as CEO of Microsoft. He believes in efficiency and understands that attending pointless meetings just slows down the growth process.
Make it clear who should attend certain meetings as the project progresses while setting up the project governance. Make sure the agenda and objective of the meetings are both clear. Executive involvement throughout the process is best for projects involving multiple companies.
9. Documented Best Practices
Working with a technological partner will probably lead you to innovative fixes for a variety of issues.
Maintain a record of these procedures for future reference as you identify problems and issues that need to be fixed in order to keep your projects on schedule.
10. An Effective Exit Strategy
Our last piece of advice is to get ready for when your relationship with your technology partner ends, but the first piece of advice is to build a long-lasting one. Having a predetermined plan in place will help the transition go more smoothly, regardless of whether your relationship ends when the project is completed or due to less than ideal circumstances.
To ensure you have everything you need to keep the project moving forward, decide what information the partner will need to submit to you and what they’ll need for a thorough off-boarding.
Technology Partnership Examples: Adobe and Klaviyo
There are several apps available for online store owners on Magento, the ecommerce platform from Adobe. Insights for email personalisation are created from consumer data by ecommerce stores with the aid of Klaviyo.
Why this is a good example of a tech partnership: With the help of this collaboration, Magento’s influence with e-commerce apps is increased. Additionally, it persuades existing Shopify business owners who might be hesitant to try Magento to do so. Additionally, it makes Klaviyo’s brand known to seasoned Magento users.
Course Manual 4: Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
Advanced Analytics vs. Predictive Analytics vs. Descriptive Analytics
What is the difference between these 3 types of analytics, and what business benefits do they bring?
There is nothing new about analytics in the corporate sector. To understand their market, audience, internal performance, and productivity, every industry and vertical makes use of the power of analytics. But the world of analytics is ever-changing. The analytics field has expanded and progressed along with advancements in computing power and artificial intelligence.
Businesses today have a variety of analytics platforms and tools to select from, utilizing cutting-edge data theories, algorithms, and methodologies to make the most of their data.
Here is our summary of the three main categories of analytics: advanced analytics, predictive analytics, and descriptive analytics. The abundance of possibilities can be bewildering. Each has unique qualities and can help different use cases in terms of business.
Source: Neuraldesigner.com
Advanced Analytics
As was already said, the phrase “advanced analytics” is fairly broad and covers a variety of analytical tasks. Advanced analytics, often known as business intelligence, differs from classic descriptive analytics, or business intelligence, in that it uses automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to handle far more complicated information and generate much more insightful and accurate forecasts. To make conclusions more quickly, it uses both historical and real-time data.
To find patterns and trends in massive datasets, advanced analytics can use machine learning (ML), neural networks, forecasting, complex event processing, data modeling, semantic analysis, and more. It uses data mining to glean more details from a variety of sources in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the issue.
Advanced analytics can handle and extract meaning from complicated data, unstructured data, and partial or incomplete data, unlike standard analytics. Advanced analytics platforms produce data visualizations to aid users in understanding the information presented to them, similar to BI tools, however advanced analytics representations are more intricate.
Business executives may use advanced analytics to make data-driven decisions, identify opportunities, spot and manage risk, anticipate trends, and comprehend client needs.
For instance, streaming media providers look at user data to determine which consumers are most likely to leave and look into what could be done to keep them. Advanced analytics are used by marketers for a variety of tasks, such as maximizing social media ad spending, choosing which promotions to offer to different target audience segments, and determining which audiences to target in the first place.
Retailers embraced advanced analytics quickly, employing them to forecast purchasing patterns to make sure the proper products are stocked as well as to optimize inventory levels so they can satisfy customer demand without overstocking. Advanced analytics are also used by e-commerce companies to increase fulfillment, logistics, and last-mile delivery efficiency and get visibility into their supply chain.
Predictive Analytics
Although the phrases are frequently used interchangeably, predictive analytics is a subset of advanced analytics. Deep learning and machine learning are used in predictive analytics to analyze large datasets, identify patterns, forecast outcomes, and then balance probabilities. Predictive analytics fills in missing data with its “best estimate,” based on observations from the other datasets, and draws on contextual and real-time data from numerous sources.
Predictive modeling, forecasting, pattern recognition, sentiment analysis, and root cause analysis are some of the sub-sectors of predictive analytics that can be used to test out potential scenarios. Events like a sudden increase in customers or a significant fraud attempt can have many different causes.
Using predictive analytics, leaders may forecast future events and utilize that information to plan for the future, define objectives, control performance expectations, and reduce risk. Predictive analytics is widely used in the finance sector by banks, insurance firms, and loan organizations for fraud detection and credit assessment. With the help of predictive analytics, businesses may make offers in minutes as opposed to days based on the risk profiles of each application or customer.
Predictive analytics is frequently used in industrial industries for predictive maintenance and predictive monitoring. In order for maintenance workers to schedule repairs more effectively and correct parts while it is still possible, predictive maintenance sends out early warnings about abnormalities that suggest a part may be about to fail. By applying the same ideas to the entire plant, predictive monitoring goes beyond simply watching parts and finds indications of inefficiencies in plant operations.
Predictive analytics is used by companies in a wide range of vertical industries to get visibility into supply chains, particularly complicated supply chains that span providers and countries. Additionally, it is utilized by HR departments to promote employee retention, cybersecurity teams to uncover weaknesses and evaluate potential risks, and customer service departments to better understand client requests. Predictive analytics solutions are used by healthcare practitioners to categorize digital medical pictures like X-rays or MRI scans, which helps with diagnosis, and by e-commerce companies to offer products to clients.
Predictions based on statistics, however, are seldom 100 percent accurate. In contrast to descriptive analytics, which are far more accessible, users require more training to correctly understand the results of predictive analytics and to interpret data visualizations. Businesses must first gather, prepare, and train models, which takes time and expertise, before they can use predictive analytics. Furthermore, predictive analytics is only useful if you have enough data.
Descriptive Analytics
Traditional business intelligence is referred to as descriptive analytics. It entails the gathering, analyzing, and interpretation of historical data in order to comprehend previous occurrences without making predictions about the future or attempting to foretell what might happen next. Instead of the more intricate, multi-dimensional models created by advanced analytics, descriptive analytics uses simpler data visualizations, such as line graphs, bar graphs, and pie charts, to assist people quickly and readily understand the significance of the results.
The majority of social media metrics, such as page visits, response times, or engagement rates, are included in descriptive analytics. It frequently serves as the basis for later, more complicated analytics. Although most contemporary BI systems automate many of these activities, descriptive analytics still requires users to create measurements, aggregate data, clean and process the data for use, and present it in an accessible fashion.
Descriptive analytics has the benefit of being relatively quick and simple to implement, which makes it beneficial for day-to-day operations, financial report production, marketing strategy management, and inventory and sales tracking. Employee access to descriptive analytics is typically possible with little to no training, lowering entry barriers and democratizing the availability of pertinent business insights. Businesses can use it to track their progress, make sure their objectives are being accomplished, and pinpoint problem areas. However, descriptive analytics solutions are limited in their ability to delve deeper into data intelligence and can only provide surface-level data insights.
It’s difficult to imagine a company, no matter how big or little, or what industry it operates in, that does not employ descriptive analytics. Use cases for descriptive analytics include fine-tuning marketing strategies by monitoring engagement and conversion rates, following sales trends over time, and comparing revenue and profitability to keep the business on course.
Analytics Keep on Evolving
Different business use cases call for the usage of advanced analytics, predictive analytics, and descriptive analytics. Different forms of analytics solutions can enhance data-driven corporate decision-making and provide value to your firm by assisting organizations and business executives in comprehending historical occurrences, projecting potential future outcomes, and comparing trends.
Case Study: How Starbucks won the personalization game
Customer experience is now a key differentiator that influences consumers’ decisions and is a common use case for analytics success stories. How does a chain with more than 15,000 locations in the US offer a consistent experience across its locations and deliver the feel of a small coffee shop?
The answer is big data. Starbucks gathers data through its app and rewards program. The chain launched its Digital Flywheel Program in 2017 to make personalized drink and snack recommendations.
The program makes relevant recommendations based on a customer’s past orders, but it also looks at the time of day, day of the week, weather and other relevant factors.
Starbucks goes beyond recommendations by using big data to deliver special offers that feel more relevant, and the chain has bridged the gap between technology and human connection by making personalized information about each customer available to its baristas.
Using data involving traffic patterns and demographics, the Starbucks app and rewards program also support growth by contributing to decisions about locations for new stores.
What are the benefits of advanced analytics?
Advanced analytics offers the following advantages in addition to facilitating increased use of data assets and giving decision-makers better assurance in the veracity of data:
• Accurate forecasting. Using advanced analytics can confirm or refute prediction and forecast models with a greater level of accuracy than traditional BI tools that still carry an element of uncertainty.
• Faster decision-making. With predictions that feature a high level of accuracy, executives can act more quickly, confident their business decisions will achieve the desired results and that favorable outcomes can be repeated.
• Deeper insight. Advanced analytics offers a deeper level of actionable insight from data, including customer preference, market trends and key business processes, which empowers stakeholders to make data-driven decisions that can directly affect their strategy.
• Improved risk management. The higher level of accuracy provided by advanced analytics predictions can help businesses reduce their risk of costly mistakes.
• Anticipate problems and opportunities. Advanced analytics uses statistical models to reveal potential problems on the business’ current trajectory, or identify new opportunities, so stakeholders can quickly change course and achieve better outcomes.
• Human Resources Analytics: Employee satisfaction has a huge impact on business performance, yet most companies fail to take advantage of human resource data. Advanced analytics can be used in HR to reduce employee turnover, costs associated with recruiting and hiring, and to invest in effective rewards programs to maintain or increase employee satisfaction.
• Identify growth opportunities: One of the most common concerns for a successful business is how to grow and where to invest resources. To help spot new growth opportunities, advanced analytics can be used to identify patterns using big data.
For instance, a chemical business reportedly employed advanced analytics to search through 120 million patents and 100 million scholarly publications in 2021 to find new potential patent applications. In the end, the business discovered 30 high-yield patent applications, which generated an extra $50 million in earnings.
What are some advanced analytics techniques?
Organizations can gain a competitive advantage with the aid of advanced analytics. The following are a few examples of frequently used advanced analytics techniques:
• Data mining. This process sorts through large data sets to identify patterns and establish relationships to solve problems through data analysis.
• Sentiment analysis. This technique uses natural language processing, text analysis and biometrics to identify the emotional tone behind a body of text.
• Cluster analysis. This process matches pieces of unstructured data based on similarities found between them.
• Complex event processing. This technique uses technology to predict high-level events likely to result from specific sets of low-level factors.
• Big data analytics. This is the process of examining large volumes of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data to uncover information such as hidden patterns, correlations, market trends and customer preferences.
• Machine learning. The development of machine learning has dramatically increased the speed at which data can be processed and analyzed, facilitating disciplines like predictive analytics.
• Data visualization. This process of presenting data in graphical format makes data analysis and sharing more accessible across organizations.
What are some use cases for advanced analytics?
The business procedures listed below are just a few instances where advanced analytics software can be useful.
• Marketing metrics. With advanced analytics, marketing organizations can create customized, targeted marketing campaigns and avoid wasting money on ineffective strategies. Analyzing future outcomes also can help an organization identify opportunities to up-sell and optimize the marketing funnel.
• Supply chain optimization. Advanced analytics can help an organization factor demand, cost fluctuations and changing consumer preferences to create an agile supply chain that can quickly adapt to changing market conditions.
• Risk management. By examining particular data sets and data streams in real time, advanced analytics can help data scientists identify patterns that may indicate high levels of risk, for example by identifying possible payment fraud or insurance liabilities.
• Business operations. Advanced analytics can help organizations streamline their operations and adapt them to better suit predictions on changing market conditions or trends and ultimately increase revenue.
Advanced analytics vs. business intelligence
Business intelligence and advanced analytics have significant distinctions and application cases, despite some similarities.
Traditional business intelligence (BI) generates actionable insights for companies based on their current and historical data using basic data analytics techniques like data visualization, data mining, statistical analysis, and reporting. Descriptive analytics, or the examination of both past and present data to characterize how a firm is today, is thus a use for business intelligence (BI).
For instance, a streaming platform may use BI techniques to determine the number of subscribers it currently has and the platform’s most popular content. With this knowledge, the company may start marketing that content to attract new members and keep existing ones.
However, advanced analytics uses more sophisticated data analytics methods, such machine learning, to produce predictions and enhance commercial decision-making. In order to predict future results and recommend a course of action, advanced analytics is utilized for both predictive and prescriptive analysis.
The same streaming platform, for instance, might employ advanced analytics to estimate how such trends would develop in the future as well as uncover historical seasonal tendencies. These forecasts could then guide their long-term commercial choices, such as creating additional content to follow emerging trends.
Evaluating advanced analytics tools
Numerous platforms for advanced analytics are available. Depending on the use scenario, each has a different set of benefits. These tools can be divided into two groups: proprietary and open source.
Open source tools
Many data scientists that use machine learning and predictive analytics now always use open source technologies. Programming languages and computer environments like Hadoop and Spark are included. Users frequently cite the low operating costs, robust functionality, and support from a user base that continuously innovates the tools as reasons why they prefer open source advanced analytics tools.
Proprietary tools
On the proprietary side, companies like SAS Institute, IBM, and Microsoft all provide complex analytics solutions. Most have demanded a solid technical foundation and comprehension of mathematical methods.
However, a new generation of self-service analytics solutions has developed in recent years, improving capabilities for corporate users.
Particularly Tableau has emerged as a popular tool. Although it has less functionality than more sophisticated technical tools, it nonetheless enables users to perform cluster studies and other sophisticated investigations.
The future of advanced analytics for enterprises
Analytics has a bright future. The potential uses and capabilities of the data science tools that power business intelligence change along with technology. The 62% of firms that said they planned to use advanced analytics into their models for making decisions in the near future are evidence of this.
The following are some explanations from Mark Cheng, Management Consultant at Sia Partners, as to why businesses spend money on advanced analytics:
“The future will be the combination of more complex algorithms, more data science, and a lot more process automation. If machine learning can take the error from existing processes and learn from them on its own, then the next processes will improve based on the prior changes.”
The trend for advanced analytics for business is on an upward curve, and is going to play an increasingly important role in determining which companies succeed in creating a competitive and which ones fall by the wayside.
Companies like Amazon, with ambitions – and the resources to match – to dominate the global digital economy have already invested huge amounts of money and resources into understanding and leveraging advanced analytics. But even at the smaller end of business, companies can still leverage the power of predictive analytics for increasing business performance.
There is widespread confidence that advanced analytics, and data science in general, will become an even more competitive advantage for business in the coming years, as consumers continue to become more digitally native, turning to eCommerce in greater numbers and remaining glued to social media.
Consumers are aware that their information is collected in vast amounts, and as a result they expect to receive a targeted, personalized approach which understands their needs and preferences. As such, enterprises will need to become much more focused on personalization if they are to harness the power of advanced analytics to attract, win and retain new customers in the future.
Case Study: Shell’s spare parts inventory management strategy
One of the difficulties in operating oil drilling equipment is part failure. The corporation has created a successful strategy to cut costs and expedite repairs thanks to the Shell analytics success story.
More than 3,000 separate parts used in oil drilling machinery are predicted to fail by Shell using data from its various vendors. The information is utilized to control Shell’s supply of replacement parts.
The location of the parts and which parts should be kept in stock are determined by data. Shell has saved millions of dollars on inventory analysis because to this tactic, which also lessens the need to transport parts. By ensuring that the appropriate parts are accessible in the appropriate places, it also shortens repair times.
Course Manual 5: Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in IT Transformation
One of the key technologies in the digital transition that is assisting organizations in growing is artificial intelligence. In fact, the most recent Research and Markets report predicts that by 2025, AI will have a compound annual growth rate of 52%, indicating that it will be quickly adopted by organizations around the world.
National security, healthcare, logistics, and education are just a few of the industries that are now utilizing AI. Let’s look at how it is driving the digital transformation of member-based organizations.
What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Artificial intelligence refers to a technology that enables machines and computers to replicate certain aspects of the human brain. The term “artificial intelligence” (AI) typically refers to the process of creating systems that have traits of human intellect, such as the capacity to learn from the past, reason, find meaning, and generalize.
Reactive machines, limited memory, theory of mind, and self-awareness are the four primary subtypes of AI. Together, they make technologies like Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Facial Recognition, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Computer Vision possible.
The majority of machine learning-based AIs serve as helpful technology by advising companies on the optimal course of action. They are able to increase profits, customize operations, accurately utilise data, and offer better customer service as a result.
How Can AI Help Organizations Accelerate Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is being fueled by artificial intelligence (AI), which encompasses developments like machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), data labeling systems, and predictive analytics.
These technologies enable businesses to evaluate data to forecast the future and recommend the best course of action.
Service providers can give dependable services with round-the-clock support using chatbots by utilizing AI-driven automation. Smart data analytics can also improve workflows, personalize encounters, and save support costs.
Because AI can learn from and get better with additional data, it may also help businesses create successful roadmaps for their digital transformations.
How Is Artificial Intelligence Different from Automation?
AI and automation may appear to be identical, but they are actually rather separate concepts.
An automated program executes tasks devoid of a human’s involvement by adhering to pre-programmed rules. Automation is used to reduce the time and money spent on time-consuming, repetitive operations, freeing up laborers to work on more difficult jobs.
On the other side, artificial intelligence (AI) mimics human thought processes. In order to determine what is best for the organization, it analyzes a lot of data.
Although traditional software is used for the majority of automation, there are some instances where the so-called AI automation process also makes use of other digital transformation technologies.
With the aid of this potent digital technology, business operations can be automated, thereby enhancing speed and efficiency and saving time thanks to artificial intelligence’s insights, adaptability, and processing power.
To keep their members satisfied and happy, associations can benefit greatly from AI automation. It gives you first-hand insight into what your members need, what interests them, and how you might improve.
Benefits of Digital Transformation Coupled With AI for Member-Based Organizations
Organizations employ digital AI in a variety of ways to innovate, enhance, and grow. Let’s look at how AI is benefiting member-based organizations and assisting them in hastening their digital transition.
360-Degree View of Members’ Needs and Satisfaction
Member-based organizations can analyze social, historical, and behavioral data using AI and machine learning to get a much better knowledge of their clients. In order to provide a 360-degree perspective of members’ demands based on their browsing history, EDM analysis, and click-through rates, several digital transformation platforms use AI.
AI continuously learns from the data it analyzes, unlike traditional data analytics tools, and predicts customer behavior from it. Brands may do this to provide useful content, increase sales, and improve consumer experiences.
Without AI, it is challenging for businesses to determine which marketing strategy will be most effective. By utilizing Big Data and AI analytics, organizations may create considerably more precise member profiles.
The AI systems that monitor each customer’s actions and interactions also help to identify the most effective marketing approaches. These algorithms also establish the proper price policies, optimize advertising efforts, and encourage additional subscriptions.
Case Study: Nike
The largest company in the world, Nike, has introduced an AI platform that lets users create personalized sneakers in their online store. Not only does it increase sales, but it also gathers helpful user data that machine learning algorithms may utilize to build new footwear and offer specialized recommendations.
Profitable Growth
Organizations can now expand and make money thanks to digitalization and advancements in artificial intelligence. Any company that uses AI will see a rise in income in several ways. For instance, it enables companies to identify extremely weak areas and produce precise predictions about customers, rivals, and market trends.
More crucially, AI helps decision-making by being incredibly quick and automatically analyzing massive amounts of data in real-time.
Effective Decision-Making
AI streamlines and streamlines operations while giving managers access to vital data that can help them make wise decisions. They might therefore reconsider how they combine information, evaluate data, and use the insights obtained.
When the AI solution is put into use, it immediately begins processing data and analyzing trends to determine the best course of action, which manifests as suggestions. As you continue to feed AI more data, its accuracy improves over time. The AI can make precise predictions after months of data analysis.
Member-based companies can use AI to better understand their clients and develop membership marketing strategies that are tailored to their needs. It examines CRM data to divide up members into groups based on shared interests and demographics. Based on the opinions and experiences of the present members, it can also recommend changes to the membership procedures to increase retention and participation.
Overall, making decisions using AI is much more accurate than making decisions manually, which are subject to biases and emotions. Furthermore, whereas complicated choices might take humans months to complete, computers can carry them out rapidly.
Improved Productivity
Organizations can increase productivity by using artificial intelligence to automate particular manual operations. Numerous studies that show an increase in productivity of at least 40% due to AI attest to this.
There are various ways artificial intelligence might boost productivity. They can quickly crawl around and gather information, saving workers’ time so they may concentrate on their primary tasks. They can also carry out intricate computations, spot patterns, and automate repetitive processes, giving businesses an advantage in collecting knowledge to make wise judgments.
Exceptional Customer Service
It takes a lot of time and effort for personnel to converse back and forth with members and potential customers in order to provide efficient customer care. Artificial intelligence can frequently handle simple communication tasks, which relieves employee stress.
For instance, chatbots are capable of handling the early steps of customer care, such as acquiring the customer’s name, account information, and the kind of assistance they require. A human representative will then get this information and can take over from there if necessary.
Enhanced Members’ Experience
A Forbes research claims that 75% of companies using AI technologies can increase customer satisfaction by more than 10%.
Member-based associations can learn what they are missing and what their clients desire by using AI-driven qualitative methodologies. The interests, engagement, and retention rates of members can be obtained directly from their accounts or through questionnaires and surveys.
Access to real-time user data is also provided, along with data analytics. By doing this, they can stay on top of how their expectations and behavior are changing and provide highly pertinent content to enhance the membership experience.
Increased Members’ Trust and Loyalty
Businesses can use artificial intelligence to provide highly tailored content and a comprehensive marketing plan focused at keeping customers by building enduring relationships.
Members’ data is processed through predictive analysis using AI to produce insightful information. They are able to identify the problems and retain customers using these information.
Organizations can develop audience profiles for their enterprises based on preferences and other characteristics using data-driven loyalty programs through AI. Aside from engaging members with conversational bots, the AI transformation technologies are also used to provide members with individualized recommendations.
They feel heard as a result of all these innovative AI initiatives, which boosts their loyalty and trust in the company.
Personalized Skill Training
Employees in member-based organizations can learn new skills in accordance with their aptitudes, comprehension, and intellect thanks to AI. By changing the modules, an AI-powered training program may be adjusted to each employee’s needs. For instance, depending on their needs, some employees may receive text-based articles while others may receive video training through the LMS.
A tailored learning path is provided by AI depending on each student’s success and learning preferences. It includes audio-guided presentations, written materials, gamification, video lessons, and live training.
Since they can more fully disclose learner behavior, insights obtained by AI are particularly helpful in creating predictive capabilities. The insights can be used by organizations to create material that is pertinent, interesting, and suited to the requirements of each employee.
A reliable Artificial Intelligence IT Transformation partnership
One of the hottest and most talked-about trends right now is artificial intelligence, or AI for short. It makes sense that more and more businesses are searching for an AI partner in order to survive, join the Fortune 1000, or both. You have probably already thought the same things. But is there a trusted approach to locate an AI partner for business? Yes, we respond. Clearly, it is not the easiest issue ever, but our advice is available to assist you. To achieve your objectives and choose a dependable Artificial Intelligence consulting partner, abide by them.
1. Don’t be afraid of outsourcing AI partners
People frequently believe that employing a team internally is superior to outsourcing and more effective. However, while seeking for machine learning for startups or the Fortune 1000, you shouldn’t undervalue outsourcing.
First off, hiring an internal team of AI experts could be very expensive; outsourcing is more affordable.
The second benefit of outsourcing is flexibility. The entire planet, which is full with possible AI partners, will be at your disposal. You won’t have to limit yourself to a certain area. Thirdly, an external provider may have far more expertise and experience than the internal ones you could try to work with.
2. Work on a roadmap together with Artificial Intelligence consulting partner
Making a roadmap can be difficult, but if you incorporate your AI partner in this process, things will be much simpler. A data science services provider will assist you in understanding what factors to take into account if you work on it jointly. As a result, the roadmap itself will be significantly more reliable.
It will be simpler to steer clear of uncertainty as a result. You and your AI partner will each fully comprehend the project’s strategic plans and overall structure.
3. Accessibility is a must
Another contemporary issue is data security, however if you want your product to flourish, you’ll need to share your data with a team of outside experts. Otherwise, you may forget about all the advantages of having an AI partner because, if you keep all the data private, not even the most reputable and experienced business will be able to assist you.
However, it’s also crucial to make sure that an AI partner fully comprehends that the given data is still yours and will only be used for the project at hand. Discuss this issue in depth before forming collaboration to prevent any misunderstandings and subsequent issues.
4. Over-communication is better than a misunderstanding
You must make sure that your AI partner fully comprehends the project and is aware of your objectives if you are to succeed. Give your partner a clear picture of the project, involve the team in discussions, and communicate as often as you can. Even the smallest adjustment should be considered; else, you can wind up with something different from what you had in mind.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to interact with your partner excessively; when it comes to AI-driven goods and outsourcing work, it is preferable to talk about the same topics several times than to overlook something crucial.
5. Find someone who will motivate you to move forward
Find an AI companion who will constantly push, challenge, and inspire you to move forward, especially when you leave your comfort zone, if you want to progress. Such a cooperation should represent the start of another cycle of evolution for both businesses, not just the creation of a product. A truly dependable partner constantly understands where you are in the project and tries to motivate you for the following steps. And it is best to start looking for someone else if the company you are going to work with just intends to do what you say. Recall that a solid and reliable partner will constantly push you.
Case Study: Starbucks
Starbucks collects and analyzes customer data, including sales statistics, product manufacturing location and time, using its mobile app and reward program. Predictive analytics is used by the company to process this valuable data in order to provide customers with customised messages and recommendations when they visit their nearby retail outlets with the aim of lowering their average price.
The AI-based application’s virtual barista service enables users to place orders immediately through voice commands on their mobile device. In addition to giving customers a better tailored experience, the business makes business decisions including what products to provide and where to build new stores using data from over 90 million transactions each week.
6. Data security is an absolute must
Before, we advised you to provide your partner access to your data. That’s accurate, and you should bear it in mind at all times. However, data security is still essential and ought to be ingrained in your company’s culture. Spend some time and money on employee training, and when developing your product, manage data risks carefully.
Of course, your AI partner should also follow suit. Unless your partner successfully protects the data from hackers, all of your efforts to ensure data security may fail.
7. Use existing solutions which are proposed by Artificial Intelligence consulting partner
An expert AI partner should be aware that it is frequently unnecessary to create something completely unique and unusual because it is much simpler and faster to integrate a custom AI solution with an already existing one.
Additionally, this simple tip helps protect your money from unplanned spending. Talk to your partner about this prospect, and if the company tries to force you to create a solution from scratch without providing good justification, you should probably choose a different provider.
8. Your technology stack must be up-to-date
You must go through the stages of data mining, data extraction, data cleaning, and data science. Additionally, you must ensure that the tools and technology you employ are up to date in order to get the required results. Don’t rely just on your AI partner and its external analytics team to handle everything; you should also be involved!
Spend some money on the most recent solutions, educate yourself on their use, and then get to work. You can always talk to your partner about the best tools and technologies to use, though.
9. Ask questions to Artificial Intelligence consulting partner to become better
Ask your AI companion for help if you need it with anything you’re not very skilled at. In the sentence before, we gave a specific example using the technological stack. Simply ask a question if you are uncertain, and that’s it! Making the appropriate choice will ensure that your project keeps moving in the right way, and a trustworthy partner will undoubtedly assist you in doing so.
10. Remember, that your final destination is the solution of the problem
As mentioned earlier, your partner needs to have a distinct understanding of the project. That’s true, but a business should prioritize finding a solution to the problem. Every product must address a particular issue, and yours is no different. Your partner needs to be aware of the issue that your product will address and must keep this resolution in mind. Your collaboration will lead to that, with the development of models and the discussion of various technologies acting as supporting processes. And if a possible partner doesn’t take that issue into consideration, it’s time to switch businesses.
And last, a trustworthy AI partner will offer you access to their skills and experience across a variety of industries. Find someone else if a corporation is not prepared to do this.
Course Manual 6: Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
What is intelligent automation?
Intelligent automation (IA) creates end-to-end business processes that think, learn, and adapt on their own by combining robotic process automation (RPA) with cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, optical character recognition (OCR), intelligent character recognition (ICR), and process mining. Hyper-automation and intelligent process automation (IPA) are other terms for intelligent automation.
What are the business benefits of intelligent automation?
Source: Automationanywhere
IA aids in the planning and development of the comprehensive procedures needed to implement adaptable, dependable, and contemporary corporate operating models. By freeing up employee time from tasks that machines can perform, enhancing human experience with IA can spark a new wave of innovation and encourage humans to nimbly create new corporate value.
Collaboration between IT and business functions is necessary for effective IA in order to evaluate the efficacy of current processes and then integrate systems to introduce scalable and sustainable change into the process framework. Employee participation in the transformation process is necessary for an IA program to be successful so that participants may personally experience the advantages of a new style of working and generating company value.
Case Study: A large manufacturer in Sweden
The company dealt with high operational costs since it processed 14000 invoices and other unstructured data each year on outdated technology. The company used intelligent automation in finance and accounts to increase productivity and efficiency by 25% and improve cash flow management.
Due to the usage of vast volumes of data, accuracy of calculations, analysis, and subsequent business application, intelligent automation platforms offer various advantages across sectors. Key advantages consist of:
• Reduce costs by augmenting the workforce and improving productivity: Production can be increased by automating procedures and systems and ensuring accuracy with data and analysis. Additionally, IA enables rapid scaling without elevating risk, sacrificing quality, or taxing the current workforce. The advantages of this capability are being realized by business executives through increased production yields and ROI.
• Improve accuracy through consistent processes and approaches, which enhances quality: The strength behind intelligent automation is the use of artificial intelligence to drive decision-making and bring a consistent approach to repetitive tasks.
• Improve customer experience: Faster delivery of a better, more dependable product to market or prompt (or instantaneous) response to client questions results in a richer, more satisfying customer experience and gives the business a competitive edge.
• Address compliance and regulations with confidence: Specific regulatory laws and regulations must be followed in many different businesses. To demonstrate a more consistent approach to compliance, intelligent automation can make use of its job automation characteristics.
Applications of intelligent automation
Processes that would have otherwise relied on labor-intensive, expensive, and prone to human error manual chores or outdated systems are now streamlined through intelligent automation. IA applications are used in a variety of industries and offer efficiencies in many business functions.
• Automotive: The advances that manufacturers may make by utilizing intelligent automation have a significant impact on the automotive industry. Manufacturers can more accurately estimate demand and supply changes and modify output as a result thanks to IA. Workflows can be streamlined to improve effectiveness and lower the possibility of error in manufacturing, service, procurement, and other areas. By utilizing robots, they can decrease the need for manual labor and enhance defect identification, giving clients a product of superior quality at a reduced cost to the company. For instance, “collaborative robots” that assist the production team during a physically taxing stage of engine assembly are used at a Volkswagen engine manufacturing facility in Germany. This lessens the physical strain on workers, speeds up procedures, ensures accuracy, and helps prevent injuries.
Case Study: Automobile Sealant Manufacturing Company
The company faced high operational costs as they had three ERP systems and their receivables closure involved integrating the data across all the systems. They used Intelligent Automation to integrate the systems that significantly lowered their operational costs and improved cycle time by 50%.
• Life Sciences: Drug manufacture is closely controlled and necessitates exact equipment calibration and product measurement. Additionally, a huge amount of data must be gathered, compiled, processed, and analyzed. A drug study cannot be deemed effective in the absence of reliable data and analysis. A manual method would need a lot of resources and significant amounts of labor and could result in calculating errors. As an illustration of intelligent automation’s ability to deliver automated processes that enhance production speed and quality, the Covid-19 vaccinations were produced in a record amount of time. It used to take more than 40 scientists with doctorates 25 years or more to discover a single commercial medication before the adoption of artificial intelligence and the resulting efficiency.
• Healthcare: The healthcare industry is using intelligent automation with natural language processing (NLP) to provide a consistent approach to data collection, analysis, diagnosis and treatment. The use of chatbots in remote healthcare appointments requires less human intervention and often a shorter time to diagnosis.
• Insurance: The insurance sector can essentially do away with the need for manual rate computations or payments with IA, and it can streamline the processing of documents like claims and assessments. By ensuring that requirements are completed, intelligent automation also enables insurance businesses to comply with regulations more simply. They can determine the risk posed by an individual or organisation and the appropriate insurance rate in this way.
Intelligent Automation Use Cases
• Managing cloud and virtual machines. Cloud-based and virtual computers will be spun up and down by IA based on dynamic, real-time demand. By making the environment more efficient and significantly enhancing SLAs, this decreases the number of idle machines that are running at any one moment, which optimizes cloud costs.
• Allocating resources. Scaling environments makes them harder to manually manage. IA can locate the resources required for each project, ensuring that those resources have adequate capacity and the necessary requirements to perform the jobs, as opposed to depending on IT staff to hunt among hundreds (or thousands) of servers.
• Scheduling jobs. The IA tool can plan jobs around periods of heavy traffic if there are daily, overnight, or weekly workloads. This minimizes the possibility of a bottleneck by predicting the arrival of large jobs.
• Protecting SLAs. While every work is vital, some are crucial. Users can specify a job’s significance using an IA tool, telling the system to reserve the required resources in advance. The crucial task might need to wait until another day, but the IA will make sure the resources are on hand.
What technologies does IA utilize?
source: Docsumo
RPA software, which assists in automating routine, rule-based processes without human judgment or interaction, is combined with intelligence technologies like:
• Artificial intelligence—Computer systems that simulate human intelligence, AI analyzes data faster than people and learns from past choices
• Machine learning—A type of AI software with algorithms that identify patterns in structured data and make accurate predictions using historical data as input to forecast outcomes
• Computer vision—Technology tools, such as OCR, that convert scanned documents or photos into text
• Natural language processing (NLP)—Software that enables a computer to understand, interpret and manipulate spoken or written language
• Process mining—An analytical approach to diagnosing business processes as they actually exist, then capturing and improving processes based on data analysis
How does IA help businesses in a post-pandemic world?
The COVID-19 pandemic’s significant social and economic effects show that effective orchestration of end-to-end digital activities is essential for resilience.
Intelligent automation is a tried-and-true tactical tool that reduces expenses or boosts productivity. But organizations are turning more and more to IA to boost resilience and handle the pressing problem of keeping up with rapidly shifting client expectations. The design and development of end-to-end business processes, which enable flexible and robust modern business operating models and enable businesses to foresee change and lead it, are aided by the intelligent orchestration of intelligent automation.
Some business benefits achieved by effective IA include:
• 600% faster claims processing for a leading healthcare provider
• More than 90% process improvement and 4X ROI for a leading agribusiness firm
• 99% accuracy in handling ~100,000 vendor invoices per month for a credit card service company
• 16% reduction in call volume using NLP with 90% chatbot accuracy for a major telecom provider
Case Study: A Credit Rating Agency based in the United States
The company received data in paper and other unstructured formats and encountered errors and rework that led to delays in processing. They deployed Intelligent Automation for sourcing data regarding their subjects from different publicly hosted sites. It resulted in improved response time by 60% with a high first-time-right ratio.
What’s the difference between IA and RPA?
RPA uses software robots, often known as bots, to replace manual repetitious operations with more effective automated workflows. To spread business process automation across the entire organization and free up workers to concentrate on higher value tasks, IA incorporates new cognitive technologies like AI.
Examples of effective RPA include:
• Bots reducing screening time by more than 40% for financial institutions
• Healthcare claims-processing bots processing 3.8M transactions annually for insurance firms, with a more than 20% improvement in the auto-adjudication rate
• Invoice-processing bots processing over 1.2M invoices annually for retailers and reducing delayed payment interest by more than 50%
• Revenue-cycle-management bots improving timely revenue collection by more than 20% in healthcare payment processing
• Exchange-derivative-clearing bots processing over $3B annually in commodity future trades
The future of IA
It is clear that intelligent automation is valuable in today’s society, particularly during an IT Transformation. Businesses can lower expenses and increase consistency in their workflows by automating repetitive tasks with IA. The COVID-19 epidemic has only accelerated efforts to transform businesses into digital enterprises by spurring increased investment in infrastructure to facilitate automation. Roles will change more as remote work increases. People concentrating on low-level work will be reassigned to higher-level activities such as implementing and scaling these solutions.
To maintain employee motivation, middle managers will need to refocus their attention on the more interpersonal aspects of their work. The workforce will reveal skills gaps as a result of automation, and workers will need to adjust to their workplaces’ constant change. To ensure that staff members are resilient throughout these times of change, middle management can also provide assistance for these transitions in a way that reduces worry. Without a doubt, intelligent automation will revolutionize the way we work, and businesses that choose not to implement it will struggle to compete in their individual industries.
Course Manual 7: Implementation Partner
Businesses nowadays require cost-efficient, scalable solutions that also address their unique operational requirements. The appropriate implementation partner may hasten the process of digital transformation, make it more efficient, and guarantee future success.
Due to the complexity of digital transformations, it is crucial to have the right tech implementation partner to meet and overcome the obstacles that arise every day.
There is a good probability of making digital improvements when a Right Tech Implementation Partner has the leadership, capability building, and empowered personnel in addition to the enhanced tools.
Basic Attributes That Drive A Successful Digital Transformation Future With The Right Implementation Partner
Industries are being reshaped by digital technology today, and businesses are eager to embrace significant transformation initiatives in order to benefit from these trends. To ensure the success of the digital transition, it is imperative to adhere to specific best practices.
Along with comparing solutions and ideals, the right tech implementation partner can recognize and express the business challenges. To choose the best fit for the needs, this is required.
They also have a track record of success working on projects and solutions that are comparable to yours, and they favor creative solutions.
They collaborate with other businesses in the same sector, and they have a substantial presence of qualified and experienced staff in addition to a suitable company size to produce the finest outcomes.
They also have better budgets and time management, as well as on-site and off-site resource availability.
Even when the task is very difficult, there must be better performance and a plan to maintain changes over the long term.
The Implementation Partners handle the wide-ranging nature of digital changes and the adoption of technology with class and dignity. The main determinant is using more technology than others.
Any new technology makes transformation programs more difficult to implement, and successful transformations occur when we leverage more modern technologies, like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and sophisticated machine-learning methods.
Technology-supported changes are influenced by a number of variables, which distinguish effective digital transformations. We, in particular, at All the Right Tech Implementation Partners, have a ton of stuff. These include having the appropriate, tech-savvy executives, developing skills for the future workforce, enabling professionals to operate creatively, providing daily tools to carry out the digital upgrade, and effective, regular communication.
Change in aptitude and capacities occurs at all levels in the early phases.
The primary contributors to the success of the transformation are the assumption of transformation-specific positions, the adoption of individual initiatives, and the leaders’ full-time commitment to the change endeavor. As a result, change is successful.
The appropriate use of technology Partners build talent and skills and have leaders who are adept with technology. The duties and responsibilities of each person have been clearly redefined, which has led to the alignment of transformation goals. The roles and skills that the customer need are also made clear. They take on the particular responsibilities of integrators and innovation managers. The workers adapt the current working practices by translating, integrating, and utilizing new digital methods and processes. By doing this, team alignments for the allocated roles are ensured. The technological characteristics and commercial potential of digital technology are well understood. There are numerous advantages to creating digital Products when the partner completes all of these.
How to Work With Implementation Partners
Your business should have a win-win partnership with implementation agencies. More business and clients are in store for the agency. Customers will also have a variety of onboarding options, some of which will be less expensive, which is to your advantage. Let’s discuss how to get the most of your partnership.
Your business should have a win-win partnership with implementation agencies. More business and clients are in store for the agency. Customers will also have a variety of onboarding options, some of which will be less expensive, which is to your advantage. Let’s discuss how to get the most of your partnership.
1. Set up a program or process for partnerships.
Consider developing a program that encourages coordinated and targeted agreements. You’ll already be aware of the qualities you want in an agency and the benefits you hope to gain from the collaboration.
During the design phase, keep the program’s goal in mind. Pick organizations that uphold this objective. Also, describe what your business can provide the agency. For instance, HubSpot partners can benefit from a website feature, a reviews section, and the company’s endorsement as a valuable onboarding resource.
2. Identify co-marketing opportunities with prospects.
Be on the lookout for co-marketing opportunities as you start your search for potential partners.
This is due to the possibility of partners earning honors for their contributions. On their websites, agencies can showcase badges, tiers, and rewards in addition to company-approved program designs.
As you look for and choose partners, take into account related co-marketing concepts. Be clear about how everyone can win. You can create a new onboarding procedure, offer quotes for webpages, and even pay prizes based on success as incentives.
For instance, launch a combined campaign with an agency in your network that has invented a novel approach to client onboarding to increase leads and interest in the program.
3. Make sure agencies are well-versed in your product.
Although it may seem obvious, it’s important to work with agencies whose teams are knowledgeable about your product (s). You can require completion of a certification course during the application process if your business offers one.
Additionally, you can stipulate that agencies must use your products and services with a specific level of success. For instance, if you provide a CMS, you can stipulate that organizations seeking to assist SMB clients must have at least 500 clients.
Make sure your approach provides agencies with a very precise manner to demonstrate their familiarity with your product. Along with their expertise, pay attention to their knowledge of their offerings, mission, and vision. Keep in mind that agencies ought to provide a quality experience that rivals that of your business.
4. Have an easy application process.
Even though you ought to be picky about who you approve as partners, it’s crucial to make your procedure clear. Make the application versatile so that any agency interested can submit their work. That might lead to a partnership with a rock star.
For instance, at some businesses, all the agencies require is evidence of prior achievement and software expertise. They can anticipate a brief interview period after that.
A simple application procedure can scale as your organization expands. A two-step application is simpler to manage as your business expands and sets bigger objectives. Additionally, if the procedures are straightforward, agencies interested in working with your business may be more likely to apply.
5. Make sure agencies can deliver highly technical solutions.
Agencies should be knowledgeable about the product and prepared to provide solutions. In this area, there are often two types of solutions: those that are results-driven and those that are technical.
Implementation partners in the results-driven category must find the software issues customers are encountering and then come up with solutions. For instance, the agency should be able to detect a company’s difficulty using processes to categorize leads and then show clients a cure that makes the most of their software.
By fixing that workflow, the team’s members should be more organized and the customer should see growth.
On the other hand, a consumer can have trouble understanding how to download a crucial extension. Agencies need to know how to guide clients to the solution.
If your business offers certifications, think about whether they are comprehensive enough to count toward an agency application point. And think about creating a new course that goes over the additional information that businesses need to be aware of in order to be successful partners.
Instead, create a quiz or video challenge that organizations must pass. Partners at HubSpot with a focus on Sales Hub are required to post a video with evidence of a highly technical, result-driven solution. Consider creating a case study that organizations must submit in order to apply.
Make certain that your strategy for collaborations effectively conveys the agencies’ familiarity with your product. A five-question quiz, for instance, might not be the greatest approach, but an interactive test might be. Each component of your program may be tested, and the interactive features would allow agencies to customize your questions.
Implementation partners are a fantastic method to expand your company’s network. With the aid of companies that assist in customer onboarding, you may start to cultivate a user ecosystem. Agencies should be able to change how your business sells to and serves clients; they should be like a gift that keeps on giving.
Case Study: Fulton & Roark
Men’s grooming product retailer Fulton & Roark is an illustration of a successful ERP deployment.
The North Carolina-based company monitored its inventory in a spreadsheet and its financial information in desktop accounting software, Sage Live, before switching to full-featured ERP. The company’s leadership believed its current processes weren’t keeping up as revenues started to increase by twofold annually. Spreadsheets were unable to take into account fluctuating inventory costs, and accounting software lacked the procedures required to record the cost of goods sold (COGS), a crucial financial indicator.
The Fulton & Roark team had to manually enter the data twice as a result.
The co-founders of the business installed NetSuite ERP to concentrate all work in one location. Members of the team reported that changes came about right away following a three-week implementation procedure. The Fulton & Roark combination was finally successful in:
• Catch and correct bookkeeping mistakes related to inventory.
• Stop working with external accountants, growing both unit and dollar volumes significantly with no extra headcount.
• Increase sales roughly 50% year-over-year without increasing headcount.
• Get a more accurate picture of margins and inventory, which helped grow its ecommerce operation.
Key Takeaways
• ERP implementations don’t have to drag on — Fulton & Roark’s team was up and working in about 20 days.
• The company’s story also emphasizes a major success factor: Getting management committed to an ERP project. In this case, the co-founders initiated the project, which consultants say often spurs employee adoption.
Do I need an implementation partner?
You might be wondering if you even need a partner before we get into the crucial factors to take into account when making a relationship choice. or even asking, “What does a partner in software implementation mean? “.
An organization that is authorized to implement, develop, train, and support a certain software system is known as a software implementation partner or systems integrator and is normally independent from the software provider. The kind of partner will determine if they can additionally resell the software licensing.
Your chances of effectively deploying the program increase when you work with an implementation partner, especially if your requirements are more complicated.
Some of the advantages can be summed up as follows:
• Expediate the learning of a new software system
• Free up your own teams time and resources during the implementation
• Ensure the software is being configured correctly to meet your business requirements
• Transfer knowledge to your team so they can become ‘champions’ of the new system
• Provide ongoing advice, support and updates as your software changes and evolves.
Tip #1 – Use Authorised Partners Only
Are they a vendor authorised partner? should be one of your initial inquiries when approaching implementation partners. There are tens of thousands of software programs available for selection, and an equal number of companies provide support for those programs.
The software manufacturer has given their official approval for a partner to offer services. They have through a certification procedure and have been screened by the vendor to make sure they have the resources and expertise necessary to provide services for the particular program.
Using a fully endorsed and authorized implementation partner is equally important to using a qualified plumber or electrician.
Here are a few quick methods for locating authorized partners:
• Check the software vendors website for their partner listing
• Ask the vendor directly if the organisation is an authorised partner
• Ask the partner to provide evidence themselves of authorised partnership
• Ask the partner to provide evidence of how long they have been an authorised partner
Tip #2 – Partner Capabilities & Experience
You should assess the partners’ skills and experience to make sure they can produce the results for your organization once you have established that your chosen implementation partner is authorized and recommended by the vendor.
There are several things to take into account when assessing a partner’s capabilities; start by finding out about their team, the number of personnel, the split of their skill set, and especially who your company will be collaborating with during the implementation.
Do they have a team that can continue to give service in the event that employees leave?
The early stages of the engagement should also provide some clues about the partner’s experience. Do they adhere to a set procedure, do they have a transparent pricing structure, and can they fully address your inquiries concerning the operation of the software?
Additionally, couples who firmly affirm their commitment should be avoided. Given how difficult and challenging software implementation is, it is best to collaborate with a partner that is open and truthful about what can and cannot be accomplished.
Tip #3 – Development & Integration
This is one area that has the potential to make or break the effectiveness of your implementation if your solution calls for extensive customization, API integration, or scripting of any type.
Software development is far more complicated than software setup, therefore it’s crucial to be sure the partner you’re working with has the skills necessary to provide the desired results before you engage them to develop integration or customizations on top of your software solution.
The following areas can be used to gauge a partner’s level of skill in software development:
• Do they employ in-house developers or do they work remotely? How are they managed if they are located offshore? Who is the development team’s leader?
• Is the cost too low? If the partner is offering complicated development services at a price that seems too good to be true, well, you know how the phrase goes. Quality software development does, in fact, come at a cost.
• In software development, experience and process are everything. Ask your spouse to explain the software development life cycle to you in detail. They ought to be assured in their strategy.
Tip #4 – Reputation & Trust
At the end of the day, trust is perhaps the most important trait you want in your implementation partner.
In order to establish a solid partnership that enables problems to be addressed and communication to be open and honest, it’s crucial that you can work with the business throughout the implementation process and beyond.
It is usually advisable to request references from current clients who can offer an unbiased assessment of their interactions with the partner and who can also discuss with you their implementation struggles and accomplishments.
Nearly everything is feasible if you can find a partner you can genuinely trust. You will accomplish your software goals more quickly and create a reliable partnership as your company expands.
Choosing the right implementation partner
Just as crucial as selecting the best solution supplier is selecting the best implementation partner. A new PIM system has been purchased by your firm, and it is now prepared to transform and scale your company’s online sales while providing accurate, rich, and enriched content to your clients. But more than just “plugging in” software is necessary for that system to be implemented successfully.
It is crucial to select the partner with the same high standards you would use to select the system itself because the success or failure of the system implementation will ultimately depend on the experience and knowledge of the partner.
Managing change
An implementation partner should have a wealth of prior experience in the sector in which you operate—this is perhaps most significant. Working with someone who is familiar with the business operations and methods of your organization is, after all, always simpler. They might be an expert at using a particular piece of software or system, but if you work with a partner who doesn’t fully comprehend the particular requirements of your company, as well as the difficulties and pain points you deal with, you run the risk of experiencing inefficiencies and running into obstacles to growth in the future.
Implementing the changes required can have an impact on both your company and the employees who make up it. Therefore, it’s crucial to take into account the change management skills of possible implementation partners. Conflict during the implementation stage frequently makes the whole project vulnerable to failure. Therefore, it’s essential to make sure that team members can collaborate with stakeholders from throughout your business, even though they will typically be well-trained in terms of knowledge transfer and equipped with the appropriate amount of technical know-how. Before implementing any plans, it would be advisable, whenever possible, to have a meeting with the committed project team.
Case Study: N&N Moving Supplies
After growing from one site in Georgia to three locations in several states and more than quadrupling its employees, N&N Moving Supplies, a family-run distributor of moving equipment and supplies, successfully deployed an ERP system.
It was practically impossible to maintain correct time records and reconcile payroll with general ledger accounts while using QuickBooks and a third-party payroll supplier. N&N utilized ERP to control its payroll and accounting procedures. In order to integrate a time-clock solution into the primary system during the NetSuite ERP deployment process, N&N collaborated with a NetSuite partner.
As a result, N&N was able to:
• Reduce payroll processing time by 84%.
• Balance accounts faster.
• Improve the accuracy of hours and vacation time counts.
• See labor-cost trends across its three locations.
• Give employees access to personalized ERP dashboards on iPads at each of its sites.
Key Takeaways
• N&N’s case study nods to another major implementation success factor: managing employee morale. ERP projects often fail when execs and other employees don’t feel a sense of buy-in. By providing personalized dashboards — and ideally explaining their benefits to employees before the implementation — N&N avoided this pitfall.
• The case study also shows that a third-party partner can be helpful in tailoring the ERP system to precisely fit your company’s needs.
Going beyond
The top partners look to assure satisfaction and overall delivery of long-term solutions and care about your company’s success beyond the first deployment and its essential elements. The easiest way to ensure that the implementation partner you’ve chosen is the proper one is to get client references. Look for a possible partner whose clientele are willing to wax lyrical about their experience with the collaboration and the success it has produced rather than relying just on customer testimonials and case studies on a company’s website.
The ideal partner is one whose main objective is to support the entire experience of internal and external stakeholders and who is prepared to go above and beyond by investing in creative solutions to particular issues. They must to be curious enough to spot potential areas for improvement you haven’t even considered. They should then develop a strategy plan to deal with these issues, offering the best solutions and tailoring them to your specific requirements.
And keep in mind that vendors frequently send their best front-line employees to make a pitch. It is important to look into the real project team to ensure that they are the greatest fit for you and your stakeholders because the people involved in the sales cycle won’t be the ones who deliver.
Size isn’t everything
The size of a prospective partner’s organization is another important factor to take into account. Large corporations with a track record of completed projects may seem reassuringly stable. However, that does not necessarily imply that they are suitable for your company.
Big can be beneficial, but when choosing a partner, it’s crucial to pick one that is flexible enough to accept and support your current processes and technologies and agile enough to fulfill your company’s objectives.
One of the most important factors in assisting a company in achieving its corporate goals and objectives is the successful implementation of a new software system. Therefore, selecting the appropriate partner to carry out that implementation must be a deliberate decision that takes into account elements like your company’s current procedures and technology as well as its unique demands and difficulties, both today and in the future. You are now prepared to benefit from your new PIM system. You’ll benefit for years to come if you take the time to locate the implementation partner who checks all your boxes.
What are the pros and cons of working with an implementation partner?
You give all control of your implementation project to a third party when you outsource it. Although this external team will perform the “dirty work,” you will still be involved in the project, such as during initial planning, monitoring progress, and finally signing off on it. However, is this the best decision? We’ll explore the benefits and drawbacks in this part so you can make a decision.
• Advantages of working with a partner in implementation
• Cons of collaborating with a partner in implementation
Pros of working with an implementation partner
1. You don’t need to hire any new employees
You’ll need to hire if you don’t have the knowledge or personnel to develop a CRM internally. You can avoid having to go through all that by outsourcing.
That implies that all hiring-related expenses will be automatically eliminated. Additionally, keep in mind that all costs are financial (although we’ll talk about that in the next point). For instance, outsourcing might allow you to begin your implementation much sooner since you won’t need to look for people, train or upskill your staff, etc.
In addition, the sooner your implementation process gets underway, the sooner your company should begin to see the benefits of a new system…
2. It’s usually a more cost-effective option
Any type of system deployment, whether it be for an ERP or CRM, is complicated, and hiring the best experts to work within won’t be cheap. Additionally, purchasing the appropriate tools for a project can be costly.
You can get rid of all of these expenditures via outsourcing. You enter into a contract with an implementation partner and pay an agreed-upon fee rather than paying the salaries of individual personnel and making purchases of new machinery. In most circumstances, it ends up being the most economical choice in the long term.
3. An exclusive talent pool becomes an extension of your team
The finest implementation partners have extensive knowledge of such projects and have worked with a wide range of systems, goods, enterprises, and industries. Additionally, the more well-known they are, the more probable it is that they have hired some of the best implementation specialists.
You will instantly have access to their unique talent pool if you choose to join with one. You will have a significant competitive advantage as a result.
Keep in mind that these people are constantly active in implementation initiatives, from the actual implementation to the subsequent aftercare (e.g. systems maintenance and monitoring). Will your rivals possess this advantage?
4. They take the implementation off your plate so you get time back
If you do an implementation internally, you are solely responsible for its success. By outsourcing, some of that burden is removed. Of course, you’ll still have a say in determining the project’s objectives and course, and the best collaborators will keep you informed of developments.
However, you are no longer need to be concerned with the specifics of the project. The implementation partner puts the strategy and objectives into action after you have developed them. This frees up time for you and your team to concentrate on other crucial duties.
5. It’s fairly quick and easy to find a team that’s the right fit
You might discover, for whatever reason, that you’re not satisfied with the caliber of the implementation team your partner has assigned to you or that the partner isn’t a good fit overall. If this is the case, outsourcing the project makes it quite simple to request a new team or locate a new partner.
This “switch” isn’t as easy or quick when you keep your implementation project internal. For instance, you’ll have to adhere to the proper termination procedure and restart the hiring process.
Cons of working with an implementation partner
1. They may not know your business as well as you do
Any corporate project that is outsourced, whether it is for implementation or IT managed services, typically has this disadvantage. Unlike you or your internal teams, an external team won’t understand your company’s inner workings right away. They don’t work for your company, after all.
However, before beginning any type of job, the greatest and most suitable partners will always take the time to learn about your business. Additionally, you are still a part of the process, so you are free to offer advice as needed.
2. It may sometimes seem like you don’t have complete control
Continuing from our earlier point, you might believe that you don’t have complete control over the project because your outsourced crew isn’t an official component of your company. This will distinguish the ideal implementation partners from the undesirable ones.
The right companion will make sure that you maintain a strong sense of control. Nothing should happen without your agreement, and you get to determine the objectives, direction, and strategy. You also get regular updates on the situation.
Therefore, even if you might not be performing the actual implementing, your company still has complete control over the project.
3. There may be potential delays in communication
An outsourced team member might be more difficult to reach than an inside expert. For instance, they may have conflicting schedules and be working on additional implementation projects or accounts at the same time as yours.
This is not to suggest, however, that if you choose to implement internally, you wouldn’t encounter this disadvantage. In-house experts may easily be working on several projects at once, and if your company was worldwide, time zones might become an issue.
By carefully selecting the best implementation partner and taking considerations like availability and time zones into account, you may overcome this problem.
The conclusion?
Is it worthwhile to outsource deployments to a partner? The response to such query relies on the requirements of your company. The benefits of working with an implementation partner are considerable, and we won’t lie—having top talent on your team without having to go through the hiring process seems like a no-brainer.
But as we’ve already stated, it depends on what’s ideal for your particular company. Keeping it in-house can be a more practical choice because you might have the resources. Make sure to carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages while keeping in mind your company’s needs.
Workshop Exercises
Effective Partnerships Exercises
01. Development Platform Partners Overview : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
03. Technology Partners Overview : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics: Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
07. Implementation Partners : Explain in your own words how this process will directly impact upon your department?
SWOT & MOST Analysis Exercises
01. Undertake a detailed SWOT Analysis in order to identify your department’s internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats in relation to each of the 12 Effective Partnerships processes featured above. Undertake this task together with your department’s stakeholders in order to encourage collaborative evaluation.
02. Develop a detailed MOST Analysis in order to establish your department’s: Mission; Objectives; Strategies and Tasks in relation to Effective Partnerships . Undertake this task together with all of your department’s stakeholders in order to encourage collaborative evaluation.
Project Studies
Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 3) – Finance
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 7) – Legal
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 8) – Management
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 10) – Production
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 12) – Education
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Effective Partnerships process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Development Platform Partners Overview
02. Development Platform Partners – Content Management Systems
03. Technology Partners Overview
04. Technology Partners – Advanced Analytics
05. Technology Partners – Artificial Intelligence
06. Technology Partners – Intelligent Automation
07. Implementation Partners
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Program Benefits
Information Technology
- Agile IT processes
- Improved value delivery
- Decreased defects
- Continuous improvement
- Modernized infrastructure
- Re-tooled staff
- Increased morale
- IT Business partnership
- Meaningful metrics
- Effective sourcing
Management
- Decreased costs
- Aligned strategies
- Servant leadership
- Clarified priorities
- Improved effectiveness
- Improved transparency
- Reduced risk
- Measurable results
- Satisfied customers
- Vendor partnerships
Human Resources
- Empowered teams
- Servant leaders
- Re-tooled staff
- Improved teamwork
- Enhanced collaboration
- Improved performance
- Reduced turnover
- Improved loyalty
- Leadership development
- Employee development
Client Telephone Conference (CTC)
If you have any questions or if you would like to arrange a Client Telephone Conference (CTC) to discuss this particular Unique Consulting Service Proposition (UCSP) in more detail, please CLICK HERE.