business in bunny slippers – Cooper Mann Consulting

July 14, 2015

Formula for Success: The Cloud and a Pair of Bunny Slippers

drawn-bunny-slippers Information technology and the “cloud” is amazing. With the right IT resources and connectivity, individuals and small businesses are able to compete at global levels with much larger organizations, and are proving that placing focus and attention on the right aspects of the business helps the business perform better. The right IT approach is to use technology to make the business smarter so more gets done in less time and with fewer resources – this is wearing the bunny slippers. The goal is leveraging systems, software and connectivity to be more efficient and effective, creating the time to stop and think for a while, innovate, or simply relax.

Too often the business owners or managers are tending to computers and systems which simply support status quo and aren’t spending their quality time growing and managing the business – getting more clients, creating new products, rising above the competition. Cloud computing models play a big part in changing that standard, supporting new levels of business sustainability and supporting process improvements never before imagined.

Cloud computing is now integral to many business technology models because the potential benefits are great. Cloud computing solutions and outsourced information technology management allow businesses to focus on what they do best, and not on the IT supporting it. These solutions and services are in high demand because they allow businesses to scale easily and affordably, paying only for what is needed at the time. Improved collaboration and centralized access to applications and data make cloud computing models an important consideration for every business.

I’m not the only one who recognizes how beneficial the right IT approach and anytime/anywhere access can be. Others have recognized the freedom and flexibility these new technology models have enabled… and know the value of a pair of bunny slippers.

Joanie Mann Bunny Feet Make Sense?

Doing Business In Bunny Slippers Around The Globe.

Susan Solovic

When I first started my business, like many start-up operations, I decided to work from home.

I equipped an empty bedroom with a card table for a desk, cardboard boxes for filing cabinets and my dogs served as my office assistants. Voila! I was ready to roll, and it was great.

I could go to work in my fuzzy pink robe and bunny slippers. After all, no one other than the dogs would know.

Start-up business operations are always strapped for cash. It’s much less expensive to conduct business from your home than to rent commercial office space. And thanks to the Internet and technology home-based businesses can easily become international enterprises.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/startups/doing-business-in-bunny-slippers-around-the-globe-01252506

April 9, 2014September 25, 2018

4 Rules of Thumb for Considering Cloud Applications in Business

With all the talk of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service models, businesses are increasingly questioning their continued use of on-premises and “traditional” software implementations. Having heard that cloud applications are cheaper and better than locally installed solutions, some small business owners and IT managers are actively seeking alternatives to their current software selections. In too many cases, however, these business owners or IT managers aren’t looking at the longer term impacts of their decisions, and may be adopting cloud software solutions simply because it seems to be the way things are going these days.

The cloud is simply a term being applied to a new way of looking at information technology – how businesses buy it, how they use it, and what they expect from it. Even as technology gets more complicated, users are demanding greater ease-of-use and lower costs. The response to these conditions is the cloud: addressing basic and common requirements and delivering the solution for a low-cost to many users. While the approach meets the simplicity and affordability elements, it may or may not fully address all the functional, compliance or sustainability needs of the business.

One size never fits all, and this is as true with cloud computing as it is with bathing suits. For the business owner or IT manager considering adoption of cloud-based applications for the business, keep in mind these 4 Rules of Thumb so that the hype and excitement doesn’t cloud your judgment.

Rule 1: Software is software, and it is installed somewhere. Just because an application is accessed using a browser (which is software) doesn’t mean the product isn’t installed somewhere. When it’s a SaaS solution, the product is simply installed and running on the provider’s servers rather than your own computers. Software can fail even when it isn’t on your computer, so it should be expected that failure could happen with SaaS solutions. The difference is that a failure of an app on one machine isn’t news; failure of an app that lots of people are using at the same time is news.

Rule 2: Software that talks to other software means there is integration between the two. Whether the products are installed on the PC or whether they run from different providers’ systems, they still have to be able to communicate together at some common level. The Windows platform used to provide a “common” standard for integration of Windows applications. When applications move from the desktop platform to the web, many of the common integration approaches no longer work and new methods must be developed. Just because a solution integrates with the desktop edition of a product does not mean it will automatically integrate with a web or SaaS edition of the product (QuickBooks exemplifies this).

Rule 3: Software still requires hardware and other resources. When cloud-based solutions are implemented, the cost of the server and storage facilities (along with other elements) may be included in the subscription price. The efficiency and scale economies developed by the provider will ultimately determine their profitability, but it is generally the case that centralization of resources, management and administration can significantly reduce the cost of operations. With most cloud solutions, it is the assumption of scale (leveraging a single asset base to many subscribing customers) which makes things more affordable than deploying similar capabilities individually for each customer. Consider also that any deployment of cloud software solutions still means that businesses must retain their local networks and devices. While PCs, laptops and tablets may not be running business applications, they are still computing devices which may need to connect to networks, have virus protection, have remote access or connection software installed on them, and any number of other things. In short, moving to the cloud does not remove the requirement to have and maintain user devices, printers and LANs. And really, don’t most people still want Office applications on their devices, even if they also have remote access to such applications? Office for iPad is somewhat of a tell in that respect; kind of proves the point.

Rule 4: Not all data is stored in the same manner. This is as true on a PC or LAN as it is in the cloud. However, cloud solutions can introduce quite a wrinkle when it comes to keeping copies of business data over time. With PCs and local networks, a business would back up their data in any variety of ways, preserving the files and formats for possible later use. As long as there was software available to read and open the files, the backed up data would be usable. Simply due to the popularity of some data formats, there might also be tools or utilities available to read the data even if the original application was lost. The wrinkle introduced with cloud solutions is not necessarily that the format of the data is strange – it is likely that most cloud-based business applications use fairly proven and recognizable database technology. The difficulty is that the actual database file(s) containing a company’s unique data may or may not be separate from other company data. If it is separate (single-tenant database), it is unlikely that the database as structured is portable. The fact is, most web-based or cloud solutions will allow users to export data from the database, but cannot provide actual structured data files ready for use with another application, lacking logical data or table relationships. Some solutions suggest that simple list exports are sufficient, and others may say they have data conversion capabilities, but the reality is that data existing in a cloud application is not very portable. Business intelligence is a terrible thing to waste, so it is really important to be able to take all the data with you (in a meaningful way, not as a bunch of disparate lists).

Cloud computing covers a really broad spectrum of technologies and delivery models, and most of the above is more about SaaS applications rather than actual cloud platforms. The platforms are where the applications live – server and network environments. This is where hosting companies do their work, as the things they host live on the platforms.

Businesses electing to add mobility, management, fault tolerance and other capabilities to their systems should explore the benefits of application hosting and cloud platforms, and not immediately look to SaaS and cloud application alternatives to their existing software solutions. By deploying their systems in a managed hosting environment, businesses can often keep using their existing core software products, integrations, and data archiving methods while gaining the best benefits of “cloud”.

Joanie Mann Bunny Feet Make Sense?
J

March 5, 2014February 28, 2017

Small #NonProfits, Crummy Computers and the #Cloud

Small NonProfits, Crummy Computers and the Cloud

There are many benefits included in the “value proposition” for cloud computing models, but there are some hidden gems in terms of how these outsourced IT models can specifically and directly address one of the biggest problems facing many smaller nonprofit organizations: they have to use old, outdated, and often just pretty crummy equipment. But now it’s OK, because even crummy old PCs can work just fine when the applications are hosted in the cloud.

Small nonprofit organizations often rely exclusively on donations to keep the business running. Donations don’t always come in the form of dollars; sometimes donations include used computer equipment. For many nonprofits, using donated equipment is the only option they have due to various budgeting constraints, and nonprofits need computers just as badly as any other business. Not only do these underfunded businesses have to try to operate with what most users would consider to be sub-par equipment, they frequently operate their systems and networks without the aid of skilled or experienced technicians. For a small nonprofit organization, keeping up with business is tough when the computers and software aren’t able to fully meet the need.

To complicate things even more, many people working in smaller nonprofit organizations are mobile workers – functioning either as part-time participants or users who simply need to work from a variety of possible locations. And they almost always have to use their own mobile devices. Supporting a remote or mobile workforce is particularly challenging when even the most basic of computing requirements are barely met, so addressing the variables of everyone having their own mobile devices and remote computers is frightful at best.

With the introduction of cloud computing, affordable broadband access, and value-priced application hosting services, small nonprofit organizations finally have a workable answer. Working with an application hosting provider, the business can move applications and data to outsourced infrastructure, where the solution is effectively delivered back in the form of a subscription service.

Accessing applications and data on central servers, and using those applications from a “virtual” or hosted desktop, can allow these small businesses to use current versions of business applications without having to purchase the powerful desktop or portable computers necessary to run them. The applications run from the host’s servers, reducing the local PC’s involvement to handling the display, keyboard and mouse inputs, and printer outputs. Even older computers which would be incapable of running current versions of applications like Microsoft Office or QuickBooks are generally able to access and run those applications from the cloud.

Predicting costs of operations is essential for any business but is crucial for the nonprofit. Budgeting around a limited financial resource, small nonprofits are hard hit when unplanned failures in computer systems occur. In many cases, there simply isn’t room in the budget to recover from these events, and productivity and performance suffers because of it.

Approaching IT services from an outsourced perspective, these small businesses can build a significant level of predictability into their business technology costs – and get higher levels of fault tolerance and disaster recovery capability along with it. The hosting service is responsible for maintaining the operating environment, securing the systems, backing up the data, and keeping things running. The costs associated with server hardware failures, and even regular server and system maintenance, are covered in the subscription service. This means that unexpected break/fix, update and maintenance costs are no longer of concern.

Every small business, not just the nonprofit, should explore the options available to them with cloud and application hosting services. Performance within any organization depends on the systems and tools available to get work done. Owning the problem of managing and maintaining the information technology platforms and systems makes little sense these days; better to outsource the problems to a professional service provider. Not only can this type of service introduce predictable costs for business IT services, it makes working with crummy old donated equipment a workable situation.

Joanie Mann Bunny Feet Make Sense?

December 12, 2013January 8, 2018

4 Rules of Thumb for Fiscally Fit Business

Most folks who start a new business go in to it with a rather naïve belief that a good idea, product, service and/or group of people can be successful just because their idea, product, service or people are good. Unfortunately, that isn’t’t the reality of starting up and running a business. Regardless of how great and innovative the idea is, the business only works if it is sustainable and profitable. Otherwise, it was just a great idea. For many entrepreneurs, developing an understanding of the financial underpinnings of running a company isn’t the most exciting of ideas. The compulsion is to outsource the responsibility to someone else like an accountant or financial advisor. While I completely and utterly agree that every business owner should work closely with their accounting professional and financial advisor, I also know that those very same business owners will get more value from their advisors if they have a common language to speak (business finance) and are working toward a common goal. The goal is fiscal fitness – the creation of a sustainable and profitable business. Just as physical fitness supports a healthy body, fiscal fitness supports a healthy business.

The successful business operating in this economy adheres closely to 4 main beliefs, rules of thumb perhaps, relating to fiscal management and fitness and which are generally communicated in detail using the language of business finance.

Rule 1. Plan before you start. Then plan some more. Starting a business isn’t like going to college; you’re supposed to know what you’re going to do BEFORE you start up rather than paying to explore the options. It is also very important to recognize that the plan may require some adjustments as you go along (“No plan survives contact with the enemy”), taking care to not equate focus with intractability. This plan should also include the “exit strategy”, which is really a plan for what the owner wants to ultimately get out of the effort. It could be a plan to sell out for gobs of money, to leave a legacy for the children, or maybe just to have an awesome quality of life and do what they love at the same time. Knowing what it will take to get in, get it done, and get out the way you want is all part of the plan.

Rule 2. Keep a close eye on the numbers. No, not all of them, but the really important ones. Some of these numbers have to do with the relationships between price, volume and cost. This is the stuff a business owner needs to know like the back of their hand – hairs and all. Not every business will focus on the same key numbers (mostly, but there are certainly variations), but every business owner should know what to look for. And they should be looking very frequently so things don’t get out of whack before corrections can be made.

Rule 3. Manage the cash, manage the growth, and know how one impacts the other. Cash flow and growth are priorities number 1 and 1 in business but they aren’t the same thing. Consider that reducing prices (and profits) to get more sales may work as long as the volume of sales supports the effort and generates the cash. Without the extra sales revenue to rely on, reducing profits could result in devastation (maybe sticking with the prices the way they are and not pushing for fast growth is a better idea).

Rule 4. If you must borrow, be informed and do it smartly. There are a lot of different options for borrowing money for the business, just as there are a lot of different reasons to do it. There is a great deal of research available which describes the benefits of borrowers being educated in basic financial literacy, with better financial decision-making being among those benefits. Looking for financing is kind of like choosing between the apple and the candy bar: one may promote the fitness you’re looking for while the other does not (but it looks sweet!). It’s nice to have the foundation to support knowing which one you should choose.

Building and maintaining a fit business requires an understanding of how the business works – how and why it makes and spends money, what makes it profitable and what it takes to create and support growth. While outside advisors may be available to help, the best performance is achieved when the business owner masters the essential skills required to run and grow a fiscally fit and sustainable business.

Joanie Mann Bunny Feet

Make Sense?

Measure, Manage and Succeed. It’s all about knowing how to speak the language of finance