How to choose the right software for your company…

When I speak with CEOs & CFOs about buying new computer software, they often respond by saying “Our software works fine. We’ve had it for 20 years & never had any problems with it.” In other words, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” or “We’ve managed just fine with our current manual systems.” Their system may be broken in ways they don’t realize. Using outdated computer software creates a domino affect that results in increased manual efforts & frequent bottlenecks. Very often when customers call, Customer Service Personnel have to go to the drawer to find printed information or search through multiple computer screens looking for the necessary information while the customer waits on the phone. Not having the information readily available, they tell customers, “I will have to call you back as soon as I find the correct information.” Besides creating an unhappy customer, other customers or prospects who call & get phone recordings asking them to wait for the next available agent often hang up & call other vendors. These types of lost sales opportunities can’t be measured. Business issues such as these cause losses & problems in other areas throughout the company, starting with excess inventory in the warehouse and ending in overdue accounts’ receivable. If your company faces such issues, maybe it’s time you began to search for new software to run your business. Before you do, however, think carefully about the process you’ll follow to make sure you select the right software for your needs.

Who should conduct the search?

Before the software search begins, form a search committee. The committee should consist of the computer department & various department heads. This kind of approach has worked very well for many companies. By pairing the computer department that specializes in technology with the heads of departments who know the business needs, the company develops a very strong software search team. Our most successful installations have been with companies that had this kind of committee, in which the computer department becomes the liaison between the users & the software implementation team translating technology to their business requirements. Prior to starting the software search, compile a business requirement list. Once you’ve selected the appropriate software houses & scheduled demos, the business issues list should serve as a guide at the demo. Very sophisticated software is not necessarily the right software solution for your company. Very often, companies buy software because they were impressed with the features and functions they saw at the demo without realizing that it might be too sophisticated for their users.

Fit your business needs…

One case was when a company hired a new CEO to run the company. He came from a larger company that used very sophisticated software. Shortly after assuming his new position, the CEO decided to purchase the software he used at his previous job. The department heads who viewed the software at the demo didn’t feel it was the right choice for their company, fearing the end-users who had used a home-grown system for last 15 years might have difficulties learning it. Despite their advice, the CEO decided to purchase the software. The consulting firm that sold the software guaranteed the cost wouldn’t exceed K.Sh. 4 million. Two years & K.Sh. 4.5 million later, the software was finally implemented & the company went “live.” The main reason for the cost overrun was because the software had to be modified to meet the company’s business needs, together with the very high learning curve users encountered when trying to learn the system. This resulted in the CEO being fired, the company having very sophisticated software with most of its functions going unused & a large computer department to support the software operation.

Don’t scrimp on training…

Training users is one of the main challenges a company faces after selecting software. In addition to completing their daily work, users must be trained on the new software & take the time to practice it.
Because of their workloads, users very often don’t practice as much as they should. In order to assure that training and practice are done on schedule, it’s wise to conduct a monthly meeting to monitor progress. One month before going live, evaluate the users’ comfort level with the system. The best way to determine if the users are ready to go live is by having them make mistakes that commonly occur during the business day, but in a test environment. If the users can correct errors without difficulties, they are ready to go live, otherwise it’s best to postpone the final implementation until their comfort level is achieved. Going live prematurely can result in severe business disruption & overtime.

Software vendor evaluation…

Before making your final selection, require software vendors to give you the names of customers you can ask the following questions:

1) Was the software house willing to modify the software when needed, or did they expect you to change the way you conduct business in order to fit their software? Since no two companies conduct business the same way, not being able to modify software can result in drastic changes to the business
environment and might cause a higher learning curve than necessary as well as business disruption.

2) Did the software house provide the source code & documentation? Not receiving the source code can result in a company being totally dependent on the software house without having the option of using someone else if they are unhappy with their software vendor’s services.

3) Did the software house charge for the source code & documentation? Source code & documentation should be included at no charge.

4) How many computer people are required to run the computer system? Certain systems require a large computer department. This will result in a costly operation & a high budget for the computer department.

5) Is the software user-friendly & how big was the learning curve before going live? If the software is not user-friendly, it will require a high learning curve that will delay going live & will increase the cost of the computer project. Competition today is stronger than ever before. Selecting a software system helps you compete, but only when it fits your business requirements.

Felista Wakina,

Softlink Options Ltd.

How Facebook is taking over our lives…

President Obama used it to get elected. Dell will recruit new hires with it. Microsoft’s new operating system borrows from it. No question, Facebook has friends in high places. Can CEO Mark Zuckerberg make those connections pay off?

Full story: http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/16/technology/hempel_facebook.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009021910

Bidii Africa…

Technology’s Worst Predictions…

It’d be a big enough mistake to get an ordinary mortal fired but when Sir Alan Sugar claimed the iPod would be dead within a year, he had no idea that he’d got it wrong 174 million times. The Amstrad boss is just one of ten luminaries featured in a new list of the worst technology predictions of all time.

Sir Alan Sugar...

An Apple iPod...

Spectacularly wrong: Sir Alan Sugar (above) claimed the iPod (below) would be dead within a year…

But should he be worried about his lack of foresight, he’s in good company, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The list was compiled by Gadget Magazine, T3 & reveals how other industry leaders have also written off televisions, X-rays, telephones & jumbo jets.

Sir Alan Sugar made his dire prediction in an interview in February 2005.

“Next Christmas, the iPod will be dead, finished, gone, kaput,” he said. Since then, the music player has become one of the best-selling gadgets of all time with makers Apple selling 174 million units.

Bill Gates, meanwhile, enters the top ten twice with a pair of astonishingly inaccurate predictions. His first gaffe came in 1981 when he stated that no personal computer would ever need more than 640KB of memory. Most now operate with at least 2 gigabytes, 3,500 times the figure. As if this wasn’t bad enough, he struck again in 2004 when he told the World Economic Forum that spam e-mails “would be solved within two years.

I) BRITAIN DOESN’T NEED TELEPHONES…

Made in 1878 by Sir William Preece, Chief Engineer at the Post Office. “The Americans have need of the telephone but we don’t. We have plenty of messenger boys,” he said.

II) X-RAYS ARE A HOAX…

Lord Kevlin, President of the Royal Society, was clearly unconvinced when he made his comments in 1883.

III) THERE WILL NEVER BE A BIGGER PLANE (& it only held ten people)…

The maiden flight of the Boeing 247 took place in 1933. Speaking after the happy event, an engineer repeatedly said: “There will never be a bigger plane built.” (The world’s biggest plane is currently the Airbus A380 can carry up to 853 people.)

IV) TV WON’T LAST…

Darryl Zanuck, 20th Centurt Fox movie mogul was responsible for this clanger back in 1946. He claimed the technology had a short shelf life because people will “soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.

V) HOMES WILL BE CLEANED WITH NUCLEAR HOOVERS…

Back in the 1950s, Alex Lewyt, President of the Lewyt Corp. Vacuum Co., claimed it was only a matter of time before nuclear power was used in the home. “Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within ten years.

VI) LETTERS WILL BE DELIVERED BY ROCKET…

“We stand on the threshold of rocket mail,” said U.S. Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield in 1959.

VII) COMPUTERS AREN’T FOR HOME USE…

In 1977, Ken Olsen, the President, Chairman & Founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) claimed there was no reason for anyone to want a personal computer.

VIII) YOU’LL ONLY EVER NEED 640KB OF MEMORY…

Bill Gates’ first entry into the chart with his 1981 claim that no personal computer would ever need huge amounts of capacity. (He has since denied making this statement.)

IX) WE’LL KILL SPAM IN TWO YEARS…

…though there’s no doubt he said this one. Speaking at the 2004 World Economic Forum he claimed a solution was in sight.

X) THE iPOD WILL BE KAPUT BY NEXT CHRISTMAS…

And rounding off the technology hall of shame is Sir Alex Sugar. He made his claim in 2005, telling an interviewer: “Next Christmas, the iPod will be dead, finished, gone, kaput.”

Local Wins Microsoft Global ICT Award…

Kampala, Uganda.

Wilson Kutegeka was just an ordinary man with no big ambitions. Coming to Kampala from Bukwali Village, Kabarole, was like a dream; scaling the heights to America seemingly impossible.

However, Kutegeka now not only has academic qualifications to his name, but has gone down in history as the first Ugandan to be recognised by Microsoft International. He recently received the Most Valuable Professional: Visual Basic award for this year.

The holder of a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and a post-graduate diploma in computer science from Makerere University, Kutegeka beat off a challenge from over 2,000 professionals at the Microsoft Most Valuable Profesional (MVP)summit in Washington, US, to win the award.

Kutegeka’s award-winning ClinicMaster Technology is used at the Joint Clinical Research Centre to monitor patients on ARVs. It was showcased at the award ceremony.

The award comes with a fully-sponsored trip to the US to attend the prize giving ceremony, as well as a $2500(about sh2m) shopping voucher.

The winner is also entitled to the latest free Microsoft software and books. Kutegeka explains that he received the award because he was active in a technical discussion forum for Microsoft news groups, and as a result Microsoft easily spotted him.

Developing the ClinicMaster software…

Kutegeka says the ClinicMaster is a new generation healthcare information management and medical billing software. It automates patients’ transactions and daily procedures in the clinic. It is being used by the Joint Clinical Research Centre to manage patients on ARVs.

“The algorithms (set of rules for solving problems) used in ClinicMaster, especially the one behind the search engine was part of what the Microsoft review board looked at before I was awarded the MVP,” he says.

He notes that it is important to change the perception that healthcare management software should be thought about only where there is need for clinical statistics. “Health management software should be part of the plan while setting up a clinic or hospital,” he says.

Before joining the high-tech world, the 35-year-old was a high school teacher of physics and mathematics at St. Leo’s College, Kyegobe in Fort Portal.

He says he was attracted to the ICT industry when he developed an interest in programming. “Programming became a passion whereby I found myself wanting to do more out of self-drive and self-training,” he notes.

“Because the software industry in the region is still virgin, a lot of processes are still manual especially in the health sector. This gives me the courage to develop innovative software such as ClinicMaster that automates clinical processes in hospitals or clinics,” he adds.

The fact that most software currently in use does not fully meet users’ expectations, Kutegeka says, is another driving force for him to do research and come up with solutions.

Close to 2000 other professionals were awarded in different categories this year. Six winners came from Africa. South Africa had three; Nigeria, Uganda and Algeria all had one.

According to Microsoft, MVPs are individuals who are recognised by their peers as well as the company for credible participation, high quality answers and a demonstrated willingness to share their technical expertise with others while providing guidance and assistance in peer-to-peer technical communities worldwide.

Africa’s First Communications Satellite Fails…

Africa’s first communications satellite has suffered an energy failure just 18 months after its launch…

Full story: http://allafrica.com/stories/200811171400.html

Microsoft denies paying contractor to abandon Linux…

Microsoft has denied paying a Nigerian contractor US$400,000 in a bid to battle Linux’s movement into the government sector.

Full story: http://computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/11/11/microsoft-denies-paying-contractor-abandon-linux

Local Software now set for exponential growth…

Government institutions will be required to spend half of their IT budgets in the local market in a move meant to promote software development.

Full story: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10707&Itemid=5847

Kenya’s Banks ask for regulation on Mobile Money Transfers…

The banking fraternity is crying foul over what it described as unfair & increasing competition from money transfer operators. The industry says the operators are enjoying privileges similar to those extended to deposit taking institutions despite not being covered by the same regulatory regime.

“Currently, there is no legal framework within which these entities provide their services despite behaving like current account institutions,” says John Wanyela, executive director of the Kenya Bankers Association. “If these operators want to join the financial sector, they have to be properly licensed.”

The bankers are calling on the government to subject the services to prudential regulations “for robust and secure movement of funds across the economy.” Under the proposed guideline, the services will have to be
supervised by a specialised financial regulatory authority that will oversee their financial soundness and stability.

Currently, the two leading mobile phone service providers – Zain and Safaricom – are offering money-transfer services in the country under Sokotele and M-Pesa brands respectively. Like other deposit takers, the bankers association wants the mobile cash transfer operators restricted on how much deposits they can take.

To avert undue competition with the banking fraternity, Wanyela says, M-Pesa and Sokotele services have to meet the capitalisation requirement as stipulated in the Banking Act. According to the Act, a deposit taking
institution should maintain a minimum capitalisation of Ksh250 million ($3.5 million).

This is however expected to double come December next year before hitting Ksh1 billion ($14.2 million) by 2010 after capitalisation requirements were amended in this financial year’s budget. The bankers also say the “digital money” has implications for the conduct of monetary policy by the Central Bank of Kenya.

To control inflation levels in the country, CBK continuously monitors the amount of money in circulation, mainly in the hands of people and commercial banks. With the monies in circulation, CBK is in a position
to maintain a reserve money target and, therefore, intervene to control inflation. Observers say it is this huge amount of money circulating electronically that has defeated CBK in the fight against inflation.

Wanyela says it is time the government stepped in to ensure M-Pesa and Sokotele services are regulated before “something goes wrong.” Debate has been rife on who should regulate the mobile phone money transfer operators, with some arguing that the CBK should be party to the issuance of guidelines as “part of M-Pesa and Sokotele services fall under the national payments system.”

Fundamentally, the two mobile operations are guided by the Communications Commission of Kenya. Early last month, CBK said it had no intention of bringing the mobile cash transfer services under the Banking Act.

It claimed that treating the money transfer services under the Act may impede competition in sector that is still at its infancy in a country whose majority population has limited access to financial services.

Safaricom statistics show that as at the end of the first quarter of this year, more than Ksh3.1 billion ($44.2 million) had been transferred. From its launch in March 2007 till May this year, the service has facilitated the transfer of more than Ksh23.77 billion ($339.5 million).

(Source: The East African)

E.C.K. failed to use laptops in elections…

Low Internet penetration in rural areas, software issues and computer illiteracy have been cited as some of the reasons that the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) could not use laptops during the controversial general elections last year.

Full story: http://computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/08/27/kenya-commission-failed-use-laptops-elections