Open-sourcing the inkjet scam

Inkjet printer cartridges – photo courtesy of Pixi via Wikimedia Commons Inkjet printer cartridges contain a tiny little amount of liquid ink and cost a fortune. Actual calculations vary across the web, but the consensus seems to be that printer … [read more]

Profit in performance, not copyright

Newspapers, by Susan Lesch, via Wikimedia Commons Newpapers, as we all know, are in trouble. Their margins eroded by the Internet, incapable of putting forward a business model that can support their transformation onto the web, the current economic recession … [read more]

The Art of Community – free ebook download

Jono Bacon is the community manager for Ubuntu, the open source Linux operating system that’s finally starting to give Windows a run for its money when it comes to consumer-readiness. He’s recently published what appears to be an interesting, practical … [read more]

Articulating business value

One of the hardest things in selling professional services is to properly articulate the business value of your solution in your proposal, especially during an economic downturn. We in the “Microsoft partner camp” are often not very good at establishing … [read more]

Proactive Business Analysis, Not Order Taking

When discussing project vision, business requirements and software specifications with clients, a typical challenge is that the business analyst doesn’t act as a discussion partner but rather an order taker who has no opinions of his own. Many business analysts … [read more]

The four dimensions of records management projects

In conversation with a customer last week, I was struck by how complex and confusing records management projects can be. Even for larger organizations that have invested in records management professionals, understanding the business, technology and legal factors involved in … [read more]