Have You Rethought Technology? If Not, It May Rethink You
Thanks to a vendor lead, point of sale systems integrator lands a six-store rollout in a growing niche market.
Change Comes From Reconceiving
The article suggests that today's business executives should "…unlearn habits, practices, and assumptions that have led to success - in order to make room for new methods that better fit their circumstances."
Says Dee W. Hock, founder and CEO Emeritus of Visa International, in the article, "Change is not about understanding new things or having new ideas; it's about seeing old things with new eyes - from different perspectives…."
The VAR Lesson In Change
But, how can this idea of new perspectives be applied to VARs and integrators like you? Continue to rethink how the technologies you provide can benefit your customers. This, in turn, will lead to more sales. New technologies are being introduced every day. You can incorporate these technologies into your offerings - making your customer solutions more complete.
I recently saw a presentation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that transformed my perception of that technology's capabilities. Charles Wang, chairman of Computer Associates, presented a future vision of ERP software at the InterBiz Solutions (a division of Computer Associates) Show in Las Vegas (Aug. 22-24). The demo showed how neural agents, three-dimensional visualization software, and Internet technologies combine to create a "smart ERP" system. Until that demonstration, I had viewed ERP software as a tool that company employees used to gather data and make decisions. With the use of these new technologies, the ERP system can make decisions on its own and only rely on employees to accept or reject the decision.
Technology Continues To Transform Business
This ERP presentation confirmed what I've continually encountered in my last six years in the technology industry. Technology is changing at such a rapid pace; you need to be learning every day - if you want to keep up.
Business Solutions wants to be your source for helping you keep up with the changes. That's why we provide articles on various technologies, such as automatic identification and data collection (AIDC), card technology and biometrics, document management and imaging, mass storage, and point of sale (POS). In addition, we devote many articles to up-and-coming technologies, such as warehouse management systems (WMSs), ERP, knowledge management, storage area networks (SANs), e-commerce, and radio frequency identification (RFID).
Guiding Your Way Through Technology
We've realized or "relearned" that sifting through all of these articles on different technologies can be an insurmountable task for VARs and integrators like you. That's why we've color-coded the different technology departments in the printed versions of Business Solutions - starting with this issue (see related chart at right). Now, you can quickly turn to the technology articles you want to read first simply by searching for that technology's designated color. However, we haven't rethought our mission of providing readers with articles on all of the different technologies. We've found the most successful VARs and integrators are the ones combining multiple technologies into total solutions.
Happy hunting.