New Payment Systems Using Visa

Visa has partnered with two other companies to provide a new form of electronic payment. Using their new device, a user can transfer money from their visa to another visa or bank account just by knowing the payee's email or cell number. The payee receives the money by entering her or his visa number or bank account number. The systems will use CashEdge's PopMoney service which is already used by about 200 banks or the ZashPay network, which already is used by about 500 banks and credit unions for person-to-person payments. One of the problems with previous money transfer schemes has been the lack of buy-in by banks. So that may not be an issue here. Some further information is available here.

The Pending Business Role of Tablets

One of the more interesting questions today is whether tablets like the iPad are just a flash in the pan, a short-term fad, or whether they will assume a serious role in the business world.

So far, corporations have been buying iPads for their personnel, although they are not yet the majority. Those who have not cite various reasons.

"In a recent InformationWeek Analytics survey of 551 business technology professionals, the top four barriers cited to using tablets (in lieu of notebooks) were lack of enterprise apps (38%), security concerns (34%), the lack of a physical keyboard (23%), and inadequate or expensive management software (21%).

But then, the iPad is only a year old, so it is understandable that enterprise apps would not be plentiful yet. In any event, software developers have a history of waiting until a clear market emerges before committing their resources.

Tablets stand somewhere between laptops and smartphones in terms of usefulness and functionality. Laptops (read also notebooks) have replaced the desktop computer. Smartphones have moved up from telephones to very portable computing and internet access devices. Laptops have the power to do very complex computing tasks. Smartphones have the ability to quickly access information on the internet and also to store basic documents. In between is a large gap, where tablets reside.

The lack of a physical keyboard is restrictive to their use. Physical keyboards are tactile and comfortable and less prone to error. For some it is just a case of getting used to the virtual keyboard, but for many others, it is a non-starter.

While tablets lack the power and capacity of laptops, they do offer up greater mobility. Going to a meeting or someone's presentation and opening up a laptop has always been a little awkward. But there are situations where having a computer handy during those events is very handy and useful. Smartphones often don't offer enough power, so tablets offer a reasonable solution. They are instantly on and it is easy to pull one out and place it on a desk or table and quietly use it without standing out as insensitive or inattentive. For short meetings, they also offer a viable approach.

Tablets are also more portable and therefore offer better mobility than laptops. And mobility is a major factor in the modern workforce. It's the simple reason why some companies have jumped into them already. Future versions of tablets will offer improvement in this regard. For example, the new Playbook from RIM will be a bit smaller than the iPad - small enough to fit into a large pocket - something the iPad can't do. That's huge. also, the power of tablets is bound to grow as they develop.

It seems reasonable to conclude that tablets will become a major force in corporate information systems. Specific applications - from CRM to BI to eProcurement - will be developed for personnel who need to do their jobs on the move, out in the field. They will avoid the need to drag out laptops and boot them up and at the same time will offer up much more power than smartphones.

For an article in this topic, and the source of the above quote, check out this link.

Gartner's Top End-User Predictions for 2011

Gartner recently released a report setting out their predictions for IT from a user perspective over the next four years. The report contains some startling predictions, and is worth a read.

By 2015, a G20 nation’s critical infrastructure will be disrupted and damaged by online sabotage.
By 2015, new revenue generated each year by IT will determine the annual compensation of most new Global 2000 CIOs.
By 2015, information-smart businesses will increase recognized IT spending per head by 60%.
By 2015, tools and automation will eliminate 25% of labor hours associated with IT services.
By 2015, most external assessments of enterprise value and viability will include explicit analysis of IT assets and capabilities.
By 2015, 80% of enterprises using external cloud services will demand independent certification that providers can restore operations and data.
By 2015, 20% of non-IT Global 500 companies will be cloud service providers.
By 2015, companies will generate 50% of Web sales via their social presence and mobile applications.
By 2014, 90% of organizations will support corporate applications on personal devices.
By 2013, 80% of businesses will support a workforce using tablets.
By 2015, 10% of your online “friends” will be nonhuman.

The short public report can be downloaded here.

Social Networking - Where is the Business Value?

One of the big issues facing many businesses is that of implementing social networking for business purposes. Just where does it fit in? Will it really level the hierarchies in the organization? Will it tear down the silos? Will it encourage collaboration? Or will it just chew up time and money?

These are some of the questions business leaders are facing. there is a recognition that companies should be implementing social networking in some fashion, at least to the extent of developing a policy.

Software developers like salesforce.com are jumping into the ring, based on the idea that companies may not want to simply adopt Facebook and Twitter, but employ a look-alike that has been built specifically for business. Some are looking at the idea of using social networking for enterprise wide collaboration, reaching across the silos to exchange information and ideas. Some have experienced some success with this concept. Others are concerned about having social networking available all the time, thinking that it would be a drag on productivity. At the same time, there is a recognition that some people, especially the younger ones, like social networking styles of communication including texting, and much prefer it over email. This would seem to be a very legitimate need that should be addressed.

There is a range of issues, potentially important, and gaining in urgency as younger people enter the workforce.

For an interesting and insightful article on this issue, check this link.

Semantic Web Design

The idea of the semantic web has been touted for some time, and now there are applications coming out that can actually implement elements of it. One example is the retail website for eBags, long a leader in e-commerce. That site makes use of information gathered from various sources about customer preferences and enables them to quickly zero into the particular bags they are most likely to want.

The amount of information now available about customer preferences has grown tremendously in recent years. Some of it has become available through the use of CRM and BI systems. But a lot of it has arisen through less expensive means - particularly social media. Companies are increasingly using social media to interact with their customers and in the process obtaining mineable information that can be useful in defining their preferences. Other websites also contain useful information. The idea of the semantic web is that the entire web becomes a data base that can be accessed so as to maximise search efforts and decision making. Drawing on a wide array of information is now possible by using search engines like Google, but the idea of the semantic web is to render the need for search engines unnecessary. Obtaining the necessary information happens behind the scenes.

The latest trrend towards semantic applications is only a small part of the ultimate vision, but nevertheless it can be viewed as the beginnings of a major trend that ultimately will pervade the entire web and most websites on it. For an interesting article on this subject, click here.

A Glass E-World

For an intriguing look at our possible future, check out this vision put out by Corning Glass. While it is futuristic it isn't far-fetched. Everything in the video is either possible now or a logical extrapolation of existing trends. Enjoy!
Then think about the eBusiness Implications!