OPTIMIZING SALES, SERVICE & OPERATIONS

Thursday, June 23, 2011

First details on HardMetrics and Customer Relationship Metrics partnership

It might be summertime, but we're not about to sit back and relax here at HardMetrics. In fact we announced HardMetrics' new partnership with Customer Relationship Metrics (CRM) in a press release yesterday.

CRM delivers two distinct value propositions through its business intelligence as a managed service offering:

1. Simplified and fast implementation of an industry-tested and proven, feature-rich, enterprise-scale BI application. This is the best of BI in the Cloud.

2. A team of domain experts, research analysts, and management consultants who will use the application to assist clients in deploying best practices and optimizing the performance of their business.

CRM has been a HardMetrics customer for three years. Our technology has been used internally in their voice of the customer research practice. And starting today, the HardMetrics Performance Manager is an essential component of their new end-to-end managed service offering. Keep reading for more details on how we'll be working together and what it means for your company's BI.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

HardMetrics brings business intelligence to the tablet

HardMetrics at the ACCE Expo demoing our solution on the iPad
Last week Brian told you he was attending the ICMI ACCE Conference and Expo this week to show attendees how easily HardMetrics Performance Manager runs on a tablet.

And since Brian's at the Expo today, we decided to make the official announcement live from New Orleans that our HardMetrics Performance Manager business intelligence solution is optimized for use on tablet devices.

The press release crossed the wire this morning. Keep reading to find out how we can easily and seamlessly deploy our software to the mobile Web on the iPadMotorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, BlackBerry PlayBook, or any other tablet.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Business intelligence goes mobile at the 2011 ICMI ACCE Conference and Expo

Just try to keep me in the HardMetrics booth at the ICMI ACCE Conference and Expo show. I triple dog dare you. :)

That's because I'll be walking around with my iPad at the show in New Orleans from June 13 to 15 showing attendees how to use HardMetrics Performance Manager on their tablet.

Not all business intelligence solutions can easily and seamlessly deploy their software to the mobile Web. It requires them to build a separate application for each mobile operating system and devise a strategy to deploy the application and keep it updated and current. But since HardMetrics is and always has been a pure Web-based solution, you don't need an app to access it on your tablet.

All you have to do is open the Web browser on your tablet, whether it's an iPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, BlackBerry PlayBook, or any other tablet, and log in to the HardMetrics Performance Manager to have complete access.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

What's the difference between a tool and a solution?

The Urban Dictionary has a lot of (ahem) colorful definitions for the word "tool." The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition is more basic.

It defines it as "a handheld device that aids in accomplishing a task." And many of the claimants to the business intelligence mantle prove to be nothing more than that: tools (sometimes in both sense of the word).

During a recent conversation with a colleague, he said to me: "I find it shocking how many otherwise sophisticated companies are still using Excel to drive business decisions." It's sad but true.

While software has evolved and morphed into so much more than spreadsheets, business decision making for the most part remains mired in manually prepared spreadsheets that are susceptible to data errors.

And the "tools" that claim to be business intelligence solutions are focused on one single task: making Excel data look prettier.

Examples include tools such as SAP Crystal Presentation Design, iDashboards, and IBM's Cognos PowerPlay. They are point-and-click data visualization software that creates prettier data presentations from Excel spreadsheets.

These tools might work for organizations that don't need to dive deep into their data for analysis. They do the job they're designed to do, but they don't provide additional functional capabilities, drive operational improvements, or enhance knowledge of the business. And there is little to no domain expertise behind them. Want more capable tools from the big boys? It's going to cost you a ton of time and money.

By way of comparison, solutions like HardMetrics Performance Manager provide an overarching mission-critical service to an organization. With HardMetrics on the job, managers from front-line operations to the C-suite can quickly and cost effectively:
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