SME Blog

Spotting the trends

Google Trends is a fascinating free tracking tool.  The EEE PC is currently getting a lot of attention in the UK so I will use that for our first example.  Google Trends gives the first graph below.  This shows the searches for a chosen term relative to the total number of Google searches as displayed over a period of time.   If we look at the graph Google Trends creates then we can see that the EEE PC is currently a hot topic.

Now let us look at the Google Trend data, but this time compare three different topics.  I'm going to pick up on Microsoft's current interest in Yahoo and use Microsoft, Yahoo and Google as my search topics to give the second graph below.

One look at this graph reveals why Microsoft are so interested in joining of forces with Yahoo.  Of course Google Trends could be viewed as a toy and Google do give some disclaimers on it, but it does show a side of online technology that I believe will come more to the fore in future.  The politicians at the very least will always want to track the trends.  Try it for yourself at www.google.com/trends.

ICAEW launches IT Counts - a world first?

A new online network has just been launched called IT Counts.  Whilst you may be familiar with Facebook or Myspace this one is different.  What makes IT Counts different is that this online network is provided by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Microsoft.  If you thought that the words innovation and accountant never belonged in the same sentence then it is time to think again.

ICAEW IT Counts is focused on practical business IT.  The site is aimed at the general individual. It should also interest the technophile as IT Counts sets itself apart from the flood of technology sites with its strong business slant.

You may be wondering why Chartered Accountants need an online network dedicated to business IT.  The answer is simple.  The Chartered Accountant is no longer the stereotypical bean counter and an awareness of technology is a pre-requisite in a modern business environment.

IT Counts is packed full of Web 2.0 technology and uses the Wordframe platform. I've been lucky enough to be involved with the ICAEW's online network development together with Dennis Howlett, David Terrar and many forward thinking individuals at the ICAEW (more on that later).

The initial launch is restricted to ICAEW members, but that is expected to change.  This leaves the enticing prospect of the ICAEW as a professional member organisation hosting a virtual room that includes itself, Microsoft, CA's, technology specialists together with other business professionals and owners.  I  may be wrong, but as far as I'm aware that will be a world first.

Workflow using stickies

Most small companies act as a team rather than a machine. When a small business grows to a mid-sized business then workflow starts to become a serious issue.  Tasks will be naturally delegated and the business owner starts to become more detached from the everyday detail.  There is a danger point in losing control and inefficiencies can easily occur as it becomes more difficult to coordinate business processes.

If you can think of one process in your business that you particularly need to control and coordinate then it may be time to take the stickie test.  The stickie test is a keep it simple approach using small paper stickies.  As an example we will take the process of producing a report for a client.  On each stickie you need to put the step in the process and who is doing it.  In our example, we would have the following steps:

1.    Creating the report - Mr Creator
2.    Reviewing the report – Mrs Reviewer
3.    Second review of the report – Mr Signoff
4.    Delivering the report – Mr Signoff

We have defined the process steps and the order.  A quick look at the process and we can see there may well be some loops in the process where the work goes back to Mr Creator for amendments and changes.

You may well find your particular process is far more involved than our example, but just creating stickies as above will give a quick insight to improve a process and make it more efficient.