BitLogistics is now releasing the public version of the small and medium business solution: VisibleLogistics. Here is why you should try it for your own business.

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Social networking software, such as Facebook, implement social applications using a network of 'contacts' or 'friends' - a kind of distributed address book. This turns out to have key advantages, not least of which is the fact that managing your own profile and a list of connections is far easier than maintaining an address book that contains a profile for every entry. It is interesting to apply the same idea to business software.

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In a world where things are getting smaller, why are big IT projects still getting approved?

What do I mean when I say ‘things are getting smaller?’. In short, personalisation.

This manifests itself in a variety of forms such as customisation and user-defined choices. We are all expecting that when we want a product or service, we will have a number of choices as to how it is made and how we get it. In order to provide the relevant options (or choices), manufacturers and service providers have had to develop very flexible processes and partnerships with their suppliers to do so. This inherent requirement for flexibility challenges the often rigid and quite formal structures, systems and processes found in many companies. This is particularly true with regard to information services.

In many large organisations, the information systems are managed through a central IT function. They are usually charged with the development, acquisition, provision and support of information systems to the organisation. In short, they have complete control of access and use. The rationale for this is understandable, but as data and information in digital form is now pervasive across all aspects of society, this approach is rapidly becoming unsustainable.

The first casualty may well be the large IT projects that cost much and delivered little. That they have survived for so long is more due to the lengthy timeframes and vague ROI (Return on Investment) measurements. Either they are broken down into manageable chunks that can be completed quickly, or developed within a flexible framework that allows for constant iterative revision, whilst still delivering capability.

This has been recognised by the analyst firm AMR, who recently published a study analysing the issue: Supply Chain Initiatives Require an Iterative Approach. Their main conclusions are:

Rule No. 1: Big bangs don't work. This is not a matter of project management; it is a practical reality for the following reasons:

• Too much integration
• Data quality problems
• Too long
• These factors are cumulative and compounding

Rule No. 2: Iterative steps work. Use simple and practical approaches to ROI (size of potential benefit, execution risk, time to benefit) and link business process improvements and associated software functionality through operating metrics to financial impact. Factors include the following:

• Limit the scope
• Short timeframes
• Single budget period

Rule No. 3: Incentives favor the big project-Beware. As a legacy of ERP, the structural incentives in the software and consulting businesses still foster the long-term commitment.

In other words, major software vendors and consulting houses are more comfortable with long term projects where the compensation models are based on 'time and materials' rather than value added.

As an increasing number of solutions are made available as subscription ‘services’ across the internet and people increasingly consume digital information on a variety of devices, anytime, (almost) anywhere, the challenge for the IT department is clear.

They have to either change or become irrelevant.