I was flipping aimlessly through channels last weekend and I stopped on a NASCAR race (go ahead and insert your joke here).  I’m usually not a racing fan, but I was captivated by some of the drama as the race was nearing its end.  As I watched events unfold, I started to think about what separated the leaders from those who had been lapped (and for that matter, those that didn’t finish).  Each one of these drivers has teams of people behind them calculating and planning the minutia of each move, so how can the results be so different?  The two key differences that strike me are 1) The Driver and the team themselves and 2) The Strategy/Approach to the race.    What does this have to do with the implementation of cloud technologies you ask?  Everything.

Over the past 8 years of implementing cloud-based solutions, I’ve had the opportunity to see the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to implementation strategies, methods, and processes.  Over that time, it has become clear that the single most important ingredient in project success is a great team.  Strong technicians are great, exceptional individual contributors certainly help, but great TEAMS breed success.  Teams that are aligned with a clear objective, embrace unknowns, and support each other in the heated, stressful moments of a project can overcome all of the unplanned for anomalies that come with working with technology.

The value of strong teams and team members may not be any great epiphany, but it is a fundamental criteria for success that gets lost in this age of cloud computing.  This may be blasphemous to those in the industry, but cloud computing is not the silver bullet to resolve all of our technology issues.  As much as it is scalable, nimble, fast and efficient compared to its predecessors, it does not change the fact that people are ultimately at the root of the project team. There are complexities, differences of opinion, and misaligned priorities to overcome and it is a quality team that will adapt and overcome.  Take time to select your team, both internal and external, so that you can be confident that the probably of success is commensurate with your investment.

Once the team is in place, there must be a strategy and methods that help the team to work effectively.  One of the most common questions that I am asked by customers approaching a cloud implementation is “What is your methodology?”  I love this question because it is a great opportunity to gain alignment with a customer and begin developing a high performing team.

Methodology is not just a series of steps used to complete a project.  It is not a project plan.  It is not a checklist.  A methodology is actually a broader concept and we use the opportunity of discussing it to learn about a clients structure, belief system, regulatory environment, culture, and so much more.  We cannot dictate methods unilaterally because we are not in control of some of these factors.  Instead, we start with a general approach that fits the organizational footprint of a client and mold the details to align with the team.  Just like in NASCAR, the approach to the race must change depending on the track, weather, competition and driver, a project team must alter their methodology to accommodate the team, organizational culture, timeframes, objectives, cost constraints, regulatory conditions, and other factors deemed critical.

So what are the approaches?  We tend to look at methodology in 3 general categories including: Agile, Waterfall, and Iterative development.  Each of these methodologies has its place and there are infinite permutations of each.  In future posts, I will go into detail to describe each, as there is a lot of ground to cover.

While organizing your cloud computing initiative, don’t fall into the trap of focusing solely on the technology.  People and processes matter, and they will ultimately determine your level of success!

True Cross-Platform Customizable Applications

When the iPad was introduced many people labeled it as a device looking for a need.  Today it is clearly leading the tablet charge in the Enterprise and has been so successful for Apple it is even taking some marketshare from Apple's laptop sales.  However as more tablets come to market, many companies are also looking at Android options to lower costs or at the RIM Playbook.  

The platform is optimized for tablets and is designed from the ground up to be used with a touch interface.  We now have tablet support for the following customizalbe applications:

• Account and Contact Management
• Call Planning/Call Reporting
• Order Entry
• Digital Sales Aid
• Route Planning
• Field Service
• Inventory Management
• Bar Code Scanning
• Signature Capture
• Social Enterprise (Salesforce.com Chatter)

Cloud access even when you can't access the Cloud

What I'm really proud of is the fact that 2GO provides access to back-end cloud data whether or not you have internet connectivity.  Even in this day and age there are many places where we don't have connectivity (basements, office buildings, remote customer sites) and still need access to critical business information.  Offline synchronization is core to the platform and all information is stored locally in an encrypted database to provide safe and secure access to key information regardless of internet connectivity.

Simplifies Maintenance 

Applications rarely are static, business processes evolve and it is a struggle for most mobile applications to keep up with the speed of business.  The 2GO Platform helps applications to easily grow and change without any code changes.  It leverages something called meta-data (data about data) to make this magic happen.  What this means to a business user is when they add a field to a back-end Cloud application, that field is immediately accessible in their 2GO mobile application.

Cross-platform Tablet2GO running on multiple tablets

Here is a brief video that shows the Accounts, Contacts and Social Enterprise modules running on an Apple iPad, a Motorola Xoom and a RIM Playbook.

One of the most popular applications we have delivered is using a tablet as a Digital Sales Aid.  Essentially using a tablet as a replacement for a paper brochure, or one-sheet and presenting content about products and services in a very engaging way. 

Cross-Platform Digital Sales Aid

Here is an example of the Digital Sales Aid application configured for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) vertical that shows products on a virtual store shelf.

Cross-Platform Tablet2GO on an iPad

Here is a brief video showing how Tablet2GO looks and feels on an iPad

Cross-Platform Tablet2GO on an RIM Playbook (running QNX)

Here is a brief video showing how Tablet2GO looks and feels on a Playbook

Cross-Platform Tablet2GO on a Motorola Xoom (running Honeycomb)

Here is a brief video showing how Tablet2GO looks and feels on a Xoom

The above videos showed 2GO running on a variety of tablets with the same codebase.  However we haven't forgotten about the original mobile form-factor, the smartphone.  The same codebase is smart enough to know whether or not it is running on a tablet or a smartphone and the user interface is adjusted accordingly.

Here is an example of 2GO running on a Motorola Droid.  This is the same application that was shown in the tablet videos, however the interface is optimized for the smartphone (one column of data instead of two, and more of a wizard like interface).

The mobile team is still hard at work and there is more to come.  I will keep you posted on our progress as we make a few more announcements in the coming weeks that will make it even easier for you to access these and other 2GO applications and easily roll them out to your organization.

Data Management and Data Quality is an issue in every CRM deployment. The reason for this is that CRM data is not transactional and doesn’t get balanced at month end like accounting data. CRM systems are full of soft data points that can be aggregated to provide information and knowledge, but only if the foundation is accurate and trusted.

A data management strategy has many dimensions including proactive cleansing of data to prevent issues, reactive management of data to fix issues that already exist, manual processes of data stewards, and automated processes that ease the manual burden. The approach to choose will depend on the specific needs of the organization, but will probably include all of these components.

The most difficult part of implementing a strategy is having some metrics on which to base your response. With all of the potential data issues that exist, it makes sense to focus on the highest value, lowest effort fixes as a means of maximizing your CRM investment. Each problem has its own cost-of-bad-data associated with it, whether it be time spent pursuing out-dated information, hard dollars spent on marketing to the wrong contacts, or wasted time managing information that is obsolete to the business. It is imperative to understand these costs and how they impact the business, but that requires some basis for action.

Recently, Model Metrics has come up with a tool for taking the guesswork out of data quality in a salesforce.com implementation. Data Profiler interrogates an org’s data and metadata to provide concrete, actionable data quality indicators down to the field level! This tool is proven to provide our customers a baseline health check of their data quality, and on-going metrics on how it is improving or degrading over time.

The value of the Data Profiler comes in two main categories. First, the tool provides all of the raw data at a summary and detailed level to make an actionable data management plan. Second, the service Model Metrics provides to interpret the Data Profiler output and help to devise a plan that is unique to your business.

Data Profiler provides summary information related to data “Completeness” and “Conformity.” Completeness is the relative completeness of the records that are being entered in the system. If Contact records, for example, are just being entered with Names and Email Addresses, but no Phone Numbers, Addresses, or other information, the level of Completeness is going to be low. Conformity, on the other hand, is a measure of how the metadata of picklist values matches up with the actual values in a field. If there is low conformity, it likely means that there is a process by which records are being loaded into the system (without using the standard UI) and compromising data integrity.

Completeness and Conformity are only two of the metrics that are visible at a more detailed object and field level views. Object by object, there are metrics related to the record count, fields, ownership percentages, record aging, and much more.

The above is just a glimpse into the comprehensive data health report that the Data Profiler provides. If run on a monthly, quarterly, or even annual basis, it can prove as a compass on your data management roadmap. It can also help to measure progress against the initial baseline of data health and allow for easy identifications of new issues that are sure to arise over time. No CRM implementation should be without a solid data management plan and Data Profiler is a great way to start.

Bill Kalma

Model Metrics – VP, Technical Services

What a great time we live in.  I always love the energy of this time of year as excitement builds around the buzz of Salesforce.com’s Dreamforce conference.  This year will be my 7th time attending the event and each year is bigger and better than the one before.  This year I can’t find enough superlatives to describe my excitement around the Monday Cloudstock event preceding the actual conference (http://www.cloudstockevent.com/).

If you have not heard of Cloudstock, it is time that you did; it has the potential to be a truly revolutionizing event.  Salesforce.com has partnered with about 20 other cloud computing vendors, big and small, for a one day cloud-technology extravaganza.  Event participants will include the likes of Google, Amazon, PayPal, Yahoo, Salesforce.com (of course), Adobe, Ebay, LinkedIn, and many more.  The goal of the day is simple…bring together the best minds in cloud computing for a day of networking, collaboration, and inspiring fun.  Participants will be able to choose to participate in presentations being given by a who’s who in this space on topics ranging from telephony, service integration, ecommerce, cloud architecture, virtualization, and much more.  Feel free to check out the list yourself (http://www.cloudstockevent.com/sessions).  Best of all, event registration is FREE!

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Great…sounds like a tradeshow.”  Wrong.  What Salesforce has done with this event is truly foreshadowing the next phase in the maturity of the industry.  Cloud service providers to date have been in strong competition to establish superiority in their respective markets.  We have seen applications evolve into platforms, social networking sites evolve into marketing behemoths, and a spree of mergers and acquisitions in this space.  The next frontier is going to be the bundling of technologies to create powerful synergies and truly transformational enterprise solutions.  So why is this event exciting?  Because it is not every day that one gets to be a part of exploring new spaces and pioneering new ground (or more appropriately new clouds).

I am so excited about Cloudstock that I am taking a dozen of our best technical minds at Model Metrics to participate.  Our goal will be to learn, contribute, socialize and savor the moment of history in the making.  I hope to see you there!

Remember When Video Killed The Radio Star?

By now we should recognize the signs of a major shift caused by a new, “disruptive” technology. After all, we have seen it happen so many times before. The only difference is that today the shifts are quick and dramatic, catching off guard anybody that dares to stand flatfooted. So what is causing the tremors this time? Cloud computing! And it is already hitting with a force that is off the scale, especially for organizations that are not looking for it or prefer to live in the “legacy” world of on-premises business computing strategy and applications.

Perhaps “Video Killed The Radio Star” is not the appropriate analogy to communicate a dramatic shift in computing technology, but for some reason that tune keeps playing in my head whenever I think about this evolution in computing. MTV was a dramatic shift that stopped careers for those unwilling to accept it. It opened the door for a new breed of performers that were willing to adapt. Yet it was only the pinnacle of the iceberg for all the technology changes that followed – from CDs replacing cassettes and vinyl, to iTunes and single song downloads.

Cutting edge performers had been putting out music videos since the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, not to mention the entire Monkeys TV show (which drove their albums to the top of the charts!). But it was the new technology of cable television and MTV that was the game changer. Cloud computing is the cable television of IT world. IT directors and departments will either have to grasp and ride the movement of computing to web service providers such as saleforce.com, Amazon Web Services and Google Apps, or find themselves and their employers on the clearance shelf of the business world because they have become irrelevant in the market, just like 8-track tapes.

The newspaper industry has experienced this shift as a result of technology change that helps to illustrate this point. The static newspaper has been driven down by the dynamic web page and email alerts for news. You don’t have to own, staff, and maintain huge printing plants running around the clock in order to sell and deliver the news today. Corporate size is not the advantage in distributing the news as it once had been thanks to the internet. Wireless and handheld access to the Internet has further made the hard copy delivery model a competitive disadvantage. The result has been a proliferation of news and information sites, and a long line of newspaper bankruptcies. The down economy has served to accelerate this phenomenon.  Think about this analogy as it relates to cloud computing. You can read other Model Metrics blogs from our technologists that explain in detail how we are leveraging salesforce.com, Amazon Web Services (the business unit) and Google Apps to create an elastic, powerful, and extremely cost effective new world order of computing.

Google “Amazon Web Services” if you want another perspective. My thoughts here are to sound the alarm. There is a change coming and you need to look up now to “the cloud” to take advantage of this opportunity to achieve competitive advantage, and in some cases survival, before it is too late.

Video killed the radio star…Cloud computing is going to kill traditional IT. Those that look to the cloud will be the new winners.

We have had a lot of great interest in Cloud Loader, so the next question is "How do I start using it?"  Well, here is a simple 5 Step guide to get going with Cloud Loader to start doing integration for $0.10 an hour (or less with a reserved instance).

Step 1 – Sign Up for EC2
 

Step 2 – Sign into the EC2 Management Console

The Console is where you can go to create and manage your EC2 Instances.  Remember these are virtual servers and the console allows you to give them a static IP (Elastic IP), control the Security Group and stop and start your instances.  First off you need to create a new instance of the Cloud Loader AMI. 

Step 3 – Create a Cloud Loader Instance

Click on Instances→ Launch Instance→ Community AMIs and search on “Cloud_Loader” to find the Cloud Loader AMI.  Click the Select button.

After clicking Select you need to specify some specifics about your instance.  You will only need one instance and it can be a “Small” instance which will be fine to run the Cloud Loader.
 

Next click on “Create” next to the Key Pair Name option, enter a name for your key pair and download the key pair.  This will be required to SSH into your Cloud Loader instance.

 
Next you need to pick a Security Group for the instance.  You can use the default one or optionally specify other settings (which ports will be open).  EC2 by default has all ports closed except 22 for SSH.

Last Click “Launch” to launch your instance.  This will take 3-4 minutes to boot and fully launch.

Step 4 – Connect to your Instance

If you are using a PC you will need to use an SSH client such as PUTTy to log into your instance.  Click here for Windows instructions.

If you are using a Mac you can use the native terminal to connect.  Click here for detailed instructions on how to set up your certs and bash profile.

Step 5 – Configure your Instance

(Remember this is built on Apex Data Loader, so look here to learn more about it)

•    After logging in go to the /usr/local/dataloader directory
•    Create an FTP user on the Cloud Loader instance to use for the inbound FTP of data (the .csv file you want to load into Salesforce).
•    Edit the config.properties file with your username and password for SFDC
      Note: You will need to include your security token at the end of your password if you don’t whitelist the Amazon Elastic IP within Salesforce
•    Edit the process-conf.xml file with the data loader processes you want to run
•    Edit the automate-dl script to configure the email address you would like to use to send reports to.
•    Setup a cron to run the automate-dl script (the way you schedule automated processes in UNIX)

Final Notes

Once you have tested this approach it is likely you will want to modify the script or approach to suit your own business need.  With EC2 you can use Cloud Loader as a base AMI and then configure your own AMI based upon it with your own unique additions. 

You may also like to utilize EBS (Elastic Block Storage) with Cloud Loader to have persistent storage of your configuration files, incoming integration files or log files.  We plan to add this functionality in an upcoming release.  If you have any further suggestions for Cloud Loader, please email us at:  support@modelmetrics.com