Playing with LAN

Gamers of all ages have enjoyed video games through the magic of a local area network. This connects a series of computers together, and enables them to share information. Through LAN, players are able to link their games together, and can play multiplayer games battling each other, and even team up. Some of these games come in the form of first person shooters where the players can be a team of S.W.A.T. officers, a military group, secret agents, interstellar soldiers, and the list goes on. A lot of other genres are also present and make great games because of LAN capabilities.

The rise of MMORPG

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games have been on of the more popular type of games lately. These are your usual role-playing games where you control a particular character, start out with menial equipment, and do a lot of quest in order to become stronger and gain money. MMORPGs have taken this even further. Because of the Internet, players are now able to interact with each other in a virtual environment. In the game, players may choose to trade equipment, help each other with quests, battle each other, and fight monsters side-by-side.

Some games of this genre allow the players to have their own professions so that they can earn the currency of the “world” that they are in (it’s usually gold and silver). These games have become so addictive, because there are so many things that you can do in the games. The interactive world that you are playing in can be so big, that traveling from one place to another could take you a long time. Some gamers have been so addicted that there even has been a story of a guy that was divorced by his wife because of his MMORPG addiction. Well, as long as you are a responsible individual then there should be no problem at all with playing these types of games.

Virtual items

People have become so serious when it comes to these MMORPGs, that it has even come to the point of them buying items used inside the game and using real money. Some would spend hundreds of dollars to acquire items, or even strong characters. There are particular websites where you can auction such items. There are some cases where this is outlawed because you don’t actually buy a tangible item.

Computer networking has made the possibilities of gaming endless. There are countless more innovations to come, and who knows what the next trend might be. It’s a great thing that technology such as the Internet and local area networks are able to bring us better entertainment.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

Chatting

Humans are a naturally social species. We always had the need to communicate and you’ll see this through ancient texts, cave paintings by early man, and the development of the telecommunications industry. This is why there are so many websites that offer chat room services. A very popular application has been with instant messaging. People have been using this service to chat with friends, family, and even for business purposes. Some companies even use conference chat on instant messengers for some of their meetings.

Online auction

Some people buy, some people sell, some do both. It’s at auction website where people can purchase hard to find items from other users. What’s great about it is that you can also sell things at these websites as well. There are people that make a lot of money from merely selling items on those sites.

Peer to peer services

People simply love music and ever since peer-to-peer services have been introduced, music has been all around us more than ever. Although these have gone though a legal battle, as record companies and other artists would say that it violates copyright laws. Nowadays, most of the music you can get from the Net has to be paid for (although there are some artists that give out songs or even entire albums for free).

Video streaming

A number of websites now offer video streaming services where users can upload their own videos for public display. A lot of users of these sites have become household names because of the videos they post. A number of entertainment companies saw the potential of these websites, and decided to join the bandwagon themselves. They would create their own user profiles, and release new videos from their artists exclusively on those websites. This has been a great marketing strategy for them.

Online shopping

Shopping has become a whole new experience since online stores have arrived. With online shopping, you no longer have to bust it out at busy malls during Christmas, and you simply have to just move around your mouse and click away. The only downside to it is that you don’t see the physical item before buying it, but buying things through online stores has made it extremely convenient for most occasions. Let’s say you are in California, and you’ve been dying to purchase an item, but it’s only found in London. All you have to do is to type in the name of that item on a search engine, and you will see what online stores have them available and at what price.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

Using Local Area Network

Computer networking has done a lot for the gaming industry. It has allowed endless options for multiplayer game play, and it has become the source of income of a number of businesses. There are a number of shops that are dedicated to LAN gaming, and it has become one of the ways for people to interact. Game fanatics are able to play games together either as a team, as foes, or as battling individuals. These players have a lot of games to choose from; they could be a platoon of marines one day, and a group of traveling fantasy characters on another. The potential of LAN gaming is very big, but another type of computer network seems to take it a bit further.

Gaming Through the Internet

A lot of gaming consoles have chosen to incorporate online play in their systems. This has allowed players from across the globe meet and play games with each other. The trouble with multiplayer games is that you have to find someone to play with, if in case you are bored with the usual A.I. With online gaming, the chances of having someone to play with are very high, because of the millions of players playing online, even on the weirdest hours of the day (different time zones mean primetime all the time). You can even choose to download new games on the Internet instead of having to go to a store to buy one. Some games even provide upgrades that can be downloaded online.

The MMORPG revolution

The acronym “MMORPG” seems to be slowly becoming a household name. It stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game”. These types of games are RPGs in the sense that you play the role of a particular character, start out fresh, develop its abilities through the game, get new gear (weapons, armor, potions, etc.), and finish quests. The difference is that MMORPGs are vast virtual worlds that are inhabited by A.I. characters, and the characters of the players. This means that players all over the world can play at the same time and interact with each other. A lot of these games let players join certain groups such as guilds and battle other groups. Imagine being in a group of 30 players, and battling the characters of other groups.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

Personal Area Network

This type of network connects devices that are close to a person. These devices may include printers, fax machines, scanners, webcams, and even PDAs. There was a time when your computer would be filled with wires and such because of these devices, but the great thing is that there have been so many developments with wireless technology. Nowadays, you can use utilize wireless devices that incorporate infrared and Bluetooth wireless technology. Imagine not having to deal with a mess of wires, while having a number of devices interconnected through your personal area network

Local Area Network

A local area network allows computers in the same area to exchange information. They are usually connected using a LAN cable, and this is often used in offices and computer shops. People that are into video games have also enjoyed this type of computer networking. There are a lot of games where you can use a local area network, and interact with other players in your area.

The Internet

What started out as a means of exchanging information by the military and universities has become a widespread global phenomenon. Most of our activities are now intertwined with the Internet and it has become quite difficult to function in society without it. Nowadays, we send emails, chat, shop, and even have food delivered through the magic of the World Wide Web. It has made the world shrink, and businesses can now do transactions with clients from the other side of the globe. You can even get a college degree from online courses offered by reputable university. The Net has mostly brought convenience to the households of its users and this is one of the reasons why it has become so popular.

Internet tips

There are countless websites that can be found on the Net and it’s important that you double-check the site if you are to purchase an item. You never know if a site is a scam, and may only need your email to fill it with spam email. If you are unsure about a product or service, the Net is also a worthy companion. There are a lot of forums that allow users to discuss certain topics such as politics, shopping, music, and auction websites.

There are a few more types of computer networking such as a wide area network (includes the Internet and Public Switched Telephone Network), Metropolitan Area Network, and wireless networks (such as WLAN and WWLAN). All these networks help us with our daily lives through connecting different devices and making everything more convenient. With all the developments in technology, there’s a chance that every device we own would soon be connected.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

Computer networking and the Internet

Connecting computers or devices to a computer is a discipline called computer networking. For the longest time, computer engineers have been looking for new and innovative ways to create vast networks to for the exchange of data. Soon enough, the world’s largest network was created and this is what we have come to call the Internet. The Net has become so influential, that it has become a part of our daily lives. We can get the news, get the latest tips on fashion, shop, chat, email, and even get a college degree through this vast network of computers. It has also changed the way we get our music.

Getting music online

Ever since the creation of the MP3, it has become easier to transfer a song from one computer to another. We now can get millions of songs from the Net from downloading them from particular websites. This has changed the face of the music industry, and the purveyors of music have been trying to come up with new business models to keep up with the technology.

Digital distribution

It seems as if digital distribution is slowly becoming the way artists and labels spread their music to the public. You can now download a single song and pay for it, instead of having to purchase the entire album.

Free MP3 Downloads

Artists and labels seem to have come up with a good marketing strategy by giving out free songs. This way, the consumer gets an idea of what an album may sound like, and might be interested in buying the entire album in the process. For example, the American Industrial Metal group called the “Nine Inch Nails” released their album “The Slip” exclusively on the Internet absolutely free. All fans had to do was visit their website and download the album. This was actually a marketing strategy and soon enough, they released a limited edition CD.

Peer to peer

Another example of music being distributed through computer networking is by peer-to-peer services or file sharing. This enables users of a particular network to share files with each other. This has gone through a lot of legal battles, because record labels have accused file sharing to be in violation of copyright laws. It has become illegal to engage in file sharing in a lot of countries, and others have different laws regarding it.

So thanks to computer networking, music is now more plentiful than ever. It is all around us, and all we have to do is use a mouse and click away to get new songs. We all may not know what the future of the music industry could be, but one thing’s for sure; computer networking will help steer the way of the distribution of music.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

Computer networking: personal area network

This type of computer networking includes devices such as scanners, printers, and webcams. These are all devices that are connected to your own computer, and are controlled by it. Because of the number of devices that you can connect to your computer, it has become difficult to manage all the wires that are flying around. It’s great that there have been a lot of advances in wireless technology. This saves a lot of space, and the hassles of wires as well. A lot of devices now have infrared and Bluetooth technology so that you are no longer burdened by tangling wires.

Computer networking: local area network

A local area network (LAN) is a number of computers that are connected within the vicinity (room, office, building, house, etc.). They are connected through the use of a LAN cable and are able to exchange information with each other. An example of this is the security system of a building. For example, a museum could have a number of security cameras, security sensors, alarms, and monitors that are all connected into one network.

Another great use for LAN is for gaming. A lot of gaming enthusiasts have been raving about multiplayer games through LAN. This way, they are able to play with a number of players, in the same game, at the same time. This has created a whole new experience with gamers because they are able to interact with 20 to even 50 players at a time. It has become an increasingly social activity because they are no longer limited to playing by himself or herself or with one other player.

Computer networking: the Internet

The Internet is said to be the largest network in the world. It is a collection of networks that are connected together. It is spelled with the capital case “I” to distinguish it from other inter-networks such as intranet and extranet. It has become a part of everyday society and so many things can be done through this phenomenon. It all started out as a program by the military so that they are able to exchange information with each other.

It wouldn’t be too long until keen eyed businessmen saw it’s potential and brought it to the everyday consumer. This is how Internet service providers were formed. Now, you can have food delivered, go shopping, find a mate, watch movies, participate in fantasy basketball leagues, and download music through the Internet.

Computer networking has really created a lot of opportunities for other industries to flourish. Life has definitely become easier because of computers, and their connection with each other. With each development in computer networking, higher productivity comes as a positive result.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

One great example of a wide area network is the champion of all networks, the Internet. It is the biggest network in the world, and billions of data (maybe even trillions) is being transferred everyday. So much information is exchanged and it has practically changed the way we live our lives.

Education online

The usual way to get your education is to enroll in a school, and go to your classes on a fixed schedule. Nowadays, we can actually get a college and master’s degree through the Internet. A lot of reputable universities now offer their courses online because they understand how hard it is for some students to juggle a job and their schooling. Depending on the program, you can have your own schedule, and usually you’d just have to submit work on or before a particular deadline. At times, you’d have real time chatting with you professor and “classmates”, sometimes even with a webcam. What’s great about this is that you no longer have to go through the hassle of commuting. The good news is that companies have been accepting a lot of applicants with this sort of education but there are still some that are overly traditional.

Video games galore

What started out as simple 2 dimension games is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and has spawned a new way of social interaction. Because of the Internet, gamers are now able to interact with people from across the globe, and play the same game at the same time. This is great because video games were once viewed as an anti-social activity. This is no longer true and now gamers not only get to play the game together, but are able to chat and make new friends as well. Internet gaming has also created a new gaming genre called “massively multiplayer online role-playing games” or MMORPGs. This is a supercharged type of RPG where thousands of players get to play together in a particular game at the same time.

Social Networking

A lot of websites nowadays allow people to interact and socialize with each other with their different tools and services. Some of them are focused on dating, where users can create their own profile and indicate their particular tastes. Other websites are dedicated to people uploading pictures and sharing them with other users as well. This has been a great way of connecting with long lost friends, and making new ones as well.

It’s great that computer networking has helped in bringing us the Internet. With it, life has become more convenient, and we can learn so many new things everyday just by connecting to it. With the Internet, there are certainly more new things to come.

This article was brought to you by Mighty Gadget Blog and Comm Store Networking Hardware

Is your current ERP system is lacking in functionality? Does it limit your ability to respond quickly to customers’ requests? Where are you placed in comparison with your competitors, and does your existing system help you or hinder you in meeting industry best practice or benchmarks? Are you simply unhappy with your current supplier and their ability to respond to your requirements, let alone those of your customers?

Whatever the case, you are unlikely to stand alone in these areas - many companies have faced similar issues with their ERP systems, so no user is likely to be unique. There are common drivers you can consider in your deliberations over a replacement ERP system, and these include the measures you use to chart the success of your technology investment, the major issues you need to address and the consideration of how much pain you are willing to put up with to achieve your ultimate goal.

According to Aberdeen Group’s 2007 ERP in Manufacturing Benchmark Report, 328 companies out of 1245 companies surveyed were planning to replace their current ERP systems at one or more locations within the next three years. In other words, at any one time, a quarter of companies are looking to replace their existing ERP systems.

In the past, enterprise resource planning has garnered a mixed reputation. While there are fundamental reasons and obvious benefits for going down the ERP path, many have feared - rightly or wrongly - that ERP entailed major organisational disruption if not re-engineering, at high cost and high risk.

Aberdeen Group reports (”When Replacing ERP - Size Matters”, June 2007) the primary driver for large companies is consolidation and rationalisation strategies. An underlying issue, considering the proliferation of ERP and other enterprise applications, is the need for integration. For mid-sized and small companies, on the other hand, the concerns are more with gaining functionality and integration. These sized firms are also more heavily concerned with updating their outdated user interfaces, an important factor in raising employee productivity and efficiencies.

Other issues include requirements of expansion, pressure from trading partners, compliance with regulation and even disastrous events, but overall companies looking at ERP implementations are primarily seeking “low cost options that minimise risk”.

Risk and cost in combination imply a concern for return on investment, but Aberdeen’s surveys show that fewer than 25 per cent of respondents consistently estimate ROI to cost estimate ERP projects, and 20 per cent or less measure the actual post-implementation costs and gains to calculate ROI.

In contrast, “best in class companies are on average 88 per cent more likely to estimate ROI before initiating projects and are 130 per cent more likely to measure ROI after project completion. As a result, these best performing companies produce, on average, 93 per cent more improvement across a variety of metrics such as cost reductions, schedule performance, headcount reduction or redeployment and quality improvements.”

The reality is that minimising risk with an ERP implementation is an achievable result and, by minimising risk, costs should also be kept under control. By following a formal process of charting the reasons for your implementation, assessing the various offerings from your current supplier and, importantly, from suppliers who might be new to you, and checking off against the various criteria for selection, an ERP implementation need not be a nightmare; in fact, it could prove to be the instigator of quantifiable benefits for all concerned.

Specific success markers

Getting down to brass tacks, there are a number of key aspects of an ERP system that need to be addressed, both prior to any decision to move to such a system and certainly as part of selection criteria. Near the top of the list is total cost of ownership, which incorporates:

Software and implementation costs;

Costs associated with any interfaces or system modifications;

All costs associated with system communications;

Costs associated with employing additional or specialised staff; and

Annual costs for system upgrades and helpline support.

Other specific areas of consideration that will impact on the success or otherwise of your ERP program include:

Functionality;

Ease of use;

Integration capabilities;

Ease and speed of implementation;

Ability to tailor functionality without programming; and

Software licence price.

Added to this, or overarching these considerations, is return on investment. Whether and how quickly you achieve this is dependent on many factors, not least the rigour and realism applied to the assessment of current circumstances and the contribution made by the ERP system as outlined in initial business cases. An article as far back as the European Journal of Information Systems in 1996 reported on a survey of the 200 largest UK companies that found that 47 per cent openly admitted to overstating the benefits to get approval for IT investments.

But wishful thinking and creative accounting aside, these are all relevant considerations. (And in future articles, covering total cost of ownership, selection criteria, best and worst practices, and maximising ROI, we will look at them in more detail.) But it should be noted that the level and mix of these factors and how successfully they are achieved is specific to individual sets of circumstances, including size and type of organisation, intended purpose, individual business priorities and, of course, budget.

The big picture

The overriding consideration that affects all organisations, large or small, regardless of industry sector or even of budget, is alignment with the business objectives of your organisation.

Jerry Luftman and Rajkumar Kempaiah of the Stevens Institute of Technology suggest (”An update on business-IT alignment”, September 2007) that the issue of achieving IT-business alignment was first documented in the late 1970s and was in the top 10 IT management issues from 1980 through 1994, as reported by the Society for Information Management. Since 1994 it has consistently been issue #1 or #2.

Nonetheless, it has proved to be an elusive target. Luftman and Kempaiah suggest a number of reasons for this, including that, while IT might be aligned with the business, business is rarely aligned with IT. They also add that organisations have often looked for a ’silver bullet’, whether technological solution or improved communications, as well as improved governance to identify and prioritise projects, resources and risks. Another reason they suggest for missing the alignment target has been the lack of an effective tool to gauge the maturity of IT-business alignment.

On this last point, they suggest a set of six components that indicate (if not mandate) alignment maturity: Communications - exchange of ideas, knowledge and information between IT and business; Value - balanced measurements to demonstrate the contributions of information technology and the IT organisation in terms that both business and IT understand;

Governance - who has authority to make IT decisions and set IT priorities;

Partnership - including IT’s role in defining business strategies, the degree of trust and how each perceives the other’s contribution;

Scope and architecture - IT’s provision of flexible infrastructure, evaluation of emerging technologies, driving business process change, and delivery of customised solutions internally and externally; and

Skills - HR practices of hiring and retention, encouragement of innovation, developing individuals’ skills, and the organisation’s readiness for change, capability to learn and ability to leverage new ideas.

Interestingly, they say that “business executives score alignment maturity higher than IT executives”. In other words, it is the IT side of the business that feels most that alignment is not being achieved. Whether your organisation complies with these suggestions - and it should be added that sometimes these factors can be seen as reflections of alignment maturity as opposed to stepping-stones for achieving that heightened state - any IT implementation, especially one as significant as ERP, should keep all of these factors top of mind.

Supply chain criteria

Many ERP systems are implemented as part of the supply chain process of an organisation. Here, again, the above success markers are relevant, but Tim Payne of Gartner (”Supply chain and IT strategies must align around five key themes”, August 2007) suggests that “enterprises should focus on five technology areas - business process agility, data management, analytics and performance management, collaboration, and sensory networks - as the sources of technology-enabled supply chain innovation”.

Payne says “focusing on these technology areas will give the IT organisation more credibility as an ongoing participant in the dialogue [with the supply Key No 1 - Charting the course of success for your technology investment

Is your current ERP system is lacking in functionality? Does it limit your ability to respond quickly to customers' requests? Where are you placed in comparison with your competitors, and does your existing system help you or hinder you in meeting industry best practice or benchmarks? Are you simply unhappy with your current supplier and their ability to respond to your requirements, let alone those of your customers?

Whatever the case, you are unlikely to stand alone in these areas - many companies have faced similar issues with their ERP systems, so no user is likely to be unique. There are common drivers you can consider in your deliberations over a replacement ERP system, and these include the measures you use to chart the success of your technology investment, the major issues you need to address and the consideration of how much pain you are willing to put up with to achieve your ultimate goal.

According to Aberdeen Group's 2007 ERP in Manufacturing Benchmark Report, 328 companies out of 1245 companies surveyed were planning to replace their current ERP systems at one or more locations within the next three years. In other words, at any one time, a quarter of companies are looking to replace their existing ERP systems.

In the past, enterprise resource planning has garnered a mixed reputation. While there are fundamental reasons and obvious benefits for going down the ERP path, many have feared - rightly or wrongly - that ERP entailed major organisational disruption if not re-engineering, at high cost and high risk.

Aberdeen Group reports ("When Replacing ERP - Size Matters", June 2007) the primary driver for large companies is consolidation and rationalisation strategies. An underlying issue, considering the proliferation of ERP and other enterprise applications, is the need for integration. For mid-sized and small companies, on the other hand, the concerns are more with gaining functionality and integration. These sized firms are also more heavily concerned with updating their outdated user interfaces, an important factor in raising employee productivity and efficiencies.

Other issues include requirements of expansion, pressure from trading partners, compliance with regulation and even disastrous events, but overall companies looking at ERP implementations are primarily seeking "low cost options that minimise risk".

Risk and cost in combination imply a concern for return on investment, but Aberdeen's surveys show that fewer than 25 per cent of respondents consistently estimate ROI to cost estimate ERP projects, and 20 per cent or less measure the actual post-implementation costs and gains to calculate ROI.

In contrast, "best in class companies are on average 88 per cent more likely to estimate ROI before initiating projects and are 130 per cent more likely to measure ROI after project completion. As a result, these best performing companies produce, on average, 93 per cent more improvement across a variety of metrics such as cost reductions, schedule performance, headcount reduction or redeployment and quality improvements."

The reality is that minimising risk with an ERP implementation is an achievable result and, by minimising risk, costs should also be kept under control. By following a formal process of charting the reasons for your implementation, assessing the various offerings from your current supplier and, importantly, from suppliers who might be new to you, and checking off against the various criteria for selection, an ERP implementation need not be a nightmare; in fact, it could prove to be the instigator of quantifiable benefits for all concerned.

Specific success markers

Getting down to brass tacks, there are a number of key aspects of an ERP system that need to be addressed, both prior to any decision to move to such a system and certainly as part of selection criteria. Near the top of the list is total cost of ownership, which incorporates:

Software and implementation costs;

Costs associated with any interfaces or system modifications;

All costs associated with system communications;

Costs associated with employing additional or specialised staff; and

Annual costs for system upgrades and helpline support.

Other specific areas of consideration that will impact on the success or otherwise of your ERP program include:

Functionality;

Ease of use;

Integration capabilities;

Ease and speed of implementation;

Ability to tailor functionality without programming; and

Software licence price.

Added to this, or overarching these considerations, is return on investment. Whether and how quickly you achieve this is dependent on many factors, not least the rigour and realism applied to the assessment of current circumstances and the contribution made by the ERP system as outlined in initial business cases. An article as far back as the European Journal of Information Systems in 1996 reported on a survey of the 200 largest UK companies that found that 47 per cent openly admitted to overstating the benefits to get approval for IT investments.

But wishful thinking and creative accounting aside, these are all relevant considerations. (And in future articles, covering total cost of ownership, selection criteria, best and worst practices, and maximising ROI, we will look at them in more detail.) But it should be noted that the level and mix of these factors and how successfully they are achieved is specific to individual sets of circumstances, including size and type of organisation, intended purpose, individual business priorities and, of course, budget.

The big picture

The overriding consideration that affects all organisations, large or small, regardless of industry sector or even of budget, is alignment with the business objectives of your organisation.

Jerry Luftman and Rajkumar Kempaiah of the Stevens Institute of Technology suggest ("An update on business-IT alignment", September 2007) that the issue of achieving IT-business alignment was first documented in the late 1970s and was in the top 10 IT management issues from 1980 through 1994, as reported by the Society for Information Management. Since 1994 it has consistently been issue #1 or #2.

Nonetheless, it has proved to be an elusive target. Luftman and Kempaiah suggest a number of reasons for this, including that, while IT might be aligned with the business, business is rarely aligned with IT. They also add that organisations have often looked for a 'silver bullet', whether technological solution or improved communications, as well as improved governance to identify and prioritise projects, resources and risks. Another reason they suggest for missing the alignment target has been the lack of an effective tool to gauge the maturity of IT-business alignment.

On this last point, they suggest a set of six components that indicate (if not mandate) alignment maturity: Communications - exchange of ideas, knowledge and information between IT and business; Value - balanced measurements to demonstrate the contributions of information technology and the IT organisation in terms that both business and IT understand;

Governance - who has authority to make IT decisions and set IT priorities;

Partnership - including IT's role in defining business strategies, the degree of trust and how each perceives the other's contribution;

Scope and architecture - IT's provision of flexible infrastructure, evaluation of emerging technologies, driving business process change, and delivery of customised solutions internally and externally; and

Skills - HR practices of hiring and retention, encouragement of innovation, developing individuals' skills, and the organisation's readiness for change, capability to learn and ability to leverage new ideas.

Interestingly, they say that "business executives score alignment maturity higher than IT executives". In other words, it is the IT side of the business that feels most that alignment is not being achieved. Whether your organisation complies with these suggestions - and it should be added that sometimes these factors can be seen as reflections of alignment maturity as opposed to stepping-stones for achieving that heightened state - any IT implementation, especially one as significant as ERP, should keep all of these factors top of mind.

Supply chain criteria

Many ERP systems are implemented as part of the supply chain process of an organisation. Here, again, the above success markers are relevant, but Tim Payne of Gartner ("Supply chain and IT strategies must align around five key themes", August 2007) suggests that "enterprises should focus on five technology areas - business process agility, data management, analytics and performance management, collaboration, and sensory networks - as the sources of technology-enabled supply chain innovation".

Payne says "focusing on these technology areas will give the IT organisation more credibility as an ongoing participant in the dialogue [with the supply chain organisation]“. He goes on to recommend:

Periodic demonstrations of new technology capabilities, coupled with the co-development of supply chain initiatives, as new capabilities arise in these areas;

Developing a plan for incorporating new infrastructure components that are needed to support innovation areas; and

Evaluating the supply chain IT strategies and SCM vendor-sourcing criteria with the supply chain organisation for conformance and alignment based on the five key themes and related discussions, adjusting IT and sourcing strategies to address perceived gaps.

All well and good. But, despite the best planning and setting of firm criteria, there is always the issue of compromise - that such an important and far-reaching a system as an ERP will not perfectly match your organisational set-up. The Aberdeen report suggests that “if your business processes were developed over time - in an unstructured way - the possibility exists that no ERP system will match exactly. Search out ERP solution providers with customers in your industry, evaluate the fit, and balance the need to adapt your business processes to conform with the software against aligning the software to your processes. While some customisation of software may be necessary, (only 11 per cent of respondents have zero customisation) it adds expense and effort to the initial implementation, and the complexity of future upgrades.”

In other words, if you bend a little to accommodate the ERP, while still maintaining your markers of success, you will find that the ultimate payback is a system that works well with an organisation in sync with itself.

It is important overall, therefore, to look at all options, and that includes a range of suppliers, to assess the issues, drivers and pain points that you may have been facing in the past, and that you might be looking to deal with or, hopefully, avoid in the future to ensure the best fit for your organisation.

The next article in this series will look at “Managing the total cost of ownership - What you need to know”.

IBS Australia develops ERP solutions, ERP Systems and business management supply chain software for inventory management systems, manufacturing ERP software, business intelligence systems and integration ERP software.

Peter Clarke will present on ERP Systems at the Gartner 2008 ITxpo, 11-14 November to be held in Sydney, Australia

References:

•Jutras, C., and Barnett, R., “The total cost of ERP ownership in large companies”, Aberdeen Group, July 2008

•Jutras, C., and Dalle Tezze, H., “When replacing ERP – size matters”, Aberdeen Group, June 2007

•Jutras, C., Trost, J., and Dalle Tezze, H., “Taking the ERP plunge for the first time”, July 2007

•IBS, “5 things you should know about total cost of ownership (TCO) for ERP systems”, IBS Australia, March 2008

•IBS, “6 essential considerations when selecting an ERP system”, IBS Australia, February 2008

•Luftman, J., and Kempaiah, R., “An update on business-IT alignment: ‘A line’ has been drawn”, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol 6 No 3, September 2007

•Payne, T., “Supply chain and IT strategies must align around five key themes”, Gartner Research, August 2007

•Ward, J., Daniel, E., and Peppard, J., “Building better business cases for IT investments”, MIS Quarterly Executive, Vol 7 No 1, March 2008

•Ward, J., Taylor, P., and Bond, P., “Evaluation and realization of IS/IT benefits: an empirical study of current practice”, European Journal of Information Systems (4), 1996, pp 214-225 (as cited in Ward et al, 2008).

With more than 20 years of experience Peter Clarke has led ERP and Business Management Supply Chain projects for The Laminex Group, Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Miele and Hino. To view his articles, meet Peter or to join his presentation at Gartner ITExpo visit Supply Chain Secrets

The screen size of an LCD TV varies between 13-46 inches and it is about 2 inches deep in thickness. They are very light and so extremely easy to install. This indicates that they require very little space and come with a very sleek look. In fact, they can very well be compared to the fragile beauty of a woman!

Next is the consideration of the `burn-in` factor. LCD TVs are not susceptible to `ghosting` which results due to premature dying out of the pixels. The uniquely twisted crystals do not allow `burn-in` or `ghosting` to happen.

There has been a marked improvement in the refresh rate or response time of LCD TVs. Previously, the images tended to lag behind and stay on screen for a period of time that was much more than necessary. Recent technological advances have put all that behind. Usually, the response time varies with the size and quality of the LCD TVs.

The contrast ratio in the more advanced LCD TVs is 1000:1. The contrast ratio is measured by the ratio between the brightest white to the darkest black. The scenario has improved here too. Research is on to push the ratio well past the 1000:1 mark.

Sixty-thousands hours is the average life span of an LCD TV. So at an average viewing of 8 hours a day, an LCD TV should last for about 20 years. The life span of an LCD TV is dependent on the back-light. Since it uses a liquid crystal, there is nothing else which can wear out other than the back-light. Technology has found a way around this problem by creating replaceable back-lights as well.

Power consumption, which is perhaps a very important aspect, has a definite advantage in case of LCD TVs. LCD TVs utilize fluorescent back-lighting and so power consumption is low and steady.

LCD TVs are unaffected by changes in air pressure. This makes it a favorite among air travelers. The performance is consistent and the picture flawless, regardless of the altitude of the airplane.

There is much talk about mercury being used for the fluorescent lighting. But, the manufacturers will vouch-safe for the fact that a nominal amount of mercury is used. This mercury does not come in contact with the viewer and so is entirely harmless.

Some manufacturers are trying to incorporate picture-in-picture feature in their monitors. This feature enables a viewer to see one program on the full TV screen while a few other programs can run in small windows in it. The viewer gets the added advantage to watch a particular program, while waiting for the intermittent advertisements to end in another window.

Experiments are on to extend color reproductions in LCD TVs. The idea is to use two back-lights with slightly differing intensities of colors in consecutive frames. This will enable the viewer to experience a better and a more vivid picture using a more precise color variation.

An LCD TV is a whole new experience, the flavor of which can be savored only by purchasing one. The advantages are manifold and the experience is just exotic. Indulging in one is a worthy bargain.

You can have access to portuguese articles about LCD TVs from page LCD_TV Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for www.polomercantil.com.br

All notebook computers open like a book to reveal a 12“ to 20“ screen and a keyboard at the base with a touchpad. This touchpad is also known as a track pad which acts as a mouse. A notebook computer`s hardware is physically smaller in size and usually less powerful than a desktop. Most notebooks can do everything a desktop can these days, right from playing CD`s, games, music, run office applications to surfing the web.

With most notebooks having several built-in USB ports, any peripheral can be connected to a laptop including printers, mp3 players, and external hard drives. Notebooks give the user the flexibility to work wherever they want, whether at home, at the beach or in an airplane. Wireless connectivity to the internet is one of the best features of notebook computers.

Even before desktops went wireless, people used their wireless connections with their laptop to surf the web anywhere they wanted. Notebooks opened up an altogether new world with their mobile technology. Businessmen could fly across the country and keep their files with them and access them from their personal notebooks whenever required. The notebook also found its use in the campuses around the world for students to take down notes, look up for resources and research topics online.

Notebook computers range in price from around $500 to $3000 depending on the power of the CPU, the amount of memory one needs, the audio and video features selected as well as the peripherals chosen. Another important determinant for the price of a notebook is its weight. Because the primary use of a notebook is its mobile computing, a light weight unit is important to many people. Notebooks range from 3 to 7 lbs in weight and one has to pay more for a lighter computer.

When you own a laptop, you are almost certainly going to need a notebook computer accessory. There are all sorts of notebook peripherals that help make portable computing easier and more convenient. If you are looking for a cheap notebook computer, there are a few issues you need to be aware of so that you do not skimp on quality.

Computers have become so commonplace in our lives that we sometimes forget that they are intricate pieces of technology that demand care. And notebook computers are no exception. You may also wish to own a used notebook computer or a refurbished notebook computer that has been cleaned, fixed, upgraded and is ready for reuse.

Refurbished notebooks are popular because they are a less expensive way of owning a notebook. The first commercially available laptop notebook computer was in 1981. It was heavy and slow. But it was also the first step in computer technology. Then in 1995, Microsoft launched Windows 95 which enabled laptop computers to contain a universal processor, the Intel Pentium. Since that time there have been some noteworthy innovations that propelled the notebook to reach millions of homes and offices worldwide.

The best budget notebook is what every consumer wants when looking for a nice portable computer. Notebook computers are perhaps the best type of computers that a person can buy and is the ultimate in portability. Notebooks are a favorite in computing. Because just as the cell phone has almost replaced the home phone, the notebook computer can do everything a desktop can.

So many people like to have a notebook exclusively, only because it gives them the flexibility to use it in bed at night, at their desk at work, or in a meeting halfway across the globe!

You can have access to portuguese articles about notebooks from page www.polomercantil.com.br/notebook.php Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for www.polomercantil.com.br