Newsletter Articles

Consultant's View Articles

Consultant's View, 2007

Jan 2007
Security from the First
Given enough time, energy, and motivation, any computer system can be compromised
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Wisdom of Crowds
Places like HP Labs, Yahoo Research, Microsoft, and other companies are trying to use the "wisdom of crowds" to break through the problems that management has with new ideas. more

Feb 2007
SOA and Mashups
Mashups are the small companies' response to the large companies putting their networks on the web.
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What Makes Software So Expensive?
In the payment processing field there are two different views of software pricing. more

Mar 2007
The Long Tail
The Long Tail is about how when costs dramatically drop, companies gain the ability to offer more products.
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Its 3 AM, do you know where your laptops are?
The dogs may be barking outside your window, but that doesn’t mean that your data is safe. more

May 2007
The Heroic Journey
The Journey a Hero takes can be a metaphor for how to evaluate a company strategy.
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People Types
Do you have the right mix of Heroes, Mavericks, 9-5er's, and Dissidents? more

June 2007
7 Habits of Highly Effective Technology Leaders
Do you know what you can do to be more effective as a technology leaders?
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Is Bigger Better?
Do all the bank mergers actually make things better? more

July 2007
Making a Mess
It turns out that there are different kinds of messes and different ways to deal with them.
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August 2007
Strategy for Messes
The first step is the acceptance that the mess is there.
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Gold Collar Workers
These are top performers doing non-repetitive work in complex environments more

September 2007
Messes require Tremendous Skill
The math of messes is nearly worthless in forcasting when they will occur.
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October 2007
Creep or Leap
There are times when the market calls for a "bet the company" leap.
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When to Innovate?
At the wrong time or in the wrong area, innovation can destroy a company. more

November 2007
Too Good?
We can get stuck thinking that what we are doing is the only way.
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Ideas and Trade
What do we need to keep in mind when facing the challenges of competition? more

Consultant's View, 2006

Jan 2006
Virtue #3. ORDER:
When most of us read the maxim for Benjamin Franklin's 3rd virtue, we think about keeping things organized and planned. Yet, that may not be the real order needed today.
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ISO 9000
ISO 9000 is often over sold to top management. more

Mar 2006
FASTER PAY
Card companies are now shipping their new RFID cards.
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The Treasury Department recently issued a warning about people using prepaid phone cards to launder money. more

Apr 2006
Agile Development
While many organizations look to ISO 9000 compliance, others search for a means to define the free-wheeling ways of most developers.
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Expert's Forecast
But the latest research shows that the "experts" are no more likely to be accurate than anyone else. more

May 2006
Bubbles Booms Bursts and Busts!
One thing to note: a "bust" seems to take about as long as its related "boom."
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July 2006
IP Terminals
A lot of media attention is being paid to IP terminals, but if you want to offer an IP based service there is more to the story.
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Sept 2006
IP Terminals on the Cheap
There are ways to get an IP capable terminal other than purchasing a high end system
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The IP hook
But what is the real market for IP terminals? They cost as much or more than a PC, so why do they exist? What's the hook?
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Oct 2006
What Else?
More and more credit and debit transactions are moving away from the stand alone terminal.
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Cheap and Simple
In Strategy and Business, there was an article on a bunch of small companies in India that are trying to change the way projects are handled.
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Nov 2006
Serving Virtual Terminals
Virtual Terminals have a lot of different technologies behind them, but don't choose a server based on "the best technology".
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Breaking the web
They don't try to bring your server down; rather, they borrow your software or harvest your customers' information– it's much more profitable.
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Consultant's View, 2005

Jan 2005
Greatness in a Tough Economy

"Great companies may be lean, but they are never mean. Sustaining a high level of human energy within an organization requires a noble purpose and fundamental fairness". says Len Berry.
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Feb 2005
Is Your Company Innovative?
To compete on a global scale, we have to be more innovative than our competition. The question is, "How competitive is our competition?" Very.
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Mar 2005
Do You Really Want That?
Sometimes, buying software is harmful to your business.
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Apr 2005
A sensible idea becomes a management fad when it becomes the answer to any and all problems. Outsourcing–a valid tool–has become a management fad. Results are starting to come in from the last few years’ outsourcing. They are not pretty.
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May 2005
Are you sincere in your loyalty program or are you faking it?
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June 2005
Robots:
The great science fiction writer, Isaac Asimov, wrote a series of novels where he coined The Three Laws of Robotics.
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August 2005
Look Ahead
Have you been wondering where payment terminals are headed in the future?
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October 2005
40 million Card Numbers Hacked
Jim Settle, former head of the FBI Computer Crime squad, said about all the efforts on computer security... "It won't work, duh!"
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Consultant's View, 2004

Feb 2004
New Year - New Opportunities
Are you lucky? Many people look for luck.
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March 2004
Not available

April 2004
Connecting terminals to Web Services
Web What’s? Web Services. The World Wide Web keeps on changing.
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May 2004
Connecting What to My Terminal?
As the Omni 3750 continues to be the terminal of choice, more and more people are starting to use it for things other than
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June 2004
Golf Memberships - from paper to electronic
The paper certificates were just not working. Yes, people were buying and using them
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July 2004
300 Baud - Or not 300 Baud
When is 300 baud not 300 baud and 1200 baud not 1200 baud? When we are talking about modems.
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Sept 2004
What's Next? Phone Viruses
Most of us have install antivirus protection on our computers to catch all the viruses
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Oct 2004
Do you want flies with that?
During the layoffs in the last few years, I've heard several people say that the jobs at the fast food restaurants are safe. Guess again.
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Nov 2004
Retail Future Cloudy
Dallas doesn't have mountains to attract people, nor a shoreline, nor any other major attractions. People come to Dallas to shop.
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Dec 2004
Gift Cards Are a People Business
Nearly every merchant has heard that gift cards help them get more business. Now the consumer has gotten the message and gift cards are one of the most common gifts purchased. So, the merchants will want to be offering them; we'll sell them add on services, and we will get rich on the extra transactions, right? Not so fast.
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