From the category archives:

Business

The Vendor/Client Relationship

by Joey deVilla on December 23, 2009

How’d I miss this video? At TechDays Winnipeg, Dylan Smith of ANVIL Digital (and speaker in the “Fundamentals” track), showed me this it’s-funny-because-it’s-true video that’s been around since May that looks at the vexing expectations that clients have of vendors in IT and the creative industries:

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

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Top 25 Companies in 1999/2009 and Consumerization

by Joey deVilla on December 22, 2009

As the decade draws to a close, you’re likely to see more and more articles and charts with a “decade in review” theme. Since technology is both my passion and the way I pay the rent, as well as an amorphous, unpredictable beast, I make note of those that look at changes in the field.

One that caught my eye is this chart from the Wall Street Journal comparing the top companies in 1999 against the top companies of 2009 (click it to see the full size version, a 500K PDF):

top comapnies 1999-2009

Tech companies made the majority of the top 25 in 1999; in 2009, energy and finance companies were the leaders. Other changes that took place over the decade include:

  • Only 8 of the top 25 companies in 1999 were in the top 25 in 2009:

Tech companies (shown in dark blue) that were in the top 25 in 1999 (left side of the chart):

  • AT&T Corp.
  • AT&T Inc.
  • Cisco
  • Deutsche Telekom
  • IBM
  • Intel
  • Lucent
  • Microsoft
  • Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
  • Nokia
  • NTT DoCoMo
  • Oracle
  • Worldcom

Tech companies (shown in dark blue) that were in the top 25 in 2009 (right side of the chart):

  • Apple
  • AT&T Inc.
  • China Mobile
  • Google
  • IBM
  • Microsoft

Companies that were also in the top 25 in 1999 are shown in bold italic.

  • The total market cap of the top 25 in 2009 is 20% less than the total market cap of the top 25 in 1999.
  • There were no Chinese companies in the top 25 in 1999; there are 4 in 2009.
  • In 1999, there were 6 CEOs under 55 in the top 25; in 2009, there are 13.
  • In 1999, there were 7 CEOs in the top 25 who were not American, in 2009, there are 11.
  • In both 1999 and 2009, all the CEOs in the top 25 are men.

NYU professor William Easterly, in his article at the Aidwatch blog, writes that the changes between 1999 and 2009 suggest that this is more evidence of consumerization and that the “consumer” is king (I don’t like the term but can’t find a satisfactory substitute; I agree with Jerry Michalski – it makes us sound like “living gullets whose only purpose is to gulp down products and crap out cash). “The consumer,” he writes, “wants iPhones in their Xmas stocking and not whatever Worldcom had been pretending to be producing.”

The bringing of technology to consumer markets before business markets means a number of things:

  • The generation known as "millennials," who are entering the workplace, are more likely to use the apps, devices and technology they like, and not those recommended or mandated by their company. This means that user experience is more important than ever. While company diktat once determined the technology that people used, the ready availability of technology and the democratization of the workplace has given more power to the individual.
  • The ubiquitous connectivity that drives consumerization means suggests that the web, web services and web-based interfaces will become more prevalent. It also means that the time of the disconnected application is drawing to a close, or as I like to say, “No app is an island”.
  • In some ways, it’s the 1980s all over again: a mish-mash of various types of technologies, many brought in the back door by employees (in the beginning, PCs at the workplace were brought in by early-adopter employees), which means that interoperability will provide many challenges – and opportunities.
  • The technology mix – and the ownership mix – means that security will also be a challenge.

It’s food for thought as you make your personal and career tech plans for 2010.

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

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I have no idea if WIND Mobile is going to be able to deliver what they promise – a mobile phone company that listens to its customers and provides better service than the sad players in the Canadian mobile phone oligarchy – but they’ve got the right ideas and some rather funny videos that perfectly illustrate what the Canadian mobile customer has to contend with.

What if Toronto’s hot dog vendors had a pricing model like Canadian mobile phone companies? Buying a hot dog would be like this:

Canada is the only country in the world where mobile companies lock you into three-year contracts for mobile service, and this situation is illustrated in the video titled Bike Lock:

I always look at the service packages offered by U.S. mobile companies with envy. Here, the mobile companies love nickel-and-diming you:

WIND is a new entrant into the Canadian mobile phone market and a branch of Globalive Communications, who already have a presence in Canada in the form of Yak Communications, an alternative phone and internet provider. They seem to be taking a very “social media” approach to their marketing, what with the “viral” YouTube videos and a “conversational” website in which readers are encourage to actively participate in online discussions.

They look like an interesting company to watch, and hey, if they can get me a better deal than Rogers, I’ll switch.

Recommended Reading

Tom Purves has been one of voices leading the battle cry against Canadian mobile companies for the past couple of years. Back in 2007 at DemoCamp 17, he gave what I consider to be the best ignite presentation ever given at a Toronto DemoCamp, The State of Wireless in Canada Sucks. Here’s the slide deck from that presentation:

He recently revised his presentation for 2009 when he presented it at the FITC mobile conference in September, which mentions WIND mobile:

This article also appears in The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century.

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bruce johnson 1

This morning’s sessions in TechDays’ Developing for the Microsoft-Based Platform focuses on both the ASP.NET MVC web app framework and recommended object-oriented programming practices, namely the Model-View-Controller pattern with Colin Bowern’s presentation earlier this morning and now (at the time of this writing) the SOLID principles in Bruce Johnson’s session, SOLIDify Your ASP.NET MVC Applications.

Assless Chaps + Twitter = Business Opportunity

You might remember Bruce from the “Assless Chaps” story. The story can be summarized in the three tweets shown below.

First came Bruce’s response to my article about CodeCamp back in April, in which I forgot to mention the session he was doing:

lacanuck_tweet_1

I tweeted him back and then decided to throw in a jokey reply:

accordionguy_tweet_1

My thinking was: Hey, this is a conference of Microsoft developers! Yes, they’re a bright and talented bunch, and I like them, but they’re an older, corporate, more buttoned-down crowd. They’d never go for renaming a session from “Data Binding” to “Data Bondage”.

But Bruce and the Toronto Code Camp organizers surprised me – he changed the name of his session very quickly:

lacanuck_tweet_2

And since he responded to my challenge, I had to fulfill my end of the bargain:

assless_chaps_closeup

assless_chaps_behind

The “Assless Chaps” story doesn’t end there. Yesterday, while we were hanging out by the Windows 7 lounge and the “Assless Chaps” story came up. Bruce told me that our conversation on Twitter about the assless chaps actually landed his company, ObjectSharp, some business. A local developer got curious as to what the “assless chaps” business was all about in Bruce’s and my conversation on Twitter and the ensuing conversation got them talking about ObjectSharp’s services, which in turn became a contract.

The moral of the story: there’s actual business value in Twitter and assless chaps. I may have to go buy a pair (I rented the ones pictured above).

There’s a tamer version of this story in Canadian Developer Connection.

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Introducing WebsiteSpark

by Joey deVilla on September 24, 2009

What is WebsiteSpark?

If you run or work at a small web design or development firm, WebsiteSpark might be for you! WebsiteSpark is Microsoft’s new global program who goal is to help small web companies succeed.

What Do You Get When You Join WebsiteSpark?

What do you get with WebsiteSpark? I put together a little graphic that explains it pretty quickly:

What you get with WebsiteSpark: Visibility, support and tools

  • Visibility: By being showcased in the WebsiteSpark marketplace as well as through opportunities creating through The Empire’s marketing and business networking programs.
  • Support: You’ll get hooked up with an entire ecosystem of Microsoft support, network and hosting partners, and web developers and designers so you have a wide range of technical and business resources.
  • Tools: Full-on access to full versions of current Microsoft web tools and technologies, such as the goodies listed below:

What You Get


What It Is

Microsoft Silverlight Silverlight
For building rich internet applications that can do multimedia, access data from the web and can also be run on the desktop.
Microsoft Expression Expression
A suite of tools for building websites, user interfaces for Silverlight and desktop applications, making web and application graphics, encoding video and building prototype applications in a hurry.
You get:
- 1 user licence for Expression Studio
- Up to 2 user licences for Expression Web
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SQL Server Web Edition 
Microsoft’s database platform for data needs of all sizes, from the simplest web form to full-on enterprise applications.
You get a 4-processor licence of SQL Server 2008 Web Edition.
Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 (and 2008 R2 when it becomes available)
A server that’s both powerful and easy to maintain, featuring the IIS 7 web server and the Web Platform Installer, which makes it easy to install and upgrade popular web applications.
You get a 4-processor licence of Windows Server 2008 (and for 2008 R2 when it comes out).
Microsoft Visual Studio Visual Studio Professional
The IDE (integrated development environment) that has it all.
You get up to 3 user licences of Visual Studio Pro.

Are You Eligible to Join WebsiteSpark? Answer These 2 Questions.

The number 2 If you can answer “yes” to the two questions below, you are!

  1. Is your company a professional service firm whose primary business is providing Web development and design services for its clients?
  2. Does your company have 10 or fewer people, including owners and employees?

Once you join WebsiteSpark, there’s a simple obligation: in order to continue participating in WebsiteSpark, you must deploy a new public, internet-accessible website developed using the tools and tech given to you by WebsiteSpark within 6 months of joining.

You can stay in WebsiteSpark for up to 3 years. On the first and second anniversary of your initial enrollment, you must update it – that is, confirm your company hasn’t gone public or its ownership hasn’t changed.

I Don’t Have a Fee-For-Service Web Shop, I Have a Startup. Can I Get in on This?

No, but we have a program for you – it’s called BizSpark.

I’m a Student and Have Limited Money, and It’s for Books and Beer. Can I Get in on This?

Dude, we have something just for you! It’s called DreamSpark.

How Do You Find Out More?

The details about the program are at the WebsiteSpark site. Check it out, and if it’s right for you, sign up!

Visit WebsiteSpark now!

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

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An Evening with Yossi Vardi: Thursday, September 24th

September 23, 2009
Thumbnail image for An Evening with Yossi Vardi: Thursday, September 24th

Yossi Vardi, according to Wikipedia, is one of Israel’s high-tech entrepreneurs and for over 40 years has funded or helped build over 60 high-tech companies in the fields of software, energy, internet, mobile, electro-optics and water tech. If you’ve used ICQ or the services of my old company Tucows, you’ve used something he helped fund. [...]

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One Possible Upside to the Disney-Marvel Team-Up

August 31, 2009
Thumbnail image for One Possible Upside to the Disney-Marvel Team-Up

Anthony Suarez suggested a possible upside to Disney’s purchase of Marvel: there’s potential for a really interesting sequel to the game Kingdom Hearts.

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GigPark Acquired by CanPages

August 24, 2009
Thumbnail image for GigPark Acquired by CanPages

Local business search site Canpages has just acquired GigPark, the social networking site for employers and job-seekers.
Here’s a snippet from Canpages’ news release:
"Online recommendations, especially those from a user’s social networks, are increasingly important when choosing which local businesses to buy from," said Olivier Vincent, President and CEO of Canpages. "With the acquisition of [...]

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The New York Post on Bing vs. Google? Really?

June 15, 2009

The New York Post is a “scandal sheet” tabloid newspaper that’s best known for its sensationalistic, hilarious headlines. A few examples:

When beer magnate Freddy Heineken was kidnapped, they ran a story titled No Deposit, No Return.
When New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was linked to a prostitution ring: Ho No.
On the possibility of [...]

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Jump Start’s Easy Guide to Credit Card Processing

February 24, 2009

Even though we now have over a decade of e-commerce history under our belts, credit card processing is still one of the most stone-knives-and-bearskins primitive aspects of web app development. It seems like a lot of trouble and arcana just to move money from buyer to seller, an action that at its essence is as [...]

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The Lost Decade

November 23, 2008

First, Andy Serwer, managing editor at Fortune magazine wrote an article titled This Crisis Could Have a Happy Ending. In it, he calls this first decade in the 21st century “one big washout for investors” and “a lost decade”.
He also wrote:
I believe that in order for the market to achieve a sustainable advance that [...]

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Hugh MacLeod at Startup Empire: We’re So F***ed

November 14, 2008

The second-last speaker at yesterday’s Startup Empire conference was Hugh MacLeod, whom most of us know for his comics drawn on the back of business cards and his blog, Gaping Void. Here are my notes from his presentation:
Intro

It’s easy for an advertising career to tank, especially if you live in New York and drink [...]

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David Cohen at Startup Empire: Boulder and TechStars

November 14, 2008

Another afternoon presenter at yesterday’s Startup Empire was David Cohen, founder and Executive Director of TechStars, which provides a unique opportunity for early-stage startups. Here are my notes from his presentation:
Boulder, Colorado

Why did I come here today? Because I’m hearing more about Toronto every day
I started out in development

Did three startups
Then went [...]

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Rick Segal’s Advice at Startup Empire

November 14, 2008

“Never ever take the title of CEO,” said Rick Segal between speakers at yesterday’s Startup Empire conference. “We fire CEOs all the time. Be a founder instead.”
Technorati Tags: Startup Empire,Rick Segal,startups,entrepreneurs,CEOs

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Howard Lindzon at Startup Empire: Why Now is a Good Time to Start Your Startup

November 14, 2008

Later on in the afternoon at yesterday’s Startup Empire conference, Howard Lindzon took the stage. Howard manages a hedge fund and is the creator of the finance news humour site Wallstrip, which he sold to CBS in May 2007. He also has a very popular financial blog at HowardLindzon.com.
I shot some video asking Howard [...]

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