Part Time Cio

We're always emphasizing how important it is to have strategies in place to guide every tactical decision you make as you operate your business or company on a day to day basis. While we offer accounting services, organization assessments, part time CFO and part time CIO help, at the end of the day, Milestone Advisors is all about STRATEGY.

A thoughtful approach that addresses multiple aspects and seeks to achieve a goal makes your operations stronger and more prepared to handle anything that may come your way (whether that be anticipated or completely unseen).

That being said, take a look at this piece that identifies using a revamped marketing strategy as a way to stay strong when the economy falters.

"The key to competing strong in a weak economy is to remain visible and project an image of strength and stability. Customers have a heightened sensitivity to any sign of weakness, so resist the urge to dramatically reduce your marketing activities. To flourish in challenging times, you'll need to distill your marketing and public relations efforts into a powerful, concentrated mix that delivers a high level of visibility and impact on a limited budget."

Wise words. If you need help retooling and refocusing your efforts, I think you know where we'd direct you.

I was approached recently by the CEO of an upstart software as a service company to consider helping his company develop a corporate finance strategy and raise the requisite capital. We talked at length about the application that the company had built, the customer base, the channels that the company sold through, and the market opportunity. We also talked about some of the obstacles that the company faced in order to be successful.

It appeared to me on first blush, that while the product was a great solution, the "problem" wasn't painful enough to the prospective customers to cause them to beat a path to the new application or even make the purchase if proactively presented with the solution. But that was only my first reaction and I've been wrong before. We needed to dig a little deeper.

I offered to review the business plan and bring in our part time CIO to help assess the technology and the opportunity. But before we had received the information for our discovery process, we received an interesting call from the CEO.

The company had decided to put everything on hold. Everything. The board had met over the weekend and decided that it would take too long to pull together the necessary funding to continue the next phase of the product development plan. The other option would be to attempt to grow the business organically but they didn't feel that could be done successfully either.

What initially appeared as an incredibly large target market was actually not nearly as large as thought. The challenge? The pain factor, or lack thereof, that I mentioned before. I was afraid of that...

It's difficult for early stage or startup companies to consider spending time or money on market research - largely because both resources are so scarce. The other concerns are that asking prospects for feedback and input could "let the cat out of the bag" too early, cause challenges with meeting deliverables, create competitors, or put intellectual property at risk.

All of these concerns are legitimate and should be addressed and treated with caution. However, the risk of spending time in production or development ahead of completing a thorough market research process can cause greater problems down the road.

If you have a great idea that you are considering turning into a product or business, work with an individual or firm that can provide you with the market research services to support business plans for small business. You'll be glad you did and you'll be better positioned as a result.

I’d like to spend some time touching on a technology solution that continues to grow in maturity -  “Cloud Computing.”  The basic concept behind Cloud Computing is being able to consume technology solutions as your business needs them without the typical capital investment needed to purchase software or hardware. The name, like many other titles given to tech products, gives a visual picture of your hardware and software solutions being provided somewhere out there in the cloud of virtualization. You will hear other names being used to help differentiate what specific type of cloud solution is being provided; Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) both describe the operating environment. Another popular alias for cloud computing you may recognize more since the launch of Salesforce.com is Software as a Service (SaaS).  Although the technology architecture and consulting service may differ with each type, the benefits of a robust environment with economies of scale are the same.

Gartner identified Cloud Computing as one of its top 10 strategic technologies for 2009. These technologies are enabling businesses to access tools and solutions that would have previously been cost prohibitive or put a significant drain on cash. What I find compelling is that although many large enterprises are using this ‘pay-as-you consume’ technology solution, according to Forrester Research, small and medium size businesses are not. Why are operations with more limited resources not taking advantage of this new advance in technology that brings advanced solutions to your finger tips without a heavy investment? Is it likely that most small companies don't have a CIO or Part-Time CIO helping to make these decisions? What can be done to encourage small businesses to incorporate these technology solutions in their strategic plans? Tell me what you think.

There's a snow storm, a power outage. Your computers are fried, you lose your Internet connection and much more. Do you have a plan in place to ensure your business can continue operating smoothly even if disaster strikes?

Technology is a great enabler for small companies to grow top line revenue and improve margins. It also serves as the vehicle for many small businesses to deliver their products or services. A technology architecture that includes a diaster preparedness plan will allow a business to grow and its IT needs and capabilities to follow suit. In order to adapt to change and keep costs under control, organizations must have a clearly defined approach to technology infrastructure.

Many questions should surround purchasing or developing technology solutions including: do I have the right solutions to scale my business, am I getting the most value for my investment, can new technologies be applied to my business to improve profit margins and so on. Milestone asks these key questions, not only crafting a strategy to improve operations but assisting with implementation.

Providing small business owners with complete information concerning technology options can lead to more predictable costs, lower project risks and more successful business strategies. Milestone offers technology services spanning from providing an executive coach to educate/advise current IT staff, leading special projects or fulfilling the role of a CTO or CIO.