Data Management Solutions for Modular Architectures Needed
June 29, 2012
As an increasing number of companies implement data-heavy Modular Architectures for their product families, computer-aided design (CAD) and product lifecycle management (PLM) suppliers such as Modular Management are enhancing their solutions to support such complex systems.
The challenge in designing CAD and PLM systems that effectively integrate with Modular Architectures is discussed in Jakob Asell and Scott Jiran’s article “Modular Architecture is Gaining Focus among CAD and PLM Tools” that recently appeared on the Web site MCADCafe:
“There is a variety of information that must be monitored and manipulated in order to effectively deploy Modular Architecture for a product family. The range of the product family is described in terms of the configurations of specific module variants. This can be a static definition or one that is created dynamically at the point of sale. Similarly, the product forecasts and actual demand need to be translated into a supply plan for the modules. As a product family is launched to the market in waves, the development of modules’ variants needs to be closely coordinated to match the schedule.”
Inforbix is among those PLM developers up to challenge of providing cloud-based, customized, and scalable data management solutions that will enable its clients to easily find, reuse, and share product data, regardless of its complexity.
Tonya Weikel, June 29, 2012
The Future of Google: Search, Sales, or Showmanship?
June 28, 2012
The news “thing” makes me nervous. Mr. Murdoch wants to sell his “real” journalist news properties it seems or he wants to take some other action. Bloggers are reporting on events in near real time, confusing me with reports of various events which, in most cases, have little significance in the world of the addled goose in rural Kentucky.
I wanted to raise one question, triggered by the flood of information about Google’s demonstration day at Google I/O. “What is Google?”
I am okay with whatever Google does. The company does not have a material impact on my life. For many, however, Google is the Alpha and the Omega of “the future.”
I scanned the Thomson Reuters’ “news” story “Google Goes Up Against Amazon, Apple with Nexus Tablet.” The main idea is that Google is—yawn—in the hardware business, competing with Amazon and Apple. This is new information? Hardly. I also took a look at “Project Glass Demo: Hangouts in Air.” How does skydiving improve the relevance of the queries I run on Google? Ah, future improvements when I jump from an aircraft and want to locate a doc in the box.
Let me step back.
First, Google is dependent on advertising for revenue. I read but do not fully agree with the assertions in “IgnitionOne: Growth Slows For Paid-Search Spend.” For the sake of intellectual joy, let’s assume that:
Marketers continue to allocate budgets to U.S. paid-search advertising campaigns, but growth slowed to 15.5% in the second quarter of 2012, compared with the prior two quarters. In Q4 2011, paid-search ad spend grew 22.4%; and in Q1 2012, 30.3%, according to a quarterly report that IgnitionOne will release Thursday [June 28, 2012].
I keep trying to relate Google’s hardware and technical sky diving to ad revenues. Frankly, I am coming up a few cans short of a six pack. Google can generate ad revenue by participating in large markets. A good example is China. Oh, I almost forgot that Google has created a bit of tension between itself and the Chinese government. There are quite a few Chinese mobile phone manufacturers using Android, but these phones don’t generate direct ad revenue for Google. I wonder if that gap can be closed. In the hardware game, Google has pitted itself against Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. In general, I wonder if there might be more revenue to gain with positive relationships with these firms. Oh, I almost forgot that a scorched earth policy is being used with these three giants. Well, let’s hope that ad revenues are not softening because selling hardware can be tricky. I wonder if Barnes & Noble has cracked the code. Oh, I almost forgot that the classic middle man bookseller may be losing money on hardware.
Using Search Refiners in SharePoint for a More Powerful Search
June 28, 2012
In “Custom SharePoint 2010 Search Refiner – Displaying Range of Choices,” at the ShareMuch.com Blog, Yaroslav Pentsarskyy demystifies some SharePoint search refiner features. Pentsarskyy explains his approach,
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the most common customizations/configurations you’d want to do to a refiner in SharePoint 2010 enterprise search. First off, this post assumes you’re using SP 2010 Enterprise Search Center. If you perform a search query and navigate to the search results page you can edit the page and see a refiner web part on the left.
If you have users that do not know where to begin their search, refiners in SharePoint provide users the ability to narrow search results down by more meaningful filters, thereby reducing time spent searching. This becomes especially helpful, and Pentsarskyy’s guide may be worth the read if you are new to the search features in SharePoint.
One simple way to get a more powerful search is by integrating a third party solution into your SharePoint system developed by experts in search, like Fabasoft Mindbreeze, which extends the capabilities of your farm. Their Web Parts based information pairing capabilities give you powerful searches and a complete picture of your business information, allowing you to get the most out of your enterprise search investments. And your end users will benefit from the fast and intuitive search with clearly displayed results and simple navigation.
Philip West, June 28, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Manufacturing Industry on Brink of PaaS Revolution
June 28, 2012
Everyone knows how cloud technology has transformed how the world does business and how data is stored and shared. Software-as-a-Service was created solely from the cloud and allowed small and midsized businesses in many industries access to software that traditionally was much too expensive for smaller budgets. The latest cloud-based technology is Platform-as-a-Service according to the SYS-CON Media article, “How PaaS Can Change Manufacturing Software”, and offers even more than SaaS.
The article explains PaaS’s many capabilities by pointing out,
“PaaS also allows manufacturers to:
- Upgrade manufacturing add-ons before vendor releases
- Purchase a wide diversity of apps that are designed to be interoperable
- Get third-party developers to quickly build customized solutions
Beyond that, the cheaper developments costs that PaaS enables can allow third-party developers to pass along these savings to manufacturers. Of course, the PaaS options that can serve the manufacturing industry today are relatively few and are still maturing.”
We expect that as PaaS grows in popularity (there are very limited vendors now for PLM solutions) the manufacturing industry will realize its great potential and an increase in PLM solutions adoptions will be the result. PaaS is now primarily aimed at small and midsized businesses because of its limitations but as it improves larger companies will be able to incorporate it into their existing PLM solutions.
Catherine Lamsfuss, June 28, 2012
SharePoint Projects Easily Spiral Out of Control
June 27, 2012
As any SharePoint developer knows, a project can easily get out of control. Original estimates are often overrun and decimated as glitches and problems occur. The ShareMuch blog tackles this issue in its piece, “Did You Think About: Why Do We Go Over the Estimates on SharePoint Projects?”
The author begins:
Just as everyone you and I are going over the estimates on many SharePoint projects; it doesn’t matter how much experience you have. With more experience you might be able to mitigate the outcomes of going over estimates, but avoiding going over the estimates, in a first place, is not so trivial. I’m sure you already thought about the whole “going over the estimates” problem and even have few answers why it happened; most of those answers are probably related to stakeholders on a project and other events.
He goes on to explain that instead of focusing on specific solutions, the focus should be on the reasons why this happens and better prevention.
We think that one effective prevention technique is to bring a smart third party solution on board, a solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enteprise. Fabasoft Mindbreeze is a leading Austria-based company. Its products stand alone or work alongside an existing SharePoint infrastructure. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enteprise is fully scalable, with updates available at least once per quarter, avoiding the need for continuous customization and over-shot budgets. Mindbreeze backs up what they sell – read feedback from their many satisfied customers.
Emily Rae Aldridge, June 27, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Swedish Technia Innovative Forum to Be the Best
June 27, 2012
As product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions grow in popularity it is no surprise to see companies from around the globe interested to learn how PLM can benefit their organizations. That is why it is also no surprise that this year’s Technia Innovative Forum in Stockholm, Sweden is slated to be the biggest and most popular to date according to the article, “Technia: Technia Organizes the Nordic’s Largest Innovation and PLM Event at Cirkus in Stockholm”, on The Swedish Wire.
The article quoted Technia CEO, Jonas Gejer, as saying,
“This year’s approach has the potential of turning out to be the most interesting one ever. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers and also many interesting activities during the day. I look forward to discussing with our visitors how PLM can create winning and innovative strategies for tomorrow’s products.”
With so many PLM solutions flooding the market right now it is a wonder that companies have any idea where to begin. For small and midsized companies having the financial ability to even shop for PLM solutions is probably still new and intimidating. When shopping around the most important thing companies should remember is that without the proper training and ongoing support a PLM solution is useless. For that reason we recommend Inforbix, a new data management solutions provider, focusing on helping their clients find, share and reuse data to the fullest extent possible to reduce waste and duplication.
Catherine Lamsfuss, June 26, 2012
Comperio Provides a Safety Net at SharePoint
June 27, 2012
Entering a Misspelled word during internet search can lead to a few moments of irritation, but in the business world things become even more complicated. Typing one wrong letter can often send users spiraling downward towards a promotional disaster. Fortunately, some providers are hanging up a few safety nets to prevent the fall.
Microsoft just revamped Bing to recognize common errors during internet search. According to, ‘Bing reveals efforts to help with human search errors Bing will remember key words and phrases most frequently used. To correct issues the search feature itself was altered as:
“We used to show synonyms as part of our recourse links and this would open up some surface area for showing alterations. The query “define interesting” highlights an example where the recourse link was unnecessary. In this case, showing the Recourse Link didn’t enhance the experience. We’ve removed the Recourse Links in cases where we are very confident that they add little value or distract users.”
Basically, Microsoft created a net to catch errors in advance and Comperio can implement similar functions within SharePoint using Fast technology. The safety net Comperio provides can help catch users before they fall into the uncomfortable realm of presentation faux pas. They can customize the programming towards the specific needs of the business to increase efficiency.
Comperio is respected worldwide as experts on search driven solutions and search enabled business models. Comperio told Beyond Search:
“We serve their clients with innovative services and products in order to create truly engaging user experiences. We allow users to not only find what they are looking for but also discover information and surface new insights from relationships across data and content.”
For more information about Comperio, visit the firm’s Web site at www.comperiosearch.com.
Jennifer Shockley, June 27, 2012
Sponsored by HighGainBlog
Cheers to Alternative Search with a Half Full Glass
June 26, 2012
Lift your glass and say “cheers” to alternative search and the routes they are taking to better inform consumers and businesses alike. The article, Beyond Google: Tap Into the Alternative Search Engine Data Opportunity gives us a look into what the alternate search engines are offering and why Google’s barrel is running a little dry.
eCommerce is opening doors for more defined search and:
“The search industry is moving beyond Google domination, and there’s a real value in that for publishers and retailers that recognize the data opportunity. I would argue that unique, first-party data has significantly more value to the marketer than say, has someone browsed a particular article on your digital magazine. These are not the types of insights Google can tell you.”
The article quenches the inquisitive thirst by offering five tips to help marketers capitalize on the alternative search opportunity utilizing retargeting:
- Use search data across a variety of search entities
- Set 90-day and 180-day data strategies
- Determine partners based on the value brought to data
- Reevaluate your priorities and strategy
- Accelerate beyond traditional search
Data is a constantly flowing fountain offering drinks to all and glasses stay half full. While Google claims to be the data search brewery, their selection process leaves many businesses staring at an empty bottom. Alternative search methods throw a private party with a custom brew and leave the bottle. Just imagine the potential if they expanded. Cheers!
Jennifer Shockley, June 26, 2012
Usage of Controls and Web Parts in SharePoint 2010
June 26, 2012
Different SharePoint sites have different components, and tracking usage for each site can be challenging. Powershell is a solution that can help manage this issue. The ideas are fully developed by Waldek Mastykarz in his piece, “Tracking the Usage of Controls and Web Parts in SharePoint 2010.”
Mastykarz states:
When deploying a new version of a component, one of the things that you have to do in the planning phase is to determine the impact of that upgrade. This is even more important in context of shared components where one component can be used on multiple sites. By finding out which sites they are exactly you can more precisely plan for testing and availability which in result should help you manage the expectations of your customers.
While finagling with plug-ins and add-ons will assist in the customization process, SharePoint is not meant to be intuitive or easily used out-of-the-box. Its strength is in its size and scope, and yet that is also its weakness. An agile third party solution like Fabasoft Mindbreeze is an easy way to customize SharePoint all at once. Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise can stand alone or compliment an existing SharePoint infrastructure, eliminating the need for individual customization of various components. Mindbreeze customers are rewarded with quick and meaningful search results.
Emily Rae Aldridge, June 26, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Cloud Based Software Solutions for Small Businesses
June 26, 2012
With cloud-based technology, small businesses now have access to product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions that typically were only available previously to large enterprises employing a client-server approach.
This evolution is described in the article entitled “PLM for the Rest of Us” that recently appeared on the Web site for Desktop Engineering,
“Several PLM providers have figured out ways to repackage their large-enterprise products so they can be applied to smaller enterprises, at a more reasonable cost. There are also new providers who are small and midsize themselves. They continue to develop and provide the kind of no-frills data management and project management solutions their peers could use. These products are often characterized by low IT overhead, fast implementation, and modular structure (you can adopt them incrementally as your needs grow). The real game changer is the cloud, the internet’s ubiquitous reach and accessibility. By unshackling PLM from the previous client-server architecture to web-hosted structure, some providers managed to deliver solutions with unprecedented affordability.”
Clearly, those PLM providers offering cloud-based solutions that enable their clients to easily find, reuse, and share their product data offer the innovation, customization, and scalability that will prove compelling to small businesses in need of effective data management.
Tonya Weikel, June 26, 2012
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