Intranet Plus

Hi all,My wife works for one of the biggest investment bank in the world. They have a sophisticated intranet system over there. With that system the employees could do a lot of things. In fact it was a classified website. Like Loot or even E-bay. It was buzzing with activity - After all this bank has 60,000 employees. So you could find there tickets to gigs or football, recommendations about builders, cleaners… benefits for the employees and much more.

One day without any reason they decide to change the system. Since then there is virtually zero activity. Why? Because they replace a good intranet design with bad one. So people can’t find a thing over there. And after a week or two they don’t even try. So now they have a deserted intranet system that cost them fortune.

This happens many times. If you get it wrong, people won’t use it no mater how much money you spend. The rule is very basic: keep it simple. If you look at Google for example their secret is simplicity. Just a logo with a search field and some links to other services. And it works. The less is more on this case.

I visited one of my clients that wanted me to add some functions to their already exciting intranet system. I felt like sea sick. So many colors and information on one page that it was impossible to use. I asked them if the use it a lot, and they say not really, but they want to have more functions, so people will use it more.

My first advice for them was to change the design completely. Our designer here in S-development, came with a nice interface. Very clean and simple. This is even before we add more functions to it. They love it. Now they use it much more, and it is a good basic for further development.

So don’t get it wrong. It is Important

Assaf Scialom

Hi all,

Well first we need to describe what is Ajax and yes, it is the famous football club from Amsterdam, and yes also the cleaning product, but also something else…

Ajax is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and it is just a new way do develop applications for the web. So what it gives you?

Without going into much technical details, it lets the server stream information to the webpage without refresh the page or call to another page.

And how it can help your business?
Well traditional web applications suffer from clumsy user interface which gives the user an awkward feeling.

The new technology creates smooth interface which gives the users an impression of real software. Have you tried to use Google mail account? This project is a good example of what Ajax can do to the usability experience.

So your employees will love to use these applications because they are cool / fast and yes, sexy! so if they are happy, you are happy.

For more demos about Ajax visit these two great websites:
http://script.aculo.us/
http://www.dhtmlgoodies.com/

Assaf Scialom

It takes time to understand what Intranet applications can do for you. It is not something you understand immediately. A good Intranet project is an evolving project. It is not like a new gadget that you buy on the high street and in hour or so, you know all the tricks and you can move on.

This is the beauty of it. It grows on you. I always recommend my clients to start small. There are two aspects for a good Intranet project. The first one is developing applications which help you to run the business. The second one is to give the employees information about the company and their status.

Now the most important thing with any Intranet project is that your employees will like it. They are the one who will use it the most. If they don’t like, no matter how much money and time you spent on it, they will not use it. Or they will, but every meeting, every social drinks and every office party you will hear how badly it is.

I found that the easy way to make them love the intranet is to build an application that manages the holiday booking. Let’s face it, as much as they love the business and willing to spend hours there, they still prefer to go to Spain or Barbados.

If you give them the option to book their holiday online, to check how many days left on their account, who is on holiday on each day and any other relevant information, they will love it! On top of that you can add their overtime information there. So they can login, see when they worked, if it has been approved and if they get it by leave or money.

This is quite simple application, but yet powerful that will win their hearts. And when you think of that more, it is good for the business too. Finally you can see at glance who is on leave today, and who will not be in tomorrow.

Add on that information of who is sick today, who works from home and who has a medical appointment, and hi, you have a small Intranet! It is a win win situation: You didn’t invest a lot of money, your employees are happy, and you have better control on who is in and who is out.

You are ready for the next step (next time).

Assaf Scialom

Hello All,

S-development is looking to extend our developer team. We are looking for a php developer in Mysql environment. Seo knowledge & photoshop are beneficial.

Contract or as freelancer.

Please send your CV to webmaster @s-development.net

Thanks,
Assaf Scialom

Hi All,

Many people don’t know about the power of the web and how can they use it to run their company. Every time that we are going to a new client it starts with the design of the website. During the process of developing the site, we are learning about the company and offer them some tools to help them running their process. It takes them a little time to recognize the potential.

The end result is happy customer.

Today I want to give an example of what the web can do for you.
Let’s say that you are running a small business of selling printer inks. You already have a website and orders are coming through the web and phone calls.

So for each order you need to insert some basic information like who order what, the amount, shipping details and the status of the order.

You started to put this info in excel file, but soon you realize that it is not the best way to do it. Excel is not built for this purpose. You need a database. Now like most of the people you don’t know anything about DB. So you ask a friend of a friend that knows something about it and he recommended you to buy software that will do it for you. This may sound like a good idea but it is not.

Again you are not an expert and your time is limited. You don’t have time to do a research and you don’t want to end up with the wrong product that cost you $1000 or more. And then you will have to spend time to learn the software and call again to the friend of a friend, because you try to add a product that it is ‘phone service’ and the software doesn’t let you do it.

So the bottom line is that you spent some money on a product that is not designed for your special needs and you spent a lot of time to learn about it.

What is your other choice? Get a developer to do it for you. Yes it sounds like very expensive way, but it isn’t.

Yes a developer can cost you more then the software. But you get a product that is designed for you and answers all your needs and requirements plus it is online so people can work on it simultaneity and from any location in the world, and you saved a lot of time.

Too see a demo of a management application please drop me a mail on webmaster@s-development.net

Assaf