Outcome Labs

We use Google Apps as our primary collaboration platform here at Outcome Labs.  We have also recommended and deployed it for several clients.  While there are several viable alternatives such as Zoho and the updated offerings from Microsoft, we still feel like the Google platform provides the best feature/value mix for most organizations.

One of the key enhancements we have wanted for a long time is to have access to all of Google’s applications.   Till now you had to maintain a separate individual Google account to access applications such as Google Reader, Google Voice, YouTube and others.   For apps like voice, this meant having to use third party tools to sync address books.  Google has now resolved this issue by allowing you to access most Google services with your Google Apps account.  They are rolling this out for testing right now.  We transitioned Outcome Labs this weekend and it went pretty smoothly.

There are some issues in transitioning services. Most are pretty straightforward to resolve and there are instructions available from Google and third parties.  Here a a few you should be aware of:

If you have an existing Google Voice account, you will have to ask the Google Voice team to transfer it.  There is an online form to do this.

You will have to export your Google Reader feeds and reimport. You lose people you are linked to, anything you have shared, starred or made notes about.

If you are using third party apps from the Google Marketplace, the transition has to complete before they show up in Google Apps navigation.

It looks like the Google Profile that is attached to your Apps account is not public.  Still looking to see if there is a way to make this public.

Historically, we accessed multiple Google accounts in the same browser.  This is more complicated now, but with the change should really not be required.  This is something you can turn on and off, but doesn’t work with all services and causes issues with offline access to mail and calender. Something to look at to make sure it is set up right.

So a few issues, but a major upgrade that raised the bar for competitive corporate collaboration platforms.

As we celebrate the long holiday weekend here in the United States, we hope everyone takes a moment to reflect and remember.

First, remember that the people who signed the Declaration and those that supported them, despite their flaws and prejudices, risked all to bring a dream to life a new country where freedom and opportunity could flourish…

Then consider that, despite all the challenges and disappointments in bringing that dream to life, that what we share, what brings us together is so, so much greater than the things we disagree about…

And, as we celebrate and watch the fireworks tonight,  let’s all take a minute to say a prayer for those that have gone into harms way,especially those that gave their last full measure of devotion for that dream… for each one of us,

Happy Birthday!

As we enjoy the holiday weekend with family and friends, please take a moment to remember
those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and their families.

Photo courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery

Never forget!

Are you ready to launch your business in South Florida? Come pitch the experts and be sure!

On Friday, June 18th, 2010, the Pino Entrepreneurship Center at FIU will host its very own “Shark Tank”. The Shark Tank is your opportunity to have your business plan reviewed and critiqued by our panel of local entrepreneurs and investors. Reconstruct and strengthen your plan to provide your company its blueprint towards success.

Come prepared to present! You will have the opportunity to give an 8-minute pitch on their business. If you have a prototype for your product you are encouraged to bring it with you. There will be a 10 minute Q & A session after the presentation where our panel of experts will share their advice on your product or service. You are also encouraged to submit an executive summary of your business plan to entrepreneurship@fiu.edu ahead of time in order to receive even more valuable feedback.

It’s just 95 bucks to participate! FIU students and alumni get a discount. The discount is also extended to any 2010 Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge participants!

Don’t have a plan yet, but thinking about it. Come watch others survive the “Tank” and learn how!

Thanks to Yeang Ch’ng of Boston for the shark!

One of the most difficult things for software companies has been deciding when something they develop is a “new” product or an “upgrade”. Very often, this is driven by a technology platform shift. I worked for a leading client-server tools company back in the 90s. We had traditionally delivered our products on floppy disks and our documentation as commercial-grade paperbacks. During the planning of a major release, we realized that our next upgrade would require 94 floppy disks and a two foot package. Not only would this be expensive to produce and ship, but it would not really be the most convenient thing for our customers or partners.

We did have a better option. IBM, Compaq and the other major PC makers had started to ship new PCs with DVD drives the year before. We had already decided to offer DVD as an option, but as we looked at the cost of upgrading 30,000+ existing users with traditional media, we took the plunge and decided to only provide the new product and the upgrade on DVD. It was a tough decision. We didn’t know how to judge what the customer reaction would be.

It was hard, but it was the right thing to do. We tried to mitigate as many of the possible negatives as possible. We did lots of customer communication on our forums and vis email. We cut a deal with a leading DVD maker to provide a coupon that would let customers buy a DVD drive for less than $100 dollars (they were much more expensive at the time.). We put in a review policy so customers could request documentation in book form. In the end, the launch was very successful. Customers were really happy about the new format and the great deal on the DVD drive. Less that 200 customers requested paper documentation.

This kind of challenge (opportunity?) happens a lot in the software industry because of our business model. Because of the emergence of new technology and the speed of transition, it is happening more often in tradition “buy and replace” industries like media. I had a pretty extensive VHS library like most folks at one point. I probably replaced less than 3 of these with DVDs. I have an equally big collection of DVDs today. I was really pleased to see that Warner Brothers had put in a program that would allow people to upgrade to Blu-Ray for 5 bucks. There are limited titles so far, but I think it is an exceptionally smart move.

What’s your thoughts? Do you have other examples of companies executing like this?

Who should win The Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge?

This year, there are two People’s Pick tracks: The Community Track, open to all South Floridians, and the FIU Track, open to FIU students, alumni, faculty and staff.  Check out the videos from the six semifinalists in each track at the Herald. Vote below for one Community Track winner and one FIU Track winner.

Voting will end at 11:59 p.m. Monday, May 3. One vote per user will be counted in each track. The Community and FIU winners of People’s Pick contest, along with the judges’ choices for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, will be announced in Business Monday on May 17.

Read more: Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge

Just met Christina Bracken, the co-founder of ZEMgear. If you are into beach or water sports, you have to check these out.

Join us next week to talk about Social Media Marketing

Register today!

Came across the MIT Entrepreneurship Review. It is a new online publication developed by a group of MIT students. Still early, but some interesting stuff.

The Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center at Florida International University has announced it’s Spring 2010 Entrepreneur’s How To Webinar Series. This series explores and gives practical advice for anyone starting or building a business.