Using Business Service Management to Succeed in a Tough Economy

Whether the economy is booming or facing a crunch, one factor plays a critical role in business: IT. In today’s business environment, almost all business activities are tied with the IT department. However, most of the departmental heads have no idea of the impact of complex technology on their respective business processes. Many a times, department heads have no means of identifying and preventing bottlenecks within applications so that end users are not affected. In today’s tough economy, Business Service Management can come to the rescue of many IT managers as well as departmental heads to ensure a smooth running of business processes.

The importance of knowing end to end performance is not only applicable for large enterprises, but smaller entities too. In fact, monitoring end to end performance of applications is more important for small businesses, considering that they function on a very tight margin. In order to stay on top of any performance issue and to effectively solve it, business owners need application monitoring tools through which they can monitor whether their business services are functioning properly. Such application monitoring would also inform them of any bottlenecks in advance and prevent any large scale impact on end users. Business Service Management enables both the teams to do just that.

Business Service Management solutions help bridge the gap between the departmental heads and the IT team. When a BSM solution is put to work, the business department can work in coordination with the IT department to ensure that all the services are available and any potential problems may be solved before they start affecting end users. BSM helps in detection of IT issues, tracing their root problem and solving them quickly.

With Business Service Management,

o Issues related to business-critical applications can be dealt with proactively
o Departmental heads can start prioritizing tasks according to their importance
o Information can be presented according to the role of the person concerned
o IT Service Management is easier to put into practice

Businesses hence need to consider Business Service Management as a necessary component in order to know the end to end performance of all their critical applications. However, businesses are sometimes forced to choose between two extreme BSM solutions: one which is inexpensive but lacks functionality, and another, which is expensive and needs a lot of manpower to support it.

An ideal Business Service Management would be one which is integrated, affordable and easy to use. A business should not have to make a compromise in quality due to the cost of the BSM solution. An ideal solution would allow end to end performance monitoring as well as management Service Level Agreement. It would also not require any manpower to manage it.

Until sometime ago, only larger APM vendors used to offer BSM solutions; even then, these solutions were expensive and complicated. But now, with the popularity of Business Service Management, other vendors have started offering affordable and easy to use solutions which can be applied in small businesses as well.

The increased dependency on IT for business critical functions has made Business Service Management as well as IT Service Management a must for any business. Both IT managers and departmental heads can work together to ensure that business services are available to end users without a problem.

Internet Business For Over 50s – 20 Tips For Finding Your Ideal Internet Business Service

There is a perception, created by unscrupulous Internet marketing “Gurus”, that anybody can make a fortune by starting an Internet business. It takes wisdom, experience, patience and persistence to create an income generating Internet business following a solid business plan, just like any other business in the real world. Well, at least for us ordinary folk!

The good news is that being over 50, you have all of these qualities and you can start and maintain a profitable Internet business by enlisting an Internet business service that suits your requirements. Here is how I learned the hard way to find an ideal Internet business service

1. Research

Undoubtedly the backbone of any venture. To become an expert in research read, learn and practice everything a good search engine provides. Stick with a market leader and use all they have to offer and you wont need anything more. Good search engines offers many excellent and easy to use research services that are not well known as they do not as a rule market their capabilities aggressively. Go to their home page and read everything they have carefully.

2. Stick to what you know

Good Internet marketers try to enlist you in business that “follow the money”. This sounds quite logical as the Internet provides the means to follow booming market niches. But you are over 50. You are an expert in your area, be it in business or a hobby. You can start all over again ( I have encountered several people over 50 that did), but it will take many years to get to your current level of expertise in a new field. Stick to what you know best and use what you have acquired over many years to dominate a market niche in your field.

3. Use Established, Credible and Accountable Companies

There was a time when I mastered searching to the point that I was totally overwhelmed with information. To cope I decided to work with established, credible companies that have a track record of accountability. Once you have become a good researcher using the research engine of your choice you will find companies that can provide you with services and products suited to your needs. Stick with the ones that meet your needs. Do not be tempted to switch to new companies no matter how good the deal sounds. A good company will adapt.

4. If it is too good to be true, it is

Not much more to say about this tip. Being over 50 has the great advantage that we can spot unrealistic claims a mile off. Beware of the “amazing easy way to…anything” marketing hype.

5. Beware of “silver tongue” marketing

I still fall into this trap. Some marketers are just so good. They know just how to hook you and reel you in. Its actually an amazing example of how you can get almost anybody to part with their money following proven marketing systems. If I follow my first tip above, research, I seldom buy unless it turns out to be of value. Resist the immediate temptation to buy and just do some research. Rather invest the money you would have spent in your future business.

6. Lots of free offerings? Beware!

Free offerings are always attractive. All you have to do is provide a name and e mail and you get some great free information. But then you have “opted in” to receive endless amounts of e mail, some tempting marketing and information overload. I must have about 100 000 free e books saved I never looked at. But to make sure I do not lose out, I…research, of course. And never miss out on the good stuff.

7. Unobtrusive marketing

A good Internet business service will respect your privacy and provide you with good but low intensity information dispersed over a period of time. They also leave the decision up to you without pressure and will eventually either check with you if you are still interested or stop the process. I like this approach and research usually shows that these companies are in a class of their own.

8. Two page web site test

Over the years I have correlated good Internet business offerings with sites that have just two pages I need to read. A good Internet business service provider will reveal all their offerings in detail on their home page including price. The second page is the purchase or buy page. (some sites give the price details here). With a good home page and research to confirm all the information and claims stated, its easy to make a decision to buy into the service or not.

9. Try then buy and short notice subscription cancellations

A company that has confidence in their product will offer a trial period, usually 3 months and an opt out option if the service does not work for you. Some even offer immediate cancellation if you do subscribe and once a company even refunded my advanced payment the same day. Money back guarantees are not as good as they sound as its a well known marketing tactic because people do not bother to claim back their money in the short time the guarantee is available.

10. Solid track record

It takes time to build a good service on the Internet and of all the tips, this is perhaps the best measure of a companies worth. The Internet service companies I deal with most of the time has been active in their market at least 8 to 10 years.

11. Good reviews

Good reviews are helpful, but be aware that a lot of companies write their own reviews and their customers also will write glowing reviews to promote their own business as they are coupled to these companies. I have found good and well known neutral sites that write balanced reviews very helpful.

12. Structured, in depth training courses

As an over 50 web entrepreneur I have a hard time keeping up in my area of my expertise, let alone trying to keep up with the ever changing world of Internet business marketing. My ideal service provider must have easy to use, well written courses I can follow and practical examples and exercises. Different levels and regular updating of content is also a must for me.

13. Good tools to do the complicated work

An Internet business is driven by statistics. Word counts in articles, use of key words, density of key words, what words or phrases people use to search and many more vital information. Service providers worth their salt have many tools that not only gives you the information you want but also makes recommendations as to what works and what does not.Displaying all relevant information regarding your marketing campaigns in an easy to read format is also essential.

14. Active and helpful forum

If a site has an extensive forum with a large amount of active members willing to share their experiences and willing to answer any questions you might have, then you are on to a winner. Lately I have discovered the very productive means of forum activity and my productivity has improved markedly.

15. Easy to contact

One would think that this is a basic requirement. To my dismay, I have found out the hard way that some companies deliberately make it very difficult to communicate with them, especially if you have account problems. A well known and prominent company I joined on a trial basis have been taking money off my account now for 4 months after cancellation and there is no way I can contact them. Lesson learned.

16. Low cost entry

Good service providers have lots of satisfied and loyal customers that ensures a good and steady revenue to the company. As result their prices are very reasonable. Paying out a huge amount of money upfront is always a risk and puts one under pressure to get up and running fast, not an option if you want a stable profitable company that will serve your needs for the long term.

17. Read the fine print

Everybody knows they should, but nobody does. As I have a good grounding in legal matters, I always read the fine print and a lot can be learned about a company in doing so. In any case I have found that the good companies have good, understandable and uncomplicated terms and agreements.

18. Ask Questions

I ask my questions on formal business social sites. The best ones to join do ask a small monthly fee but its an investment. I have also found sites that provides you with an expert who quotes you for answering your questions and it was not only reasonably priced, but the answers were just what I needed

19. Trust your instincts

If you have read this far, you must be over 50! Only those over 50 still value the fact that good information cannot be conveyed in a few sentences, right? And at 50 and over one does have the advantage of good instincts. Use them. Listen to them. You will be more often correct following your instincts than not.

20. Are you in control?

The final test. After you have done your homework the final test is to make sure that your service provides you with the means to be in control of everything you want to be. By using the above methods I have finally found the ideal service partners I need to start building a lasting and profitable Internet business. Its exciting and now I am confident that I will make it. I wish you the same.

I am currently starting my own affiliate marketing business with the help of very good internet business services companies as well as a local coach even though I have been keeping abreast with the internet business field since 1999. I will be writing a number of articles sharing my experience and will include my website URL as soon as I have completed my site.

Business Service Management – How Your Business Can Benefit From It

Businesses in most of the industries today rely on their IT infrastructure for delivery of their products or services. Despite this, business owners and IT managers face difficulty in figuring out the performance of their IT infrastructure and analyzing how that performance affects their bottom line at any given point of time. If you are wondering the same about your IT infrastructure, the answer to your queries is Business Service Management (BSM). Let’s discuss some aspects of Business Service Management and how it can benefit your business.

What Business Service Management Is

BSM is a way to monitor IT services so that one can understand its impact on the business’ bottom line. Through it, IT managers can monitor application performance so that they can identify, foresee and solve application bottlenecks. In case of larger organizations, the business owners and IT managers need to know which department if going to be affected the most in case of an outage, so that its impact can be minimized. Through BSM, the interests of the business can be protected by monitoring, tracking and managing the investment and operational aspects of the IT department. BSM hence ensures that IT processes are aligned with business processes for the maximum benefit of the business.

How you can use Business Service Management for your business

If your business depends on IT department for providing services or products or your customers, Business Service Management can be extremely useful to you. Even if you have a large company with a huge IT department, a BSM solution can help you undertake effective ITSM. When you have a Business Service Management solution in place, in case of a system failure, you will be able to know exactly where the error has occurred on a real-time basis. You will hence be able to analyze the financial impact of the failure as well as instruct the IT manager of steps to take to ensure that application performance is up to the mark.

Some of the many benefits of a BSM solution for your business are:

It ensures application performance is up to the mark at all times
BSM also ensures the availability of business-critical applications
A BSM solution helps IT managers to ensure that service level agreement conditions are met
You can make IT service management easier with a customized BSM solution
You can understand the impact of a system failure on your bottom line through Business Service Management
A BSM solution will help you avoid downtime of applications by identifying bottlenecks and figuring out their cause
Through a BSM solution, you can reduce losses of downtime and improve productivity of your business

7 Best Bookkeeping Business Services

If you’re a small business owner considering outsourcing your bookkeeping, keep in mind that bookkeeping business services include much more than just keeping track of your finances. If you hook up with a true professional service they can become much more than an accounting service, they can become important partners helping you optimize not only your cash flow but planning your financial strategies. Here’s a short list of benefits and services you can expect from a full service bookkeeper.

1. Time

Actually this may be the most productive benefit of all the services an outsourced bookkeeper can provide. By taking over the responsibility of accounting, the bookkeeper service effectively gives you more time to do what you do best and that’s run the business. Accounting is an absolutely necessary part of a business but it is not a profit center and it plays no part in driving sales and revenue. Any time you devote to that function is time taken from engaging in an activity that can generate sales or profit.

2. Financial forecasting

Using your firm’s financial history an experienced bookkeeping service can develop financial models that will allow you to play “what if” games that can predict your financial performance in the future. For example a business owner can ask what if sales increase 8% in the next quarter or what if the marketing budget is increased by 10% what kind of sales can be expected. This is a complex model that requires the knowledge of experts and would not be readily available to the owner unless he outsourced the function.

3. Tax planning

Running your business to take advantage of opportunity to minimize tax liability can be the difference between taking a loss and making a profit. The same goes for licensing and other local fees. A knowledgeable service will not only prepare your returns but show you ways to reduce your tax bill.

4. Real time reporting

Gone are the days of receiving monthly reports from your accounting service. In today’s business environment you need to know where you are financially right now and that’s what a professional bookkeeping service can provide. Thanks to ASP technology you can log onto your account using an ultra secure server and access all of your reports at any time and from any where you have an internet connection.

5. Customized reports

Your bookkeeping service will work with you to build reports that make sense for your particular business. Profit and loss statements, sales reports, receivables reports, all can be designed so they present the information in a way that you can best evaluate your position.

6. Assistance with lenders

A sign of just how tough and competitive the economic times are is the expansion of bookkeeping business services into areas that they previously did not participate in. Assistance with loan applications or even introductions to lenders is an example of the “new” services being offered by many firms. Loan applications can be intimidating and confusing to many business owners and the accounting service can offer valuable assistance in insuring that the right, and best, financial information is included in the application.

7. QuickBooks Consulting

Even if you don’t hire a bookkeeping service and you use QuickBooks in house to do your bookkeeping, you may find that the service can help you do it better. QuickBooks has added so many features and has become so much more than an accounting platform that it has created an entirely new support industry. If a QuickBooks customer wants optimal performance from his system, it’s likely he or she will need the advice of a certified QuickBooks consultant and the bookkeeping service is a ready, qualified resource.

A combination of rapidly improving technology along with an increasingly competitive market has caused bookkeeping business services to evolve into something greater than the traditional accounting services. Smart businesses will take advantage of these services to remain competitive and optimize earnings.

Over the past five years noted business manage

« Newer posts