Customer Experience is all about the ME

To paraphrase Don Tapscott famed author of Wikinomics, and Toby Bell of Gartner, who both described this new genre of information sharing -

"If the news is important, it will find me."

I can't remember the last time that I turned on the TV to watch the news. I get notified via my Twitter stream if there is anything important going on in the world. The connection of information from various sources to the numerous channels people visit is a daunting task for any marketer. Hence, part of my job is to make this transference of knowledge as easy and unobtrusive as possible. Multi-channel distribution is the technical term - for many it is "just let me watch what I want where I want and in the form I want."

As a mother of teen and tween girls, I am always fascinated by their easy adoption of technology that has been around only as long as they have been alive. They take it for granted that they can find out or watch just about anything on the Web today. I am reminded of a conversation that might just sound familiar to those of you with tech-savvy kiddos.

Scene: At the grandparent's house with limited internet gadgets.

child: "Dad, can I watch my favorite cartoon on TV?"

dad: "No, grandma doesn't have that channel."

child: "Then can I have the iPad?" (note - Netflix watch instantly is enabled there)

dad: "No, I am using it right now."

child: "Then can I have my iTouch?"

dad: "Yes, but grandma doesn't have wifi, so no cartoons are available."

child: "Does she have a gamebox to watch it on?"

dad: "No, just go play outside."

Try explaining the ubiquity of content being delivered to so many different devices using different methods of internet access - it is lost on a child who just wants to what their show - right now!

Now, being a product marketer for OpenText's Web and online product line, I appreciate the power of the technology that makes the Web work almost like magic. We just released an update to our Web Experience Management product line that makes finding content easier (with Semantic search) and viewing rich media seamless from browser to mobile phones. Our focus on the ease to which information can be shared and consumed is a must-have in this "Net-generation" world we live in today.

(check out the recent Press Release )




Here is a view of our inline editing that makes it easier to manage the Website.

It is important to cater to your different audiences - provide the most compelling Customer Experience possible. Forrester Research found that this is a top priority in 2011 for content and collaboration professionals. WCM systems make achieving this goal a lot easier.

The question to ponder is: Are you delivering the ME experience today?

The Magic of the Silver Screen

As I flew over the Hollywood sign to land at LAX today, I looked down on the tiny cars traveling the coastal and city highways and I was reminded of the magic this city creates through the motion picture industry. Having just watched Tron over the weekend, I see those tiny cars as the light jets racing along beams of light, like the content on the information superhighway. I was so anxious for Jeff Bridges (as Kevin Flynn) to get out of his trapped world of programs and linear order. ( I did wonder how he created water, though – hmmmmm). The magic that was created on the screen was even more impressive that Disney brought old footage into the new movie. I often talk to customers about reusing content in new ways – well there you go – Disney did it exceptionally well. Imagine the miles of footage that must exist in their video closet – whew! I would not want to be the one to go through hours of video without a digital media system to help sort through the chaos.

I have to provide a shameless plug for OpenText’s Media Management solution. It handles media assets with ease; the slick new user interface, storage and publishing capabilities has made many a media company happy to have it in control of their most valuable assets. Check it out at: www.opentext.com/magic

But wait, there’s more. Perhaps you can relate to this story.

Year 1990
Daughter: “Do you have a picture of me in that red dress when we went to someplace when I was little?”
Me: “Hmm… can you be a little more specific?”
Daughter: “You know, the one where I was sitting on the piano in that red dress?”
Me: “Well, if I did have such a picture, it would likely be in the box of photos in the attic.”

- Skip forward in time to where photography is digitally stored and old photos have been scanned in –

Year, 2011
Daughter : “ Mom, do you have a picture of me from last Christmas with that cute reindeer hat?”
Me: “Yes, I tagged it with your name, Christmas 2010 and cute knit hat. Just search on MyPictureAlbum for the tag – I also ranked it with 5 stars seeing how you were so cute in it.”
Daughter: “Found it – it was at the top of the results list for '5-star hat photos'. Thanks mom!”

Without media management tools to store, manage and publish our most prized digital memories, we’d spend more time sifting through pages over and over again instead of going out and creating new memories to share with relatives almost immediately across the globe. Business is the same way. To really leverage the investment you make into a photoshoot or video production, it should be stored, tagged and easily retrieved for future use. Keeping control on digital assets is easy with the right tools.

Are you Monetizing your content to its fullest potential?

If you haven't seen yet, Open Text has launched its latest integrated ECM software release #ECMSuite2010. While there are many great features added to the products and the seamless navigation between browsing records to creating new documents, process workflows on mobile devices and ultimately embrace an engaging online experience via Web and Social facets, the real story lies in the ability to elevate existing information to more eyes and minds than ever before.

When I first use this term Monetization (or even specific terms like Social Capital, Consumerization of the Enterprise or even Online Channel Optimization) I often get a frown or furrowed brow as different organizations tend to think I am not referring to their business - convinced I must be referring to the retailer who wants to sell their products over the Web. But that is not the whole story. Every organization can embrace the online world (Web, mobile, digital signage, podcasts, video, etc.) to share their stored intelligence and use the Web as a means of processing tasks, finding that important nugget of information, and engaging experts in a new medium. Unlocking the hidden potential of content (any digitized document, file, image, recordings...) for the purpose of increasing revenue and reducing costs - simple but true.

There are many interpretations of Monetization in Web 2.0 applications. One example is in government agencies for their initiative to engage constituents in e-gov or online resource sites. The critical factor in this project is to ensure that secured documents remain secured and that any new user generated content follows the same rigor to compliance and governance policies as established by the agency. This is where Open Text has a firm handhold on the importance of combining the rich experience of the online channel with the transactional and compliant content lifecycle demanded by organizations across the world.

Question to ponder: How well is your organization exposing its content to enrich the customer experience, make it easier to find what they are looking for without tripping over corporate policies and incurring overwhelming IT costs to get there?

Monetization of content is not just about adding links to documents or showing web reports of the most popular downloads. It is fundamentally about using the tools at hand to make our lives easier, learn from each other and share information in an exciting preferred way. This means embracing process valued applications like case management, social media tools like wikis and giving the end user control of their own content views via a personalized presentation portal. Together these applications can extrapolate value of content once thought lost or not important.

Remember the value of content is in the eye of the beholder - so embrace their desire to engage with you whether on your Website or mobile devices.

To read more about this topic, check out the new book by Tom Jenkins, "Managing Content in the Cloud". It has many examples of how organizations have embraced this new paradigm and taken the next step in their journey to monetize the assets they have and expand their usage of the online world in their favor.

Gearing up for Web stories

Wow, where did the summer go? After a brief hiatus, I have officially blocked time for blogging again and bringing back the focus on creative uses of the Web in corporate, government and educational environments. One of the best sources to hear from a variety of Open Text customers, across regions and industries, is at the annual Open Text Content World event. This year, it will be held in Washington D.C. in November and I am anxious to hear how many of our customers are taking the Web to the next level. I have been visiting a few customers recently and am amazed at how they are embracing the Customer Experience, placing value on the use of social tools and for some, incorporating mobility into the picture of their online strategy. All hot topics for our Content World user event.

I always get excited when I see organizations progressing along the maturity model of Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 trajectory(though the definition of Web 3.0 is still debated). Some industries have such potential to embrace the Web more for their communication medium, and other groups are pushing the envelope to truly monetize the value of their information in new ways. The online channel is not only about traditional e-commerce applications, but rather using the browser, the mobile and smart phones, even print or mashups to provide valuable and relevant content / information to those who request it in a format that they want it and listen to their feedback to make the next experience even better. The real gem lies in the ability for the organization to be nimble and take a risk - get that new Web app or next generation Web site live. The online channel is not the easiest thing to measure a true ROI, but without participating there is no hope of capitalizing on the technological advances that make harnessing the intelligence inside organizations or out in the social network of the World Wide Web a reality.

Open Text Social Media promotes engagement

In case you haven't seen, we've been busy here at Open Text taking Social Media to the next level. We like to call it "applied social media" - expanding the marketing reach to the online visitor and bringing teamwork efficiencies to life. Take a look at the buzz regarding our latest announcement of great new solutions and features to bring social communities and collaborative workspaces into the enterprise.

http://www.opentext.com/2/global/press-release-details.html?id=2371


We have also focused a few blog posts to the social topic - check out my latest post on the impact social networks can have on helping manage information overload:

http://teamopentext.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/humans-have-lost-the-battle-or-have-we/


Keep the ideas and conversations flowing - we'd love to hear from you!

It's Gotta Fit on a 1" Screen...

I am just returning from the SAP NetWeaver BI and Portals 2010 conference where I spoke on the topic of crafting an Enterprise Social Portal. It was interesting that most of the attendees in the audience were IT application developers or administrators yet very few of them were interacting with social sites today. And they were divided along generational lines when it came to mobile phone usage. One of the younger attendees said "If the entire message doesn't fit on the 1" screen of my mobile device, it gets put off until later, and sometimes later is never." This was not just about texting 140 character Tweet but also email POPed from his favorite program. Clearly, I must find the foreign language class titled "Cryptic writing" with a specialty in "Keeping the attention span of the Millenial mobile generation." When 63% of the workforce prefer a Smartphone over the Laptop, we are clearly entering a new world of communication.

On the front page of the USA Today that arrived at my doorstep was the anxiously awaited Apple iPad and on the back page a list of all of the cool new iPhone apps that will make your life easier. Some more useful than others. There were 3 main categories of apps: instant access to data, location relevant data and collaborative data. For instant access to the oracle known as Google, it is a standard practice of my 12 year old to ask for the answers to her homework - sometimes from her iPod directly. For the traveler, there were many apps for locating food and restrooms at the airports. But my favorite is the RunPee app designed to alert you when there is a lull in the movie you are watching to leave for a 2 minute bio break.

Across all of the mobile and social applications getting built today, I am quite impressed by the attention to detail and focus on the simplicity. It is nice to see the knowledge sharing and willingness of the general public to participate in the goodwill of the community. Over the next few years, we will see more of this innovation blossoming inside organizations and changing the culture of the enterprise. I can't wait!

Open Text WCM leadership continues

On one hand it is great to see social networking in full force with the number of pings I received to read Markus Giesen's post about the Open Text WCM portfolio - which has many great points to reiterate and a few to correct. (ps. while it pains me to use the term "RedDot" as it has been renamed, it is how many of our customers/partner still refer to it)

RedDot is Alive and Expanding

To reiterate a comment from Markus -'RedDot CMS is alive." But to respectively correct Markus, it is not just RedDot CMS but also the RedDot LiveServer that is getting continued investment and a life much longer than just a couple of years. What many are referring to as loss of momentum is in truth the maturing of these products into a product lifecycle that many of our customers have asked for - fewer releases (we have one major release every 12-18 months with Service Packs every 6 months) which allows them to budget and plan appropriately and still stay current on ever advancing technology. Check out the new features for RedDot coming out this summer in the latest roadmap - really nice!

Open Text WCM Leads the Pack

It is not just marketing-speak. After the acquisition of Vignette, Open Text communicated a dedication of significant resources to both Vignette and RedDot. Open Text is now the largest WCM vendor in the space (according to market share of certain industry analyst data). Open Text can meet the full spectrum of WCM business needs; from an easy-to-use, fast-to-deploy web publishing application, to a fully integrated, enterprise-class platform for large-scale deployments. And to agree with Markus again, RedDot CMS is STILL a leader in the ECM Market.

With Open Text's defined ECM strategy, Vignette joins these ranks and the proof is in the launch of the latest major releases of Vignette Portal 8 and Vignette Content Management 8. Engineering is actively working on new releases this month and another in the summer. Momentum is picking up, so watch for great things in the Enterprise 2.0 area.

Sound WCM Strategy

As I mentioned in my post about the exciting new Open Text WCM plans from September 2009, we are adding incremental functionality to both RedDot (CMS and LiveServer) and Vignette Content Management, Portal and Social Media products (and their adjacent modules). Open Text is also continuing investment in the Document and Records products from Vignette, but that is for another post.

Our strategy to offer legacy WCM customers an upgrade to the most appropriate current offering is still intact. We confirmed at Open Text Content World 2009 that our strategy for maintaining both Vignette and RedDot product lines is best for our customers. I agree with Markus' comment that Vignette cannot replace RedDot - they each address WCM from a different perspective. We are not forcing customers to migrate and are listening to them for future direction requests. However, we also confirmed that some customers did want to take advantage of the other product and make the switch - their choice which we were happy to support.

Next Generation WCM progress

We encourage a strong partner channel and the additional plug-ins and customizations that make each customer website unique. Many of these customizations become core product features over time - a natural evolution in a mature product lifecycle. We have also made great progress incorporating some of the Vignette shared services into the RedDot line as well as the broader Open Text services into the Vignette products. This is the advantage of a strong portfolio from Open Text, great engineering resources and technologies that fit well together.

Customer AND Partners - We CARE!

There are a number of misconceptions lingering out there that I hope are addressed here. If I missed one or two, you can always catch the next Open Text Content World 365 WCM Roadmap Update held every other month for more details. We cover current roadmaps, strategy updates and give you an open forum to ask questions and get answers. Check out the Newsletters and Community on Knowledge Center for additional communications. Don't forget to sign up for the RSS feeds to stay up to date on the latest information.