Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Developing Business within the Alliant Culture

by Stephanie Southworth

American football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.” It was a quote that was often used around our house as I was growing up. In my short time as a member of the Alliant team, I can honestly say that it is something I have witnessed to be true within the organization.

My introduction to Alliant started with a trek to New Jersey to participate in the company’s annual Sales Summit. My first impression was that everyone on the team was extremely friendly and welcoming; there seemed to be no shortage of class, pride, or character(s). In addition to my initial impression, I couldn’t help but notice that I had a lot to learn in the way of technology. I heard more acronyms in those few days than I had in all my years on this earth. But there was something that stood out even more than friendly greetings and overwhelming technological terms. With every presentation from various members of the sales team, it became increasingly clear that this sales organization was fundamentally different from so many that I had seen before: everyone in this company truly and sincerely believes in the products and services they are selling and the value they bring.

Upon returning to Boston to embark on my career in Business Development, that notion really stuck with me. In making cold calls in search of net new logos, I find myself introducing Alliant and what we do to (very busy, often impatient) prospective new clients. I am excited to point out our key partnerships, array of offerings, and our managed services. If said prospect decides to take a meeting, I always make a point to tell them that the account team they are going to meet with is knowledgeable around the core technologies and maintains the highest level of reliability and care in everything they do. And the thing is, I mean it. In trying to “sell” Alliant Technologies to the prospect, I am not lying or sacrificing my personal integrity in any way. In truth, I believe that to be the very thing that can make the difference.

Monday, April 18, 2011

IT is sooooo High School....


There has definitely been a major shift in the workforce with the acceptance of technology. People are finding technology at home to enable them to communicate, catch up, and collaborate (gossip). This consumerism concept coupled with the ability for IT directors to move to a consumption model has made it easier to drive technology adoption in the workplace. IT executives finally have sponsorship as well as a less risky proposition to provide the technology to their constituents.

So I ask my relatively small sample audience of why they are finally embracing technology and are so often to refresh it. I commonly get two answers “it’s so cool” and “it’s easy to use”. Sounds like a teenage answer, however show your CXO that he can receive phone calls on his iPad2, let him telepresence with a colleague across the globe, and let him drive his car without a key and you’ll start to see the simple pleasures that lead to purchases. Everything you buy these days has some extra technology whiz bang. It doesn’t matter if it’s your lawn mower, refrigerator, grill, car, etc. The McDonalds sales model of, “would you like a widget with that” is starting to pay off. You are more apt to buy the widget. You might every supersize your widget.

As I start to talk to more directors about their technology enablement programs for 2011 I’m interested to see a shift in their initiatives. I’m still seeing a strong push towards virtualization, desktop / OS refresh, and DR planning. The two that have quickly risen to the forefront in pilots and proof of concepts are VDI and Video. Of interest to me is that while VDI has been reviewed as a potential option for desktop/OS refresh the tablet innovation and BYoP (bring your own PC) is really pushing this further.

What’s interesting to note is how these technologies are filtering into corporate America. Take a look at the tablet. It started with an anti-establishment movement of I’m PC and I’m a MAC. Translated into you are boring and monolithic, I’m jazzy and very easy to use. The grass roots movement of the everyday man became the largest advocates for this technology and we saw the expansion of our use of these technologies. First to revitalize how we consume audio, next to revolutionize the way we communicate and collaborate, and now as an alternative access method to critical data in a more convenient and accessible format. Today while reading email, leveraging VDI, and checking sports scores on my iPad2 I also use it as my remote control. How is that for empowerment and ways to impress your three year old. If you don’t have something as “cool” as an iPad2 you need one. If someone at work tells you it’s not supported and can’t have one you’ll get executive sponsorship to displace things that are “boring and monolithic”.

As far as video goes….is it truly transformative, breaking down borders, heightening the experience, reducing carbon footprints, and making us more productive? Absolutely! You should be able to demonstrate the benefits, highlight the experience, and develop ROI's to make the case compelling. These sales cycles can be months. When do we get a PO in a week? Typically when this happens:

Your CXO is asked by another CXO “let’s setup a telepresence”. They reply “Sure, I’ll have my admin coordinate with yours.” Then they ask their admin, “what’s a telepresence, we do that right? Oh we don’t have that? Why don’t we have that? How come Jimmy has that?”

Quickly turns into if Jimmy has that I need to have that. Get IT on the phone and get me that.

P.S.
If IT needs to “get that”, whether it be tablet empowerment through VDI, collaboration tool sets, or telepresence, ask them to kindly call Alliant Technologies =)

Thanks,
CTO

Monday, April 04, 2011

Cisco Telepresence and Healthcare - The revolution of "telemedicine"

 

It's 2AM and your son who is seven years old is coming down with an intense fever. You immediately recognize that your son has the flu and recognize that with the proper medication, you can treat this ailment right away.

You head over to your living room where you connect to your doctor using your Cisco umi device. Immediately, you are having an interactive video conference with your doctor where in moments, the doctor diagnosis's your son's ailment and sends a prescription to you via email.

We have all been in this situation or something similar. The convenience and power of meeting with your doctor or healthcare provider for non-serious issues such as having the flu or common cold through video conferencing, some of the most common illnesses that most people experience every year, is highly productive and effective for both the patient and doctor where timeliness and convenience are the critical issues at stake.

The solution to the above situation can be solved through the power of Cisco Telepresence. Cisco specifically has a Cisco Telepresence program geared towards the healthcare industry called Cisco HealthPresence. The following video taken from Cisco clearly illustrates the power of Cisco HealthPresence:




Exploring solutions that will create positive and productive experiences for both the patient and the healthcare provider is key to taking advantage of this revolutionary technology from Cisco.

If you are interested in exploring similar solutions to revolutionize your health practice, please reach out to Alliant Technologies today for more information.

Written by Thomas K. Cheriyan