Integration of Technologies the Key to Survival

As I sat and watched No Country for Old Men with my JRT, I couldn't help but wonder, is this a metaphor for business today? Are the business rules changing?

Today's business environment allows for so much creativity the options are endless. One problem for many people is these so called options start far ahead of many consumers capabilities. This is due to the technological revolution that we have seen over the past 10 years.

Our company, WBS Connect, has a Network Operating Center that follows the sun around the world, meaning it is open 24 hours in many countries.

We utilize an internal portal based on open source technology which allows our software packages to integrate with one another.

The phone system is run in the cloud and the calls are terminated using voice over IP. From a support stand point it does not matter where our staff sits.

Sales people have shown an increased interest in social networking sites for business purposes. . LinkedIn is a great prospecting tool and has outlook integration. Facebook has so many plug in's that it needs it's own article. And of course there is Twitter. Personally, I have found Twitter to be one of the best tools invented.

There is major integration going on right now. According to Fox Business News Salesforce.com, the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced Salesforce CRM for Twitter, enabling companies to search, monitor and join conversations taking place on Twitter directly in the Service Cloud.

I love this quote by the CEO of Twitter; "Simplicity has played an important role in Twitter's success, making it quick and easy for consumers to connect to their community. With Salesforce CRM for Twitter, enterprises can replicate this same experience by keeping track of the conversations happening right now on Twitter," said Evan Williams, founder and CEO of Twitter.com.

Simple only if you understand the value and I am contending there are groups of people that have the deck stacked against them because Web 2.0 is moving too rapidly.

Another example of corporate integration is Netflix now has a rating system on Facebook, for their users. According to Reuters Netflix Inc is the latest media company to integrate with social networking website Facebook, whose huge community of young, tech-savvy users could help drive growth of the online DVD rental service's subscriber base.

Very smart marketing on both sides.

All of these very useful tools but only to those who have the option to use them. The generations to follow will be exponentially more productive than we are today. And we all have technology to thank for it.

Obviously there will be no escaping the basic business principles. However once the basic foundation is in place there are a great deal more options for the companies of today. Sales, marketing, operations and even customer support now have ways to reach, prospect, target and satisfy customers that companies ten years ago simply did not have.

This business world is playing by a new set of rules and integrating technologies will be a key to survival for 2009.