by Gary Mintchell | Aug 31, 2009 | Security
Still catching up on news while I was off the grid and then getting our September issue out.
Wurldtech Security Technologies has now certified 14 devices to its Achilles Certification. It has carved a niche as the place to go for certification for network robustness of industrial control devices. Devices certified thus far have primarily been DCS and SIS controllers, but now the company hopes to expand the program to test other devices that comprise an industrial automation and control system (IACS). These include (according to ISA’s component categorization scheme) embedded device, host-based device, network device and applications.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 27, 2009 | Commentary, Marketing, Software
Bunch of accumulated links as I slowly get caught up after a hectic summer.
Keep fit. Obesity shrinks brain size.
Multitasking doesn’t cut it.
Is Microsoft releasing a streaming database product that could compete with historians?
Interesting thoughts from Steve Leveen (Levenger) — we see what we look for.
Still getting a ton of comments on my social marketing post. Check them out. Some comments are moving to the new site at squarespace. Note–I have been very busy with work, travel and soccer. I’m getting cleared now so I can work on my new blog site. I believe that I can get disqus for comments. At any rate there is a better comment engine than this, and I’ll try to get it added. One thing at a time 😉
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 26, 2009 | Operations Management
I received an anonymous comment to one of my Invensys posts. Normally I just delete anonymous comments and spam. I’ll let this one sit, but in no way to I want to become a Jim Pinto-style “gripe log.” Mr. “Well Informed” bemoans the end of an era for Wonderware. Yes, he/she is right. It has managed to remain rather independent in the midst of a large organization. All its competitors who sold out have been subsumed into their respective corporations. It’s sad in a way, but also a reality of business. As for greed, I’m not well-informed there. I don’t know Ulf personally. However, you work for a public company. Public companies are a) always for sale (that’s why they sell stock) and b) always out to maximize shareholder return. Years ago stockholders were upset that top managers didn’t watch the stock market closely enough, so they changed the reward system to include huge bonuses in stock–if the stock went up. I think many are re-thinking this strategy, but if you work for a public company understand the dynamics.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 26, 2009 | Operations Management, Podcast
Another Podcast was posted. In this episode of Automation Minutes, I jump across the pond (via Skype) to talk Lean Manufacturing with Jean-Christophe Ledoux of consulting firm Accenture and Yves Vergnolle, of software supplier Apriso about a project where the companies combined to provide a software solution to companies looking for tools to help them implement Lean Manufacturing. The guests call in from France for this episode.
by Gary Mintchell | Aug 26, 2009 | Marketing
I started a heck of a thread with a post on Twitter, blogs and communications. I just read another blog post from Scoble who talks about why he still does Twitter–he’s in a constant quest for the latest news. He’s right, you’ll get news first from Twitter. You get thought later in a blog. Magazines, on the other hand, need to have even more research and analysis to remain relevant. Newspapers have a problem. I think they have to become more local–and remember they’re still the best places for coupons. I know there are Web sites, but newspapers are “in your face.”
You’ll have to click the link above and read the comments. They are great. I have had little time the past several weeks to update so many different vehicles. And when I wanted to Tweet more, the service was down. Twitter is just going to have to get more reliable. The other problem with Twitter is it’s ephemeral. Old posts get lost. So don’t put thoughts there, just quick updates or news or conversation. Some people thought Twitter would replace blogs. No, it’s a different form of discourse for different stuff.
By the way, all this social media stuff–check out this social media blog. I’ve heard talk about ROI lately regarding advertising and reaching prospects. I think what I heard was relating it to “leads.” Leads are names of people who click a link. But people, leads don’t give return. Return means money–sales. ROI is that amount of money you earn on a money investment in something. Your boss (or you if you’re the boss) wants metrics these days (probably have an MBA with little or no experience in the sales trenches). Names on clicks or even the number of clicks are a metric. Return is what YOU do with that. As Jason says in his post I just linked to, today you still generate more sales through traditional means. Maybe that changes in the future. Who knows?
Or, come to the ISA Sales and Marketing Summit in Boston Sept. 10-11 and discuss with us.
