J.Boye: Expert Panel Discussion

By Troy Winfrey May 6, 2009

An open expert roundtable at the J. Boye conference. Panelists included Lisa Welchman, Welchman Pierpoint; Tony Byrne, founder of CMS Watch; Martin White, principal of Intranet Focus; and moderator and conference host Janus Boye.

Here's a quick review of the discussion held at the roundtable.

New technologies?

Byrne: Mobile applications in the enterprise. Not just about applying a style sheet, either.

Welchman: Very excited about being able to outsource my chores! It may not be popular, but I want to say, we have a special job when it comes to privacy. I agree some things are tracked…but we know how information moves, and we know what can happen about. Those of us who create these systems have a special responsibility to users if they're that casual about it.

White: Love the democratization of information. You don't need a BlackBerry anymore. Kenyan farmers can send a mobile pic of a diseased crop to a Britain office and get a diagnosis. Privacy is hugely important too.

Boye: The actionable thing? Lisa, you say that people should stop blaming vendors…what do you recommend to webmasters?

Welchman: Stop calling yourself a webmaster for one! It's too much. Secondly, lead. Like Bob Boiko says, quit your whining and enable yourself. The leadership is in this room. As Governance Girl, I'd say, Govern. Don't be afraid to set boundaries. Reality is, most successful things have some standards. They're not too restrictive, but they are there.

Boye: Tony, what do you think about mobile?

Byrne: There's a real analytics challenge because of the differences between regions and equipment and telcos and so on. People want to access enterprise systems more readily and more accurately from where ever they are. It's largely an interaction issue. To do: don't buy software without testing it first. 2 or 3 vendors head to head. Most people spend all this money without any trial period.

Secondly, those who got religion about user-centered design, I'd encourage you to think about it internally not just externally.

Third, there may be things you can turn off or shut off to save money. A webmaster told IT to cancel a services contract on a product that worked well and was going to be sunset in a few years. He used the $40k to do a more important small project.

White: Internet managers decide what information gets where. Go back to your office and write information manager on your business cared and email that to your boss. We have got to get companies to understand how important information is to the organization. Let's get the information manager framework across!

Byrne: I'm not sure if info manager is right,. isn't it more about applications today? I think we need a term that shows they deliver services to people.

White: Well, the internet is now delivering more apps to people. So the information manager has to take that on as well.

Welchman: You have to sell yourself, and you need a title that will let you do that. But a new title doesn't change you. Are you managing information or still just thinking project by project?

Why so many CMS's?

Byrne: Why no consolidation? I think there's been a lot of demand, I think it's a regional market because companies buy locally because they are nervous about the purchase…MS has failed repeatedly in this space and that has created a huge vacuum. Verticals? I think many vendors have trained sales folk by vertical, not more horizontally. People want to integrate, but their systems tend to be very industry specific. That may bring changes in the future.