| My favorite word is "alignment". This describes the | | | | found that business was just a little bit too good. |
| situation that happens when an IT department | | | | Their employees were spending way too much |
| gets it act together and focuses on solving | | | | time trying to map service calls so that they |
| problems for the business. This is actually | | | | could provide the most efficient service to their |
| different from what an IT department normally | | | | spread out customer base. Their IT department |
| spends its time doing: keeping the network up and | | | | (yes, Geeks need an IT department also) used |
| providing help desk support for end users. The | | | | the SugarCRM app to create an application that |
| folks over at eWeek found out that a number of | | | | automatically linked with the open source Asterisk |
| IT departments have actually been listening to | | | | PBX phone system and map out routes for their |
| what the rest of the business has been asking for | | | | techs to use for service calls. |
| and they are now starting to create custom | | | | 6. Super Bowl Story: The company Total |
| solutions that solve real-world business problems. | | | | Structures has what I consider to be a fun job - |
| The IT departments have been starting with the | | | | they are in the business of building custom |
| single app that has the most valuable information | | | | structures. Where this story gets interesting is |
| in it, the Customer Relationship Management | | | | when you realize that they won the job to build |
| (CRM) application, and then extending it to do | | | | the halftime stage that was used at this year's |
| useful work. How about if we take a look at 10 | | | | Super Bowl (yep, we all saw it for about 30 |
| of these applications: | | | | minutes, but I'll bet none of us can remember |
| 1. Where's My Trash (Truck): An Atlanta based | | | | what it looked like!) You can imagine just how |
| company called Trash-It has combined their | | | | complex building a structure that has to magically |
| Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live tool with the | | | | show up, be used, and then vanish must be. Their |
| Tom-Tom Work application, a GPS navigation tool. | | | | IT department used Microsoft Dynamics CRM |
| This now allows the business side of the house to | | | | Live to come up with an application that they |
| see where all of their trash trucks are at any | | | | could use to track the building of the stage. Now |
| time and better manage and control the fleet. | | | | how's that for stretching the definition of a CRM |
| Instead of guessing if they have too many or too | | | | application! |
| few trucks, now they know! | | | | 7. HIPPA-Hurray, HIPPA-Hurray!: The Department |
| 2. Helping Out The Homeless: San Francisco's | | | | of Human Services out in Oregon had a real |
| Family Service Agency has the nearly impossible | | | | problem on their hands. They were trying to |
| task of running six major helping centers with | | | | manage Medicaid claims that they were receiving |
| over 250 staff members. On a yearly basis, they | | | | from over 35,000 health care providers in the |
| are able to help 8,000 clients. They had a huge | | | | state. This meant that they were dealing with |
| problem: how could they tell who they had served | | | | 60,000 paper-based claims each month. Oh, and |
| and where they had served them? If they knew | | | | the new HIPPA rules were coming into effect. |
| this, then they could better coordinate their | | | | Their IT department used the SugarCRM app to |
| services and make the best use of their limited | | | | move to electronic forms. As a nice side-benefit, |
| funding. Their IT department used | | | | they became HIPPA compliant along the way. |
| Salesforce.com's platform to build a single | | | | 8. It's All About Politics: No matter what side of |
| integrated record for each client. This allowed the | | | | the political fence you sit on, you've got to admire |
| business side of the house, six different agencies, | | | | former presidential candidate Mitt Rommney's |
| to view each customer's single record of service. | | | | campaign team. Their IT folks used |
| 3. Conserve More: The U.S. Department of | | | | Salesforce.com's platform to create an app that |
| Agriculture does a lot of conservation work. Until | | | | allowed volunteers to get info out to those who |
| now, different systems had been used to track | | | | needed it while at the same time using emails to |
| different conservation projects. Their IT | | | | ask for campaign funds. How successful was this |
| department used Microsoft's Dynamic CRM 4.0 to | | | | app? Well by using it Mitt Rommney was able to |
| build a conservation work tracking application. Now | | | | raise $20M for his bid. He lost, but still that's a lot |
| the rest of the department is able to view all of | | | | of money! |
| the conservation efforts in a single place. | | | | 9. You Are In Germany: The Kassel region over in |
| 4. Is There A Doctor Here?: The good folks at | | | | Germany decided to use the SugarCRM app to |
| the Schumacher Group are responsible for | | | | get more folks to visit them. They designed a |
| providing both doctors and operating teams to | | | | social networking platform that was designed to |
| over 140 hospitals that are spread out over | | | | attract all sorts of people: tourists, businesses, and |
| multiple states. This works out ok if everything is | | | | even people who might want to move to Kassel. |
| going fine; however, in the event of a natural | | | | 10. Tracking School Days: So this last one doesn't |
| disaster it can become very difficult to find | | | | really involve an IT department; however, it still |
| doctors and get them to where they are most | | | | struck me as being a very cool app. The Bronx |
| urgently needed. The IT team used | | | | Lab School wanted to be able to both measure |
| Salesforce.com's platform to create a hurricane | | | | and track individual student performance. They |
| tracking app that integrates doctor location | | | | decided to use Salesforce.com's app to build a tool |
| information. This allows the business side of the | | | | that would let them track student performance. |
| house to swing into action when disaster strikes | | | | The very cool part is that it delivers daily updates |
| and make sure that the right resources are sent | | | | on each student to advisers, teachers, and (of |
| to the right locations. | | | | course) parents. |
| 5. Geek Map: The Geeks On The Way service | | | | |