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Welcome to another edition of our monthly newsletter. Time certainly flies when you're having fun or (in our case) hard at work :)
In response to last months thought provoking 'hardware for the new fiscal year', we have a superb low end system offer.
Thank you once again to all of our valued customers who have left their comments and suggestion on our website.
Yours sincerely,
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| The Power of Information Technology - Fact or Fallacy |
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Information technology is the term that covers all forms of technology used to create, store, display, exchange, and use information in its various forms.
In 1804 the French engineer Joseph Jacquard developed a punch card system for programming looms. This was a simple system where holes in the card represented the warp and weft threads on a silk loom.
Although cards such as these have been replaced in many instances by electrical or computer systems, I have to question whether these advanced computers are being utilised to their full extent. Take your desktop computer for example, it remains idle for over 90% of the time.
How effectively your company utilises information technology can set you apart from your competitors. There are many software systems available today which manage all facets of a businesses operations. (The cost to implement such systems can often be prohibitive.)
At the end of the day, information and information systems cost money. You have to sit down and justify how the end result will benefit your company, and if the cost to implement such a system can be justified.
There are many examples where the cost to implement will outweigh the benefits received (high speed colour laser printer when all you need is a black and white equivalent), however, I believe there are many more situations where technology can assist your company attain any number of the following improvements:
- reduce the time required to answer customer requests
- improve the communications within your company, distributors and customers
- reduce the time required to process orders, returns and recalls
- move towards a 'paperless office', one click purchase order submissions
- improved customer relationship management - knowing your customers
- direct marketing to target markets
- improved profitability
- knowing your true costs and productivity
- improved stock turnover rates, and many more items...
The past 10 years has seen a rapid growth in customised solutions being developed throughout all industries. Today, our biggest hurdle is the seamless integration of these systems to reduce duplicate data entry and make use of the information each system contains.
Take for example the integration of your web site with product inventory, sales orders, and current work in production. What if your customers could check the progress of an order via your website rather than calling your 1800 number? Pause a moment and think of the costs you would save in employee time and telecommunication charges. (All of this and more becomes a reality in Phase 2 of Comet's release.)
Admittedly, none of the above information is new or ground breaking. However, did you actually stop and consider your existing systems, their short comings, and how they could be improved? If you did, then I have achieved my goal in writing this article.
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| Whittaker and Macnaught's Free Newsletter |
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I recently attended a business seminar held by Whittaker and Macnaught and was automatically subscribed to their free eBulletin Newsletter. I have since been quite surprised at the wealth of information it contains.
Noel Whittaker and Cheryl Macnaught aim to provide sound financial advice for ordinary Australians. They have grown into one of Australia's largest independently owned financial planning practices, with over 65 staff and 5 offices from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast.
A sample of their newsletter can be seen online, or if you would like subscribe to their bulletin, visit: http://www.whittakermacnaught.com.au/asp/news_register.asp
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| 2003-2004 Commonwealth Budget |
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Have you stopped to take a closer look at the new commonwealth budget for 2003/04? A summary (and more detailed information) can be found on-line at the www.budget.gov.au website.
(All I can say is thank goodness I'm not at university and getting lumped with an even higher HECS debt.)
Have you just installed the latest operating system from Microsoft and need that extra tweak to improve its performance. Point your browser to http://www.tweakxp.com/ and locate some handy tips. (Use at your own risk:)
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| Hidden Benefits of Outsourcing Software Development |
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One of the greatest hidden benefits of outsourcing software development is that managers find they have more time to concentrate on the actual task at hand rather than the logistics of how it needs to be implemented.
The outsourcing firm can easily handle the project management setting the goals and milestones, leaving the nuts and bolts of how this is achieved to the outsourced development body.
A recent AMR research survey showed that 90% of the users interviewed found that the code developed was of better quality than if the application was developed in house.
Calido has the ability to develop small to large solutions for your company. Smaller projects can be managed and developed in-house whilst large scale applications (greater than 10 man years development time) are managed via a third party located in Hawaii. (The travelling and management costs are quickly absorbed by the cheaper wages costs.)
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| Performance of Manufacturing Index (54.8 April) |
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The Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) is a seasonally adjusted index based on production, new orders, deliveries, inventories and employment with varying weights.
A rating above 50 points indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding, below 50, declining. More information can be obtained from the Ai Group website.
The Performance of Manufacturing Index has improved steadily from the beginning of the year to a level of 54.8 points. Although this figure is down from the same time last year, it is expected to improve further in the coming months.
Queensland has dropped from being the best state in April 2002 (with an index of 61.7), to the worst state for the same period this year (current index at 47.1).
The following system is an ideal unit for office or home use where advanced graphics capabilities are not required. Fax orders directly to 07 3901 2501.
- AMD XP2000+
- Asus A7N266-VM Motherboard
- 256MB PC2700 DDR Ram
- Western Digital 40GB HDD
- BenQ 52x CD-Rom
- Integrated 32MB Shared AGP Video
- Integrated Audio
- Aopen KF45A Midi Tower Case
- Integrated 10/100 Network Port
- Benq PS/2 Keybaord
- Microsoft Intellimouse
- 240Watt Speaker
- BenQ 17" CRT V772 Monitor
- Microsoft Windows XP Home
SUPER LOW PRICE OF $999 + GST
I know I've said it before, but if your company uses WINZIP, you need to have a licence for each computer that uses it.
Winzip has a licensing model to suit your requirements with pricing starting from as low as $6.05 per user - you CAN afford to legalise all of your staff members.
Contact Calido today for a licensing plan to suit your requirements.
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AMD XP 2000+ Boxed CPU |
$139 |
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Western Digital 30GB Hard Disk |
$119 |
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19" BENQ Flat Screen Monitor (1600x1200 .25dpi) |
$419 |
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Norton Antivirus 2003 Retail 5 USER PACK |
$259 |
* Prices subject to change/availability. Includes GST.
If you have any positive or negative feedback you would like to share with us, you can now do so anonymously online at: http://www.calido.com.au/.
We value your custom and appreciate any comments you would like to share on our service, products or even pricing.
The questionnaire will only take a minute and you can rest assured that your opinions will be read and taken on board to further improve our service to you.
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