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The AppGap

NuView – Proving Integrated HR Functionality in the CloudToday

NuView has been providing web-based HR tools since 1998. In the process they have gone through four technology iterations and have capitalized on the web as an HR services delivery mechanism. As the web continues to evolve, I recently spoke with Shafiq Lokhandwala, CEO of NuView.  He said that the company is privately held, with no venture capital backing and had 70 percent growth in 2006 and 110% percent growth in 2007.

NuView provides three major components that are integrated. First, there are the transactional functions. These include the traditional HR functions of payroll and benefits administration.  Next, there is the more strategic layer of recruiting, talent management, performance measurement, and compensation management. In this case, like the transactional functions, there are a lot of self-service capabilities.  Managers and employee can set goals and monitor progress.  There are security functions to control access to this sensitive information.

This second layer also includes a learning management system that can be integrated with the goal setting capabilities. This helps to break down the traditional silos between learning and HR. It is also consistent with the trend towards greater integration of all the HR and payroll functions within organizations.

Thorny Little Issue of Software Registration DetailsToday

Techcrunch has declared the death of packaged software, noting Microsoft’s opening of the Microsoft Store on the Web this past week.

Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say packaged software is “dead” and that suddenly all software will be purchased and downloaded from the Web.  However, it’s clear that packaged software has been in the throes of death for a long time. But it won’t be a quick and painless death.  It will be years before packaged software goes away, if it ever does completely.  (What about the software that comes loaded on your computer from the retailer?  Don’t see that going away anytime soon.)

The convenience of being able to purchase a software application on the Web and download it immediately can’t be beat.  But it also raises another thorny little issue:  what happens when you switch computers? 

Typically you’re given an activation key and required to register your copy of the software. But those activation codes are hard to keep track of.  What do you do if you get a new computer and need that activation key, but can’t locate the original version?  It’s not in the software provider’s interests to help you re-discover your key (I know — I’ve had to ask a couple of times and each time the answer was “we can’t help y

Transforming Organizations: Participative Media & the Power to ConveneNovember 26

Conversations with Truman Company CEO Mark Bonchek are always thoughtprovoking and his words from an article interview a year ago drifted back to me reading Matthew Hodgson’s TheAppGap post in search of a meta adoption model for Enterprise 2.0 and Government 2.0.

Discussing the topic “Organizing to Connect Intelligence: Broadcasting Innovation”  Mark Bonchek told me:

“..for a 21st century CEO, or senior leader, the “power to convene” is job one. In particular, recognizing the power to convene of those who have both a stake in the challenge and the knowledge to contribute, be they internal or external to an organization.“

Clearly we need look no further than the rollout of President Elect Obama’s key appointments to date, and today’s announcement of the new Paul Volcker lead advisory board , for the “power to convene” that comes with offical leaderships roles. However, it’s my observation watching the impact of participative media, (initially forums and more recently those labelled Web 2.0) on organizations is driving

Mark Logic Extends its XML ServerNovember 25

MarkLogic Server allows organizations to store,  search, analyze and dynamically deliver XML content. I have written about one application before (see – US Army’s Battle Command Knowledge System (BCKS) Moves to XML-based Platform). Recently, they announced the release of MarkLogic Server 4.0. I spoke with John Kreisa, Director of Product marketing. This new release is their largest so far and contains a number of extensions that we went over. 

But first let me cover the basics. MarkLogic Server is an XML server which provides a software application development platform for creating XML-based content related applications. The XML basis provides greater granularity in database searches and more efficient document delivery than traditional means. It accommodates semi-structured data. John explained that they this is what is often called unstructured data such as narrative but that they prefer the term semi-structure as all data has some structure.  In the US Army application I wrote about earlier, both the speed of access and the granularity of search were key benefits of this approach.

The new release adds to thes

Archiving all your Google Docs filesNovember 25

It’s a rule of thumb that every important file should have a backup (maybe two). I’ve been burned enough times to learn to honor this rule. For the files on my computer, it’s easy enough to do. I have an external drive just for this purpose, and I also upload to a server for good measure.

It’s the files that are not on my computer that’s a little trickier. One thing I don’t like about Google Docs is that there’s no way to download all your files in one go. Exporting them one file at a time is too cumbersome, and I’ve always wished they’d do something about automating the process.

Unfortunately, they haven’t, but some great work by a few people provides a work-around. First thing is to download and install these three:

1. Grease Monkey. A Firefox add-on that lets your browser run Javascript code. Restart your browser after you’ve installed Grease Monkey. If you already have this, skip to #2.

2. Google Docs Download Script. Follow the link on their website and Grease Monkey will automatically install this script for you. It doesn’t actually download anything, but just harvests the links of all the files you’d like to back up. Once done, refresh your Google Docs page and you’ll see a Download link at the right side of the menu bar.

3. DownThemAll.