The Leader Q2 2001 — Austin Software Council

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The Leader
Supporting Our Technology Community, 2Q01
IN THIS ISSUE
FEATURES
Technology Assessment
Supplement
Technology Assessment
in Today’s EverChanging Market . . . . . . S•1
Effective Technology Selection
Through the Use of a
Technology Roadmap . . . S•2
Implementation of the ASC
Member Cards Program . . S•2
A Structured Approach to
Technology Assessment . . S•3
SOAP—
A Viable Option? . . . . . .S•4
Executive Roundtables:
An Opportunity to Learn
and Build Relationships . . 10
Why Implement a B-to-B
e-Loyalty Program? . . . . . 18
DEPARTMENTS
A Note on This Issue . . . . . 2
Sponsors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Executive Director’s
Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
General Counsel’s
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Workforce Development . . 5
Export Control Considerations
for the Software Business . . 6
Austin’s International
Development Gaining
Critical Mass . . . . . . . . . . .8
Monthly Meetings in Review:
March: Final Jeopardy—
Are You Betting Your Business
on Your Sales Force? . . . . 14
April: E-Care—The Convergence of Software, Internet
Services and Call Centers . . 15
May: Funding Sources . . . 16
Membership Gallery . . . . . 19
New and Renewing
Corporate Members . . . . 21
Upcoming Events . . . . . . 24
Economic Times Spur Advice for
Employees and Employers
Re-Careering in a
Changing Economy
Jamie King Belinne, Associate Director for MBA Career Services,
University of Texas at Austin
In Austin’s rapidly changing market, many people are dusting off old resumes and exploring their
options should they decide to make a career move.
For those who have always conducted job searches in
a “seller’s market,” exploring the “hidden job market” can be overwhelming. To make this process
both manageable and rewarding, you must first overcome the questions that paralyze most job seekers in
turbulent economic times.
1. Whom do I know that can help? A survey
last month by Techies.com of more than 1,600 technical professionals named one’s personal network as
the most effective means of finding satisfying employment. Your network includes your current coworkers, peers in other companies, friends, and
acquaintances. Make sure everyone you know understands your core skills and career interests. Also,
make sure to pass along information or contacts of
interest to people in your network whenever possible.
Networking has
to be a two-way
exchange to
work effectively.
2. What do I
say to them? To
network well, you
need to be able to
“sell” yourself in
less than a minute. Very few networking contacts
want to hear your life story, and at a professional
organization meeting, you don’t have more than a
minute to get your message across. Spend time developing and practicing your pitch so it comes out naturally and can easily be tailored to meet the needs of
your audience. For example, “Hi. I’m Dustin King.
I’m working at WidgetsRUs managing vendor relationships to make sure our new product launches run
Continued on page 11
It’s Hard (and Dangerous) to Say Goodbye...
Tips on staying out of court with former employees
Laura M. Merritt, Bracewell & Patterson, LLP
In a hot economy, employment litigation declines.
Unhappy workers
simply move on to
greener pastures,
and terminated
employees find alternative work easily,
often before their
final paycheck is
processed. However,
when corporate
belts collectively
begin to tighten, it
becomes increasingly difficult for individuals to change
jobs. The result? More employment lawsuits are filed
against former employers.
Sexual harassment, breach of contract, nonpayment of wages, race/national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, workers’ compensation retaliation, defamation…the list of potential causes seems
endless. Although the only way to guarantee you will
never be sued by employees is to not have employees at
all (hardly a workable solution!), the following strategies will help prevent employment lawsuits and
enhance the probability of courtroom success if your
company does become a litigation target.
1. Carefully review each individual termination before finalizing the decision. Does the
employee have a contract for a specific period of
employment? Has the employee recently filed a discrimination complaint or workers’ compensation
claim? Has the company followed policy? Does the
company’s documentation support the termination?
The company’s human resources executive, legal
counsel, or other high level decision-maker should
carefully consider these and similar issues as well as
the specific, individualized facts and circumstances of
each termination. Requiring more than one executive
to approve the decision will prevent “heat of the
moment” terminations and help ensure that the company’s action will be well reasoned and legally sound.
2. Understand and follow wage payment laws
and regulations. The Texas Payday Act requires final
wage payments to be made by specific deadlines (by
the sixth day after termination if involuntary, by the
Continued on page 24
The Leader
Board of Directors
Robin Lea Curle, CEO Partnerships
Les Belady, Consultant
Bill Bock, Verity Ventures
John Dirvin, Austin Ventures
Neil Iscoe, e-Certain
Dick Moeller, Verity Ventures
TBD, Tivoli Systems
Betty Otter-Nickerson, Elegiant
Lauren Peters, Peters Group Public Relations
Juan Sanchez, University of Texas at Austin
Ed Taylor, Collective Technologies
Paul Toprac, ASC Executive Director
Chair
A Note on This Issue
Emily Sopensky, The Iris Company
Staff
305-0023
Main Number
Executive Director
Paul Toprac, 305-0032
[email protected]
Council members, both employees and
employers, should be able to glean needto-know advice from contributors Jamie
King Belinne (University of Texas) and
Laura Merritt (Bracewell and Patterson,
LLP) that is useful in both good and tepid
economic eras.
Then, too, Executive Director Toprac has
some suggestions about how Council membership is useful regardless of the economic
times. Workforce Development Chair Craig
Eissler focuses on the market for IT workers.
Check out the new supplement on
Technology Assessment. As outsourcing and
partnering become more and more important
to the viability of the corporate structure and
income, the rigors of assessing technology
are even more important. Consultant Cole
approaches the subject favoring flexibility,
redundancy and monitoring the market constantly. Pat Flanagan of Athens Group gives
us the framework for a solid technology
roadmap. Embrace Software’s Raj Sundra
describes the Council’s new member card
program and the technology assessment
involved in implementing this benefit.
ConnectTel CEO Kannan Kaliyur writes
about SOAP, a new protocol for webenabled integration of services. He invites
you to explore this technology and do your
own assessment.
We are in the process of improving
the content and design of the newsletter
so please let us know what you think—
good and not so good. The design will
be altered slightly and we will have a
new set of department articles focusing
on the membership.
As always, we look forward to contributions from members. We’re interested
in both timeless articles that are of interest
and use to our membership as well as those
that address the times. Next quarter we’re
focusing on New Beginnings. Remember
this is a newsletter FOR and BY members,
so please join the Council first if you
want to submit an article. Contact me at
[email protected]. I look forward
to hearing from you.
Director of Member Relations
Catherine Bartlett, 305-0010
[email protected]
Business Development Manager
Ron Miller, 305-0014
[email protected]
Office Manager
Sandra Kaso, 305-0043
[email protected]
Events Coordinator
Susan Snow, 305-0042
[email protected]
X-Team
X-Team Chairs
ASC “University”
Chancellor
Chris John, 478-8779 x13
[email protected]
Community/Civic
Vacant
Conferences
Vacant
Deirdre Mendez, 338-1177
[email protected]
International
Development
Legislative
Jeff Heckler, 477-7342
[email protected]
Legal Counsel
Tom Adkins, 494-3640
[email protected]
Marketing
Steve Farrer, 418-9059
[email protected]
Membership
Vacant
Mixers
Vacant
Programs
Charlie Jackson, 491-2625
[email protected]
Publicity
Lauren Peters, 794-8600
[email protected]
ASC Communities
Sponsorship
Website
Workforce
Development
2
Keith Zimmerman
[email protected]
Vacant
Judith Manriquez, 930-4286
[email protected]
Craig Eissler, 912-9694
[email protected]
2Q01
Sponsors
Community Investors
Bracewell & Patterson L.L.P.
IBM developerWorks Team
KPMG LLP
McKinsey & Company
Microsoft Technology Center
Stax Research
Trilogy Software
Report from the
Executive Director
Paul Toprac, Executive Director
Annual Underwriters
“When times are hard, the last thing you should
do is panic. When you panic, your brain shuts
down; you stop listening and learning.”
William F. Miller, professor emeritus of computer science,
Stanford University School of Engineering
R
developerWorks Team
Supporting Sponsors
Platinum
Arthur Andersen
Bracewell & Patterson L.L.P.
GraphX Creative
PetersGroup Public Relations
Protéan Marketing
Gold
Copy Craft Printers, Inc.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Silver
Rockford Business Interiors
Sigma Information Group, Inc.
Bronze
Jump.net
Thompson & Knight, LLP
This quote says it all. Austin’s technology
community has begun a difficult transition, but we
cannot panic. Instead, let’s weather the storm and
emerge stronger than before. The companies that
survive will flourish by creating and reaping value
for their customers and investors. Those workers
whose jobs have vanished will create new ideas
and find meaningful work in new endeavors. The
most dangerous thing we can do is to allow panic
to stop the listening and learning because through
learning we can overcome the current obstacles
and uncover greater success.
How can the Council help you to succeed in
these difficult times? We have programs that will
help your company
l Find new business opportunities
l Increase intellectual capital
l Reduce cost and risk
In the coming year, we plan to model future
initiatives on our past successes. For example, we
have offered several ways to connect to international business opportunies. The most significant
have been our International B2B Trade Missions
and the International Trade Fair. We will continue
to offer international business interchanges, along
with the opportunity to learn new ideas, master
emerging technologies, locate market opportunities, and obtain new skills. Future conferences,
including “Funding in 2001, Part II” and
“Partnering,” will help your company find new
funding and partnerships. The “Content
Management” eBusiness Forum and the “Linux
Invades” Internet Appliance SIG will focus on
managing new markets and technologies. Finally,
programs such as the “Alliance and Partnerships”
marketing forum and the “Testing Software” seminar at ASC “University” will offer additional new
skills. Each of these ongoing programs represents
a community for technology executives and workers to connect and learn from each other, creating
business relationships that help companies grow.
We have launched a program to give executives the critical information and support they
cannot find elsewhere. Access to this information
will provide tools for successfully overcoming
hostile business conditions. The Executive
Roundtables consist of top executives from
Austin’s high-tech companies. Each group is
designed to match executives with the noncompeting peers who can help them the most.
The goal is to provide targeted advice to give
executives a competitive advantage. Twelve peers
will meet on a monthly basis to confidentially discuss highly relevant issues. If every executive’s
time is worth $150 per hour, then the Executive
Roundtables provide over $3,000 worth of advice each session and nearly $40,000 of counseling in one year. This is a great opportunity to
make valuable contacts and help yourself while
helping others. For more information, see the
article in this issue of The Leader and email me at
[email protected] or call 512-305-0032.
The Council offers benefits to reduce the
cost and risk of operations. Our Member Services
program provides reduced payroll costs through
ADP, online employee benefits services from
benefits.com, discounted long-distance service
with SmartPrice.com, discounted business furniture from Rockford Business Furniture, and
recruiting programs through KLBJ and the
Austin Chronicle. You can also reduce your business risks through an insurance program with
InsureHiTech. To find out more, contact Catherine
Bartlett at [email protected] or
at 512-305-0010.
Additionally, we have responded to the needs
of displaced workers with career opportunities that
keep valuable talent in Austin. Modeled after
the highly successful JobConnect in March, the
Council again partnered with the Greater Austin
Chamber of Commerce and the Capital Area
Workforce Commission to hold a bigger and better JobConnect in June. More than 30 companies
came together to recruit from several thousand
prospective employees. This successful event benefited the community, companies, and candidates.
The Council continues to focus on helping
companies Sell, Save, and Survive, but we can do
more. If you have any ideas about how we can
better serve companies in the Austin area, contact me at [email protected] or
512-305-0032. See you at our next meeting!
3
The Leader
General Counsel’s Comments
All Eyes Focus on Online Privacy
W. Stephen Benesh, Bracewell & Patterson, LLP
Companies have responded to this
It’s difficult to open a newspaper or magazine these days without reading about anoth- increasing public concern over Internet privacy in a number of ways. Web-based busier lawsuit alleging improper use of private
nesses have long recognized four widely
information obtained through the Internet.
accepted fair information practice principles:
Perhaps the most well known of these is the
Notice (clearly and conspicuously state inforDoubleClick litigation. DoubleClick used
mation practices); Choice (offer choices on
cookies (tracking software) to monitor users
how personal information is used); Access
at each of the websites where advertising for
(grant users access to their own information);
DoubleClick’s clients was displayed. Many of
and Security (take reasonable steps to protect
these websites required disclosure of users’
the security of user information). However,
personal information. Last year, DoubleClick
the FTC reported last year that
unveiled plans to merge dataonly about 20% of the websites
bases with Abacus Direct, a
...less than 10%
sampled in its 2000 survey have
company that maintains a
of the sampled
implemented, even in part, these
marketing database gathered
from catalog retailers’ cussites are enrolled principles (although 42% of the 100
busiest commercial sites in the U.S.
tomer information. This
in online privacy
have implemented them). Likewise,
merger announcement resultseal programs...
the FTC survey determined that
ed in a number of lawsuits
less than 10% of the sampled sites
against DoubleClick alleging
are enrolled in online privacy seal programs
invasion of privacy (based on information
and conspicuously display privacy seals.
gathered through the cookies) and a request
Many companies—including IBM,
for a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) invesDoubleClick, AT&T, ExciteAtHome, and
tigation of DoubleClick’s practices. Many of
EarthLink—have also responded to concerns
us also recall the Toysmart.com fiasco, where
the crumbling toy vendor attempted to sell its over online privacy by creating the position of
Chief Privacy Officer. CPOs are given a varidatabase of 200,000 customers as it slipped
into bankruptcy. These lawsuits are not isolat- ety of responsibilities, ranging from soothing
customer concerns about the use of their pered incidents; in the last few years, over 30
sonal information to lobbying lawmakers over
well known companies have been named as
parties in privacy-related lawsuits, and the fre- proposed technology-related legislation. Allen
Weston, President of Privacy in American
quency of such suits is increasing rapidly.
Business, estimates that 75 to 100 U.S. comThe rise in Internet privacy litigation is
panies have employed privacy officers and that
merely a symptom of growing concern over
“there will be hundreds or thousands in the
the use of consumer data obtained over the
United States over the next few years.” (In
Internet. In a 1998 Harris poll, 88% of the
respondents stated that they were “concerned contrast, the Bush administration has opted
not to appoint a “chief counselor for privacy,”
about general threats to their privacy” and
a position created by the Clinton administra82% felt that they had “lost all control over
tion, instead placing responsibility for privacy
how companies collect and use their personal
issues in the hands of the White House Office
information.” Almost 78% believed that comof Management and Budget.)
panies ask for too much information on the
Nevertheless, there is a general sense that
Internet. In a May 2000 report to Congress,
web-based businesses have done too little too
the FTC stated that 92% of consumers are
late to protect users’ private online informaconcerned (67% very concerned) about the
tion. As a result, both the Texas Legislature
misuse of their personal information online.
and the U.S. Congress are currently considerThis study also estimated that by 2002 privaing several proposed bills and legislation govcy concerns might result in potential losses of
erning the use and dissemination of online
online retail sales of up to $18 billion.
4
information and protecting the privacy rights
of Internet users. Seventy bills relating to privacy issues were introduced in the most
recent session of the Texas Legislature. Many
relate specifically to the health care and financial services industries, but some have broader
applications. For example, the Legislature was
considering an amendment (as of press time)
to Article One of the Texas Constitution to
recognize a personal right of privacy. Also,
noting the lack of “a consistent or comprehensive personal information privacy policy,”
the Texas Legislature was considering establishing a Task Force on Personal Privacy to
assess the effect of Texas laws on individuals,
commerce, and government operation in relation to personal information privacy concerns.
Additionally, the Task Force would address
whether existing or proposed laws contravene
commonly held expectations of individual privacy and affect commerce by creating an environment in which individuals will become less
likely to divulge information. “Personal information,” as defined in the bill, includes an
individual’s address, telephone number, Social
Security number, date of birth, marital status,
family member information, financial history,
and consumer history (presumably, sales, purchases, and other commercial activity).
The U.S. Congress is also considering a
number of privacy-related bills:
l Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001—
requiring the FTC to create regulations to
protect the privacy of personal information
collected from and about individuals who
are not covered by the Childrens’ Online
Privacy Protection Act.
l Electronic Privacy Protection Act—prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and use of an
information collection device without
notice and consent.
l Consumer Internet Privacy Enhancement
Act—protecting the privacy of consumers
who use the Internet.
l Consumer Online Privacy and Disclosure
Act—requiring the FTC to create regulations to protect the privacy of personal
information collected from and about individuals on the Internet.
2Q01
Workforce Development
IT Workforce:
How Has the Economy
Changed Demand?
Craig Eissler, Workforce Development Chair
l Privacy Commission Act—establishing a
commission for the comprehensive study
of privacy protection.
l Spyware Control and Privacy Control
Protection Act of 2001—providing for the
disclosure of the collection of information
through computer software.
As concerns over Internet privacy grow,
companies must alleviate customer and user
concern over the confidentiality of private
information. Companies should pay close
attention to the manner in which such information is gathered, stored, and disseminated
and also take specific steps to assure user
anonymity. As evidenced by DoubleClick’s
difficulties, many privacy disputes are triggered by partnerships and joint ventures
between web-based businesses contemplating shared ownership of user information.
Companies contemplating such situations
should take steps to ensure that proposed
joint marketing and joint venture arrangements do not violate either company’s privacy policies.
W. Stephen Benesh is a partner in the trial
section of Bracewell & Patterson, LLP’s
Austin office, which serves as General Counsel
to the Austin Software Council. Mr. Benesh
engages in commercial and technology litigation and is a member of the law firm’s
Information Technology & E-Commerce
(ITEC) Group. Mr. Benesh may be reached
at [email protected].
The emphasis this year is on traditional
Like the rest of the U.S., Austin’s IT job
information technology skills: programming,
market is undergoing significant change.
software engineering, and network design and
While demand for workers remains strong,
administration. Demand for candidates in
the numbers and nature have changed subenterprise systems climbed to 62%.
stantially in the past 12 months.
Four-year college degrees proved the best
This past April, the Information
pre-hire means of attaining needed skills and
Technology Association of America (ITAA)
released one of the most comprehensive stud- knowledge in four of the eight IT job clusters
developed by the NorthWest Center for
ies of the IT workforce ever conducted. The
Emerging Technologies (NWCET): database
study indicates that despite the experience of
development/administration, enterprise sysindividual companies, a steady supply of new
tems, programming/software development,
IT workers is still needed. In the U.S.,
and technical writing. The other four IT job
approximately 425,000 positions will go
unfilled because of insufficient applicants with clusters are network systems specialist, web
administrator, interactive digital media spethe requisite skills. Last year, ITAA collected
cialist, and customer systems support.
data indicating a shortfall of 850,000 posiCertification through a vendor or industions. The new study suggests that while the
try certification program remains of moderate
employment picture has changed, demand is
importance. IT companies viewed certificastill very high.
tions as at least as important as a bachelor’s
“The downswing in the U.S. economy
degree; non-IT companies placed certificahas undoubtedly affected the demand for IT
workers this year,” said ITAA President Harris tions slightly below a bachelor’s degree in
N. Miller. “Skilled technology workers—still a importance.
The Austin regional manager of the
highly desirable commodity to IT and non-IT
recruiting firm PDS Technical Services, Dan
companies—are facing more cautious hiring
practices than the “irrational exuberance” that Frey, says “I am seeing more resumes and
some say described 2000. However, our 2001 with more variety than in months past. The
highly skilled A-players are always in high
numbers suggest that hiring has by no means
demand, and though the less technically
halted for IT workers, rather demand still far
skilled workers will experience
exceeds supply in this market.”
Other top findings are that
…demand still far more competition, they will
still fare better on the average
non-IT companies, in aggregate
exceeds supply… than the non-IT worker.”
terms, employ 10 times more IT
CEO of the executive
workers than do IT companies.
Austin-based recruiting firm Pedley-Richard
On a per-company basis, however, the hiring
& Associates, Sally Pedley, says, “We have
needs of IT companies are greater than nonseen a dramatic reduction in the number of
IT companies. ITAA defines IT companies as
contract recruiters we place, but IT-skilled
firms that create and sell commercial IT soluworkers are being absorbed relatively quickly.
tions. Non-IT companies use IT solutions to
Due to the recent massive layoffs, I expect to
assist in business operations. The typical IT
company will attempt to fill almost 19 slots in see more individuals moving into the independent consulting business, particularly the
the next 12 months compared to just two for
more senior non-IT skilled professionals.”
non-IT companies.
The complete ITAA study, “When Can
Technical support people remain most in
You Start? Building Better IT Skills and
demand by IT and non-IT companies alike—
Careers,” is available for $50 to ITAA memone-fourth of all new positions over the next
12 months. Even so, this report finds demand bers and for $75 to non-members. To order,
visit www. itaa.org.
for these professionals is down 65%.
5
The Leader
Export Control Considerations
for the Software Business
John Symington, attorney-at-law
If your company is licensing software outside the United States, you need to be aware
of U.S. export controls, just as any other
exporter should. For most companies, an
export control program need not be complex,
and many compliance activities can be outsourced. But responsibility for compliance
cannot be delegated, and the penalties for violations of export controls can be severe.
Consequently, you need to understand how
export controls affect your business and implement an appropriate compliance program.
The U.S. government controls international trade in goods and services, financial
transactions, and disclosure of technical data.
Depending on the characteristics of a transaction and the goods or technology involved, a
transaction may require no license, may
require a license that is published and granted
generally for all qualifying transactions, may
require application to the government for a
specific license, or may be prohibited altogether. Controls may be imposed for a number of reasons, including proliferation of missile technology; nuclear, chemical or biological weapons; national security; terrorism; and
potential for dual military/civilian use.
Export controls include many different
laws and regulations, as well as international
agreements, and are administered by various
different government departments, principally
the Commerce, Treasury, and State
Departments. It can get quite complicated.
But once you identify the particular regulations that apply to your business activity, compliance is often a routine and simple process.
The compliance program should be periodically updated. Export controls are politically sensitive, and, as a result, they are subject to constant change. Each year significant
changes may bring trade to a halt in one area
or open previously forbidden markets.
Further, as your business grows and evolves,
the new activities may involve additional regulatory requirements.
6
Software may be many things, and defin- tions, etc.). Because many aspects of export
ing it may be difficult and subject to long
control are not obvious, you simply cannot
debate. But for purposes of export control,
know how you are affected until you look
the definition is straightforward: software is
into the matter.
technical data. Accordingly, exports and reSo where do you start? For general inforexports of software need not necessarily
mation, the relevant government web pages
involve shipment of physical media (i.e., CDare a good place:
ROM) or even a cross border transmission
l Department of Commerce (Bureau of
(i.e., downloading) to be subject to export
Export Administration) www.bxa.doc.gov
controls. Software may also be subject in
l Department of Treasury (Office of
some cases to “deemed” export rules. Under
Foreign Assets Control)
these rules, disclosure of data to a foreign
www.treas.gov/ofac/index.html
national may be “deemed” to be an export to l Department of State (Office of Defense
that person’s home country, even though the
Trade Controls) www.pmdtc.org
disclosure takes place within the U.S.
For simple compliance requirements,
Even if your company is licensing busifreight forwarders and other export profesness or consumer software of types commonly sionals can be very helpful, particularly when
available and exporting only to
implementing the procedures necrelatively unregulated trade destiessary for your company to comSoftware is
nations like Canada, Mexico, and
ply. For more complicated requiretechnical data. ments, specialists can advise on
the EC, you need to examine how
export controls affect your busihow to design and implement a
ness. Commonly available applications in the
good compliance program. And at any level
U.S. may be subject to strict export control,
of complexity, it helps to consult a lawyer
as has been the case for many years with
familiar with the law in this area.
encryption applications. The technology and
Export controls are complicated and can
products subject to controls are not always
be intimidating, but they are not normally a
obvious. For example, unless you know how
reason to avoid international trade. Be aware.
to build missiles or make mustard gas, the
Adopt a reasonable compliance program.
products and processes involved will not be
Update the program periodically. In this way,
obvious, and you cannot be sure that your
you can achieve and maintain compliance and
software is not a potentially integral part of
avoid the potentially serious sanctions for viosuch activities. And you will never find out
lation of export control laws.
unless you go through the exercise of classifyJohn Symington is an attorney in Austin.
ing your software. Even where the product
His practice focuses on general business
classification and destination controls are
legal matters and international business
known, there may be procedures that you
transactions. He can be reached at
need to implement to qualify for the [email protected].
ble license, such as screening customers
against the TDO list (a list of persons and
companies that have been identified with
embargoed governments, terrorist organiza-
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The Leader
Austin’s International Development
Gaining Critical Mass
Deirdre Mendez
Things are sizzling in Austin’s international arena—international opportunity for
Austin companies has never been greater. The
Council is sending out a regular e-mail
newsletter to keep you informed; if you’d like
to receive the monthly International Update,
let me know.
Some Of The Signs That We’re
Gaining Global Ground
At the Greater Austin International
Coalition’s annual conference in May, more
than 100 members of the 300-member audience signed up to work on international projects. GAIC’s new stakeholder program will
allow volunteers to propose and participate in
community projects, such as the following
that have been proposed:
l International Protocol Network to host
international visitors and maximize their
exposure to the community and vice versa
l ABIA Support Group to increase the
international services at Austin-Bergstrom
International Airport
l Promotion of an international trade center
for Austin
l An initiative to create international
opportunities for Austin’s film and
music industries
l An international labor and workforce development initiative
l Advocacy of international policies to state
government
l Education Peer Group to network and create joint international programs among the
region’s academic institutions
l A project to educate government officials
about international issues
l An initiative to create international
exchange in the fine and performing arts
8
Participation is open to anyone; contact
me if you’d like to work with this group.
More good news: John Brier, the new
VP of Economic Development at the
Chamber of Commerce, has expressed his
commitment to serving Austin’s business
community through international initiatives.
It’s great to see the Chamber returning to an
international focus.
The Mayor’s International Infrastructure
Task Force has recommended that the city
create a public/private partnership to promote international expansion in the region.
The development of an international trade
organization will be part of this initiative.
Mayor Watson has appointed 12 people to
serve on an interim board to get this project
up and running.
International investors are showing
interest in Austin. At a time when U.S. companies are having difficulty attracting lateround investment, foreign investors are an
ideal solution. International organizations
don’t follow a U.S. venture capital model.
They’re more interested in connecting with a
particular technology than realizing shortterm capital gain; take longer to conduct due
diligence and process paperwork; and typically prefer to invest in solid companies with a
history of prudent management, a product,
and some customers. This profile makes them
a great match for Austin’s investment community, whose portfolios are heavy with lateround companies.
The best thing about foreign investors is
that they can open up other markets to the
companies they invest in. So international
capital isn’t just money—it’s smart money.
Within the local venture capital community,
we’re seeing increased interest in overseas
investment, a sign that Austin is maturing and
taking a long-term approach to managing
local companies.
The Council is as committed as ever to
providing international opportunity for Austin
technology companies. We have an IT software mission to Japan scheduled for early
October and a European mission planned for
spring 2002. Contact me for details.
If your company’s products have a global market, you need to think about international business. The good news is that
Austin’s business community is mobilizing
to meet your needs.
For more information, contact Deirdre Mendez,
Foreign Business Management Consultants,
512-338-1177 or [email protected].
Spice up your
technical content
eases
l
e
r
s
Pres
Succes
s
Stories
Studies
Case
Techn
Documical
entati
on
tions
a
t
n
e
s
e
r
P
Ad Cop
y
ures
Broch
S
ure pictures often stave off the need for words.
But they don’t replace them! Your technical
differentiator still needs textual explanation.
Editors and journalists urge you to eliminate the
following buzzwords from your marcom lexicon and
your next press releases:
Best-of-breed ■ Leading ■ Seamless ■ Customer-centric
■ Leading provider ■ Solutions ■ Cutting edge
■ Mission critical ■ State-of-the-art ■ End-to-end ■ Robust
■ Value-added ■ First-mover ■ Scalable ■ Web-enabled
So either pull out the thesaurus or find a pen to hire.
The Iris Company
facts with flair
Emily Sopensky
512.452.2448
[email protected]
512.452.8950 fax
The Leader
Re-Careering in a Changing Economy
Continued from page 1
well. The last product I helped launch,
GoGoGadget, has been extremely profitable.
Because I enjoyed the product management
aspects of that project so much, I’ve decided I’d
like to work toward a more product management type role….” Then tailor the ending to
your audience. For instance, at a meeting of
the American Marketing Association, you’d
probably end with “Right now I’m trying to
learn more about the product management
field; I’d appreciate any insights or advice you
could give me on pursuing opportunities in this
area.” Stay away from vague titles or irrelevant details. Use language and reference
points your audience understands. As one of
my peers once told a more technical friend,
“explain your job to me as though you were
explaining it to your mother.”
3. How many and what resources
should I use? The Techies.com survey also
noted that technology workers use an average
of nearly seven different employment
resources, including professional associations,
online job boards, headhunters, contract positions, newsgroups, and want ads. Most of the
survey respondents posted their resumes to an
average of 3.5 online sites. Many web services,
such as AustinatWork.com or CruelWorld.com
use “agent” technology—you submit a profile
and they contact you with relevant jobs for
which you have the option to apply. Also,
major search engines such as the job database
on Hoovers.com are a great way to search
most of the major online job posting sites with
just one search. But think carefully before
releasing your resume and personal contact
information to strangers.
4. Where do I find “hidden” jobs?
Some estimate as many as three out of every
five professional jobs are never advertised
before they are filled. While your personal
network is by far the best place to tap into
these opportunities, there are other resources
as well. Websites for local incubators and
venture funds are a good place to see who’s
doing what with what kind of funding and
who is most likely in a growth mode. Read
the Austin Business Journal to see who is buying new offices, another good indicator of
growth. After all, they have to put someone
in those offices; why not you? And don’t forget about the Austin Software Council’s
events and activities!
Why should they hire me? You must
know the answer before you can approach a
company to request a job. And your resume
and cover letter should clearly state these reasons up front. Keep in mind that vague generalizations such as “self-starter” or “people
person” don’t sell as well as accomplishments.
Take some time to list all of your professional
accomplishments over the past few years.
Then, for each accomplishment, list all of
the skills you used to reach that goal. Lastly,
decide which of these skills you most want to
use in your next job. Your cover letter, “sales
pitch,” and resume should all highlight these
accomplishments and skills. Whenever possible, attach numbers to your accomplishments
to show just how effective you were. For
example, you can either say “Created a webbased order form for an existing product line”
or you can say, “Increased orders for existing
product by 25% by creating a web-based
order form.” Which person would you hire?
The clearer you are on what you have to offer
and what you want to do, the more likely you
are to get what you want.
ASC Communities
Information Systems Forum
partnered with AITP
Executive Roundtables
Keith Zimmerman
[email protected]
HR Peer Group
Susan Sandberg [email protected]
International Forum
Deirdre Mendez [email protected]
Product Management SIG
Karen Wilson
karenkwilson @hotmail.com
Dan Barsness [email protected]
Internet Appliance SIG
Jeff Michalski [email protected]
Sales & Marketing Forum
Jean Anne Booth [email protected]
ASC Networking
eBusiness Forum
Monthly Meetings
Charlie Jackson [email protected]
partnered with Central Texas eCommerce Users Group
10
Jamie King Belinne is Associate Director for
MBA Career Services at the McCombs School of
Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
She has worked in work services and job placement for more than 12 years. She can be
reached at [email protected].
2Q01
Executive Roundtables:
An Opportunity to Learn and
Build Relationships
Paul Toprac, Executive Director, Austin Software Council
It can be lonely at the top. When the
buck stops here, a CEO cannot afford to
make a wrong decision for fear of losing to
the competition. The same applies to a CFO,
COO, CTO, CIO, and executives throughout the high ranks of sales, marketing, and
human resources. To help executives avoid
disastrous missteps, the Austin Software
Council is revamping the Executive Peer
Groups into the Executive Roundtables.
The Council has created Executive
Roundtables to allow members of the top
management teams in Austin’s high tech
companies to consult and strategize with their
peers. These Executive Roundtables provide
members with confidential, highly targeted
ideas and advice from a group of successful
peers. Participants of the roundtables are
rewarded with competitive advantages derived
through discussion and interaction.
Groups were created to target members
lems or ideas that pertain to that person
of established companies, fast growing vendirectly. In addition to providing advice to
ture-backed firms, and high
the host, the remainder of the
potential start-ups. Each roundmeeting is devoted to the most
every
session
table consists of 12 individuals
important topics identified by the
provides…more group as a whole. These discus(all members of the Austin
Software Council) in similar
sions can prove invaluable as the
than $3,000
positions from nonworth of advice information comes from successcompeting companies. An
ful peers with proven track
emphasis has been placed on
records. If each person’s time is
mixing groups to create a combination of
worth $150 per hour, then every session prodiverse experiences as well as to provide eduvides a participant with more than $3,000
cational opportunities and competitive advan- worth of advice for a total of nearly $40,000
tages for all group members.
of counseling throughout the year. Each
The Executive Roundtables are held
roundtable also includes a professional facilimonthly with a different member of the
tator who is trained to keep the sessions on
roundtable hosting the meeting. The host
time and the discussions on target.
chooses at least one topic for the group to
Therefore, every meeting is sure to be both
discuss. This allows each member to receive
efficient and beneficial to all. This unique
some specific advice and support for probopportunity offers its members tremendous
value by allowing executives to learn and
consult while building their relationships with
peers in the Austin technology community.
ASC“U” Deans
Leadership
Neal Kocurek [email protected]
Charles Leadford [email protected]
Jim Ronay [email protected]
Led by Chancellor Chris John, the Austin
Software Council “University” deans are the
people who plan the seminars their departments present. ASC“U” deans welcome your
ideas for future programs. You can reach them
at the addresses listed below.
Vice Chancellor
Tony Thompson [email protected]
Finance
Dale Cox [email protected]
Brad Keller [email protected]
Human Resources
Chris John [email protected]
Nancy McIntire
[email protected]
Internationalization
Deirdre Mendez [email protected]
Brenda Hall [email protected]
For more information or to receive an
application, contact Paul Toprac by email
at [email protected] or at
512-305-0032.
Legal
Gail Taylor Russell [email protected]
Marketing
Cheryl Seeman [email protected]
Steve Farrer
[email protected]
Software Development
Kent Hemingson [email protected]
Watch the Council’s website for
details about upcoming seminars.
We are looking for more volunteers.
www.austinsoftwarecouncil.org
11
The Leader
Technology
Assessment
Technology
Assessment in
Today’s Ever-Changing Market
Charles Cole
Selecting the “right” technology has never
been as important as it is today. No longer relegated to support functions, technology now
plays a critical role in a company’s success or
failure. However, the growing myriad of innovative solutions and business models makes
choosing increasingly difficult. Not only must
IT solution providers and their customers
understand the technology, they must also
understand how it will impact their businesses.
The bottom line: following a comprehensive,
fact-based technology assessment process is a
strategic imperative.
To succeed, vendors, strategic partners,
and customers must understand and follow
the three-phase process involved in technology assessment:
l Phase I: Internal Needs Assessment
l Phase II: Vendor Analysis
l Phase III: Negotiation and Selection
Phase I: Internal Needs Assessment.
The process begins by assessing internal needs
and defining requirements, thereby identifying
what specific problems need to be solved.
Often the needs and corresponding requirements are then prioritized into categories such
as “must haves, nice to haves, and future
items.” Depending on the project’s size and
scope, the initial phase can be fairly timeconsuming. It can be performed either by a
team from a customer’s IT and business units
or with an outside professional services firm.
Although many net-savvy companies prefer to
go it alone, other high-tech heavies such as
Dell rely on third-party experts. Still, no matter who is involved, this phase is vital to laying
the foundation for the ultimate success or failure of the project—the implementation of the
chosen software solution.
By aggressively keeping up with market
trends and individual customer needs, solution
providers can stay ahead of the competition
and win market share by carefully choosing
strategic partnerships. For example, leading
broadband solutions provider, BroadJump,
relies on its customers to help identify gaps in
its current products. Says Jon Green,
BroadJump’s director of partner marketing,
“What is really critical is that we try to bring
solutions to market that fit the needs of our
customers. We can’t do it alone.”
Phase II: Vendor Analysis. Based on
business needs and software requirements, the
project team can then identify potential software candidates. John Christ, VP of Client
Services for divine, Inc., a leading professional
services firm whose clients include American
Airlines, Walgreens, and others, says that to
Austin Software Council
software vendor(s), must determine how well
save time divine will often recommend that
a given solution maps to the existing skill sets
this phase be performed in parallel with the
of its user and support base and current infraneeds assessment. They first come up with a
structure. If there is any shortfall, the actual
“big list” of possible candidates and narrow it
cost can be much higher as the company may
down based on specific requirements as they
need a lot of consulting support as well as
are identified and prioritized.
new equipment.
According to Gartner, many of their
Based on the above criteria, a “short list”
clients spend six to 15 months debating over
of two to four alternatives is then selected.
which product or vendor to use. Much of this
Now either the buyer or its consultant can pertime is devoted to determining which criteria
form technical analysis on the various soluare more important for the evaluation and in
tions. This may include onsite product demos,
collecting data on the alternatives. In fact,
scripted scenarios, or limited-time trials (especlients spend upwards of 60% of their decision
cially useful when it comes to prototyping).
effort attempting to achieve management buyPhase III: Negotiation and Selection.
in. To shorten the process, corporations often
After selecting one or two software vendors,
rely on outside support from consultants such
the product selection team can then proceed
as Devine as well as reports from leading anato contract negotiation and product selection.
lysts such as Forrester, Gartner, and IDC.
Key criteria for any technology assessment During this phase, the team establishes its
negotiation strategy, develops contract terms
should include both product attributes (funcand conditions, and enters into negotiations
tion, technical architecture, cost) and vendor
with the selected vendor(s). Consultant supcapabilities (services, viability, vision). To sucport can be extremely valuable in providing
cessfully market to savvy enterprise customers,
insight into deal structures and vendors’ agreesoftware companies must score high marks
ments with clients. Occasionally, the selection
across the board. According to John Christ, in
process can break down at this stage, forcing
addition to function and performance, compathe project team to review their previous steps
ny viability plays a major role in evaluations.
and make any necessary revisions. However,
Christ adds that his team wants a software
according to Gartner, in 90% of all selections,
company to demonstrate success and be able
the negotiation phase leads to a contract and
to point to having implementation experience
that has led to superior levels of production for the customer can move onto the next phase—
implementation. One key to success, notes
a client’s web site. Scalability is also a critical
divine’s Christ, is the consultant working closeissue for large-scale customers. For example,
ly with the client to ensure an equal ownership
website clients will want to know that a soluof critical decisions throughout the entire
tion can handle “x number” of transactions
assessment process.
without affecting site performance.
Another important consideration is
Likewise, when it comes to choosing a
whether to buy or build. Today, with the
strategic partner, both “hard” and “soft”
growing number of proven alternatives, buying
issues must also be examined. At BroadJump,
is clearly the industry trend.
once the need for an outside
partner is identified, the
…include both product Customers understand there is
more implementation risk with
company then investigates
attributes…and
a custom-built solution.
who offers a given solution
vendor capabilities
However, notes Christ, “you
and narrows the field to
can’t buy competitive advan“best-of-breed” candidates—
tage.” Either a customer must achieve it
an important consideration in keeping with
through a unique business process or the softBroadJump’s reputation as a market leader. In
ware selected must somehow be customized.
fact, BroadJump devotes an entire CTO team
One way to gain this advantage is through
to assess each candidate’s technology as they
partnerships. Not only can they relieve cusperform their evaluations. Still, technology
leadership is not the sole criterion. BroadJump’s tomers from having to build a piecemeal solution, they can ease the inevitable tweaking to
Green also stresses the importance of cultural
provide a unique offering for each client.
fit: “We need to be able to work with our
partners, to be able to move forward, and not
Charles Cole provides brand strategy, strategic
get hung up on any particular issue.”
marketing, and business development advisory
Cost is also an important factor. To
services to high-tech companies based in Austin
reflect the total cost of ownership (TCO), the
and throughout the Southwest. He can be
buyer, with the help of a consultant and/or
reached at [email protected].
Special Supplement
S•1
The Leader
Effective Technology Selection
Through the Use of a Technology Roadmap
Patrick R. Flanagan, Athens Group, Inc.
Introduction
A downturn in the economy often creates additional challenges as businesses balance the use of new technologies to gain
efficiencies or market share with tighter
investment budgets. Whether choosing a
new software package to help run the business, investing in manufacturing capability,
training people to develop new capabilities,
or revamping your website, having a clear
understanding of how each initiative fits
into your overall technology strategy is vital
to achieving a return on your investment
(ROI). One proven technique is the
Technology Roadmap.
What Is A Technology Roadmap?
A Technology Roadmap is a structured
method of describing your current
a…roadmap can
state in terms of
maximize your
technology and the
competitiveness…
goal state or what
you want your
capabilities to be. Moreover, it is a set of
instructions on how to get from one to the
other and a schedule to help you do it.
The process of developing a roadmap
forces you to spend time assessing the current
state of your organization. This step can be
difficult. In fact, it is not uncommon for
executives to have heated discussions about
their organization’s technology, processes,
people, products, etc. However, working
through the process results in a common
vision about what will happen and when.
It facilitates coordination and cooperation
across departments and allows people to
prepare for their role in the transition.
Developing a
Technology Roadmap
Like any set of directions, the
Technology Roadmap helps you plan your
journey from “here” to “there.” First, define
the key criteria by which you will describe
your organization. At Athens Group, for
example, we have found it useful to consider
the following: people, leadership, organizational structure, processes, applications, networks, computing, and information technology. Second, describe your current organization in terms of the key criteria to create a
capabilities profile. Third, describe your vision
of your company or future capabilities profile.
(A good reference point is your existing business plan.) Create a future capabilities profile
using the key criteria to describe what
resources—technical and human—your organization will need to be able to support your
vision. Finally, build the roadmap that will
enable you to transition from your current
capabilities profile to the future.
There are a variety of benefits to choosing a facilitator for your roadmap development. As others who have gone through similar processes will agree, a facilitator can help
with both defining technology requirements
and reaching agreement.
Products of a Roadmap
Action
Output
Define Criteria
Describe Current State
Review Business Plan
Describe Future State
Build the Roadmap
Roadmap Framework
Current Capabilities Profile
Gap Analysis
Future Capabilities Profile
The Technology Roadmap
When you build the roadmap, you create
a series of planned improvements. With the
description of your current capabilities and
those required for the future, you highlight
the differences between what you have and
what you need in each of the key categories.
Based on these differences, you can define
specific initiatives to close the gaps. The final
output of the roadmap is the schedule by
which the projects get accomplished.
In working out the schedule, some
sequence issues will be easily resolved. For
example, if your network is a bottleneck
because of reliability or capacity, it needs to
be upgraded before additional loads are
placed on it by new applications. Barring
other dependencies, the ROI expected from
the change is often used to define the
sequence in which projects are done.
Keep in mind, however, that no plan is
ever complete or remains unchanged during
execution. Changes in the organization’s
vision, the business environment, technology
developments, and the organization itself are
just a few of the factors that will trigger a
need to update the plan. Periodically review
the roadmap and modify it accordingly.
Overall, though, creating a Technology
Roadmap can maximize your competitiveness
now and convert the stress of uncertainty into
a clear blueprint for competitive advantage.
Pat Flanagan is a senior consultant with
Athens Group, an employee-owned consulting
firm integrating technology strategy and software solutions. His expertise is in strategic
business planning, systems implementation,
process analysis and improvement, and information systems design. His email address is
[email protected].
Techno
Asses
Implementation of
the ASC Member
Cards Program
Raj Sundra, Embrace Software
In the last issue of The Leader, we talked
about customer relationship management
using employee cards for companies. In this
issue, we present the issues involved in
designing and implementing a member ID
S•2
card system for the Austin Software Council.
The Council wanted to implement a
member ID card system in an effort to
l Reduce registration times and streamline
the events registration process
l Improve fee collection efforts by authenticating members vs. non-members
l Adopt an innovative solution that would
differentiate them from other associations
The Council contracted with Embrace
Software1 to develop and implement this sys-
1Embrace (formerly Keycash) and Microsoft Corp. are
co-sponsors of the Member Card program.
Special Supplement
tem. Embrace explored smartcards first and
then decided it was too expensive and cumbersome to implement a smartcard-based solution.
Also smartcards were somewhat slow due to 1
to 2-second latency in recognizing cards presented to the reader. Embrace decided to
explore barcodes instead and found that it was
not only more cost effective (since no personalization, etc. is needed and the barcodes can be
printed directly from a standard printer onto
cardstock, which could then be laminated), but
it was contactless and faster than smartcards.
Each of the more than 2500 members
Austin Software Council
The Leader
A Structured Approach
to Technology Assessment
Bill Kleinebecker, Technology Futures, Inc.
So you’ve just created a new advanced
technology that is superior to anything else
you’ve seen. But will people pay enough to
justify its commercialization? What is the best
course of action to take advantage of this
new technology?
These questions need to be answered
in a structured manner to avoid inaction
and/or wheel spinning on the way to
market. In working with its clients to assess
a technology, Technology Futures uses an
approach it calls Technology Advantage
Management (TAM).
TAM is not a fixed process, but a
guideline to be adapted to the culture,
structure, and abilities of the business. It
has evolved out of numerous technology
assessment engagements with organizations
in industries ranging from beauty products
to semiconductors to telecommunications
to national security.
An assessment project starts with a list
of the salient features of the target technology. These are non-generic but high level,
for example “the ability to provide removable data storage at 5 times the density
of then current DVD technology.” The
goal of this list is to give assessment participants an idea of the technology without
limiting their creativity.
A knowledge-gathering phase follows
that looks at the changing environment—
geopolitical, economic, social, and regulatory—surrounding the technology. It includes
the evaluation of three important areas:
market pull, technology push, and competitive clash.
A rich toolbox of methodologies is available to enable a future vision. One’s selection
of the most appropriate methodology needs
firm foundation for your technology impleto be based on the five ways people view the
mentation planning.
future: quantitative extrapolation, fitted patThe TAM approach has been adapted to
terns, personal interplays, a series of events to organizations of various types, business size,
be prepared to react to, and a
and maturity. It helps to identify
subconscious (intuitive) vision.
emerging advances in technology; it
…create a
By selecting methodologies that
provides methodologies to analyze
forecast of
have an affinity to each of these
the importance, implications, and
views, the quality of the assessthe potential timing of these advances; and it
ment will be improved. Also
helps match these advances with the
markets…
different managers view the
mission, objectives, and capabilities
future in each of these ways, thus
of the organization and determines
making your findings more likely be accepted the actions to ensure that competitive advanby management.
tage is achieved.
The societal, market, competitive, and
technology findings are used to create a fore- Bill Kleinebecker is senior consultant at
Technology Futures, Inc., a technology managecast of the potential markets for the technolment, forecasting, and planning consultancy
ogy. This forecast, along with the supporting
headquartered in Austin. Kleinebecker is a
evidence from the assessment, is used to crelongtime Council volunteer. He can be reached
ate a Technology Advantage Opportunity
document. In companies that deal in multiple at [email protected].
technologies, several such documents may be
prepared simultaneously.
At this point, you have defined and captured in a document the overall opportunity
for your organization. This documentation
can be referred to in later steps and used as
the basis for modification when newer knowledge is acquired.
You are now ready for strategic planning. Using the documentation from the previous steps, you look at your organization’s
ability to address the opportunity. This
includes your vision/goals/mission; your
capabilities; and your current focus in R&D,
finance, and marketing. From this activity
comes the Technology Advantage Strategy
that documents the strategy that will best
serve your organization. This will provide a
from nearly 400 companies in the Council
database are expected to carry the member
cards and use them to register at the meetings. The cards will also simplify and speed up
the registration process for Council members
at events. The cards also offer the opportunity
for members to get discounts on products
and services in the future.
In designing and implementing the
member cards, we had to obtain and test
laptop-compatible barcode scanners; insert
Council and sponsor logos; print barcodes
using merged data; and finally have the cards
laminated. The pilot implementation is now
underway. Once the pilot program is completed, the Council plans to implement sturdier ID cards with affixed barcodes in lieu of
the laminated cards.
Barcoding is a rugged technology that is
cheap, yet incredibly effective. Examples of
barcoding applications are ubiquitous. UPS
and Fedex could not conduct their operations
without barcoded package tracking, and the
airline industry could not track passenger baggage without barcoding. While materials handling is a natural application for barcoding,
ology
ssment
Austin Software Council
Special Supplement
barcodes can also be used for employee
administration and network security as well as
document management. The biggest advantage of barcodes are that practically every program on any OS is barcode-compatible, since
there are no special drivers needed to integrate barcodes into software. This is a technology that can provide a very real return on
investment and holds significant promise for
software and hardware companies.
Raj Sundra can be reached at
[email protected].
S•3
The Leader
SOAP—A Viable Option?
Kannan Kaliyur, President and CEO, ConnectTel
SOAP, one of the hottest new technologies, has been gaining a lot of momentum in
the web software development community.
Let’s take a look at what it is and how it can
help you.
What is SOAP?
SOAP—Simple Object Access
Protocol—is an open standard that allows
applications over different platforms to share
data. Its goal is to provide a seamless, webenabled integration of services across traditional hardware and software barriers.
What’s so great about SOAP?
Briefly,
l Simplicity
l Flexibility
l Compatibility with
existing infrastructure
l Extensibility
The biggest advantages of SOAP, which
is completely platform-independent, are its
simplicity and extensibility. SOAP can theoretically be used in combination with different protocols. Let’s take an example of SOAP
used with HTTP.
Currently, HyperText Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) is the most prevalent application
protocol. Firewalls block most non-HTTP
requests, which has caused enormous problems for executing remote procedures. Yet,
HTTP is limited in its ability to handle complex processing needs. SOAP, on the other
hand, is built on top of HTTP and addresses
some of the protocol’s limitations. By adding
a set of HTTP headers and an XML payload
to allow for complex communication needs,
SOAP uses HTTP for transport and XML for
data encoding. This allows SOAP to work
with the current existing Internet infrastructure. Firewalls and proxy servers that have
been a limiting factor for a lot of technologies do not affect SOAP.
The simplicity of SOAP coupled with its
interoperability is itself a tremendous advantage. Because SOAP-compliant applications
running on different platforms can communicate with each other, very powerful systems
can be developed. Imagine that a point-ofsale system written in Visual Basic and running on a Windows NT platform can talk to
SOAP-compliant UNIX boxes or mainframes
for credit card validations. The ease with
which this can be done can actually save
months of development time. Similarly, code
running on Linux platforms can make calls
to services on NT boxes, and so on.
How will SOAP help?
SOAP allows for the easy interaction
among different systems irrespective of the
hardware and software platforms. Since it can
potentially be built in conjunction with dif-
ferent protocols, SOAP does not require any
changes in the communication mechanism.
The other alternatives to SOAP, such as
DCOM, are more complex and closed in
their implementation. They are more difficult to implement, and the resource
demands are significantly higher.
Where can you use SOAP?
SOAP can be used for both specialized
and generic applications. It is especially useful for systems requiring interaction with
several external third-party tools and services. ConnectTel, Inc. and Technopoint
International have jointly developed a SOAP
toolkit geared towards embedded systems.
This toolkit allows embedded devices to
have a seamless web-enabled interface.
More details needed?
For an evaluation of your system to
make it SOAP-compliant, contact us at
[email protected].
Kannan Kaliyur is president, CEO, and
co-founder of ConnectTel, an outsourcing
partner to companies such as Wayne Dresser,
Sears, Motorola, and EMC Automation. He
can be reached at [email protected] or
512-338-1111.
Technology
Assessment
S•4
Special Supplement
Austin Software Council
The Leader
March Meeting Summary
Final Jeopardy—Are You Betting
Your Business on Your Sales Force?
Howard Nirken, Jenkens & Gilchrist, PC
Sell, Sell, Sell—such was the topic of
the March meeting of the Austin Software
Council. The panel featured Randy Watson,
Vice President of Corporate Development
for Confiniti; Joyce Scott, Senior Sales
Representative for Vitessa; Marc Lurie, Chief
Executive Officer of @hand; Steve Basile,
Director of Sales and Marketing for
Works.com; and Mike Phelan and Wendy
Choate of Deloitte & Touche.
Phelan, the panel’s moderator, asked the
audience to consider recent changes in the
software sales industry:
l The transition from a product-oriented
sales force model to a solutionsoriented system
l The rapid emergence of strategic alliances
and partnerships and their profound and
unanticipated effects on a company’s
sales force
l Changes in recruiting tactics given that
some companies are now cash poor and
stock options are no longer incentives
l The failure of CRM technology to “wrap
around a company’s old processes for
doing business”
To address the question of how you sell a
solution when all you really have is a product,
Choate reminded that it is important to know
your own skill set and not be everything to
everybody. You should help the client understand what the solution is and how your
product can help and then think about what
strategic alliance you can make with other
companies to help your client reach a solution. Lurie echoed these comments by noting
@hand’s success at providing a quality product to its customers and then aligning the
customer with one of its bigger name strategic partners. Lurie stressed the importance of
having a big name company, such as an IBM,
as a partner, because it not only gives you
credibility, it also allows you to find the total
solution in the most cost-effective manner.
Scott stated that the notion of “coopitition”—don’t provide the entire solution to a
client, use your competitors to help—was
started by the founder of IBM, T. J. Watson,
Sr. She instructed the audience to use what
she called the “logical selling process”—
understand the customer’s business and
understand what they need to keep their job,
do their job, and advance in their company.
Gain this knowledge by talking to them and
not at them, and win their trust with honesty
and integrity. Watson wholeheartedly agreed,
adding that “until you have a sales force
focused on the buyer side of a transaction, it
is really hard to do solution-selling.” Basile
cited the three reasons why people buy in the
software industry: “it saves them time, it saves
them money, and eventually it will make them
more money.”
The next question concerned the best
way a company could leverage a sales person’s
skill set. Scott emphasized the importance of
allowing a junior sales person the opportunity
to mirror or shadow a more senior sales
employee. She stated that practice runs and
“ruthless role plays” in front of the entire
sales team were instrumental in gaining confidence to do a sales pitch. She further noted
that junior sales representatives gain a lot by
not only watching a practice pitch by a senior
sales rep, but understanding that even the
more senior people get nervous and that making a mistake in a presentation is not uncommon. Being able to accept criticism, being
“totally egoless” is the make-up of a good
sales person.
Basile reiterated the success of the “ruthless role play.” Such forums have allowed his
The panel: Randy Watson, Vice President of Corporate Development
for Cofiniti; Joyce Scott, Senior Sales Representative for Vitessa; Marc
Lurie, Chief Executive Officer of @hand; Steve Basile, Director of
Sales and Marketing for Works.com; and Mike Phelan and Wendy
Choate of Deloitte & Touche
14
Ron Miller, Business Development
Manager, ASC
company to figure out which sales people are
going to “cut it” because they have the requisite leadership skills and which lack the foundational skills to succeed. As restated by
Choate, it allows the company to assess
whether the employee is “the right fit” for
the job. Finally, Scott concluded that in leveraging a sales person’s skill set, the company
itself needs to ensure that it has provided an
environment for the sales representative to
succeed. As a threshold, she noted the importance of having all employees of the company—from the receptionist to the account
manager—understand the process of making
the sale and the presentation necessary to
accomplish that task.
An audience member asked why the vice
president of sales is targeted when sales are
down, not the vice president of marketing.
Watson answered that sales and marketing
have to work as a unit. With a strategic sales
process, sales becomes the responsibility of
the company and not just one individual.
Throughout the company, everyone must
understand what the company is selling,
why the company solves a particular problem
for its potential customers, and how you
market what the company is selling to the
customer who needs it. In identifying where a
problem lies, Basile advised asking whether
the message about what the company is selling is clear. Marketing is the unit that
enables the sales team to sell. As Lurie
observed, if the message is clear and sales
are down, the CEO can quickly figure out
where the problem lies.
The final question from the audience
focused on how to provide incentives if you
are a cash poor company in today’s market.
Scott suggested that while cash is king, there
are plenty of incentives to offer young and
talented sales people. One is the opportunity
to learn and be challenged. Basile agreed that
a company’s environment and the manner in
which it treats its employees can also substitute for cash. Companies should not underestimate how little things, like providing snacks
in the break rooms, go a long way. Finally,
Phelan ended the meeting by cautioning that
when providing non-cash incentives, it is
always important to consult with counsel to
ensure compliance with rules and regulations
governing employee compensation.
Howard Nirken, is a corporate/securities
lawyer with an emphasis on representing
emerging high growth companies in M&A
transactions, venture capital transactions, software licensing agreements, and other Internet
and e-commerce issues at Jenkens & Gilchrist,
PC. He can be reached at [email protected].
2Q01
April Meeting Summary
E-Care—The Convergence of Software,
Internet Services and Call Centers
John A. Menchaca, Jenkens & Gilchrist, PC
The Council’s April meeting was a panel
discussion among leading e-care specialists on
leveraging technology and e-business solutions
for Internet-based clients. In a departure from
the usual monthly meeting, it was held at
IBM’s north Austin facility. The meeting
kicked off with a presentation to IBM for its
years of service to the Austin Software Council
and the Austin technology community. The
panelists—Anna Clepper, Motive Labs, VPMarketing; Mike Betzer, Ineto, President;
Tim Kalbas, Trilogy, Business Development
Manager; and John Wolpert, IBM Extreme
Blue Team, Senior Manager—explained their
respective businesses and e-care solutions.
Motive builds “customer care” into the
service, which allows for a proactive relationship
with customers. The company provides “a hightouch [solution] that leverages the Internet.”
Ineto, on the other hand, bundles hardware and software. The Ineto solution is middleware that sits above email, etc., to provide
a world class customer service platform for its
clients. Because multiple channels touch the
customers, it is necessary to provide this solution to mid-market companies using the web.
Ineto has built an e-care service solution
through a data center, allowing Ineto’s customers, without expensive hardware or software, to select a channel and use the service
through the infrastructure Ineto provides.
Trilogy’s mission is to solve very difficult
problems for Fortune 500 companies. It captures data at the various touch points and
allows its clients to conduct transactions by
averaging this data. The Trilogy solution puts
the right product and service data in the hands
of the client to touch its customers.
Lastly, Wolpert described his “Extreme
Blue” section of IBM as an incubator lab
(which is one of three within IBM) that focuses
talent and product to provide e-care solutions
for customers. Said Wolpert, “It takes a
rethinking of how we get to market with the
new technologies that are currently in development and the merging of various technologies
to provide a single e-care solution.”
Moderator Farouk Hadeed, from the
“Alphaworks” division of IBM in California,
asked the panelists how e-care solutions apply
to companies. Hadeed cited that in the past 18
months the application service provider (ASP)
model, particularly in the customer relationship management (CRM) space, has generated
a lot of interest. Based on this interest, how
has this ASP delivery model changed or modified the delivery mechanism for technology?
Betzer noted that the model has not
changed much. In fact, migration to ASP on
the Internet has been slow. Siebel, the foremost CRM software provider, is a large implementation that can be, at times, difficult to
manage. A significant change will be necessary
to migrate to such a model. Said Betzer, we
are “5% in to the way of fixing it.” The ASP
delivery mechanism must be much more than
a hosting software in a data center, and e-care
solutions must be very broad, encompassing
email, messaging, voice, and other forms of
data in various media.
According to Clepper, until ASPs offer
a full spectrum solution, the company needs
contracts with two or three ASPs with data
integrity issues that naturally flow from such
a relationship. We still have a ways to go in
pulling these disparate technologies together
for one integrated solution.
Hadeed next asked about the “ultimate”
e-care solution—using a broad roadmap. As
an initial answer, Betzer observed that we are
not very far in the evolution of e-care solutions. According to Betzer, “e-care is all about
communication.” This includes phone, email,
etc. Most companies are not answering emails
within five days or using chat because it is so
labor-intensive. He believes it will probably be
about three years before we have significant
progress in this area.
Clepper seconded this opinion. Every
customer might want to switch among the
various methods of e-care such as wireless,
home PCs, email, etc., and it will take time
for this solution to respond to the different
delivery solutions. Every e-care solution
provider must be proactive to build the functionality to help the customer. Additionally, it
is necessary to know the drivers for each of
these customers.
Kalbas cited an example with Lands End,
which has various divisions within its corporate
structure, including a catalog division, a corporate sales division, online company sales,
and others. In this environment, customer
data are developed among these various divisions at different times and in different formats,
Continued on page 19
Mike Betzer, Ineto
Anna Clepper, Motive Labs
Farouk Hadeed, Alphaworks (moderator)
15
The Leader
May Meeting Summary
Funding Sources
Howard Nirken, Jenkens & Gilchrist, PC
The May meeting of the Austin Software
Council highlighted a challenging issue for
numerous companies in 2001—raising capital.
The panel, moderated by Chad Huston of
Thompson & Knight, P.C., featured John
Thompson, Director of Marketing for Dell
Ventures; Mickie Wright, Director of
Corporate Development for Compaq
Computer Corporation; Richard Sorenson,
Chairman of Point One Telecommunications,
Inc.; and Jay Shreiner of Tmanage. They were
asked for their unique perspectives on what
companies should look for in a corporate
investor and what a corporate investor looks
for in a company.
Representing the company’s perspective,
Sorenson commented that a company should
look for a corporate partner that it can “work
exceedingly well with.” In addition, that corporate investor should also be one that validates a company’s business model, thus
increasing its credibility, as well as one that
provides a potential exit strategy. Shreiner similarly noted that assessing the strategic relationship of a corporate investor cannot be
overstated. Looking for the corporate investor
that fits within a company’s business model
provides the opportunity for not only a great
investor relationship, but also numerous customer relationships, including the actual corporate investor.
From the investor’s side, Thompson
offered three reasons why corporations enter
into venture finance: 1) strategic desire or
need, 2) financial return, and 3) commercial
opportunity. For Dell, strategic desire is generally what brings Dell Ventures to the table
to invest. In fact, important factors in a Dell
Venture investment are 1) the potential of the asked how corporate investors view the valuation process of a start-up and whether they
technology, 2) its ability to make money, and
simply piggy-back off a venture capitalist’s val3) the value it brings to a Dell customer.
uation of a company. Thompson responded
Dell Ventures, like other corporate investors,
that Dell Ventures does not always piggy-back
tends to be sector-focused. He noted that
off a valuation; he cautioned entrepreneurs in
Dell Ventures is currently concentrating its
the audience to seriously consider valuation in
investments in service and storage and wiregoing forward with their companies. He
less communication.
noted that Dell Ventures has passed on a
Compaq takes a different approach in its
number of good companies because their curinvestment strategy. Compaq does not have a
rent valuations were out of sync with reality or
“fund”; instead, it uses its corporate development group to look for potential investments. their previous valuations in earlier rounds have
made the transaction too difficult to structure.
As such, Compaq looks for companies with
The second question dealt with the
products and/or solutions that it may want to
degree of control corporate investors seek
use or sell. If a company has such a product
or solution, the corporate development group when investing in companies. Sorenson
quickly pointed out that a
puts the company in front of
the business unit that “fits” the
[assess] the strategic company must keep in mind
that when it takes money
particular product. The business
relationship of a
from a corporate investor, it
unit then recommends whether
usually precludes itself from
or not an investment is advanta- corporate investor
other potential players in the
geous to Compaq. Currently,
market. He noted that although difficult, disCompaq is focused on streaming media, concussing the accompanying restrictions with a
tent delivery, wireless privacy, enterprise secucorporate investment should be a priority.
rity, and enterprise software integration.
Wright agreed, acknowledging that some
Moreover, because of Compaq’s recent
restrictions generally accompany a Compaq
involvement with the human genome
investment. Thompson noted, however, that
project, Compaq has increased its attention
while there might be restrictions, corporate
to bio-technology.
investors do want their portfolio companies
The first question from the audience
Above: Jay Shreiner, Tmanage, Richard Sorenson, Point One Telecommunications, Inc., and Chad Huston of
Thompson & Knight (moderator)
Mickie Wright, Compaq Computer Corp. with
Robin Curle, CEO Partnerships
16
2Q01
to succeed; therefore, the restrictions are
generally reasonable.
The third question sought advice on
how to deal with managing a situation in
which the business unit for which a corporate
investor made an investment later fails.
Thompson underscored the importance of
communicating each party’s respective goals
and expectations before the investment to
minimize misunderstandings and surprises if
such an event occurs. Compaq, for example,
has begun structuring milestones into their
investments. Such milestones are not only
geared to the company’s production, but
some trigger obligations by Compaq. Wright
observed that the milestones have been a successful way of keeping both parties engaged
and focused on productivity.
The final question asked how a company
should go about determining due diligence
of a corporate investor. Besides collecting
references from people inside the corporate
investor or from people who work for companies that have received an investment from the
investor, Shreiner suggested
that a company discuss internally why they actually want
that particular investor; that
is, find out about the corporate investor’s culture and
map out how that investor
can help be a “value add” to
one’s own company.
Howard Nirken, is a corporate/securities lawyer with
an emphasis on representing
emerging high growth companies in M&A transactions,
venture capital transactions,
software licensing agreements,
and other Internet and
e-commerce issues at
Jenkens & Gilchrist, PC.
He can be reached at
[email protected].
Richard Sorenson, Point One Telecommunications, Inc., John Thompson,
Dell Ventures, and Mickie Wright, Compaq Computer Corp.
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“Customer Satisfaction is Our Daily Commitment”
17
The Leader
Why Implement a B-to-B
e-Loyalty Program?
Ellen Reid Smith, Reid Smith & Associates
more real life experience. Your website can act
like a human or even be a human through
email or instant messaging. The fact is, sales
reps aren’t as interactive as you might think.
They normally spend little time with customers, relying instead on sales “leave
1. The web is always OPEN! The web
behinds.” And while sales reps can’t be
offers a virtual sales and training room 24
knowledgeable on all aspects of a product,
hours a day. Without physical limitations, it
the web can.
can be much more accessible than sales reps
5. Brand advertising doesn’t build
or your company conferences. And customers
relationships. Branding is about awareness,
can train on their own time, even at home
but loyalty goes much deeper, forging an
(a trend that’s increasing).
emotional bond to your product that will
2. An e-loyalty program offers training in multiple formats. Customers’ product stand the test of time, price, and competition.
Branding can be accomplished by advertising,
or industry knowledge and preferred learning
but loyalty is a two-way street and
styles differ dramatically.
requires a relationship of interacBut an e-loyalty program
Loyalty…requires… tion, trust, and mutual respect.
can take the guesswork
interaction, trust,
6. More bang for your buck.
out of choosing a style
that best persuades or
and mutual respect. At any given time, a company
probably has multiple promotions
trains customers by letting
hosted by multiple product divithem navigate to their presions, customer support centers, and sales
ferred format. For a more targeted sales message, positioning a product can be tailored by teams. A loyalty program centralizes all cusindustry or product use. While your best sales tomer communications into “one voice” that
remembers and recognizes their needs. This
staff won’t choose the right approach with
means that only promotions that directly meet
your customers 100% of the time, a good
a customer’s needs are sent and where multiple
e-loyalty program may.
promotions, benefits, or rewards are appropri3. The web allows better feedback.
ate, they are combined into one concise mesTypically if it doesn’t help their commissions,
sage that is more effectively communicated.
sales people will not put customer feedback
7. High value customers are targeted.
on the top of their to-do list. An e-loyalty
program, however, provides realtime feedback An e-loyalty program helps you identify each
through web logs, tracking software, and cus- customer’s value by giving customers a reason to be profiled and tracked. This allows
tomer feedback prompts. This can help you
identify problems faster as well as better com- you to treat best customers better as well as
identify potentially high value customers and
pare feedback across industries.
provide them with incentives that increase
4. An e-loyalty program can be more
their spending. Not only will you reward cusinteractive than a sales rep. Because the
web is interactive, it can more closely mimic a tomers based on value, your thank-you’s will
be more effective.
human relationship through intelligent, twoway dialogs. Customers can conduct research
rather than wait for the product rep’s return
call and or use creative product demos for a
e-loyalty programs can build relationships
easily and cost effectively. Following
are nine reasons to implement a B-to-B
e-loyalty program:
8. The web saves money. Web relationships can be started and maintained at a fraction of the cost of offline relationships. This
doesn’t mean companies will never use sales
reps, the phone, or postal system again, but it
means they can use the web to start relationships and reserve more expensive offline tactics for only high value customers where the
payback is more sure.
9. If you don’t do it, your competition will. The web makes building and maintaining relationships affordable, even for your
smallest competitor. In fact, they might even
be better at building relationships online
because they are closer to the customers they
serve. NOT building an e-loyalty program
won’t be an option much longer for profitable companies.
Ellen Reid Smith is CEO of Reid Smith &
Associates, a consulting firm specializing in
loyalty marketing strategies. She can be
reached at 512-342-1768 or via email at
[email protected].
Austin Software Council
The Leader
Ad Rates
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Member
Size
Fullpage
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150
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10% discount on one year in advance
For further information please contact
Catherine Bartlett at 512-305-0010 or
[email protected]
18
2Q01
April Meeting Summary: E-Care
Continued from page 15
presenting Trilogy with a unique set of problems to solve.
Panelists also were asked about the utopia
for e-care solutions. According to Kalbas,
every customer touch point will share the
same data in a utopian e-care solution. Betzer
responded that you have to “know thy customer,” a common theme throughout the discussion. Wolpert explained that the solution
must empower individuals within the corporate structure to solve these customer issues
and to integrate all the solutions. Clepper concluded that the e-care customer solution must
encompass the concept of a five-star hotel—
you don’t necessarily see the service providers,
but you feel them. In other words, you must
empower the customer to provide a solution
for all of the customer’s problems.
In this market, the panelists noted that
most technology purchases of this magnitude
require CFO approval. The e-care solution,
therefore, must be tied to “value” and a
resulting return on investment for the current
fiscal year (not many years down the line).
S A F E G U A R D Y O U R S O F T WA R E
INVESTMENTS WITH THE LEADER
I N I N T E L L E C T U A L P R O P E RT Y
P R O T E C T I O N S E RV I C E S .
John A. Menchaca is a corporate/technology
lawyer with an emphasis on representing emerging high growth companies in venture capital
transactions, M&A transactions, software
licensing agreements, and other Internet and
e-commerce issues at Jenkens & Gilchrist, PC.
He can be reached at 512-404-3587 or
[email protected].
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19
The Leader
It’s Hard (and Dangerous) to Say Goodbye...
Continued from page 1
next regularly scheduled payday if voluntary).
Deductions may not be taken from employee
paychecks without written authorization by the
employee or where required or authorized by
law. Overtime, minimum wage, and commission payments are also regulated by both state
and federal law. Paying employees according to
specific legal requirements is a basic, but critical step that is often overlooked at the end of
an employment relationship. Take the time to
regularly review your payroll procedures.
3. Know the difference between a
reduction in force and a performance-related
termination. Companies often attempt to disguise a termination of an employee who is not
performing to company standards as a “lay
off” or a “reduction in force.” Although this
euphemism may be applied out of sensitivity
to the employee, it is not advisable to mischaracterize terminations. True reductions in force
typically eliminate positions or departments,
not individuals. If an individual is “laid off”
and his former position is subsequently
refilled, he will likely be able to prove that the
employer’s stated reason for the termination
was false, a crucial part of an employment
plaintiff’s case. If an employee has performance problems and termination is inevitable,
the company may employ softening strategies
such as offering the opportunity to resign
instead. Hiding behind the all-too-common
layoff label will only cause greater problems
for the company.
4. Review benefits issues and employment agreement obligations. Before any termination decision (group or individual) is
communicated to employees, the company
should review any applicable benefits and
stock issues. Make sure that insurance benefit
continuance (COBRA) forms are prepared
and provided on time and that no other retirement or other benefit issues lurk in the background. Additionally, terminating an employee
shortly before her stock options vest can be
problematic. If unfortunate timing is unavoidable, make sure that the company’s actions are
justifiable and will appear so to an outsider.
Employment juries often base their decisions
on a perception of fairness. If a company
appears to be acting in bad faith, the jury will
go out of its way to find liability and/or award
punitive damages.
20
Before any employee termination meeting, company executives should review the
status and enforceability of any employment
agreement by which the employee will be
bound after the end of the employment relationship. Determine how the employee will be
reminded of continuing obligations. Consider
providing a copy of any pertinent confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-solicitation, or other
agreement to the employee at or near the time
of termination.
5. Handle terminations with sensitivity.
Employment lawsuits may be triggered by a
terminated employee’s desire to punish a former employer. A sensitive approach to terminations will help diffuse some of the inevitable
emotions involved in losing one’s job and
reduce anger-based lawsuits. Conduct termination conferences behind closed doors, remain
calm, provide clear and concise reasons for the
termination decision, and use good judgment.
Decide how to handle references in
advance. Your company may have policies governing the provision of information to a former employee’s potential employers. Review
these policies and practices before any termination conference and determine how you will
respond to an employee’s request for a reference. Particularly where the termination decision was performance-based, an employee
should be informed that the company has a
neutral reference policy (if this is the case) and
will provide only certain information in
response to inquiries from potential employers.
6. Give a little, get a release. The best
insurance against post-termination employment lawsuits is an enforceable release of all
claims. Consider offering the terminated
employee(s) additional consideration beyond
what the employee would be entitled to
receive according to contract or policy in
exchange for a release of all claims against the
company. Keep in mind that claims relating to
the administration of retirement plans may not
be waived and that federal law mandates certain release elements and waiting periods when
the individual is age 40 or above, and/or
where the consideration is being offered as
part of a “group” termination (i.e., a reduction in force).
7. Think twice before contesting
unemployment claims. Terminated employees are more likely to file lawsuits if they have
been denied unemployment benefits by the
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) or if
they perceive their former employer is
attempting to prevent them from receiving
benefits to which they believe they are entitled. While you may be legally justified in
resisting a particular unemployment claim,
consider the specific circumstances of each situation. Providing honest answers to the
TWC’s inquiries is a must, but how hard your
company fights to deny benefits is a matter of
degree and discretion.
8. Pay attention to current/remaining
employee concerns. Former employees are
not the only individuals who bring employment lawsuits against companies. For example, a current employee whose sexual harassment complaint is not investigated could have
a cause of action against the company.
Employees who are not being paid overtime
to which they are entitled may also bring a
claim before the Department of Labor or file
a lawsuit. An employee who resigns as a result
of egregious actions by the employer may be
able to bring a variety of claims based on the
concept of “constructive discharge.” Regular
employment practice audits will help ensure
compliance and will reduce the likelihood of
such lawsuits.
Laura Merritt is an attorney in the Austin
office of Bracewell & Patterson, LLP, where she
provides labor & employment law representation, counseling, and training exclusively to
employers. Merritt is board-certified in Labor
and Employment Law by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization. She can be reached at
[email protected].
2Q01
New and Renewing Corporate Members
The Austin Software Council welcomes new
corporate members (in boldface) and thanks
those who have renewed their membership
during January 15 to April 14, 2001.
212 Studios
GKMB Investments
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
2ndWave Inc.
Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich
Primus Associates L.C.
2Uplift Inc.
Growth Partners Inc.
Purple Mountain Software
Advent Networks Inc.
Haynes & Boone LLP
Q-Media Services
AFK Strategies Inc.
Hoak Breedlove Wesneski
& Company
Quidditas
Alliant IT-Group
ALPNET Inc.
Andersen
Austin Community College
Austin PMPro Inc.
Austin Usability Inc.
B2G Source Inc.
Baker Botts LLP
BigLever Software Inc.
Blanc & Otus
Bracewell & Patterson LLP
Catapult Systems Corporation
Commercial Texas LLC
Commtouch Inc.
Corporate Technology Communications
David Powell Inc.
Dazel An HP Software Company
Diginis Internet Solutions
Docent Inc.
EG & G Technical Services
Elibrium Software
Embrace Software
EPSM LLC
EriQa Labs
ExpertEyes Inc.
FG Squared
Flanders Foreign Investment Office
Fort Knox Escrow Services Inc.
G51 Capital Management LLC
Imperial Bank
Inflow Inc.
Interactive Clarity
Jenkens & Gilchrist P.C.
JumpStart Revenue
Kaemark Inc.
Knowledge Beam Inc.
Liaison Technology Inc.
Lynx Consulting
Mahindra Consulting Inc.
Market Reach International Inc.
MasterWord Services Inc.
MaterialNetwork
Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP
McKinsey & Company Inc.
Merinta Inc.
Miller and Demyan Bruetsch LLC
Namestormers
NeTraverse
NetSpend Corporation
Neurosurgery Associates of Austin
OfficeDomain Inc.
One Realm Inc.
Oridian Inc.
Partnerware Inc.
PDS Technical Services
Reactivity
Reciprocal Software
Reid Smith & Associates
Scrutable Systems Inc.
SDL International
Shapiro Consulting Group Inc.
SiberLink Inc.
Sigma Information Group Inc.
Soaring Eagle Solutions
Socket Public Relations
SRM Systems Software
Storage Networks
Storage Provider
Technology Futures Inc.
Techxas Ventures
The Adea Group
The Barcode Exchange
The Business Advantage
The Kernel Group
TiPS Inc.
Tokyo Electron America Inc.
Vapor Werks Inc.
VCON Inc.
Vibrant Internet Solutions Inc.
VTEL Corporation
WCM Solutions Inc.
PlanView Inc.
Woodruff-Sawyer
& Company California
PR 21
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C o l o c a t i o n
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W e b h o s t i n g
n early America, wooden
stocks were commonly used
for public punishment. The
victim would be placed in an
immobilizing device and
subjected to public ridicule.
We at Jump.Net have noticed
many ISPs use a similar
technique, producing the
same effect on your company.
When your internet service
goes down your company is
Get T1 speeds with Jump.Net's HDSL!
Installation is guaranteed within 10 full
business days* or your 1st month is free.
immobilized, and thus subject
to public ridicule... but on a
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Proud host of the
Austin Software
Council's Website.
877-JUMP.NET
*some restrictions may apply.
Make the right connections
for your software needs
ConnectTel’s software engineers have extensive
and diverse experience in significant technology
development, including:
■ Java, C/C++, Delphi ■ Windows NT, Windows 95/98
■ Embedded systems ■ Retail point-of-sale systems
■ Device drivers ■ Distributed computing
For detailed information on our products and services, please
visit www.connecttel.com or call ConnectTel 512-338-1111.
For sales inquiries and company information, please send
an email to [email protected]
ConnectTel
S O F T WA R E
DEVELOPMENT
www.connecttel.com
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W. Stephen Benesh
Charles Cole
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Raj Sundra
John Symington
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The Austin Software Council
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For more information contact
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