What is M-Commerce?

M- commerce is short for mobile commerce, which basically means being able to pay for things with your mobile phone.

What's good about M-Commerce?

With the dawn of the smartphone, we really are reaching that sci-fi movie era of having the one little widget for everything. Phone, watch, entertainment, camera and now wallet. It means not having to carry separate cash, new promotional opportunities and just generally looking cool.

What's bad about M-Commerce?

The main problem with M-Commerce as it stands is that as of today, it's just not very secure. Keen companies may rush into offering M-Commerce campaigns and structures without properly assessing the risks and consequences, then suffer when failings in security and stability emerge.

I'm a business owner - should I get involved in M-Commerce?

We're back to our standard mantra. There will always be some guy (probably in a pinstripe suit and pink shirt) insisting that X is the latest, greatest thing and if you don't seize the bandwagon right this instant, you'll be left behind forever.

Our advice is to treat everything with the same openness and wariness - online, offline and anywhere else. Look at the risks, the benefits and the costs - and not just monetary ones.

For more advice about how to take advantage of the web for your business, without falling into common traps, visit our web design and development website 

I'm a regular Joe - should I use M-Commerce?

Research shows that many people view M-Commerce as if it has the same level of security as the internet - this is not true, so you should be much more careful when carrying out transactions over text - and hopefully that's on top of already being pretty darn careful when purchasing online. Make sure your credit card company will cover you if something goes wrong, and also remember that debit cards carry almost no protection.

Visit our main site for more down-to-earth, plain English tips and advice on web related questions - we make website and software

Sentiva make iphone and other mobile apps from our offices in Leeds.

Bespoke Software? I don't even know her!

So what is bespoke software? Well, it's software that's written specifically for your individual needs.

So when John is carefully cataloguing cartoon cats he decides to store specific details such as artists, dates, publication histories and graphic styles. He starts off putting all the images in a folder and then listing the cats on a spreadsheet with all the details on the rows. This quickly gets cumbersome and fiddly.

Bespoke software can provide an easy interface for him to browse through all the cartoons and add comments and associations between them. Garfield is orange, so is Heathcliff, let's associate them with the "both Orange" link. Suddenly navigating his collection is easy.

John realizes that he's spending hours just looking through the pictures and assigning them to the right group. The solution? Software to pattern match against existing known cartoons and predict the group. It's like facial recognition for felines. Oh, that one's Top Cat, put it in the Cats with Hats group.

Why get bespoke software?

'I don't need to automatically sort images of cats; everything I need to do I can do on my standard Office software.'

Yes, that's probably true; most people don't need cat recognition and most of the time the off the shelf software does a good job of handling common day to day activities. This is because most day to day activities in the business world are pretty generic. However, that's not to say you don't need bespoke software.

Bespoke software can speed up your daily tasks by automating the routine elements unique to your business processes. This leaves you more time to get on with the important task of generating wealth.

Bespoke software can reduce errors, omissions, and accidental duplication by validating data entry, prompting for required information and standardizing the capturing and reporting of data.

Bespoke software is actually pretty nifty.

Do I need bespoke software?

'How can I tell if I would get enough benefit from a bespoke software solution to justify the cost?'

Well, the best way is to look at the way your current business processes flow. Many small businesses handle a lot of their data on spreadsheets. In fact, pretty much anything can be done on a standard spreadsheet. They get used for task lists, invoices, sales reports, profit calculations, stock control, customer management and timesheets.

The trouble is that this can end up getting a little tangled and you end up with a system that takes five minutes to add a new order in a fiddly sheet with too many columns. Occasionally a formula gets accidentally deleted or copying from a word processor messes up all the formatting and it takes half a day to straighten it out. If this happens in your company, you could probably do with something more elegant which solves these issues. This may be a whole bespoke software solution or it may be a little widget that helps you use the tools you already have in a more efficient way.

Bespoke software is a key component of process improvement that, used correctly, can make your company more efficient, more reliable and ultimately, more profitable.

New laws for website content

Think you can get away with a few little white lies on your website?

 

Think again.

From 1st of March 2011 the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) will have its beady eye on all business website content - no matter how large or small.

It's normal for lumbering Government legislation to lag behind the speedy progress of technology, but now this area is no longer a free for all.

In the past business owners could pretty much say what they liked on their websites, and nobody could take any action to dispute it. But now consumers will be able to lodge a complaint with ASA if they feel a website contains indecent, misleading or false content. If the website owner fails to suitably amend the content they can be liable for fines.

If you've always been honest on your website anyway, there's nothing to worry about - and like us, you'll welcome the new tightening up.

However, for those indulging in false claims, it's time to start toeing the line.

Full details can be found here:
http://www.cap.org.uk/Media-Centre/2011/UK-ad-industry-extends-its-commitment-to-responsible-advertising.aspx

For more advice on website related matters, click here to view our web design guide.

Sentiva is a Leeds based web design company making websites, mobile apps, SEO leaps and awesome databases.