Business Info - issue 116 - page 8

Half of business apps are
obsolete
Over half theapps currentlywithinUK
organisations areeither obsoleteor redundant,
according toa surveybyApplication
Management specialistsCamwood.Half (49%)
of 250 ITdecision-makers in companieswith
more than2,000 seats believe that up to60%
of theapps in their portfolioare superfluous.
CamwoodCEOAdrian Foxall warns that these
apps are a drainon resources, costly tomaintain
and couldhave a negative long-term impact on
business innovation if IT departments donot
take actionnow.
He said:“Many organisationswaste time,
money and resource onmaintaining legacy apps
that they simply don’t need. It’s understandable
thatwith a plethora of software requirements
and the growthof trends such as BYOD and
BYOA, large, busy organisations can lose track of
their app portfolio. But the costs of doing so can
be high.”
In particular, ‘AppChaos’makes it harder
for anorganisation to innovate.Without first
knowing howmany applications it has, a
business cannot consider the ROI on a corporate
app store project or roll out a Java upgrade.
Unnecessary apps lead to excessive licensing
and support spend, aswell as overuse of system
resources such as disk space,memory and
network bandwidth.
UKplcpayshighprice for
poor customer service
UK consumers are sticklers for good customer
service, according tonew research from
NewVoiceMedia, a provider of cloud contact centre
and voice solutions.A survey commissioned by
the company found that every year in theUK£12
billionworthof business is switched as a result
of unsatisfactory service.Themain reasons for
switching are feeling unappreciated as a customer,
having a bad customer service experience and
being kept onhold.Themost effectivemeans
of resolving a problem are the telephone (71%)
andwriting a letter (58%).More than a quarter
(27%) of UK consumerswould advise friends
and colleagues not touse a company that had
provided poor service.Almost three quarters (70%)
would recommend a company that had provided
good service.
Onlinebackup
calculator
KrollOntrackmarkedWorldBackupDay
onMarch312014with the launchof an
onlineData LossCalculator that enables
businesses and individuals toassess the
cost of data loss, as its latest customer
survey shows that even thosewhoback-
up regularly risk losingdata.
The survey of Kroll Ontrack customers
found that of thosewhohave lost valuable
computer data, 65%had a backup solution
in place and55% backedup data on a daily
basis.However,minor oversightsmeant
these precautionswere ineffective.
Typical oversights include performing
back-upon demand rather than
automatically; failing to configure the
software to back-up at another time
if the computerwas turnedoff at the
scheduledhour; and running out of backup
destination space.Other causeswere
backup software failure and the loss of a
file before a scheduled back-upoccurred.
3Dprinter sales inneedof akiller app
Salesof 3Dprinters for homeuseareexpected
toexceedonemillionunits by2018,up
from the low level of 44,000units this year,
according toanew report by Juniper Research,
Consumer 3DPrinting&Scanning: Service
Models,Devices&Opportunities2014-2018
.
The hi-tech analyst expects growth to be driven
by falling prices, new applications and greater
availability as established printing vendors, such as
HP, enter themarket.
In the short-term, Juniper Research says
saleswill remainmodest as killer applications
with the appropriate eco-systemof software,
apps andmaterials have yet to be identified and
communicated.To date, applications have tended
to be niche or novelty like the chocolate 3D printer
being developed by 3D Systems andHershey’s.
Report authorNitinBhas said:“Educating and
motivating the public on the idea of 3D printing to
create everyday objects is critical for the long-term
success of this segment. Killer applications and
contentwill be the key drivers – something unique
and personalised,which is not available in stores
already”.
FIRAopenday
FIRA, the Furniture IndustryResearch
Association, isholdinganOpenDayon
May22 tohighlight thework it does to
raise standards throughout thewhole
furniture supply chain.
Highlights of the free event,which
takes place at FIRA’s headquarters in
Stevenage,Herts, include an interactive
sessionwith FIRA’s ergonomics
department; a demonstrationof furniture
repair by a FIRA technician; and a tour
of FIRA’s testing laboratories including a
demonstrationof flammability testing.
Visitors can also learn about projects,
such as the Specifiers’Guide, the Export
Hub, the new FurnitureDesignToolkit,
the Furniture Industry Sustainability
Programme (FISP), carbon footprinting
and advice about how to complywith the
EUTimber Regulation.
To book a place, please call Chrissie
Winsor on01438777700or email
.
magazine
08
agenda
3D Systems plans to
launch the kitchen-
readyChefJet 3D printer
series in the secondhalf
of the year.Targeted at
professional bakers and
restaurants, the printers
can be used to create
edible confections in
a variety of flavours
including chocolate,
vanilla,mint, sour apple,
cherry andwatermelon.
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