Libraries in the world are in the maelstrom of internet and technology development. Libraries are intermediating media and information. Libraries in many part of the world are in touch with the majority of the population of the society. There is a responsibility, a mission, to keep and develop this advantageous status. Being in contact with the current trends is important so the libraries can reach the users in their preferred technology and choice of communication.

As providers of IT-technology to the libraries vendors should be in the forefront of the technology development. In the buzz of development there are three extremely important things not to be missed

-          Customer focus

-          Long term relationship

-          Long term value

It is said that infrastructure companies (like energy and communication providers) have this focus order

1.       Own Organization. 2. Product. 3. Customer

And it is said that for example shoe retailers have the opposite

1.       Customer 2. Product. 3. Own Organization

Of course the electricity providing company does want to prioritize their customers. But if their organization/infrastructure brakes down no one will be happy. They are extremely aware of this. If not carefully managed this priority order, if enhanced, can lead to an alienation of the customer. In this kind of companies you have to be very aware of your customers even when you are burden with infrastructural calamities.

Companies who have a relatively strong (or true monopolistic, like state owned) situation in a country could be in a similar situation.  These companies should be aware because they too risk losing the important focus on the customers. Do not ever take your customers for granted.  

For example, carefully following our contracted Axiell Arena customers is crucial. We are in constant dialogue with our potential customers regarding their needs. We had hundreds of discussions with customers and customer groups before starting to develop. We are expecting and initiating reference groups and forums for Axiell Arena. A community driven development will be in effect.

One strong conclusion from our initial discussions is that it is important that our organization and products accommodate the customers different needs. Looking at Tyresö, Norrköping and Lerum it seems that this works but we need to be careful not losing this touch and to continue further on this path.

 

When developing a requested feature you are always counting on the ROI (return of investment). How much effort is put in to make the feature and what is the gain. There is a difference (normally) between a consultancy company and a product development company.

When a customer is requesting and paying for a feature from a consultant the consultant will produce on specification. Then both parties will be happy. Or will they? Did the request cover

-          Variations in use?

-          Variations of access (other features and applications cooperating)?

-          Upgrading efficiency (especially in connection with other features and applications)?

-          Development potential (is it built to be easily enhanced)?

-          Maintenance?

As a product development company like ours we have to take all this in to account. Sometimes we choose not/miss to/cannot go all the way in all aspects – but it is a part of the game. We are discussing this with our customers because we constantly need to match these criteria with the needs.

 

Developing an application or a feature in an application it is important to calculate the possibilities of the feature. Eventually enhancing the functionality will cost more in developing expenses. First thing is always to ask the customer/s – would they like to have this extra flexibility/advantage. Is it a good thing?

One example of this thinking is the possibilities of a web portal like Axiell Arena to interact with external services. The easiest procedure is to code on prescription. This service we want like this and this service we want to connect to by …. and so on. These services will be (hard) coded in to the application. Any changes will be an additional cost the customer. It could for example be changes of the service, the need for an exchange of service or adding a service.

We chose not to go “simple”. We developed three different features, all three fully customable by the customer.

Link any search or any record in Axiell Arena to any web site. This function searches and presents the hit list or record from the external site automatically. Present as many alternatives as you like to your end users. Change any alternative in a minute. You can have as many as you like on any page with a hit list or record view.

Embed an external website with its answers in a window at your Axiell Arena site automatically. Change it in a minute. You can have as many as you like on any page with a hit list or record view.

Embed data, normally XML formatted, from an external web site automatically on any page in Axiell Arena with a hit list or record view. You can have as many as you like. This is a little trickier to get going because you normally want to design the data from the external site so you need a so called XSL per service. We will deliver some examples and help with others.

Delivering a product like this the customer knows that when they have this functionality in place the can connect, include and embed any adequate external service. At no additional cost. Even the third alternative, “Automatic data inclusion”, can be very cost effective when sharing the service specific information between libraries.  This is long term value.

We are, of course, able to and will sometimes take the short cut. Mainly because of timing issues. Developing open solutions to specific needs as in the example above will establish flexible products which can be used over time at a controlled cost. We will of course evaluate this line of thinking with our customers all along. The libraries are our customers. Our only customers really. We will strive to, in dialogue, to find the right ways. Keep us informed of your opinions!