Forrester Research recently noted that making the leap from technology-centric architecture to business-centric architecture might be enterprise architects’ biggest challenge yet.

“Business architecture is not simply another enterprise architecture view,” reported the research company’s Jeff Scott. “It is an entirely different way to think about architecture with its own set of goals, processes, and deliverables. Though the shift to business technology will be difficult, the rewards will be great.”

He went on to state business architecture will provide the major vehicle for aligning IT capabilities with business outcomes. For instance, a well-defined business architecture will provide new business insights, uncover unseen opportunities, and guide business investments to where they deliver the most value.

Scott suggested CIOs should direct their enterprise architects to sharpen their business skills, increase their business interactions, and develop their business architecture road map.

Our take is the architecture of an enterprise exists, regardless if it’s documented in detail. However, architecture must go beyond technology and the business. To lead the way, companies must embrace a customer-centric focus, along with effectively integrated systems.

As newspapers continue to experience decreasing ad spends, they’re looking for ways to maintain relevancy and existence.

And the slow economy isn’t helping. Some of the papers’ biggest customers – retail, auto and real estate – are hurting badly.

One way newspapers seem to fit nicely into the overall information delivery system, is by getting the Web to grab readers and allowing them to get in-depth information from print sources.

That could definitely work for some years, or at least until screens provide the same readability as paper and people learn to cuddle with their Sumsungs.

Rogers’ executive team should monitor and attempt to influence what shows up on the Web. Case in point: the following screenshot reveals Google’s results when searching Rogers Customer Service (click on image to enlarge):

The number one result is a blog post critical of Rogers Customer Service, complete with dozens of subsequent comments that slam the company. The post is consistently in Google’s top 10 results, and often ranks above their official websites.

It all started with a blog entry I posted about Rogers’ no-shows and screw-ups that fell upon deaf ears for more than a year. Dozens of others vented as well, including customers, ex-customers and even employees. So, when consumers type Rogers customer service into Google or other search engines, the company’s poor service is often brought to their immediate attention.

Continue reading →

Here’s a list of 30 fresh design blogs that are worth checking out, brought to you by Six Revisions. Get inspired and dig up tips on everything surrounding web, graphic, and print design.

Worthy web design blogs that were missed include Web Designer Wall and Web Designer Depot.

Are you a web designer? Here’s an article featured on the Guild of Accessible Web Designers that discusses how to get ahead in the Web world.

We came across a compelling video that makes you reflect on where we’re headed with technology, and just how fast.

Some of the gripping facts:

• The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004
• 1 out of 8 couples married in the US last year met online
• If MySpace were a country, it would be the fifth-largest in the world

In the end, the video asks: What does it all mean? Perhaps if we don’t fully embrace technology, we’ll literally be left in the dust – sooner than later.

Check it out right here, right now.

The recession has put major pressure on marketers to deliver results, and many are responding by increasing investments on social marketing. The reason?

Social media provides relatively inexpensive tools that can quickly get marketing messages out through interactive discussion and rapid word of mouth.

But how does a business go about making social applications a permanent part of its marketing efforts?

Plan for Success

According to James Wallace of Kontent Creative, a Vancouver design studio and web development group that helps clients tap into the social media realm, there needs to be a cohesive company strategy in place for social media interaction.

Continue reading →

While conducting research for a dating site, one of our web writers came across these popular search terms in Google, reflecting the state of modern relationships (and perhaps society at large):

The colours you choose to represent your business say a lot about you, suggests Juliette Schmerler of SPECTRAMEDIA Strategic Design Solutions.

“Politicians, fashion designers and brand managers pay serious attention to colour trends and colour psychology,” she said.

And so should you. After all, she explained, colour can play a large part in how your audience reacts to you. But be aware choice of colour isn’t just about personal preference.

“There are some colours that are rather obviously associated with particular industries, such as blue for water companies and green for environmental agencies,” noted Schmerler. “However, the choice of warm versus cool colours can also play a part in our perceptions.”

As an example, the Vancouver website and graphics designer explained owners of a bed and breakfast could opt for the coziness of browns, burgundies and mustard yellow in their marketing materials. In contrast, they might want to create an ultra-modern, sleek look with silver, teal blue and crisp white — all very cool colours.

“It is also important to find colours that reflect your company image while differentiating you from your competition,” she stated, making reference to major banks. “Chances are most of us could quite easily tell you which colour each one is associated with: CIBC, red; Royal Bank, blue; TD, green.

“It’s no coincidence that they have chosen very distinct colours to differentiate themselves,” she said. “Ultimately, your choice of colour will be influenced by your company’s goals, philosophy and the image you want to portray.”

So her number one rule when it comes to colours in design? Do not use colour without a specific plan or goal.

Colour Symbolism and Psychology

Assorted sources suggest these interpretations of colour:

• RED: urgency, passion, heat, love, blood
• PURPLE: wealth, royalty, sophistication, intelligence
• BLUE: truth, dignity, power, coolness, melancholy, heaviness
• BLACK: death, rebellion, strength, evil
• WHITE: purity, cleanliness, lightness, emptiness
• YELLOW: warmth, cowardice, brightness
• GREEN: nature, health, cheerfulness, environment, money, vegetation

Dreamweaver is dying, or so suggested Tom Arah in a PC Pro blog.

He wrote: “The problem is that Dreamweaver is dying…to be fair it’s not Dreamweaver’s fault. Nor is the problem Adobe and its development team — the last Dreamweaver CS4 version was the most impressive release in years.

“The real problem for Dreamweaver and for its users is that the nature of the Web is changing dramatically. Dynamically-generated web applications, from Amazon right down to the humble blog, all offer much more — in-built commenting, voting, RSS feeds, etc. — than the best sites built on static HTML can ever hope to provide.

Continue reading →

Planning to launch or overhaul your website, but can’t figure out what software to use? If you want to take control of your website and its content, a Content Management System (CMS) might be for you. But what then should you look for in a CMS?

Features are an important element of the CMS selection process, but per an informative CMS article in Smashing Magazine, you should also consider items such as licensing, support, accessibility, security and training.

“Don’t let your list of requirements become a wish list,” warns author Paul Boag. “Keep your requirements to a minimum, but at the same time keep an eye on the future.”

You can go with the most popular CMS systems, such as Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress. Or, you can hire programmers to build a special custom-made CMS that specifically caters to your business model. Web information authority Alexa reveals most of the top 100,000 websites use custom CMS solutions.

Many web developers snub the general one-size-fits-all CMS route, but when open source communities offer you free and powerful solutions, it can be alluring. Perhaps, in rare circumstances, businesses don’t have to ‘pay to play’.