After a couple of exciting years contracting Exogistic is re-launching itself as a software services business providing bespoke software development.

Those of you who know me may remember my involvement in VBUG.  I was Chairman of the group from 1997 to 2005 and I ended my involvement with the group in 2008.  Over many years I met a number of great developers - some of whom I'm still in touch with - and some who I'm sure I will continue to work with going forward.  My personal journey since then has been to contract in the Financial Services Sector and to start Exogistic Limited in 2010.

Since then, Exogistic has built a number of different systems for various different clients.  But we haven't been great at talking about what we do and how we do it. 

We're now planning to revamp this website and look to expand our client base.  Who knows, we may even be knocking on your door!

Graham Parker (07973 254003)
Twitter: @Exogistic

I've been studying for CFA Level 1 for a number of weeks now.  I'm taking the exam in December.  One resource I've been using is the package from Allen Resources (see http://www.allenresources.com/  a great provider BTW),

they've produced a number of videos, many samples of which you can see on YouTube.  I was so impressed I bought the full package.  One thing that would be useful would be to have an index to the videos, because as I study and get more familiar with the material, I'd like to lookup an individual topic.  I've started to put this list of video timings together in case anyone else might find it useful.

Video Timings.xlsx (12.24 kb)

Use It

I've been using Linked In - the social networking site at http://www.linkedin.com for several years now and have been impressed with its constant and steady growth.  I've only ever linked to people I know, I'm not a great fan of trying to add people to your network without having first some kind of professional relationship with them.  After setting up Exogistic this year, I've realised how important social networking has been for me and my businesses.  A big client came as an introduction from someone I worked with in 1997 and I find it a useful way of staying in touch with people.

Value It

I value my online profile and reputation very much.  And because of this I take the time to cultivate these online relationships.  I also prune my tree.  I think it's important to remove relationships that are damaging your use of the tool.  Recently I removed Thomas Power from my Linked In network and from my Facebook friends list.  I had met Thomas in 2001 when he visited my offices after an introduction from a mutual associate.  Since then, I have not met Thomas again or swapped any emails.  I certainly wouldn't regard him as either a close friend or a business associate of mine.  Thomas's network is going to be massive - and the feeds I was getting through on both Linked In and Facebook were just creating a lot of noise that I didn't want.  That was part of my reasoning behind removing him from both of my networks.  Just to note, I don't have anything against Thomas.  It's just not a fruitful relationship for me.

Let it work for you

This post about how Linked In works for different people is a very interesting read:
http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=7229275&gid=41352&trk=EML_anet_qa_ttle-cnhOon0JumNFomgJt7dBpSBA

Personally, I am always searching for new opportunities and new ways of working with people.  Linked In is a useful tool to help me do this.

A lot has been written about social networking sites, and this year Exogistic has built two great video community sites for our clients.  This has helped them with training their staff to launch new products.  If we can help you, please get in touch by calling me personally on 07973 254003.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Visit my linked in Profile here:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamparker

Graham. 

According to Stanley Zarowin’s article in the Journal of Accountancy 1 the new millennium signalled that workplace technology was to become a pre-requisite to doing business rather than just a priority. Almost ten years after this article was written, it is even more imperative for organisations to accept that message.

As businesses grow – efficiencies can be made by automating the office. It is expected these days that the basic activities of collecting, storing, manipulating and relaying digital information are efficient in organisations - large and small alike. 

Ten years ago, the backbone of office automation was the local area network. These days some organisations are using the internet as their backbone. These networks are making it possible to run an efficient office and customers, supplier and stakeholders alike are all expecting just that; an efficient smooth operation. 

Even the tiniest companies commonly utilise email, word processing, spreadsheets and accounts packages. These applications work well in isolation, but lead to a lot of duplicated effort – staff in the business sending the same letter or email, raising the same invoice and carrying out the same activity.

Word processing templates, spreadsheet automation, databases and websites can all be a part of the solution. But in today’s environment these technologies as the very basic building blocks. Electronic meetings over the web, social networking sites, blogging and twittering are all examples of how the web is revolutionising how businesses operate today. Teams can operate in virtual environments without the need to share the same physical space. New groupware products like Microsoft Sharepoint allow the blurring of traditional boundaries between your organisation and your customers and suppliers.

The time to act is now, as Zarowin 1 points out “the longer one delays, the larger the gap and the harder it is to catch up.”

Put quite simply – the effective use of information technology has the means to make or break an organisation.

Small businesses need a solution that can grow with them. Our philosophy is to deliver you just what you need, right when you need it and to retain the relationship with your business as it grows.

To discuss how Exogistic can help you automate your business please contact Graham Parker on 07973 254003.

1 Technology for the new Millenium by Stanley Zarowin (Journal of Accountancy April 2000) http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2000/Apr/TechnologyForTheNewMillennium

Maximising Return on Investment from your IT.

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review in 2003   businesses worldwide pump $2 trillion into IT and IT has become a commodity that no longer offers any strategic advantage.  Because of its ubiquity we must focus on the risks of IT more than the strategic importance of it.  The biggest risk overall in IT is overspending.

Exogistic offers a solution to fit the needs of all companies that rely on IT investment for any part of their business.  Our focus is simple and has a proven track record.  We reduce your costs and improve the efficiency of your IT by following our unique methodology.

The process starts by appointing an Exogistic consultant to manage it on a fixed rate basis.  Typically this follows with a cost-cutting exercise carried out in a sensitive way.  We ensure that you retain the essential services that you need and that we fully understand your business use of IT during the process.

Once the costs are under control we review the process and prepare a strategy for your future use of IT.  The strategy takes into account the future directions of the IT industry and is aligned with your overall business strategy.

Once the whole process is complete we can, if you are happy with the service, move on to a maintenance phase.  During the maintenance phase we ensure that the return on your IT investment is monitored and that you continue to reap the rewards of your strategy which will be reviewed on an annual basis.

To discuss how Exogistic can help you maximise the return on investment from your IT please contact Graham Parker on 07973 254003.

• Moving ISP   
• Registering or managing your domain name.
• Negotiating your hosting costs
• Driving traffic to your site using a combination of search engine optimisation techniques and Google Adwords.
• Building content for your website.
• Developing WebSite functionality.
• Checking that the existing website works (including contact us etc.)