Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Corporate Leverage Unites People, Tech

    By
    Eric Lundquist
    -
    November 22, 2004
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The reasons to invest in technology can be summed up in one word: leverage. A wise technology investment lets you combine people skills and technological capabilities to produce a powerful financial engine for your company. The focus on leverage does not lend itself well to detailed return-on-investment calculations, contracting your technology future to an offshore operation or handing your technology decisions to your financial department. Combining smart people and new technology to build corporate leverage requires an act of business faith.

      For example, Jay Wessel is senior director of technology for the Boston Celtics. He works with Daryl Morey, senior vice president of operations and information for the Celts. I met them recently at their office across from the Fleet Center in Boston. Theyve spent much of the past year working with Ticketmaster to build a strong set of CRM capabilities in the Celtics portion of the Ticketmaster site. “We use the system as an escalator,” Morey said. That escalator aims to move a Celtics fan from newsletter subscription to ticket buying to multiple-game buying to season-ticket buying. The relationship with Ticketmaster is a big change from the prior, one-way process, wherein Ticketmaster acted solely as the financial broker for Celtics tickets.

      Consider the leverage that comes into play in the Celtics-Ticketmaster relationship. The uptick in business resulting from increasing ticket demand and upselling better, more expensive seats to ticket holders is not unlike the scenario often seen in the airline and hotel industries. The revenue loss stemming from unsold airline seats and unsold hotel rooms can never be recovered; a great deal of the technology investment in the airline and hotel industries has been in support of building financial analysis systems aimed at filling those airline seats and hotel rooms with the best-paying customers before the opportunity evaporates with the turn of the calendar page.

      Those CRM systems, however, have been the province of technology departments with big budgets and considerable expertise. Small airlines, boutique hotels and community theaters, for instance, have not been able to make upfront investments in those management systems. That is changing.

      With the Celtics technology teams personnel resources consisting largely of two people (themselves) and an IT budget that has to cover a lot of territory—people, equipment and contracts—for less than $1 million, Wessel and Morey were able to leverage a partnership to create a system that can get more seats filled with a better revenue mix at game time. The trick was to consider Ticketmaster as the basis for a CRM system rather than simply as a financial clearinghouse for ticket transactions.

      The concept of technological leverage will be heard a lot more next year. Customers are going to lean on vendors to supply the system management tools that will let them free budget dollars that are now tied up in simply keeping systems running. Wise companies will use those dollars to build new business systems.

      Customers are also going to lean on their service providers to think of themselves as more than a cost-efficient way to complete a transaction. Banks, telecommunications providers and transportation companies will be pressed to think of themselves in ways beyond their traditional confines. Banks will have to provide their business partners with a greater range of services than simple financial transactions, and telecom providers will have to start thinking of the applications that ride on top of offerings such as voice over IP.

      The technology teams at the customer sites mentioned above will have to start thinking of themselves as teams that can meld their internal operations and service providers to build new business operations for their companies.

      The Celtics model is one example of a small group of technologists leveraging their vendor relationships to create a new way of doing business. For the Celtics, it was thinking of CRM as something that could grow out of an existing relationship, rather than as a project that would have to be started from scratch. That type of thinking can give you the leverage you need for your next technology or business project.

      Editor in Chief Eric Lundquist can be reached at [email protected].

      To read more Eric Lundquist, subscribe to eWEEK magazine.

      Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis about productivity and business solutions.

      Eric Lundquist
      Since 1996, Eric Lundquist has been Editor in Chief of eWEEK, which includes domestic, international and online editions. As eWEEK's EIC, Lundquist oversees a staff of nearly 40 editors, reporters and Labs analysts covering product, services and companies in the high-technology community. He is a frequent speaker at industry gatherings and user events and sits on numerous advisory boards. Eric writes the popular weekly column, 'Up Front,' and he is a confidant of eWEEK's Spencer F. Katt gossip columnist.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×