Integration. What’s the deal?

JMH — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:46:40 +0000

Let’s face it, it’s officially the information age. As if you didn’t know that, and like no one’s said it before (if you’re saying ‘come on Jordan – it’s been the information age for 20 years’ then let me reply in kind with ‘yeah, thanks.’) but it’s now more true than ever.

There are more websites, more companies and more sources to gather, store, deliver and assess information than the world has ever seen, and et’s not forget information delivery. Facebook is doing a wonderful job collecting information about an amount of people no company has ever called a ‘customer’ in the history of, well, ever.

So, let’s talk about information delivery. I want, nay need, my daily dose of information just as much as the next guy. In fact, you might argue that I need it more than the next guy. On top of it all, I love gadgets.

You might be able to put two and two together and realize that I love information delivered to gadgets. I found it particularly hot when I realized that magazines like Wired and Popular Science would be available in new eye popping formats on an iPad. So hot in fact, that I pulled my Match.com subscription.

But, there are still companies out there, big companies mind you, who offer multiple information services, yet require you to establish and maintain different sets of credentials for each service, or better yet, they tout a “Single Sign-on” for all the services they provide. No kidding. These people really still exist? The two examples that I can think of are major technology companies. Or so they lead us to believe.

Not only does Facebook have a single sign-on process, they’ve made it available for you using people who aren’t even your customer! Talk about integration. If Facebook can do something like this, can technology companies think about providing me with a single username and password that I can use across all of their services?

How simple is it to get someone, who already subscribes to at least one of your services, to sign up for another one if you just add it to their account. Currently, the notion of access control makes it simple to maintain a list of services people have subscribed to, and which they haven’t. It’s very easy for me to see something that manages information, or provides a service I think I need, and want it – but decide not to purchase because I have to “sign up.”

In today’s sphere of data and control and devices, can’t we make this a little more simple? Is it possible to cater to the user’s needs instead of the IT department’s need to segment and control each little piece of data flowing across the network? It’s time for there to be a new movement in technology that allows users to easily manage everything they have going on. It’s time to make it easy and fun. Apple seems to be getting something right. Can’t the “big boys” follow suit?

Chairseven Creative Agency

Integration. What’s the deal?