kinetik IT blog spot

While the variety of social media outlets we use on a daily or weekly basis have changed how we communicate, email is still the method of choice in business. And it’s used a lot: according to the Radicati Group, email is still the predominant form of business communication, with over 100 billion business email messages sent and received each day in 2013.

For business, email is the primary way to communicate, and having a well‑formed email signature and maximizing its effectiveness is a boon to any type of business entity. When contacting clients via email, there are some best practices to construct an effective signature, keeping in mind the preferences of both the recipient and the email client.

Begin the email signature with an accepted signature delimiter: essentially two hyphens together, this element helps email clients recognize the separation of the body of the email from the proceeding signature lines. 

A good signature will include the individual’s name, company, position or title, and contact information. Lines of text in a signature are better kept to three lines, and 72 characters per line, which generally eliminates text wrapping to the next line. With so many ways to make contact, it’s best to choose one or two to use in the signature—having several options may feel overwhelming.

When using graphics, it's best to have an absolute URL graphic, meaning the graphic should be pulled from the server. For instance, the logo or any icons in a signature should be located on the company server, and then be linked in the signature using the actual URL to that.

It’s important to note that, for some email clients, more than one image for every 40 words can be flagged and end up in the spam or junk folder, so using an appropriate amount of images will ensure messages arrive in the client’s inbox intact.

Located in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, Kinetik IT is a full-service information technology and Internet services provider, offering a wide array of technology and internet strategy solutions, as well as sound advice.  To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Relational database. When you hear the words, you may notice your mind going blank and your eyes glazing over, thinking the term completely uninteresting or unrelated to your work. Dig in further, and you’ll find terms like normalization, entity and referential integrity, superkey and abstraction layer. Relational databases, however, play a huge role in our daily office activities, and even how we shop.

The relational (which refers to mathematical relations) database was created in 1970 by E.F. Codd, a researcher at IBM. At its core, the database is made up of a group of connected tables. With anywhere from 10 to more than 1,000 tables, a typical relational database contains a column or columns that other tables can key on to gather information from that table. Since its creation, databases have become a standard for most businesses and websites—Amazon’s site contains hundreds or thousands of tables all used together to quickly find the exact information needed at any given time—even deciding what products to suggest, based on the user’s activity and interests.

A relational database sorts and filters data, provides stronger security, ensures increased data integrity, and shares information.

Data Integrity

Data Integrity is the foundation of a solid and proper database design. A relational database is able to cross reference data.  The lack of data integrity will cause duplication of data, missing records, and orphaned database records.

Information Sharing

Another key aspect of a relational database is it gives the ability for users to share information simultaneously. The database automatically updates the system when information is deleted, added, or changed. Users are able to immediately access all changes.

Security

No data can be totally safe; still, a relational database allows for different access levels and password protection. Also, authentication steps can be set to ensure that users are only allowed to access information relevant to their job. Authentication steps can also produce a record of user access that can be used to determine access for different users.

While building a custom relational database may take time, its positive impact on a business can be tremendous. A relational database can quickly and efficiently compare information, allow access to vast amounts of information to numerous people at once, and keep information protected by the use of passwords authentication steps. If you are considering a relational database for your company, it is easy to see how important it could be to your business and your bottom line.

As a professional Phoenix custom software design and development company we often take over custom software development projects after the relationship with a fixed-price software development company has turned sour. The fixed-price pricing model for software and web application development projects may sound attractive to a customer initially, but unfortunately, both parties will most likely suffer in the end.

A fixed-price contract happens when the customer is guaranteed a fixed price to complete certain tasks and/or provide specific variables. A fixed-price contract might also have a limit for expenses, in which case the customer cannot be billed for any amount over these limits. In any arrangement of this kind, the specifications must be complete and detailed and the contract must allow adjustments to the price for any variation to the agreed-upon specifications. 

The only fixed-bid software projects that have a chance of success are those which cover additional time, in the event the software development company has underestimated how long it will take to complete the project. Estimating is often the hardest part of any software development project. Estimating a project’s timeline is never an exact science, especially for custom projects which may entail unexpected needs and wants on the part of the client, leading to “scope creep”; or unforeseen technical issues that are often out of the control of the software developer, leading to spending additional time to provide a “work-around”.

In business, it can be difficult to agree ahead of time on the scope of an entire project, and determining the specific details of the software requirements and performance criteria is no different. Similar to custom building a home, the unexpected and unforeseen will often occur in the middle of the process. While software design specifications and features may be decided upon in advance, building the actual product, taking into account the high degree of detail necessary, and leaving little room for interpretation is very costly and not always a good use of the client's resources and money. 

At the end of the day, the most important consideration is the final product and its overall fit and performance.  When considering a fixed-bid contract, whether client or developer, ensuring a quality end product is paramount. 

For the client, fully understanding project needs and outcomes, and working with a trusted company can go a long way to ensuring a successful outcome. When working with a new developer, consider starting with a smaller project, a kind of test run to ensure compatibility before delivering a larger project – especially one that may entail a fixed-price agreement.

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

There comes a time in every project when a critical question must be addressed, whether to follow a proven and well-trod course of action, or to strike off on one’s own, and develop something – whether product, service, or other – new. The same question must be asked when determining whether custom software is right for your organization.

There are several considerations to address before deciding to develop and implement custom software. At Kinetik IT, we carefully assess the client’s needs to determine whether custom software will be a good fit, placing the utmost importance on database architecture, database design, and usability.  Another primary consideration is functionality. Our goal is to provide our clients with systems that evolve and transform their organization, that address their specific needs in a way that off-the-shelf software cannot.  Designing and developing a custom software solution whether this is a desktop application, web application, ecommerce system, mobile app or a complete enterprise software application, is often times the best way to accomplish this. 

Because off-the-shelf software is developed to appeal to the mass markets of your specific industry, by using this software, you disregard that the needs and potential of your business are as unique as the business itself.  Standard or off-the-shelf software locks you into using the same technology as your competitors.

By developing and implementing custom software, Kinetik IT helps you tap your full potential and helps your company evolve with software that is:

• Unique – just like you, your business, and your team.
• Custom – to the way you do business, saving time and increasing efficiency in the process.
• Flexible – capable of meeting your company’s specific needs now, and in the future.
• Scalable – facilitating faster, easier, and better business growth.
• Modifiable – suiting your business’ changing needs.

Tapping into your full potential and evolving your business is mission-critical to your organization’s success. 

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedInor Twitter.

When developing a website to focus on product and service offerings, custom design often comes into play.  For some businesses, a custom build can be not only appropriate but necessary, though not in all cases.  Along with custom design can come ongoing maintenance, specialized knowledge and training, and regular updates.  Besides raising the question of who will maintain the site, ongoing upkeep often equates to ongoing cost.  

According to President Josette van Stiphout, “At Kinetik IT, our philosophy is not to be in the business of holding clients hostage. We want them to come back to us because they want to, not because they have to.  It's a different approach. We want to make sure that our clients are happy with what products we deliver, the customer service and everything that's tied into that. We want to do that at a reasonable price.” 

Kinetik IT’s rates have remained competitive for the duration of the company’s existence, with cuts coming not from laying off employees or cutting salaries, but by becoming more efficient and better-performing than the norm.  This client-centered philosophy stems from the understanding that clients may not be able to raise their own rates to accommodate the cost of necessary services, upgrades, and maintenance,

“Our rates are beyond competitive.  We haven't raised our rates in several years, because we want to make sure our prices are reasonable. In order to keep them reasonable, we have to become more efficient as a company rather than raising our rates every year for our clients,” van Stiphout said.  

It's not the easiest philosophy, but it's a philosophy that has been present since the beginning, and one which the company will strive to incorporate as much as possible. Says van Stiphout, “We've been pretty successful at following this business philosophy, but again, it's not mainstream corporate philosophy.”

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

In any field, there are characteristics that inevitably determine which companies will last and those whose tenure will be short-lived.  One of these characteristics is having well-defined guiding principles. Serving as a guidepost in making decisions both big and small, these principles, or core values, are not simply chosen like a wish list of company traits might be, but rather cherry-picked from that organization’s existing culture and highest virtues. 

Generally defined as “principles that guides an organization's internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world,” core values can also be defined as unchanging, while being timeless and to sustainable long term, as they were in the book, “Startup Culture: Values vs. Vibe” by Chris Moody,

At Kinetik Information Technology, we provide website design, SEO internet marketing, software development and computer network services and solutions that move our clients forward. We accomplish this through uncompromising dedication to our own well-defined core values and principles, including:

• Integrity
• Service
• Loyalty
• Value
• Excellence
• Dedication

Of course, our principles will only be meaningful, if each of us at Kinetik IT consistently strives to excel in everything we do, surpassing our set standards. After all, an organization can only expand and achieve greatness through the pursuit of excellence and growth of each individual team member.

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik on Facebook, LinkedInor Twitter.

Search the internet for the phrase, “Never give up,” and you’ll come across several eponymous images.  Undoubtedly, the most well-known is that of the frog who, while cradled precariously in the craw of a bird about to eat him, is doing his best to wring the neck of his winged opponent.  Another image is that of a mouse wearing the tiniest helmet, perched in front of an ever-so-enticing cheese-loaded mousetrap.  In both instances, the underlying message is that hard work comes naturally when you’re passionate about what’s at stake.

Working in the information technology arena has never been smooth sailing, at least not for any extended period of time.  Since its inception, the industry has weathered its share of booms and busts, followed by more of the same. “I would say, our biggest accomplishment is that in 24 years we've been through the ups and downs of the technology bubble, 9/11, economic downturn,” says Josette van Stiphout, President of Kinetik I.T. “We've had several highs and several really lows and within that 24‑year period. Nonetheless, during the trying times, we did not choose the easy way out, resorting to lay-offs or salary decreases. Instead, we did whatever we had to do to keep our staff employed. We believe our staff is better off not having to worry about having a job or not. We want them to focus their energy positively, such as on exceeding our clients’ expectations.” Our business philosophies and loyalty to our employees are quite different than what is the norm for corporate America.”

Working in such a volatile industry, the key to Kinetik I.T.’s 24-year longevity has been in the passion and commitment of our people to deliver high-quality custom desktop and web-based software systems and long-term I.T. solutions for our clients.  We do this by first uncovering, then catering to the client’s most important needs.  Because our employees embody both efficiency and passion for their work, bridging the gap between marketing and technology and revolutionizing the way our clients do business is more than just work to us – it’s our goal, our mission. And we’ll never give up.

To learn more about services and products, and to stay up to date with Kinetik IT, visit www.Kinetik-IT.com or follow Kinetik IT Phoenix on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.