Author: Gary Van Gordon
INI provides our partners and customers a value proposition that involves skilled and experienced experts participating in the process of delivering self service solutions. Our experts address customer needs identified in the discovery phase of a project and use the best tools and materials to efficiently build customized components to meet those needs.
An easy to understand comparison can be made with the construction industry, where use of the proper tools and materials helps to ensure that factors such as appearance, stability and longevity of the finished work will be considered exceptional. But this holds true only when the work is performed by those with the skills, experience and aptitude to turn a vision into reality.
Although some individuals may try to take on the project of building their own home, it is truly rare to find one who is skilled and comfortable enough to perform all of the tasks that are required. That is why the construction trade consists of many unique skill sets performed by many workers. Seldom does a framer also act as a finish carpenter. A good foundation man does not generally roof the house. Rare, indeed, is the licensed electrical contractor who also happens to be a skilled plumber. And while there are many “How To” books available on these topics, it is accepted as somewhat unrealistic that one should be able to build a quality home from the ground up without help from experienced experts in the individual fields.
In the construction trade, experienced craftsmen understand how choosing the right tools and materials to do the job enables the best result. If the budget allows a choice of materials, they can participate in the selection process to ensure the material chosen is best suited to fit the project. And they can often use a base tool and extend its functionality to enable faster and more consistent results than a lay person is able to do. An example of this would be the use of jig components that a finish carpenter might quickly and efficiently craft to use with a miter saw.
Similarly, INI’s expertise in self service and CTI consultation, design, development, and deployment is a significant advantage for on-time and on-budget projects. We understand the importance of Voice User Interface (VUI) design and build. We can perform essential steps to maximize uptime on applications. We use, and often extend, the right tools and materials in projects to create solutions efficiently and successfully. We consider elements that can be measured and adjusted to maximize effectiveness. We provide knowledge to the administrators and users of the solutions so they can adjust the properties of the solution as the requirements specify. And we know how to ask the right questions to ensure those requirements are considered before the job begins. The result is a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) that is far more favorable than when using less knowledgeable resources.
In most instances, INI is engaged in pre-proposal discussions that evolve into our defined roles in projects. As our partners and customers work on separate tasks related to a successful deployment – things such as hardware components, separate licensing, telephony, network, host system and database interfaces – we work as a team to meet the requirements that have been identified for the project. And we genuinely enjoy employing our expertise while working to ensure the deliverables meet and exceed what is expected.
It is one thing to have lots of materials and tools at your disposal. It is entirely another to be able to build with professionals who take pride in their work.
Self service applications are frequently the “front door” to a business. Using the construction example once again, let INI help you build your castle!