Defining App Information Services (AIS)
App Information Services (AIS) – Part 1
“App Information Services” is a big term, so put it out of your mind as I explain it in simple terms. For more than two decades, I’ve worked with people who all had varying levels of technical skills and we all manage our own data differently. No two individuals use their digital tools in the same manner. If you looked at how one person stores their data files, they might have them arranged in neat folders while the person next to them might have all their files on their desktops. One person might use a spreadsheet for every type of work while the next uses a word processing application. The point still remains, people are the basic unit of managing their information. So to aid them, we’ve decided to offer what we call “app information services.” This service is designed to help you make the most of what you already use and to show you, you don’t have to purchase any other high-price software and hardware to get the job done.
People are the basic unit of managing data needs; they use app information services.
Our team noticed a huge gap in the technology needs for individuals versus large enterprises. The gap widened more for those who started their own small businesses. But as we analyzed this gap, what we found interesting was this. The information needs for all three: individuals, small businesses (including churches and other non-profit organizations), and large enterprises all have individuals at its core, individuals who use the technologies. In other words, people do the work required for their individual information needs, whether on their own (personal needs) or in their small businesses, or in ministries & non-profit organizations or in their positions with large corporations. Their information needs were basically the same. So we’ve decided to give this gap and your information needs a name, “app information services.”
Making one tool work at multiple levels and in multiple ways
The problem is this. Because no one has ever explained these needs, no one knows what tools, methods, and resources are available to meet their personal information needs for performing work, be it as an individual, a person working in or starting a small business, or those who work in “big” business. Most people use software and tools that are provided by their workplaces. If my company uses, Microsoft Word, then that tool is the one I use in the office, at home, and in my small business (if I ever take such a leap). It is in this process of not knowing what you should use that leads to an individual purchasing software they don’t need or a small business buying an expensive server just for email, or that company executive purchasing a custom ticketing platform that costs millions when the system is only needed in one area.
What we have to offer at Kerry A. Clark & Co. are practices on how to use what you already have, provide you with suggestions of free/low cost tools you’ve not considered, and provide recommendations on how to use the tools in ways you’ve not considered to meet your data needs as individuals, in your church ministries, in your non-profit organizations and in your small businesses.
Next we will define “app information services” for you in more detail.