Flash is a multimedia format, a web technology that allows graphic movement and animation. Flash makes the designers more flexible and gives them grounds to create animations and develop interactive movies and images that can be kept in the website that makes the website more attractive and interactive. 

Should you use Flash on YOUR web site?

Advantages

• Flash uses vector graphics, which means that the graphics can be scaled to any size without losing clarity/quality.
• Flash gives the viewer a “high-tech” impression of your organization that is very impressive.
• Flash can be used to create interactive animation for entertaining “Splash” pages, ad banners and even games.
• With Flash you can deliver to your audience engaging applications and web interfaces such as training courses, tutorials and presentations.

Disadvantages

• There are a variety of reasons why Flash content may be inaccessible. First, Flash files require a plug-in called the Flash Player. Many older browsers do not support this plug-in so individuals using those browsers will not be able to view Flash content.
• Flash contents take longer to load due to bigger file size. Many viewers get annoyed when they have to wait for the Flash presentations to load and will end up going elsewhere instead of waiting.
• For full Flash websites, the “Back” button does not work. If you navigate within a Flash object, the standard backtracking method takes you out of the multimedia object and not, as expected, to the previous state.
• Link colors don’t work. Given this, you cannot easily see where you’ve been and which links you’ve yet to visit. This lack of orientation creates navigational confusion.
• The “Make text bigger/smaller” button does not work.
• Flash reduces accessibility for users with disabilities. (Although the latest version “Flash MX” supposedly addresses many of these issues.)
• The “Find in page” feature does not work. In general, Flash integrates poorly with search.
• Internationalization and localization is complicated.  Text that moves is harder to read for users who lack fluency in the language.

Aidan Slvridge can help implement any kind of Flash technology, from flash intros, flash banners and fully flash websites. Visit our portfolio too see several flash samples.

So, to Flash or not to Flash… that is the question. The answer is up to you..

Enterprise systems also known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, solve problems by collecting data from various key business processes in manufacturing and production, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, and human resources and storing the data in a single central data repository. This makes it possible for information that was previously fragmented in different systems to be shared across the firm and for different parts of the business to work more closely together.

Enterprise systems speed communication of information throughout the company, making it easier for businesses to coordinate their daily operations. When a customer places an order, the data flow automatically to other parts of the company that are affected by them. The order transaction triggers the warehouse to pick the ordered products and schedule shipment. The warehouse informs the factory to replenish whatever had depleted. The account department is notified to send the customer an invoice. Customer service representatives track the progress of the order through every step to inform customers about the status of their orders.

Enterprise systems give companies the flexibility to respond rapidly to customer requests while producing and stocking inventory only with what is needed to fulfill existing orders. Their ability to increase acurate and on-time shipments, minimize costs, and increase satisfaction adds to firm profitability.

Enterprise systems provide valuable information for improving management decision making. Corporate headquarters has access to up-to-the-minute data on sales, inventory, and production and uses this information to create more accurate sales and production forecasts. Enterprise systems provide company-wide information for managers analyze overall product profitability or cost structures.