They still collect data on VELLUM??

Guest post by Tania Walter, Founder and CEO Obzervr

This is the incredulity I sometimes go through during sales meetings. Okay, it is not that bad. Customers are not using Vellum….but perhaps they ought to!

Vellum is made from calf or goat-skin. It was in the news last week as the UK Government has decided to preserve this centuries old tradition of printing its laws on Vellum. Incredibly expensive and archaic, at first the House of Lords decided to end this custom. But get this, a Government department (Cabinet Office) stepped in and ‘found the budget’ to continue the tradition!

Here is why I think Customers should be using Vellum:-

-          The Magna Carta was written on it…like, the first ‘constitution’!

-          Been used for a thousand years

-          And the clincher…..it lasts longer than Paper!

That’s right Vellum is superior to Paper. Why not use Vellum? Most companies I speak to are using Pen & Paper to capture critical field data. I evangelise the need to digitalise this process; to disrupt the status quo; to have the ability to work with smarter, more accurate data; to make better decisions much faster.

The benefits of Mobility and Field Service Automation are clear. But if these companies cannot see this, I suggest Vellum as an alternative! They can at least say it is in the interest of ‘tradition’…..Paper just does not have that romantic ring to it!

So excited am I about this that I am looking at Obzervr to start offering a new (well, old) service. I have already made enquiries with regards to an exclusive supplier relationship with a company based in the UK that has been doing this since 1870.

It is a bit of a process to produce Vellum, so unfortunately there will be a bit of a delay. There is a premium price too of course. Costs are likely to be much more than the monthly subscription of Obzervr’s Field Service Automation solution. But I am positive that different departments will ‘find the budget’ to make sure this old (new?) service is implemented.

So I won’t be able to show a demo as such. However, I do believe I can show Customers ‘samples’. In fact, if you would like to contact me to arrange a meeting to discuss Field Service Management then I would happy to bring along a free sample! Get in quick though! I am expecting demand to go through the roof.

I would like to conclude with what Sharon McMeekin said regarding the UK Government’s decision. Sharon is with the Digital Preservation Coalition, an advocacy and advice group for digital recordkeeping:-

"People have been bemoaning the loss of history by changing to archival paper," she explains. "I think people are missing the point there. Truly representing the context and history in which these records were made require them to be kept in a digital format. It's more representative of the technologies and communication methods used today."

….Hear, Hear!

To arrange for a free sample of Vellum parchment, or indeed discuss Field Service Management in broader terms, please Connect with me or Follow Obzervr