Archive for intel.com

Don’t Miss/Don’t Bother | The New Intel.com

By Kenna Dian · Comments (3)
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

2011 Intel.com Website Redesign Home PageThis week, we took the new Intel.com site for a spin. Let’s just say there’s more (and less) to this site than meets the eye.

Kenna Dian: Don’t Bother

Intel.com’s latest redesign is like buying an exotic car. It is visually striking, can be fun to drive, and has more bells and whistles than other cars on the road. But going exotic has tradeoffs. Choosing to pass on getting the full options package can leave the driving experience far less exciting than advertised. In fact, it may even break down–always in inconvenient locations. And the unique controls and design that seems edgy and innovative in the beginning quickly become confusing and irritating.

Read More→

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Categories : Design, Marketing, Navigation, POV (point of view), Search, Strategy, Usability, Website Launches
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2011 siteIQ eBusiness Index | Enterprise Systems | IBM.com now shares the spotlight with HP.com

By Kenna Dian · Comments (2)
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

And the Winner Is…

Overall: IBM.com
Usability: IBM.com
Content, Features & Capabilities: HP.com

2011 Enterprise Systems Star Rankings

But the siteIQ eBusiness Index is always about more than just rankings, ratings, and numbers. So what’s the story about what happened over the past 12 months? Here’s the rundown from first place to last: Read More→

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Categories : eSelling, Global Websites, Strategy, Support, Usability, Website Rankings
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siteIQ Case Study | Tips & Traps | The risk of implied navigation

By Kenna Dian · Comments (1)
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Intel.com Business Home PageWebsite teams are doing everything they can to simplify their navigation to align to the new “less is more” design trend. More white space, less content, fewer navigational options. But in the pursuit of the ultimate minimalist design, many sites are resorting to implied navigation—a risky proposition.

So what is implied navigation? If you have used a Website you have encountered it. Links that use vague phrases or single words that, within the context of the current page, promises one thing, only to deliver something else. These links often deliver “general Intel.com Products Pagepurpose” pages that change topics, audiences, or make the visitor start over at the beginning. Let’s see it in action. Read More→

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Categories : Design, Navigation
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Oracle.com & HP.com marketing content | It’s all about me

By Kenna Dian · Comments (1)
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Why Oracle.com and HP.com have a tough road ahead in the age of visitor-focused content

Oracle.com ContentI don’t talk about Oracle.com much. In fact, I speak about them so little that one would be lead to believe that I hold a grudge against them. Sure, they unceremoniously erased one of the best enterprise systems sites from the Internet–Sun.com. But, I won’t hold that against them. No, I don’t write about them much for one reason:

My Mother taught me if you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all.

There’s a litany of issues I have with Oracle.com ranging from design to innovation (or rather a lack thereof). But today, my rant is about Oracle.com’s content. Read More→

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Categories : Design, Marketing, POV (point of view), Social Media & Social Networks, Strategy
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Apple.com & Intel.com | Turning negative design into positive usability

By Kenna Dian · Comments (9)
Monday, October 4th, 2010

Social Media, DesignIn a world where content has been king, white space design is the new tail that wags the dog.

I’ve had space on my mind. Not the kind that Stephen Hawking talks about. The kind that’s finally getting the attention of enterprise-class Web design teams.

It is the power of white space—negative space—empty space–the void.

The importance of using white space in Website design isn’t a brand new concept. One can find plenty of blogs and examples on the subject. A couple of IT sites have also tinkered with it over the past few years. Apple.com has mastered it. Intel.com isn’t far behind.

But now the results are in regarding how negative space designs directly enhance usability. This has turned designing with white space from an avant garde concept into a usability requirement.

So what’s so great about negative space? If you aren’t into design or have been too busy with your day job to pay attention, here are the main benefits:

Read More→

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Categories : Branding, Design, Usability
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Oracle.com: New game, new rules, new problems

By Marty Gruhn · Comments (1)
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Oracle.com + Sun.com = less than the sum of their parts

Oracle.com has been the big Kahuna in the enterprise software industry for the past couple of years when it finally slipped past IBM’s Software Group site, which has been stuck in idle since early 2008. Then it decided to change the rules of its own game.

In 2009 Oracle bought Sun Microsystems in a quest to graduate into the business of selling hardware, software & services to the enterprise business set. Along with its red, white and black cap and gown, Oracle now gets to compete with the likes of IBM, HP and Dell. The question is, of course, how well does the combined Oracle.com & Sun.com sites perform against competitors that have been marketing & selling complex products online for well over a decade?

The answer is: not very well.

Read More→

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Categories : POV (point of view), Website Rankings
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The Envelope, Please! The best of the best

By Marty Gruhn · Comments (0)
Thursday, July 8th, 2010

In case you missed my last posts, this is the time when we announce our eBusiness Index rankings. Here’s a bird’s eye view of the Websites that set the standards in the IT industry.

Related research: The eBusiness Index Report.  If you are a siteIQ client or subscriber, click here.

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Categories : Website Rankings
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Website Rankings: Hits, misses & a little bit more

By Marty Gruhn · Comments (0)
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

There are plenty of hits and misses on this year’s roster. My favorites are . . .

In my last post, I shared some info about the top five Websites on the siteIQ eBusiness Index. Here’s my interesting surprises and “oops” list:

Symantec.com’s usability ranks second, and the site misses a “Good Practice” rating by a hair.

Juniper.net and Oracle.com complete the usability top five. Of the two, Juniper.net is most likely to move up a slot and knock CA.com off its perch.

Intel.com aced the online recruiting category and is the only four star (the best) in this category. (OK, so most recruiting zones are a big snooze – but we have to give Intel.com chops for its four star performance).

Services marketing continues to be Nortel.com’s claim to fame; HP.com and IBM.com are still second tier contenders.

Juniper.net hits the high note in the communities category – but Cisco.com and Intel.com also operate four star (the best) communities. (This is another way of saying that the new guys are zipping past community pioneers).

If call to action is your bag, look no further than Cisco.com. It is the only call to action “Best Practice” site on the eBusiness Index.

Newegg.com’s e-commerce capabilities puts it with the big boys: Dell.com & HP.com. Newegg ranks third with four stars (the best) and a “Good Practice” nod.

A couple of new entrants on the 2010 eBusiness Index roster did better than expected.

  • Brocade.com and EMC.com rank 7th and 8th on the usability chart – and finish in the middle of the pack when all of the scores are tallied up (EMC.com ranks 12th; Brocade ranks 14th).
  • Among the sites that debuted on the Index in 2010, Deloitte.com and SAS.com turned out to be boat anchors. Deloitte finished dead last – and SAS.com debuted in 17th place (out of 23 Websites).

Related research: The eBusiness Index Report.  If you are a siteIQ client or subscriber, click here.

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Categories : Website Rankings
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Why IBM Software, SAS, EMC, Intel, Brocade & Deloitte made the cut

By Marty Gruhn · Comments (0)
Monday, February 1st, 2010

This week we started our Q1 evaluations of 23 Websites, plus additional sites selected by our clients for comparison.

We’ve mixed up the siteIQ eBusiness Index for 2010. In some cases the decision was based on eliminating Websites that haven’t improved over the past year and don’t provide any good or best practices worth tracking. In other cases, sites have fallen off our list because they don’t exist anymore. That would be EDS.com which was integrated into HP.com — and Sun.com which went off the airwaves last week.

In both cases, these sites are a loss to anyone who cares about good and great practices. Don’t bother to follow them to their new homes. Their presence inside of their new parent’s sites is nothing to write home about.

Here’s some more about the new sites added to our roster – and why we’re singing “auld lang syne” to others. (If you are a siteIQ client you can read more about what we expect from these and other leading sites in 2010 in our new executive brief in the siteIntelligence Research Center). Read More→

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Categories : Branding, Communities, Design, eSelling, POV (point of view), Strategy, Web 2.0
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Intel.com delivers a stunning new product marketing best practice

By Marty Gruhn · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

If you haven’t already noticed, the past two months have been notable for sites upping the community and audiencing antes—and finding new and innovative ways to communicate with users. We’re speaking, of course, about HP.com’s new home page which launched last month.  Now you can add Intel.com to the list.

The new Intel.com allows visitors to navigate into the site using task-based Work and Play metaphors.

The new Intel.com allows visitors to navigate into the site using task-based Work and Play metaphors.

The new Intel.com allows visitors to navigate into the site using task-based Work and Play metaphors. Like HP.com, it’s pretty hard to miss the new Intel.com. The changes start with a brand new global page that brings a couple of new wrinkles to the party. Unlike other global home pages that provide a list of country links, Intel.com allows visitors to select their country location and instantly navigate into different parts of the Intel site. Here, Intel.com uses a combined task & audiencing metaphor: Work (read: business), Play (read: consumer and gamers) and About Intel (read: corporate info). Interactive fly-outs provide snippets about what’s in each zone. Add the classic links at the bottom of the page, plus a few others (jobs, RSS, investor relations, press), and you have a simple & easy to use global front door.

The Play Zone Delivers a Marketing Tour de Force

Once inside the site, it’s pretty obvious that the centerpiece of this update is Intel.com’s new “Play” zone, which is optimized for consumers. Read More→

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Categories : Design
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