I own one of the first card scanners made by CardScan. I guess I’m a visual person where I like the contact info from a business card, but it is the logo that triggers my memory to the company and then the person. It just goes to show you the importance of branding, and a … Read more
There were two interesting press releases from Gartner last week that caused mixed emotions in the IT world. The news was good or bad, depending on how you looked at it. 1. Gartner Says Outsourcing Will Continue to Grow in 2009 Despite Economic Slowdown (press release here) 2. Gartner EXP Worldwide Survey of More than … Read more
IBM, Microsoft, Research In Motion, Jigsaw, Levementum and Talend to Sponsor Commercial Open Source CRM Conference CUPERTINO, Calif.– SugarCRM, the world’s leading provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software, today announced keynotes and sponsors for SugarCon 2009, the company’s global customer and developer conference, February 2-4, 2009, at the Palace Hotel in … Read more
Yesterday’s Salesforce.com outage resulted in several readers emailing me the story from the San Jose Mercury News titled ‘The Recession, the Cloud and Salesforce.com’ *. The feelings were mixed. Read on… With all the bad news about layoffs, declining sales and falling housing markets, one company shines out: Salesforce.com There is no doubt they are … Read more
These 5 industries will continue to be hot topics for 2009, which is going to be a very lean year for small, medium and large businesses. Tech spending will be tightened and budgets will be cut. If you are looking to increase productivity without spending more money, these 5 topics will certainly be on your … Read more
With today’s economy, we all need to try and save money. My number one expense is travel costs, so if I can find a way to do some support or presentations remotely, I will. When trying to save money, conference calling and web presentations are the best way to communicate to clients and co-workers. Of … Read more
Do you prefer a PC or Mac? On-Demand SaaS or On-site CRM? Commercial or Open-Source Software? The last 2 questions are my most common questions I receive every week when trying to evaluate and implement a CRM or ERP solution, whether it’s a start-up about to go IPO or a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company. … Read more
As a rebuttal to all the hype towards the advantages of Software as a Service, Gene Marks from The Marks Group has five popular myths. At the microscopic level, he is right. But then again, I can present a set of facts and make you believe anything… at least for a few minutes. Time to … Read more
Here’s an interesting twist between commercial and open source software. I always believe there is a huge difference between customizing and configuring your CRM or ERP software package. XTuple’s software is commercial with full access to the source code but any improvements and changes must go back to xTuple for review and possible added to … Read more
Source: NetworkWorld Microsoft’s prices have always been geared to be affordable for the masses. And when entering a new market, it seems to always start low-ball. Microsoft today finally revealed how it will price online services, including Exchange and SharePoint, and how it will share revenue with partners. The company used its annual Worldwide Partner … Read more