All posts by Richard

Back Office, Business Processes

Orange Business Services Releases Cloud Trading Solution

Orange Business Services – Trading Solutions today announced the launch of its Flexible Trading service. This fully managed cloud-based offering is targeted at small to midsized financial institutions and is being rolled out this year allowing firms to work with the latest and affordable technology solutions.

“Financial institutions are increasingly looking to reduce costs from the front to back office and are turning to cloud-based models to achieve this. A fully managed service means financial institutions can take advantage of utility pricing and also a potential reduction in their IT infrastructure costs. The added benefit of scalability in this fast paced market allows them to broaden their investment portfolio across different asset classes,” said Peter Redshaw, managing vice president, Gartner.

The cloud-based Flexible Trading service is provided on a ‘pay as you grow’ model and is designed for hedge funds, asset managers, and niche players who require up to 20 positions on a pre-fixed pricing basis. The all-in-one package contains the award winning Open Trade smart turret, optional voice recording and voice lines through native access to the TCSnet network and fully managed services. Flexible Trading customers can also benefit from access to over 2000 TCSnet community members and more than 50 liquidity pools across the globe.

“Flexible Trading in the cloud will provide our users with an advantage over the competition. It will allow them to efficiently align their service costs to business needs and gives them greater choice. Five year contracts are usually the minimum requirement and Flexible Trading presents an adaptable solution requiring just a one year commitment responding to today’s market conditions and demand for efficient business change,” said Lionel Grosclaude, CEO of Orange Business Services – Trading Solutions. He added, “Flexible Trading’s ‘pay as you grow’ model is a very attractive alternative for small to mid-sized financial institutions, which can now benefit from and afford the most advanced trading solutions. It is a full end-to-end service so there is no need for in-house IT experts, allowing users to enjoy all the benefits and functionality the service delivers.”

The service also offers a fast response to business changes allowing upscale and downscale of trading operations. Users of the Flexible Trading service will benefit from better oversight of their technology and in-house expenditure, with no need for additional technical space. It is also easy to deploy and set up in a short timeframe. The service is designed to improve financial efficiency as users will be able to allocate valuable IT infrastructure budgets to other areas of the business giving them a greater degree of flexibility and allowing improved business agility.

“Flexible Trading is the latest addition to our rich portfolio of cloud-based solutions, encompassing infrastructure, collaboration, video, security and back-up available ‘as a service’,” said Didier Jaubert, senior vice president, Global Services and Global Communications Solutions, Orange Business Services. “To answer our customers’ increasing needs for more flexible infrastructures and reduced capital expenditure, we have positioned cloud computing services at the heart of our strategy, thanks to the strengths of our global network and IT infrastructure. With Flexible Trading, we also show our ambition to address specific markets with cloud services within the financial community.”


Collaboration, Enterprise social software, Moxie, Moxie Spaces, Social

Moxie Software Unveils Free Desktop Sync Functionality for Its Spaces by Moxie Suite

English: Moxie Software Logo

Moxie Software, Inc. provider of customer-centric enterprise social software, today announced its Desktop Sync functionality for the Spaces by Moxie suite, which brings the power of collaboration to the user’s desktop. Desktop Sync is an integral component of Moxie’s Collaboration Spaces, and it is available for users at no additional cost.

“At Moxie we are obsessed with making our collaboration software second nature to the way people work by seamlessly embedding it to the desktop,” said Tom Kelly, CEO of Moxie Software. “Moxie Software is the first company to bring this powerful functionality to market, adding file sharing and cloud storage to our comprehensive enterprise social software, while maintaining all security norms. And the best part is that this functionality is absolutely free for our users.”

Moxie’s Desktop Sync includes the following functionality:

  • File Sync – Users can add and update files on a Windows desktop
    and File Sync automatically adds them to the right location in
    Collaboration Spaces to easily share with colleagues. Updates
    are synchronized on both at the desktop and in Collaboration Spaces,
    ensuring users and their colleagues always have the latest file
    version. Users have the ability to:
  • Synchronize folders and files from Collaboration Spaces to the
    desktop
  • Add new folders and files to Collaboration Spaces to the desktop
  • Maintain complete version history of documents in Collaboration
    Spaces
  • Seamlessly share information with multiple users who might be part
    of a Group or Project and even have peer-to-peer sharing
  • Outlook Sync – Outlook Sync is another component of Desktop
    Sync that transforms traditional email threads into social discussions
    in Collaboration Spaces. Users can create new discussion topics
    directly from Outlook, or start with an existing email and create a
    discussion around it. When sending or reading emails, users can also
    view any recent activities inside Collaboration Spaces of the email
    recipients, providing up-to-date social context. Users can:

    • Transform emails in Outlook into dynamic social discussions
    • Create new discussion topics directly from Outlook
    • View social activity of email recipients
    • Post status updates directly from Outlook
  • Synchronize folders and files from Collaboration Spaces to the
    desktop
  • Add new folders and files to Collaboration Spaces to the desktop
  • Maintain complete version history of documents in Collaboration
    Spaces
  • Seamlessly share information with multiple users who might be part
    of a Group or Project and even have peer-to-peer sharing
  • Transform emails in Outlook into dynamic social discussions
  • Create new discussion topics directly from Outlook
  • View social activity of email recipients
  • Post status updates directly from Outlook

“One of the challenges of enterprise collaboration software is addressing the need to integrate it with other business applications to avoid being perceived as another thing for users to do,” said Esteban Kolsky, principal and founder of ThinkJar. “2012 will be about integrating social into the business moving beyond the early adoption phase and into mainstream use of social platforms. Collaborative enterprises will implement technology that combines E2.0 (external) and SCRM (external) into a platform where employees, customers and partners meet to collaborate and purposefully co-create value.”

Desktop Sync will be available by August 15, 2012 with additional desktop functionality available later this year.


Asia/Pacific Rim, Business Processes, Japan, Kyriba, Partnerships, risk management, Treasury management

Kyriba Establishes Japanese Joint Venture

Kyriba, a provider of cloud-based treasury management solutions today announced the establishment of a new joint venture in Japan called Kyriba Japan. The joint venture will enable Kyriba to meet the demands of the increasing number of corporations in Japan and throughout Asia that are turning to cloud computing and mobile solutions to help them manage their global treasury operations.

Kyriba’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution delivers a fully web-based cash, treasury, and risk management solution to over 25,000 users across 700 leading global organizations.

Key features of Kyriba’s platform include:

  • Global Cash Visibility, including SWIFT integration
  • Cash and Liquidity Forecasting
  • Payment Factories
  • Bank Fee Analysis
  • Accounting Reconciliation
  • Exposure Management
  • Hedge Management
  • Supply Chain Finance

Kyriba Japan is a joint venture between Kyriba, as the majority shareholder, SunBridge Corporation, the firm responsible for the salesforce.com Japan and Concur Japan joint ventures, and Marc Benioff and Steve Singh, acting as minority direct investors. Japan operations will begin in June 2012.

“Kyriba has enjoyed remarkable success over the last few years delivering Internet-based Treasury Management Solutions to the foremost corporations around the world. We are now investing in Japan to support our global clients’ business goals and continue our geographic expansion. This growth further demonstrates Kyriba’s commitment to satisfy our clients’ needs globally,” commented Jean-Luc Robert, CEO of Kyriba. “We are extremely pleased to be partnered with SunBridge Corporation, Marc Benioff and Steve Singh who have demonstrated great success in building the Japanese operations of top tier global companies.”

“The Kyriba solution’s ability to combine global cash visibility, treasury productivity, and risk management on a single web platform is a critical requirement for Japanese enterprises doing business internationally as well as for multi-national corporations doing business in Japan,” said Allen Miner, the Founder and CEO of SunBridge. “Feedback from potential Japanese customers gives us confidence that Kyriba will enjoy great success in Japan.”


Accounting, Asia/Pacific Rim, Business Processes, GSC, Singapore

Gurango Software Corporation Launches Gurango Accounting Online for Singapore Accountants

Gurango Software Corporation (GSC) recently launched Gurango Accounting Online, an IRAS-certified online accounting software for accountants, bookkeepers, and tax advisors. The software is based on Microsoft Dynamics ERP technologies and was designed to meet the specific requirements of certified accountants and tax advisors in Singapore.

Gurango Accounting Online complies with GAAP, IFRS, and the IAF standards published by IRAS. “It’s important for us to provide accountants, bookkeepers, and tax advisors in Singapore an efficient platform to accomplish their day-to-day work. Gurango Accounting Online is compliant with Singapore standards and best practices. So there are no issues in terms of aligning financial reporting with regulatory requirements,” said GSC CEO and managing director Joey Gurango.

Accessed online, Gurango Accounting Online is a Software as a Service application and is provided through GSC’s on-demand cloud service for businesses, Gurango Hosted Solutions (GHS). The service provides accountants, bookkeepers, and tax advisors the freedom to work on their day-to-day deliverables anywhere and at anytime.

Security and cost savings are also some of the top features of Gurango Accounting Online. All data is hosted in the company’s private cloud, or remote data centers, ensuring data security. Gurango Accounting Online is offered at a SME-friendly price, according to Gurango. “A big IT budget is not required to obtain this solution, and empowering small and medium businesses with enterprise-level software.

“Because there is no software to install, hardware to acquire, or IT staff to hire, additional savings are realized. The only thing required is an Internet connection,” he said. GSC provides free training classes and free technical support.

Aside from GHS, Gurango Accounting Online is built on Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Windows Server 2008R2 with Remote Desktop Services and Microsoft SQL Server 2008R2 Standard Edition.

GSC has received numerous awards and distinctions including the Microsoft Dynamics Partner of the Year three years in a row (2008-2010). GSC has offices in the Philippines, Singapore, and Australia. It also offers business software services ranging from financial and human capital management to customer service.

For more information on Gurango Accounting Online, please visit http://www.gurango.com/gurango-accounting-online.


Hosting, Parallels, Parallels Partners, Partnerships, service provider

Parallels Expands Partner Program Benefits to Smaller and Growing Web Hosters and Website Designers Seeking to Expand Their Businesses

Parallels today announced expanded access of its Partner Program specifically for smaller and growing web hosters and website designers. Parallels’ unmatched depth of valuable expertise, best practices, tools and other go-to-market resources are now available to hosters seeking to grow their businesses by delivering cloud services.

“Smaller and growing web hosters and design firms now have access to the best resources available for accelerating their revenue and profitability,” said John Zanni, Vice President, Service Provider Marketing and Alliances, Parallels. “Key benefits of our program include expertise on how to implement proven strategies and tactics for improving customer value through better operations and for delivering a broader set of hosted services and applications.”

New access for Parallels Partners includes:

  • A new Member level, specifically designed for small web hosters who
    are seeking business growth and who aspire to achieve advanced partner
    benefits as their revenue and customer base expands.
  • The introduction of the Bronze Partner program level for Europe and
    North Africa (EUNA).The Bronze Partner program is designed for high
    impact web hosters who typically operate on a local or regional level,
    and who can benefit from tools and resources to help them grow their
    businesses to the next level. Membership in the Bronze Partner Program
    has proved popular with similar-sized hosters in North America, with
    membership tripling over the past year.

All members of the Parallels Partner Program can take advantage of recent enhancements and resources centrally located on the Parallels PartnerNet portal, including:

  • SMB Knowledge Headquarters – tools, whitepapers, research and webinars
    help service providers gain insights on SMB cloud usage and cloud
    services opportunities. Based on its interactions with thousands of
    service providers, and its ongoing series of SMB Cloud Insights™
    research, Parallels is the single best source for information on
    trends and actionable recommendations for targeting, marketing and
    selling cloud services to SMBs.
  • Best Practices – assets, case studies, templates and other
    go-to-market resources provide proven strategies and tactics for
    service plans, pricing, offerings, promotions, bundling and upselling
    cloud services.
  • Parallels Partner Forums –partners can interact with Parallels and
    other service providers to overcome challenges and better realize
    market opportunities. Partners can benefit from sharing and learning
    best practices and techniques to become more proficient in their
    sales, marketing and support activities.

For more information about signing up for the Parallels Service Provider Partner Program, visit http://www.parallels.com/spp/partnerprogram


Customer Relationship Management, Life sciences, Pharmaceutical industry, Veeva, Veeva CRM

Veeva Claims Rising Number of Small- to Mid-Sized Pharmaceutical Companies Switching to Cloud CRM

In less than three months, more than a dozen small- to mid-sized (SMB) life sciences companies in the U.S. have selected multitenant, cloud-based Veeva CRM while more than 75 SMB life sciences companies have chosen Veeva CRM in the last five years. The numbers show a steady rise in organizations outside ‘Pharma’s Top 50’ turning to the cloud for enterprise solutions. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Dyax Biopharma, Valeritas and Questcor Pharmaceuticals are among the many SMB life sciences companies to recently go live with Veeva CRM. These and many other SMB companies cite affordable enterprise-class performance as the primary driver for cloud system adoption.

Historically, enterprise-class CRM systems have proven cost-prohibitive for most SMB life sciences companies. These companies, however, have found an alternative solution where they can access enterprise-class software and hardware at a much lower cost structure. The traditional client/server CRM applications are typically over the budget – especially when ongoing maintenance and upgrade costs are factored in.

“Compared with other vendors, Veeva CRM seems to be the most logical – meaning it’s easy for users to figure out and fairly obvious how to do something new or different,” said Hokan Ojert, vice president of sales for Valeritas. “Even the analytics aspect of Veeva CRM is painless – what used to take multiple steps in and out of different applications with our previous system is now aggregated neatly within Veeva and accessible in a click or two. This streamlined technology approach allows us to focus on what we are supposed to be doing…supporting our physicians.”

Built on an inherently flexible, multi-tenant cloud-based platform, Veeva CRM offers life sciences companies a significantly more affordable per-seat pricing model while still providing access to the same world-class hardware and software leveraged by Top 20 Pharma. The cloud enables growing SMB life sciences organizations to quickly and efficiently scale up or down to meet demand. Changes can be made in minutes using simple point and click configuration without vendor intervention or the resulting expense. And, system functionality can be easily extended through free integrations with outside applications and data sources. All of these benefits are possible as a result of multitenant cloud-based technology from Veeva.

“With Veeva CRM, we can make configuration changes, modify fields, add users or change territories anytime without ever calling Veeva or waiting for vendor support,” said Heather Beaudoin, Questcor’s Director, Commercial Analytics and Sales Operations. “In fact, we can manage the entire system with just one-half of a full-time employee versus 5, 7 or even 10 FTEs if you have a complicated on-premise system. Veeva’s technology leads to vendor independence, and it’s proving a big advantage for us.”

According to Veeva’s Vice President of Sales, John Dawley, “Many smaller pharmaceutical companies that together make up a large portion of the fabric of our industry are seeing the incredible value of an industry specific, cloud-based solution. They need a fast, nimble, cost-effective solution and Veeva is there to help them achieve their goals.”


Cloud Decision Framework Tool, IDC, International Data Corporation, Research

IDC Debuts Cloud Decision Framework Tool at the Cloud Leadership Forum

English: Diagram showing overview of cloud com...

Worldwide public IT cloud services spending is forecast to surpass $55 billion in 2014. Yet IT leaders continue to struggle with quantifying the operational, organizational, and financial implications of their application hosting and platform decisions. To help IT decision makers to better understand their options and the associated implications as they move various enterprise workloads to the cloud, International Data Corporation (IDC) has developed a new Cloud Decision Framework Tool.

A robust tool for any IT organization wishing to more precisely evaluate its cloud computing strategy, IDC’s Cloud Decision Framework Tool officially debuted during a comprehensive, three-hour IDC analyst workshop that took place in conjunction with the IDC/IDG Cloud Leadership Forum in Santa Clara, California.

“This tool was carefully designed to help guide IT managers in their decisions around on-premise, private and public cloud computing options,” said Joe Pucciarelli, vice president, Technology Financial & Executive Strategies at IDC. “The painstaking evaluation struggles that once plagued the cloud decision-making process have been all but eliminated as the Cloud Decision Framework Tool does all the heavy lifting.”

IDC’s Cloud Decision Framework Tool Helps IT Managers:

  • Become more agile in the cloud decision making process
  • Understand and take advantage of the profound technology, platform,
    staffing, and economic opportunities that will shape IT strategies in
    the coming years
  • Identify customer priorities for IT cloud system management software
    investments
  • Align business/IT governance around a specific cloud vision
  • Restructure IT purchasing and sourcing approaches
  • Evaluate overall cloud goals

“The Cloud Decision Framework Tool allows you to decompose a very complex business decision by breaking it down into its key components. A CIO can use the tool to collaborate with the rest of the executive team and get them on board with moving to a cloud,” commented Allyn McGillicaddy, Principal, Office of the CIO.com.

Click here to access IDC’s Cloud Decision Framework Tool. For more information, please contact Joe Pucciarelli at jpucciarelli@idc.com or Randy Perry at rperry@idc.com.


CloudTest, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Mobile, Mobile operating system, SOASTA, Tools

SOASTA Releases CloudTest Mobile Test Automation Platform for iOS

SOASTA today released CloudTest Mobile, to deliver complete performance and functional test automation of mobile apps across distributed mobile devices. The CloudTest Mobile platform provides precise capture and playback of all continuous touch gestures including pan, pinch, zoom and scroll on iPhones, iPads, and iPods. See the CloudTest Mobile demonstration here.

Today, mobile developers can easily automate the testing of their mobile apps on iOS 6. CloudTest’s unique approach of residing inside the app allows developers to precisely test their apps when new mobile operating systems are released.

“Starting today, developers are working on iOS 6 versions of their Apps and automated functional testing is a real problem for these developers,” stated Tal Broda, VP, Engineering, at SOASTA. “Today, CloudTest provides full support for capture and playback of any App running on iOS 6 including any gesture or any UI element.”

SOASTA also announced today support for Appcelerator Titanium 2.0 platform, which gives Appcelerator’s 300,000 mobile developers seamless access to CloudTest Mobile’s test automation capabilities. See release here.

“The explosion of web and mobile applications along with the proliferation of mobile devices, makes manual testing obsolete. With today’s rapid development cycles, time to market requirements and technology changes, developers require a new set of automation solutions to support multi-touch gestures and 3D gaming,” comments Tom Lounibos, CEO SOASTA. “Now, with CloudTest Mobile, developers can quickly develop, test and deliver their mobile applications with the quality their users expect. Our support for Titanium 2.0 will make this especially seamless for Appcelerator’s mobile developer community.”

CloudTest Mobile delivers affordable, accurate, and complete mobile app testing using real mobile devices. Traditional testing solutions have employed device emulators and optical recognition approaches that are not precise or reliable enough to test this generation of mobile apps. CloudTest Mobile captures the start and end points of each gesture, the journey between, and the speed with which the gesture is performed. It uniquely conducts testing from within the mobile app, replacing brittle optical recognition approaches and enabling validations based on variable values and internal app state changes. Distributed mobile devices are accessed over the air, eliminating the need for tethering or “jail breaking” and allowing mobile devices – anywhere – to be used in a test.

CloudTest Mobile is available today. Download your free version of CloudTest Lite here. SOASTA will be hosting a webinar titled, “Are Your Mobile Apps Rock Star Ready?” on Tuesday, June 19 at 10:00am PST. For more information or to register, please click here.


Video, Videoconferencing, Voice over Internet Protocol

SPIRIT DSP Announces VideoMost.com 2.0 for White-Label Web Videoconferencing

SPIRIT DSP today announced the next version of its multipoint videoconferencing software for telecom operators, hosted service providers and enterprises, VideoMost.com 2.0. VideoMost is an HD quality, massively multipoint web videoconferencing software-only product, enabling service providers and enterprises to deliver a self-branded videoconferencing service from the cloud or with on-premise installation. The product combines state-of-the-art videoconferencing technology with business collaboration tools, such as conference moderation and management, screen and file sharing, broadcasting, ability to connect SIP endpoints (such as legacy Polycom VC hardware) and many more. VideoMost conferences can be accessed using any standard browser, although the product also has desktop and iPad downloadable clients featuring additional functionality.

“The need for new value-added services is the main topic in today’s telecom world. With the decline of traditional voice service usage due to strong over-the-top and cloud offerings from VoIP and other internet companies, telecom and hosted service providers are looking for services that allow them to compete better.” said SPIRIT’s head of telcos relationships Alex Zakharov. “If a service provider wants to roll-out fast WebEx-like, high-margin, enterprise-focused web videoconferencing service, under its own brand and billing, in a secure and controlled way, from its own data center, VideoMost software licensing is the answer.”

New key features and benefits in VideoMost.com 2.0 include:

  • Videoconferencing on the go with support for Apple’s iPad (the
    VideoMost client is downloadable in the App Store).
  • Enhanced video quality with TeamSpirit®
    Voice&Video Engine 3.2 inside, supporting connections from 512
    Kbps and providing up to 30 fps (frames per second) and 720p
    HD-quality for each participant.
  • Broadcasting/Recording API, allowing the conference speaker to record
    and broadcast to an unlimited number of viewers/participants.
  • SIP integration to support legacy videoconferencing SIP hardware
    endpoints (i.e., Tandberg and Polycom), including SIP-in/SIP-out calls
    from mobile and fixed phones to/from a conference.
  • Support for LDAP and corporate controls with single authorization and
    corporate contact list support.
  • Additional features: file sharing, recording, integration with emails
    and calendars, text chat.
  • Support for all popular browsers, including the most recent versions
    of Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera.
  • Debian 6, CentOS 5 and 6, RHEL 5 and 6 and Ubuntu support for the
    VideoMost server.

VideoMost is powered by SPIRIT’s TeamSpirit Conferencing Platform, delivering HD-quality scalable audio and scalable H.264SVC video of up to an unprecedented 1,000 concurrent video channels on a single standard $4000 PC server. VideoMost is uniquely universal, requiring no special hardware equipment to participate (just Internet access, a webcam, a mic and speakers or a headset) and no registration, allowing participants anywhere to start conferencing instantly.

Zakharov continued, “The corporate acceptance of mass-market desktop and mobile videoconferencing is phenomenal. This is partially the inevitable consequence of Moore’s Law, decreased bandwidth costs, the BYOD office trend and evident cost/time saving benefits, along with a large penetration of consumer video calling. What we offer is a sophisticated technology that accumulates more than 10 years of our expertise in scalable, HD and error-resilient VVoIP that ensures truly high audio/video quality, even in best-effort networks that have no QoS. Whether it’s a quad core machine, or iPad, users always get the best quality, with no need for the infrastructure to support heavy and costly servers for media transcoding.”

 

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Deloitte, Embotics, IT Management, Magirus, Private Cloud, Venture Funding, VentureLink LP

Embotics Gets $8.4 Million for Private Cloud Management

Image representing Embotics as depicted in Cru...

Private cloud management vendor Embotics Corporation today announced that it has closed $8.4 million in equity financing. Bringing Embotics’ total financing-to-date to $18 million, this latest round includes $2.5 million from VentureLink LP and $2.5 million from Covington Fund II Inc. (Covington), with the remainder of the funds coming from other private investors. Embotics will use the funding to accelerate global sales and marketing efforts, as well as to hire more software engineers.

This mix of pragmatic growth, strategic marketing and sales investments will build upon the momentum of the past year’s 300 percent growth in sales to further strengthen Embotics V-Commander’s leadership position in the private cloud management market.

“We continue to support Embotics because of its proven track record of successfully developing products that address the problems in virtual data center environments,” said Phil Reddon, managing partner of Covington. “Our experience investing in the virtualization sector, along with Embotics’ success in assisting companies with private cloud management, automation and self-service provisioning, make for a smart business and investment partnership between our two organizations.”

“We have a strong belief in Embotics and its virtualization and cloud management technology. Due to the market need for its solutions, we are confident that Embotics’ business will continue to grow,” said Jim Whitaker, managing partner of VentureLink LP. “Embotics’ clear differentiation in cloud management made its business and this opportunity very attractive to us.”

This round of financing comes on the heels of Embotics’ most successful year to date. The company has experienced 300 percent growth in sales over the past year and 220 percent year-on-year growth in new customers, which now include Bell, Deloitte, Cisco, CSC, Dutch Ministry of Defence, MITRE and numerous universities and public sector departments. In addition, Embotics has signed new channel partnerships, including one with Magirus in Europe.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Covington and to begin our new relationship with VentureLink because of their proven success when it comes to supporting technology innovation,” said Jay Litkey, CEO of Embotics. “The significant increase in our sales demonstrates the opportunity that exists in the market. This financing will enable us to match that opportunity with clearly defined differentiation, corresponding sales and an increased engineering team to support new and existing customer opportunities.”