Category Archives: Business Processes

Compliant Cloud includes all products, services required to keep cloud infrastructures compliant with PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001/2

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Compliant Cloud includes all the necessary products and services required to keep cloud infrastructures secure and compliant with PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001/2 and other regulations and standards.

US companies remain concerned over lingering data security risks with new cloud-based applications – and as a result, they lag behind Asia-Pacific and Latin American companies in the adoption of cloud computing by nearly two to one, according to a recent report in Forbes magazine. ControlCase has developed a solution to alleviate these security issues and allow US companies to confidently leverage the latest cloud-based systems.

ControlCase has partnered with leading cloud-based technology providers to make this elegant package of solutions complete and comprehensive; Skydera provides an easy-to-use management interface, while Amazon hosts the service securely and reliably.

The Compliant Cloud service is incorporated into ControlCase’s unique Compliance as a Service (CaaS) platform, the industry-changing solution that provides one convenient source for a complete and continuous suite of compliance and security services, including internal and external security testing, 24/7/365 data log monitoring and alerting, policy management, training and certification.

ControlCase’s development of the Compliant Cloud service represents the strength of the company’s broader vision to help organizations achieve compliance more quickly, more consistently. “With the proliferation of cloud usage, it is only natural that our clients worry about the security and compliance of their current or intended use of cloud-based applications,” explained CEO Kishor Vaswani. “ControlCase has made it easier for our clients to adopt these new technologies by solving the security and compliance needs of their cloud infrastructures.”

For more information about ControlCase and the Compliant Cloud service, visit www.controlcase.com or call 703.483.6383.


DocuSign Gets $47.5 Million for Document Signatures Via Cloud

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DocuSign has secured $47.5 million in funding from premier investors, public funds, and strategic tech-industry leaders. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the funding. Accel Partners and a large, global institutional investor joined in the funding round. Comcast Ventures and SAP Ventures provided additional investment joining existing tech industry partners salesforce.com and the National Association of REALTORS®. The company will use the funds to accelerate growth of the DocuSign Global Network via increased customer-focused R&D, deeper vertical industry solutions, and faster international expansion. The company also announced that Kleiner’s Mary Meeker, a noted Internet-industry expert, has joined its board of directors.

DocuSign’s legally binding, secure, cloud-based platform helps consumers and businesses of all sizes and industries collect information and sign documents online – eliminating the hassles, costs, and lack of security in printing, faxing, scanning, and overnighting documents to capture information and signatures. Companies use DocuSign to create better customer experiences and save money by automating and streamlining their business processes.

“This financing demonstrates the value the market places on innovative technologies that drive fundamental business transformation – particularly those with immediate ROI, viral adoption, and nearly unlimited application,” said Keith Krach, chairman and CEO, DocuSign. “DocuSign empowers anyone to sign anything, anywhere, anytime.”

“DocuSign has created a compelling and rapidly growing business by re-imagining an age-old basic service – signing documents,” said Mary Meeker, general partner, Kleiner Perkins. “DocuSign’s easy-to-use eSignature platform is transforming the way documents are processed and delivered, with record speed and efficiency. This financing highlights the appeal of the eSignature Transaction Management market and the value of DocuSign’s global, viral network.”

“We’re investing in DocuSign because electronic signatures have gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’, and DocuSign is the clear global leader in this industry,” said Philippe Botteri, Accel Partners. “We expect DocuSign’s growth to be exponential given the viral nature of their platform and the rapid adoption of mobile devices and tablets which makes DocuSigning that much more convenient.”

Global enterprises, business departments, individual professionals and consumers are standardizing on DocuSign with 60,000 new users joining the DocuSign Global Network every business day. Today, that network includes 20 million users who have DocuSigned more than 150 million documents in 188 countries – including employees at 90% of the Fortune 500. DocuSign is used to finish business faster across nearly every industry – including financial services, insurance, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, real estate, consumer goods and higher education – and every business department – including sales, procurement, HR/staffing, legal, and customer support.

DocuSign’s growing customer base of 1.4 million paying users include companies like American Airlines, AON, Ariba, Auto Insurance Specialists (AIS), Bayer, BECU, BNY Mellon, Boston Scientific, BMW Financial Services, Box, California Closets, CB Richard Ellis, CenturyLink, Cisco, Comcast, Costco, Cox, DuPont, eBay, Expedia, Extra Space Storage, Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Company, HP, IKON Financial Services, Legal & General America (Banner Life and William Penn Life Insurance), LinkedIn, Madison Capital, Medtronic, Pinney Insurance, Siemens, Sony, TD Ameritrade Institutional, Toyota, Transamerica, United Automobile Insurance Services, Wellmark, Xerox, Yahoo!, and Yamaha.

DocuSign investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Accel Partners, Comcast Ventures, SAP Ventures, Sigma+Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Frazier Technology Ventures, Ignition Partners, Second Century Ventures, WestRiver Capital LLC, salesforce.com, and the National Association of REALTORS®. To learn more about DocuSign, visit www.docusign.com.

 


SpringBoard V5.5 Makes the Cloud More Efficient for Project Managers

LoadSpring Solutions, a provider of Project Management (PM) hosting and software, is introducing a new version of their SpringBoard cloud portal.

SpringBoard is a user-friendly control console that enables easy access to PM software and information that is hosted within LoadSpring’s cloud infrastructure. It connects project teams through any computer or mobile device worldwide.

The new SpringBoard 5.5 retains the same familiar look and feel as previous versions, but with improved tools and features that afford more functionality, speed and efficiency.

Launched on July 9th, these improvements will deliver broader enterprise access and greater data control, while helping users get more done in less time and with less effort.

According to Eric Leighton, LoadSpring’s founder and CEO, “Our enhanced control console will serve as a gateway to software resources and core LoadSpring services,” adding that, “The new features will further allow our enterprise-level customers to be more productive and efficient. SpringBoard 5.5 will even link users to our new LoadSpring Academy, transforming the way people are trained to maximize their use of new software.”

The upgraded portal is part of LoadSpring’s continuing pursuit of refinements that improve the customer experience and help them realize a quicker return on investment faster.

SpringBoard 5.5 is based on strengths that users value most in previous versions, such as:

  • Easy application and data access, anywhere, on any device
  • Software deployment in days, not weeks or months
  • Simple user scaling, both up and down
  • Fast global application upgrades and version changes
  • Safe, effortless migration of large amounts of data
  • Trouble-free, corporate-wide ID management
  • Disaster recovery with more Data Rescue options than ever
  • Enterprise-level security, support and service

 


DocuSign Speeds Integration with New eSignature REST API

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DocuSign today launched a new eSignature REST API for its industry leading DocuSign Global Network. This innovative, visually driven API makes connecting with DocuSign’s eSignature Transaction Management platform faster and easier for customers and partners. Organizations leveraging the API can offer DocuSign eSignature convenience from existing or new business processes in just hours of development time instead of weeks – accelerating speed to results, reducing costs, and delighting customers.

“More developers are using DocuSign’s open eSignature integration framework to integrate into their existing business solutions and apps than any other eSignature solution,” said Grant Peterson, chief technology officer, DocuSign. “The release of our new eSignature REST API standard and toolkit dramatically shortens the time it takes to integrate and deploy DocuSign – no matter what systems or devices customers use to run their business.”

“The eSignature REST API is visually stunning and ready for enterprise use,” said Dave Messinger, community architect, Appirio. “We were encouraged with how quickly we were able to integrate DocuSign into our CloudSpokes architecture – taking us days to prototype solutions instead of weeks or months. It just works. We’re excited and encourage CloudSpoke’s developers to take a look.”

DocuSign’s new eSignature REST API standard is built to be open and extensible, and was developed in collaboration with a number of the world’s leading cloud-based companies, including Appirio, Box, Mashery, salesforce.com, and others. This new industry standard will continue to be enhanced based on developer, partner, and customer feedback.

“DocuSign’s new eSignature REST API will enable salesforce.com customers – as well as developers in our partner ecosystem – to quickly and easily integrate with DocuSign,” said Mike Rosenbaum, senior vice president, AppExchange & Force.com Operations, salesforce.com. “Enterprises are accelerating their move to the cloud with architectures built around open APIs, instead of dealing with servers and software.”

As an integral component of the DocuSign Cloud Partner Program, the DocuSign Developer Program provides resources to facilitate integrations of all kinds, including technical evangelists, a complete API, online community, and a developer program described by ProgrammableWeb as “the strongest of all the [electronic signature] providers researched.”

DocuSign’s new eSignature REST API Toolkit includes:

  • Step-by-Step
    API Walkthroughs
    – A detailed, step-by-step
    visualization of the API call flows, function code examples, and
    detailed explanations of every step.
  • API
    Explorer
    – Developer onboarding tool powered by Mashery
    I/O Docs that provides the specific methods and code needed to execute
    tasks and workflow.
  • Online Documentation – Robust documentation of the REST API and
    how it can be used to accelerate development.
  • Community Forums – Fully monitored and supported community site
    to get questions answered quickly. In addition, DocuSign will
    establish set ‘Office Hours’ during June and July to further support
    developers.

“Offering developers an API Explorer to get started quickly is a key element of DocuSign’s full-dimensional API program,” said Neil Mansilla, director of platform evangelism & partnerships, Mashery. “DocuSign did an extensive integration using Mashery I/O Docs. DocuSign’s impressive code contributions back to the project will benefit developers and the open source community.”

“We already have more than 5,000 active developer accounts using our existing APIs today,” said Roger Erickson, vice president for customer success, DocuSign. “The speed-to-value equation of our new standard is truly amazing, and we view our eSignature REST API as a ‘crossing the chasm’ moment for embedding DocuSign eSignature and workflow management into any business process or system.”

Customers and partners are already using DocuSign’s eSignature REST API to help accelerate transaction cycle times to increase speed to results, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction with the easiest, fastest, most secure way to send, sign, track, and store documents in the cloud. “DocuSign has really made a step forward in helping developers with the new eSignature REST API,” said Martin Davey, executive vice president of Industry Solutions, Thunderhead.com. “The API walkthrough area provides a quick and simple introduction to using the services and the REST API allows us to send out documents for signature, get real-time status updates, and embed DocuSign within our apps.”

Companies and developers interested in learning more about the new eSignature REST API standard and toolkit, upcoming webcasts, and other API resources should visit the DocuSign Developer Center at www.docusign.com/developer-center.


Security Concerns for Electronic Signatures and Cloud Technology

Signing documents has been a part of business contracts since before paper even existed. Having something in writing has always been what makes a transaction truly “official.” Lately, the next chapter in the written agreement is unfolding on the digital frontier. Electronic signatures are becoming the new standard for completing transactions all over the world.

As with any new technology, e-signatures raise almost as many questions as the problems they resolve. Are they legally binding? How can one know they are safe? Combine these concerns with the trend toward using cloud computing– and you have additional reasons for concern.

Let’s address some of the common issues and questions about e-signatures and cloud computing in this article.

Why Use Digital Signatures?

The reasons why digital or electronic signatures are preferred over hard copy are obvious. Contracts can easily be signed with people in other countries without waiting for mail, scanning documents or any of the other issues normally associated with getting something signed.

Digital signature systems that are properly designed also make it easy to maintain an audit trail of who signed what. This record keeping is very important in the event that legal action related to the contract must be taken. While scanning signed hard copies can provide quick response, it offers little of the audit trail that a third-party electronic system provides.

Are Electronic Signatures Legal?

Like anything that goes digital, people are always a bit worried about if it’s legal and safe. As far as legality goes, electronic signatures have been completely legal for over a decade. In 2000, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce law, or ESIGN, was passed making e-signatures legally binding and acceptable for transactions around the world. Europe and Canada followed suit and adopted similar legal laws.

Does this mean any kind of digital signature is a safe bet? Not really. Electronic signatures have been challenged in court. Important factors in making the signature legal was how secure the archiving and retrieval system was as far as the overall audit trail provided by the system. Knowing exactly who signed a document and verifying their identification was very important. Any electronic system used for collecting and archiving signatures should provide this level of authentication.

Electronic Signatures and Cloud Computing

With dedicated hosting on the decline and cloud computing becoming the new standard information technology infrastructure, some serious questions come up about how safe and secure your documents really are. How does cloud hosting of e-signing solutions present a security concern?

Many alarmists point to the shared nature of cloud hosting solutions as an automatic security risk. The fact that several computer systems share a single storage area network that may contain private data make some people nervous. The truth of the matter is though, the same level of risk exists on any system that is not properly designed and maintained.

Cloud computing systems have matured from an unreliable and unsecure prototype technology to a fully functional well-supported trustworthy infrastructure solution. Clear security protocols audit what all users do and partition data from one client away from that of another. Of course, any computer system is only as good as the technicians who maintain it. For this reason, it does pay to investigate what technology is behind the electronic hosting system that you select.

Fortunately, the industry of cloud hosting has lots of standardized security certification programs that include regular audits and a commitment to keeping systems up to date. If you make sure your e-signature solution is using such a system, you can rest easy knowing that your authentication and archive processes are safe and secure.

Electronic signature systems are definitely here to stay and have the legal and security behind them to make them a valid solution. Find out how you can streamline the legal aspects of your business by setting up one of these systems today.


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.”


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.”


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.


Green River Capital Partners with Realty Pilot To Add Cloud Asset Management

Green River Capital (GRC), a provider of customized REO asset management and loss mitigation services for mortgage servicers, investment firms, credit unions and banking institutions, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Phoenix-based Realty Pilot, a provider of cloud-based real estate solutions.

GRC will integrate Realty Pilot’s technology to enhance the platform used by GRC’s valuation unit, Infinity Valuation Services (IVS). Agents now have access to multiple listing service (MLS) data directly through IVS’s online platform, which automatically populates data input fields with information regarding comparable properties selected by the user.

“This integration significantly improves our agents’ productivity by dramatically reducing data entry when performing valuations,” said Lorenz Schwarz, COO of GRC. “Adopting Realty Pilot’s technology will advance the functionality of our existing systems, providing greater reporting capabilities and improved process transparency. Furthermore, this development allows IVS to streamline operations and expand its valuation product offerings to address the changing needs of our clients and the industry as a whole.”

Realty Pilot provides a broad suite of automated solutions to the real estate market, including integrated nationwide MLS data. IVS provides BPOs and appraisals to the Mortgage and REO industries, tailoring the products to meet each client’s needs.For more information, visit www.greenrivercap.com.


FileTrek Releases Management Tool on iPad

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FileTrek, Inc. today released FileTrek for iPad, a management dashboard tool designed for workgroup managers and other team members to easily and transparently track the flow of projects, data and collaborative activity while on the go. FileTrek for iPad provides live activity updates of projects, displays how project files are related and how those files are being changed, with real-time data syncing and updates. The FileTrek iPad app is built for members of workgroups that require timely distribution of frequently updated files and the ability to track those files and data wherever it resides.

“The speed of the mobile work environment can make it very difficult for managers and team members alike to meet in-person to review and report on the status of shared projects,” said Carol Mason, Director of Product Management at FileTrek. “Managers want to view data and activity while on the go, and team members want to report the status of their work without having to write a report or make a phone call. FileTrek for iPad simultaneously presents three up-to-date feeds of information – people, projects and data, all on a single pane of glass. It will change everyone’s mindset as to how to get projects done with greater efficiency, and even have some fun while doing it.”

The dashboard app is an extension of the FileTrek solution launched on February 15, 2012. The application is the only combined cloud-based file sharing and tracking solution on the market. FileTrek is designed to allow secure file sharing, project collaboration, and the ability for managers to track content and data with enhanced compliance-friendly audit reporting. The solution is easy to use, transparent to users and can scale across thousands of desktops and mobile devices to maximize individual and workgroup productivity.

FileTrek for iPad features include:

With FileTrek for iPad, a worker in the field can access data through a tablet and have the same secure view of spreadsheets, presentations and memos as a manager in the company offices. Any existing FileTrek project or document that has been synced or shared can be added to the dashboard with a single click. There are no limits to the number of “favorite” projects, people and files that can be tracked.

FileTrek’s innovative data tracking feature allows users to obtain a comprehensive view of all activity within a workgroup or project, who has worked on it, and the various changes that have been made to it. The app provides reliable access to the most recent versions. A file map tracks project dependencies and illustrates how files are related.

Receive live activity updates of all your FileTrek projects, access and revisions. You can see up-to-date sharing activity within a project, who has been added, who has been removed, information on what files have been reviewed, changed or removed, An intuitive cover flow interface allows users can visually flip through snapshots of files to easily access and view all the documents and files related to the project(s) they are working on.

FileTrek for iPad is an innovative solution for people that manage multiple projects at any given time such as sales staff, real estate agents, creative services professionals, health care providers, etc. The dashboard is particularly useful for members of workgroups that require timely distribution of frequently updated files.

FileTrek for iPad is free and available now for existing Team and Enterprise accounts from the iOS App Store. Follow this link to download. For any company registering a new Team or Enterprise account with 20+ users on an annual purchase plan prior to July 31, 2012, they will receive a new iPad free.