Category Archives: Software as a service

app cloud, News & Analysis, salesforce.com, Software as a service

New Salesforce App Cloud promises one platform for building connected apps

Salesforce WearSalesforce has launched a new service that aims to simplify application management.

The Salesforce App Cloud is the latest incarnation of the Salesforce1 system, which now integrates various elements of the service – such as Force, Heroku Enterprise and Lightning – with a new shared identity, data and network service. The rationale is to liberate chief information officers (CIOs) from the laborious tasks involved in bringing together the strands of a multitude of applications. By unifying the management system for apps, Salesforce says it can save CIOs from having to delve into all the different silos, addresses and architectures that must be brought together.

A number of new services will be included in the App Cloud platform. Heroku Enterprise aims to help developers create connected apps using network, data and identity services shared across the App Cloud. The Private Spaces feature helps administrators create a dedicated area with direct access to customers’ on-premise data from legacy systems. The Regions feature allows companies to run their apps in metro areas throughout the world based on their accessibility, compliance or any other local requirements. Heroku Enterprise is connected to Force with bi-directional data synchronization, single sign-on and role-based access controls. Salesforce Lightning aims to simplify app design using pre-built, reusable building blocks, such as maps, calendars, buttons, and number entry forms. A new interactive learning environment, Trailhead, aims to help make Salesforce app creation more intuitive.

In beta trials of the App Cloud 40,000 app creators have participated in Trailhead training, and have earned 150,000 badges. App Cloud includes an ecosystem of 2.3 million developers, who have built 5.5 million apps.

“CIOs need a way to develop apps for the connected world,” said Tod Nielsen, Salesforce’s VP for App Cloud. “App Cloud brings together all of Salesforce’s services, giving IT leaders an integrated, trusted platform to quickly build connected apps for every business need.”

In other Salesforce news, communications group Zayo is to give customers direct connection to their Salesforce environments through its high-bandwidth, fibre-based connections.

Zayo’s fibre-optic network extends more than 84,000 route miles across the United States and Europe, and connects to approximately 17,500 on-net buildings, providing connectivity to the majority of data centres and carrier hotels in the United States.

Zayo’s cloud connectivity will initially link to Salesforce Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Community Cloud, Analytics Cloud and Force.com.

CRM, Database, Mobile, News & Analysis, Research, salesforce.com, Software as a service

Salesforce would be more effective if it was more mobile, workers tell survey

Salesforce WearCustomer relationship management leader (CRM) Salesforce needs to improve the employee experience before its clients can get the most out of it, says a new report.

The advice comes in the fourth annual State of Salesforce report, from consultancy Bluewolf, a partner agency to world’s top CRM vendor. It suggests that while customers of companies that use Salesforce feel more connected, the users of the CRM system aren’t as happy. The main complaints are inconsistent data quality and a lack of mobile options. However, the majority of the survey sample plan to ramp up their investment in the system.

Based on the feedback from 1,500 Salesforce customers worldwide, the 2015-2016 report suggests that the concerns of employees should be the next priority for Salesforce as it seeks to fine tune its CRM software.

The demand for better mobility was made by 77 per cent of salespeople surveyed. Their most time-consuming task was identified as ‘opportunity management’ which, the report concludes, could be improved by better mobile applications. The study also says that employees were twice as likely to believe that Salesforce makes their job easier if it could be accessed from a mobile device.

Bluewolf’s report suggests that Salesforce’s priorities in 2016 should be to invest more three areas: the mobile workforce, predictive analytics and improving the sales team’s experience of using apps.

In the modern obsession with customer experience, it is easily forgotten that employees create the customer success, according to Bluewolf CEO Eric Berridge. “While innovation is essential to improving employee experiences, companies must combine it with data, design and an employee culture.”

However, the report does indicate that companies are happy with Salesforce, since 64 per cent plan to increase their budget. Half, 49 per cent, have at least two Salesforce clouds and 22 per cent have at least three. A significant minority, 11 per cent, say they are planning to spend at least half as much again next year on Salesforce services.
That investment is planned because 59 per cent of Salesforce users say the CRM system is much simpler to use than it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, many companies are taking the employee matter into their own hand, says the report. One in three companies has already invested in agent productivity apps and one in five is planning to invest.

AutoDesk, CAD, News & Analysis, Software as a service

Autodesk to ‘embrace the new norm’ and sell its software by subscription on the cloud

autodesk st louisSoftware vendor Autodesk is to move distribution of its computer aided design (CAD) system to the cloud.

After July 31, 2016, new commercial licenses of Autodesk Design and Creation suites and individual products will be available by subscription only. The transition allows the vendor to offer new, simplified subscription options to customers, who can get multiple products and share licenses with the added benefit of flexibility, it said.

Along with a simpler customer experience, Autodesk promised its new subscription model will offer lower upfront costs and a pay per use option on Autodesk products and cloud services with multi-year, annual, quarterly or monthly subscription terms. The new model makes companies more adaptable and makes changing business environments less expensive, according to Autodesk.

“The way we design and make things is changing. Every industry is being disrupted by changes in production, demand and products,” said Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk’s senior VP of Industry Strategy and Marketing.

By giving customers the flexibility to subscribe to software Autodesk is “embracing this new norm”, said Anagnost.

Autodesk announced in March 2015 that will stop selling perpetual licenses of most of its individual products after January 31, 2016, after which new licenses will only be available as subscriptions. Now the exceptions to that announcement, Autodesk’s Design & Creation Suites, are included in its subscription-based strategy.

Autodesk said it aimed to “pave the way for a smooth transition” with a choice of simplified subscription plans tailored to individuals, teams and enterprises. Customers can buy subscription plans to gain access to individual products or a portfolio of products with the option of single user licensing or shared network licensing.

Those who buy a perpetual license of Autodesk Design & Creation Suites and affected products prior to July 31 2016 will continue to own and have full usage rights for those licenses. Customers on the Maintenance scheme for those perpetual licenses will continue to receive corresponding benefits for as long as they continue to renew their Maintenance subscription.

Autodesk has published a list of changes for Perpetual Licenses for both individual desktop software and design and creation suites affected by the cut off deadlines. A number of country specific variations is also published on the site.

banks, Financial Services, News & Analysis, Salesforce, Simon Mulcahy, Skyhigh Networks, Software as a service

Salesforce doubles down on financial services

Salesforce is doubling down on financial services firms

Salesforce is doubling down on financial services firms

Salesforce is previewing a cloud platform tailored specifically to the needs of financial services professionals. The move comes the same week research reveals the average financial services firm uses over 1,000 cloud-based applications.

The cloud platform adapts Salesforce’s popular CRM platform to the financial services sector, and includes tools that enable financial services advisors to collaborate and communicate directly with their colleagues and clients.

Salesforce also said the platform, which was designed with the help of AIG Advisor Group, Northern Trust and United Capital, will integrate with tools created by other ISVs including companies that cater to financial services specifically (Advisor Software, Informatica and Yodlee for instance).

“Today’s investors want a much different relationship with their advisors than their parents had,” said Simon Mulcahy, senior vice president and general manager of financial services, Salesforce. “They want someone who understands them and engages them on their terms. Salesforce Financial Services Cloud sets advisors free from administrative tasks and gives them the modern tools they need to supercharge their relationships.”

The platform is in preview currently, with an initial release scheduled for February 2016.

The move comes the same week research from Skyhigh Networks shows cloud services uptake in financial services firms is at an all-time high.

According to the firm, which aggregated data of 3.7m employees at banks, insurance companies, credit card companies and investment funds worldwide, the average financial services firm uses 1,004 cloud services, with cloud-based collaboration platforms looking to be the most popular type of app deployed; the average financial services employees uses 31 distinct cloud applications.

EasyJet, HSBC, Lacoste, M&A, marketing cloud, Maxymiser, News & Analysis, Oracle, Software as a service, Thomas Kurian, Tim Brown

Oracle boost marketing cloud biz with Maxymiser acquisition

Oracle is buying Maxymiser to boost its marketing capabilities

Oracle is buying Maxymiser to boost its marketing capabilities

Oracle has acquired Maxymiser, a provider of cloud-based marketing tools, for an undisclosed sum. The company said the acquisition will bolster its marketing cloud portfolio.

Founded in 2006, Maxymiser has over 400 employees and offers a range of cloud-based marketing tools that help its users improve customer experience and user retention through omnichannel analysis and marketing automation. Some of its higher profile customers include EasyJet, HSBC and French clothing retailer Lacoste.

Its offerings will be integrated into the Orcale Marketing Cloud, which is itself made up of a range of tools formerly acquired by the firm (Eloqua and Responsys for instance), following the acquisition.

“Companies are increasingly seeking innovative ways to differentiate their brands while increasing both ROI and loyalty based on optimized customer experiences,” said Thomas Kurian, president, product development, Oracle. “Together with Maxymiser, Oracle Marketing Cloud enables enterprises to stop guessing and start delivering what customers want across all digital channels and devices.”

Tim Brown, chief executive officer, Maxymiser said: “Our mission is to empower enterprises to use data science to systematically test, discover, and predict what customers want and deliver uniquely tailored experiences. We are excited to join Oracle and bring these capabilities to help extend Oracle Marketing Cloud.”

Over the years many large incumbents like Oracle and SAP as well as newer upstarts like Salesforce have moved quickly to strengthen their position in marketing automation through acquisition. In April this year NetSuite acquired Bronto Software, a provider of cloud-based marketing automation software for omnichannel commerce, in a deal worth about $200m.

Adidas Group, Caterpillar, Charles Phillips, Columbia Sportswear, ERP, GT Nexus, Infor, Levi Strauss & Co., M&A, Maersk, News & Analysis, Pfizer, Sean Feeney, Software as a service, Supply Chain Management, UPS, Vendor

Infor buys GT Nexus to strengthen manufacturing ERP cloud

Infor has acquired GT Nexus to boost its supply chain management capabilities

Infor has acquired GT Nexus to boost its supply chain management capabilities

Infor said this week it plans to acquire supply chain management cloud software vendor for $675m, a move the company expects will strengthen and broaden the capabilities of its ERP software.

GT Nexus’ cloud-based supply chain management software is particularly popular with manufacturer and retailers. The company claims to have over 25,000 customers including the likes of Adidas Group, Caterpillar, Columbia Sportswear, Levi Strauss & Co., Maersk, Pfizer, and UPS.

Infor said the acquisition would strengthen its portfolio as the retail industry continues to shift towards contract-based manufacturing, where much of the activity and commercial production takes place outside the brand owner’s operations (and ERP platform).

The company said GT Nexus and Infor CloudSuite have very similar architectures, making them relateively straightforward to integrate.

“Together, Infor and GT Nexus will provide customers with unprecedented visibility into their supply chains to manage production and monitor goods in transit and at rest,” said Charles Phillips, chief executive of Infor. “In a complex, high velocity supply chain, all partners need to know what was ordered, when it was built, where it is in transit, if the order has changed, and has it cleared customs. Specialization and speed are moving the future of manufacturing into the commerce cloud.”

Sean Feeney, chief executive of GT Nexus said: “Infor is a great home for GT Nexus, and we’re excited to join forces with a company with a strong manufacturing, retail, and supply chain pedigree.”

Enterprise IT, GE, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Nokia, Office 365, Software as a service

Microsoft signs GE in massive cloud deal

General Electric has signed up to use Microsoft's cloud software

General Electric has signed up to use Microsoft’s cloud software

Microsoft announced this week that it has signed up long-time tech partner GE to its cloud-based productivity software in a multimillion dollar deal.

The move will see GE deploy Microsoft’s cloud productivity suite Office 365 to GE’s more than 300,000 employees in 170 countries.

Jamie Miller, senior vice president and chief information officer of GE said: “As we deepen our investments in employee productivity, Microsoft’s innovative approach to collaboration made Office 365 our first choice for providing scalable productivity tools to our employees worldwide.”

GE said it will integrate a number of its line of business applications with Office 365 and deploy cloud-based email and Skype for Business calling and meetings, real-time document co-authoring, and team collaboration.

“Microsoft and GE share many values in common — openness, transparency, data-driven intelligence and innovation — all of which are driving forces behind Microsoft’s own mission to help people and organizations achieve more,” said John Case, corporate vice president of Microsoft Office. “As one of the most innovative companies in the world, GE understands what it takes to unleash the potential of its employees. We’re delighted GE has selected Office 365 as the productivity and collaboration solution to empower its global workforce.”

GE and Microsoft are longtime technology partner. The two companies have even set up a joint venture together – Caradigm, a company that develops and sells a healthcare technology platform for clinical applications and population management.

Nevertheless, the deal comes at a critical time for the company and is in some ways a validation of Microsoft’s goal of turning its business around from a number of strategic stumbles and focusing on its core strengths in software and the cloud. Earlier this month the company reported it would write off its entire Nokia acquisition and shed about 7,800 jobs in the process, mostly from its phone business.

News & Analysis, Salesforce, Software as a service, Tod Nielsen, Toopher, Verizon

Salesforce bakes security, compliance into native apps with Shield

Salesforce has launched Shield in a bid to improve confidence among highly regulated cloud adopters

Salesforce has launched Shield in a bid to improve confidence among highly regulated cloud adopters

Salesforce this week announced Salesforce Shield, a portfolio of “drag and drop” security and compliance assurance services that developers can bake into native Salesforce apps.

The Shield services include field audit trail and data integrity tracking, data encryption, archiving and event monitoring.

Salesforce said the services are already in use by some of the company’s clients in the financial services and healthcare services sectors.

“While many companies are leveraging the cloud to build apps at the speed of business, those in regulated industries have struggled to take full advantage of the cloud due to regulatory and compliance constraints,” said Tod Nielsen, executive vice president of Salesforce1 Platform, Salesforce.

“With Salesforce Shield, we are liberating these IT leaders and developers, and empowering them to quickly build the cloud apps their businesses need, with the trust Salesforce is known for.”

Salesforce said the move will help provide assurances to more heavily regulated sectors including developing applications with the Salesforce platform, particularly those that are learning more heavily on mobile platforms.

That said, mobile security has been a big focus for the firm in recent months. In April the company acquired Toopher, a Texas-based mobile authentication startup, and towards the end of last year the company joined Verizon’s dark fibre cloud interconnection service to give its customers more secure options for linking to its cloud platform.

cloud migration, Microsoft, News & Analysis, Office 365, SkyKick, Software as a service, Todd Schwartz, Vendor

Office 365 migration provider SkyKick scores $10m

SkyKick bagged $10m this week and is strengthening its capabilities beyond cloud migration

SkyKick bagged $10m this week and is strengthening its capabilities beyond cloud migration

SkyKick, a cloud migration specialist turned cloud service management provider, secured $10m in funding this week, which the company said would be used to accelerate product development and broaden its portfolio.

SkyKick specialises in migrating Microsoft productivity apps (Office 365, Exchange, etc.) and data into the cloud, and the company recently pivoted into the rest of the lifecycle by offering cloud app and permission management as well as backup and restore capabilities (which are only available in the US for now).

The $10m in funding brings the total amount secured by the firm since its founding to just over $17m, and will be used to expand sales and marketing as well as product development efforts.

“We are excited to usher in the next era for SkyKick—a global software company delivering cloud management solutions for partners,” said Todd Schwartz, SkyKick co-founder and co-chief executive.

“Cloud usage is expected to double in the next three years, and the average IT partner will soon have over 5,000 customer cloud touch points to administer, which can be incredibly complex and time-consuming for solution providers to backup and manage.”

The move to broaden its portfolio comes at a time of increasing saturation in the Office migration environment. Microsoft itself already offers a number of free cloud migration tools and there are a few others developed by third parties like SkyKick, so its ability to develop and offer strong capabilities relevant for post-deployment lifecycle needs is essential to its future growth.

call centre, Funding, Josh Stein, News & Analysis, Software as a service, Talkdesk

Talkdesk scores $15m in cloud contact centre push

Talkdesk has raised $15m to take call centre software into the cloud

Talkdesk has raised $15m to take call centre software into the cloud

Cloud-based contact centre software provider Talkdesk has secured $15m in a series A round of funding led by DFJ with participation from existing investor, Storm Ventures, which the company said would be used to fuel its international expansion.

The latest round of funding brings the total amount raised by the firm since its founding to over $33m.

Talkdesk, which was founded in 2011, said its web-based contact centre solution integrates with Zendesk, Desk.com, Salesforce, Zoho, SugarCRM and Help Scout among other cloud services.

“Today’s consumers are used to instant app-driven communications, but most cloud-based call center solutions do not provide the functionality necessary for companies to meet their rising expectations for service. As such, companies are looking for a more progressive call center technology that provides relevant real-time customer information so they can deliver an exceptionally personalized experience,” said Tiago Paiva, Founder and chief executive of Talkdesk.

“We developed Talkdesk to address the needs of this $20B market1. We accomplished this by making it simple for companies to deploy a robust cloud-based call center software solution that provides contextual information about their customers, without the complexity or high cost associated with implementation,” Paiva said.

Call centres are becoming increasingly dispersed and as a result the software they use needs to be more nimble, slimmed down and flexible to deploy than when these were operating as large, centralised departments. The trend has contributed to the rise of a wide range of cloud-based contact centre solutions delivering omni-channel support.

Talkdesk said it’s one of the companies capitalising on this rise, and at more than 70 employees said it has experienced 1,000 per cent year on year revenue growth since its founding.

“This is the classic cloud-software eats the world storyline that we have seen before,” said Josh Stein, partner at DFJ. “We are seeing a massive evolution in the call center technology space that, until now, has been dominated by antiquated solutions.”