OnDemand Solutions News Feed

Verticals onDemand Launches First Mobility-as-a-Service� Application for Life Sciences Companies

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-06-09T07:00:00+01:00

The new VMobile application runs on any Microsoft � Windows XP or Vista-based laptop or Tablet PC, empowering users with anytime, anywhere access to their VBioPharma CRM system.Verticals onDemand, the pharmaceutical industry�s leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) CRM solutions, launches a new category of on-demand applications � Mobility-as-a-Service� (MaaS). Verticals onDemand�s new VMobile� MaaS application provides users with offline access to their VBioPharma� CRM system. For the first time, life sciences companies can deploy mobile applications that do not require additional maintenance costs or effort to support and enhance. More here

Bill.com and CPA2Biz Announce Strategic Business Alliance

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-06-09T07:00:00+01:00

Team-up to Help Accountants Deliver Basic Accounting Services More Efficiently. CPA2Biz, the majority-owned subsidiary of the American Institute of CPA`s (AICPA) and Bill.com, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that provides businesses on-demand accounts payable software, announces a strategic business alliance to provide Bill.com to accountants and their clients. Bill.com is a new low-cost web service that simplifies the way companies manage, review, approve, and pay bills. Read more here

SaaS Industry Consolidation Continues as NetSuite Acquires OpenAir by Jeff Kaplan

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-06-05T07:00:00+01:00

As the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) �gold-rush� intensifies, industry consolidation is inevitable.Prospective SaaS users are not only seeking more industry-specific SaaS solutions, they are also looking for more strategic sources for these SaaS solutions. Instead of contracting for a series of SaaS point products from a wide array of vendors, corporate decision-makers, both business and IT, are taking a closer look at the SaaS vendors� overall portfolios, platforms, partner ecosystems and financial viability so they can establish broader, long-term relationships with a fewer number of SaaS suppliers. More here

SITEFORUM and STRATO delivers SMB �Business Portal on Demand

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-06-05T07:00:00+01:00

European Web Hosting leader launches Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business portal to maximise online opportunities for the small-midsize market. The STRATO Business Portal brings all the online functions SMBs need into one integrated, comprehensive, online service. The SITEFORUM software combines a powerful Content Management System (CMS) with personalisation and multi-language with contact management, online marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), intranet/extranet functions, analytics, sales & support tools and document management. More here

Five best practices for implementing SaaS CRM

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-06-05T07:00:00+01:00

SaaS CRM offerings "have moved beyond their previous status as a specialized deployment option and into the mainstream," write Forrester analysts in the May 2008 "Best Practices: The Smart Way To Implement CRM" report. The analysts back up their assertion with recent Forrester survey data. A late 2007 survey of 1,017 software IT decision-makers at North American and European enterprises found that SaaS adoption is growing at double-digit rates. More here

Gunning to be the Google of IT search, Paglo takes its IT search engine public for all companies by Clint Boulton

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-06-05T07:00:00+01:00

The Paglo search engine helps IT personnel index their IT data so they can quickly find answers to questions about corporate computers, networks and employees. For example, a company can discover and locate all devices connected to its network, learn how many copies of Microsoft Office its employees are using, or find users with administrative privileges. The ability to rapidly find answers to such questions is important because more business processes are becoming digitized, which means more and more types of software -- and devices to run them -- are being added to the mix. Read more here

Tomoye Socializes Its Expert Advice Platform by Clint Boulton

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-28T07:00:00+01:00

The enterprise expert advice service goes social, adding profile, blog and wiki capabilities with an eye on the big Web 2.0 pie. Tomoye, which in ancient Japanese means "revolution in the universe," is essentially an online expert advice aggregator for businesses. Designed for professional learning and problem solving, the platform helps workers find answers to questions (and by extension, solutions to problems), network and collaborate inside and outside of the enterprise they belong to. Read more here

HP Application Security Goes SAAS by Brian Prince

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-28T07:00:00+01:00

HP has expanded its application security business with a series of upgrades. The company has plans to launch a service it calls the HP Assessment Management Platform in August to help customers centralize all of their Web application security analysis programs into a complete solution maintained and managed by HP. More here

Analysis: Software as a service hits a glitch by Stephen Pritchard

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-28T07:00:00+01:00

Interest in on-demand software is growing among IT directors. But despite this, larger vendors say take up is falling short of expectations."There are still some reservations around SaaS, especially integration, customisation and security," said Forrester`s Gliedman. "These could be deal breakers, but it comes back to cost benefit. Do you want to spend a year putting up, say, a CRM application and making it look exactly how you want, or do you want something you can modify through configuration, rather than customisation?" Full article

Powerful Enterprise Software Small Biz Can Afford

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-23T07:00:00+01:00

Companies can now afford to replace ad hoc processes with dedicated business tools. Less risk, more reward? Regardless of how you do the math, software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications are providing smaller businesses with software capabilities that previously only larger companies could afford. More here

Gmail Success Spells SaaS Superiority

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-22T07:00:00+01:00

Online services are profiting from ever-decreasing storage costs -- but enterprises may be the ultimate winners. Google may dominate in search, but it`s the company`s free consumer e-mail service, Gmail, that it sees capable of teaching the enterprise some lessons. More here

Tricubes inks deal with Microsoft

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-22T07:00:00+01:00

Tricubes Bhd, a provider of mobility solutions, has inked a deal with Microsoft Corp that enables the local company to provide its customers access to a variety of Microsoft software at flexible, low monthly rental fees. Under the Services Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA), Tricubes serves as a Microsoft Services Provider License Agent to provide SaaS (Software as a Service) mobile solutions to its customers in Malaysia and the rest of the Asia Pacific region. Read more here

Desktop virtualization is inevitable by Jon Oltsik

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-20T07:00:00+01:00

Everyone in the IT industry is doing back flips over server virtualization, begging the obvious question: What about the desktop? According to ESG Research, 8 percent of large organizations have already deployed desktop virtualization, 9 percent are piloting desktop virtualization, and 32 percent are currently evaluating desktop virtualization. Read blog here

Workday Introduces ERP as a Service by Michael Hickins

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-19T07:00:00+01:00

While SaaS offerings have generally been restricted to simpler, self-contained processes such as CRM and compensation management systems, Workday intends to build out a complete ERP suite to compete with the likes of Oracle and SAP. Netsuite has offered an on-demand ERP suite since 2003, when it was still known as NetLedger. But despite a relatively long existence in Internet years, it has never been able to announce anything like the deal Workday just made with electronics manufacturer Flextronics, to which it will provide software service for more than 200,000 employees. More here

With EDS, HP Buys Its Way Into Outsourcing Big Leagues by Paul McDougall & Mary Hayes Weier

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-19T07:00:00+01:00

The $13.9 billion deal creates the second-largest IT and business services company. Under the merger plan, EDS CEO Ron Rittenmeyer will lead a new organization called "EDS--an HP company" and report directly to Hurd. Livermore will continue to oversee HP`s Technology Services Group, but EDS, still based in Plano, Texas, will lead the outsourcing charge. More here

Berkshire Hathaway Company Uses UltiPro SaaS by Anuradha Shukla

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-19T07:00:00+01:00

UltiPro has enabled CORT Business Services to leave its earlier multi-application approach of using an ERP vendor for HR, a service bureau for outsourcing payroll, and an in-house manual process for time and attendance, Greg Swick, chief sales officer for Ultimate Software, said that CORT has done an excellent job transforming labor management with UltiPro. The solution�s suite of features can help executives handle the entire gamut of employee-centric processes with a single software-as-a-service provider, Swick says. Read more here

HyBlue Intros IceLock, an SAAS Approach to Laptop Data Encryption by Jayashree Adkoli

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-14T07:00:00+01:00

The Web-based policy management protects data on laptops and other mobile devices, reduces cost and speeds up implementation of highlighted links. IceLock has a special feature of protecting data that is stored on a hard-disk. The service can permanently delete data remotely over the Internet in case of theft. The service has a very easy approach to data encryption, can be downloaded from the Web and is also easily deployable. Read more here

Answer to an age-old query: `Where`s my order?` by Denise Deveau

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-15T07:00:00+01:00

For about $1,000 a month, Stewart has online access to enterprise level, real-time route tracking and planning services from Descartes Systems Group Inc., based in Waterloo, Ont. Not all enterprise-level applications are a good fit for the small business owner, however, because some can be difficult to learn and manage. For example, high-end financial software applications are not as viable in a SaaS (software as a service) model because "the processes for a small company aren`t nearly as sophisticated," he says. More here

Understanding Microsoft SharePoint in a Web 2.0 World by C.G. Lynch

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-14T07:00:00+01:00

While SaaS offerings from enterprise 2.0 vendors creep up, and facing more pressure from IBM and Google with their collaborative software products, Microsoft believes SharePoint will give companies all the Web 2.0 they`ll ever need.While analysts say the social software in SharePoint lacks the functionality and usability of competitor products, its tight integration with existing Microsoft systems such as Exchange and Office makes it an attractive buy for IT departments looking to capitalize on the Web 2.0 movement while still utilizing the technology tools they already have inside their companies. More here

SAP Is The Latest Convert To Software-Plus-Services Vision by Mary Hayes Weier

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-12T07:00:00+01:00

It envisions selling "component" services to its big ERP customers beginning next year. Software as a service made its name with bold claims that it would force on-premises software into extinction. But with SAP becoming the latest vendor to create a hybrid model, the real dinosaur is the idea that companies must choose one approach or the other. More here

New On-Demand Platform as a Service to Enable Java and Ajax Over the Cloud

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-09T07:00:00+01:00

Morph Labs and Webtide join forces to create Java edition of Morph Application Platform and meet market demand for portable Java applications without vendor lock-in. Based on open standards and best of breed open source technology, the Morph Application Platform provides developers with an end to end web application environment that includes load balancing, high availability infrastructure, distributed computing, virtualized web stacks, databases, managed backups and 24x7 monitoring. Read more here

CTI Group Steps Into the Software as a Service (SaaS) Arena With SmartRecord IP

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-09T07:00:00+01:00

CTI Group, a leading industry developer of wireless and VoIP recording, analysis and invoice management applications, announces the launch of a new pay-per-use call recording service. This new model offers their traditional VoIP call recording product, SmartRecord IP, as Software as a Service (SaaS). The pay-per-use model is designed to assist both enterprise and service provider customers in slowly acclimating to call recording without the burden of a high initial capital investment. More here

Philippines to Emerge as a Major SaaS Hub

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-06T07:00:00+01:00

�By 2010, over 30 percent of global software revenue will be driven by SaaS (software as a service) enterprise applications".Winston Damarillo, executive chairman of Morph Labs, Inc., believes the Philippines will become an important supplier of SaaS applications globally, and his company is providing products and services to help ISVs develop their own SaaS applications. �Morph Labs enables ISVs and entrepreneurs to enter the global SaaS marketplace and compete without making huge investments in technology capabilities,� said David Abramowski, chief executive of Morph Labs. Read more here

Meltdown to Breakout: Financial Services Overhaul Customer Service by Vincent Deschamps

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-05T07:00:00+01:00

The recent subprime mortgage meltdown is forcing financial services firms to revisit their customer service technology. Many are turning to hosted solutions. Who would have thought the meltdown in financial services could fuel the overhaul of the industry`s customer service departments? Actually, it`s just one of several factors driving companies to put customer service initiatives on the fast track in pursuit of compelling business advantage. More here

No CD needed: Taking the office to the Web by Suzanne Choney

OnDemand Solutions — 2008-05-02T07:00:00+01:00

Online software choices growing, but they`re not one-size-fits-all solutions.Microsoft recently announced it is testing an online-based subscription of its Office productivity suite code-named �Albany,� as another way to sell the software. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.) There�s plenty of competition out there already, with some programs being free, including Google�s Docs & Spreadsheet program, which also is in beta testing. Among its appeal is that files can be shared easily via the Web for collaborative efforts. More here