Online accounting has long been a hot topic in the cloud community and it’s finally starting to bleed through to the mainstream. A recent survey by Bay Street Group reported over 75% of CPAs and accountants recognized they need to adopt new SaaS solutions, and 82% tie new tech adoption to client retention and growth (link [...]
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Cloud computing and the horseless carriage syndrome
Despite our recent(ish) blog post bashing Microsoft’s cloud initiatives, there’s a nugget of brilliance in “The Economics of The Cloud,” a recent paper published by Rolf Harms and Michael Yamartino, head corporate strategists at Microsoft. It’s a good paper, but the brilliance is in the opening metaphor: When cars emerged in the early 20th century, [...]
SprinxCRM, Brightpearl and Connect2Field Reviewed
We demo new business-oriented cloud solutions all the time and the holiday season is no exception. This week we looked at three inexpensive, cloud-based CRMs: SprinxCRM, Brightpearl and Connect2Field. This isn’t really a full review of each product, but more of a comparative glance at three CRMs aimed at small to medium sized companies with [...]
The top 5 unknown reasons why business belongs in the cloud
There are plenty of “Top 5 lists” with generic reasons for why businesses should migrate into SaaS and cloud computing. Scalability, cost, mobility – they’re good reasons, sure, but we’ve heard them before: what else does cloud computing offer? If you’re thinking about moving your business into the cloud but haven’t yet, here are five [...]
Integration is a double-edged sword: API integration and why it’s not always the right way forward
Spend anytime among the cloud-computing crowd and you’ll soon find that API integration is a hot-topic. How friendly or unfriendly a given app’s API is, how many native integrations it has, the price-point at which API reference keys become available: all those factors are huge selling points for SaaS and a major consideration for would-be [...]
Nine upcoming Cloud Conferences worth checking out
Here at VM we’re planning our spring 2011 conference tour and we’re happy to say there’s a lot going on in the world of presentations and meetings about cloud-computing. Deadlines are fast-approaching though, so check out the list we’ve put together below and see if there’s something happening near you… hope to see you there! [...]
“Be what’s next” and the irony behind Microsoft’s new slogan
If you haven’t heard already, it’s now close to official: Microsoft is trademarking “Be what’s next” as their newest slogan. Compared with the current tagline (“Your potential, our passion”) it’s not a bad change, and when paired with their expanding line of cloud-based software it’s a clear indication of where Microsoft is moving (the cloud). [...]
Tools matter and so does cloud computing
I had an embarrassing moment with a client this morning when they (gently) reprimanded me for being too excitable over a SaaS service (Smartsheet, for the curious). I’m paraphrasing here, but after explaining the service and my reservations about it, the client reminded me: “It’s just a tool you know. Not Heaven or Hell.” Well, [...]
SaaS needs a shoe store and staff: The problem with proof of concept and a new role for consultants
When you buy a pair of shoes you walk into a store, compare brands and styles, try them on, walk around, and leave with the pair that fits. Generally speaking, it’s an easy transaction that allows consumers the advantage of informed comparison and choice. Similarly, SaaS consumers want to know that the service they’re buying [...]
Help yourself help: Zendesk, Mojo Helpdesk and Tender Support reviewed
We’ve recommended more than a few helpdesk services over the years and we thought to share some observations. For the unacquainted, helpdesks are online apps devoted to managing an organization’s help and support requests. Typically, they assign ticket numbers to incoming requests (lodged through website portals and/or email) and provide a centralized “client” to manage, [...]