When small business owners think of software, they think of email, file management, and…. CRM. Shorthand for “Contact Relationship Management,” CRMs help businesses organize their customers, leads and sales. Important stuff. Unfortunately, choosing a CRM isn’t easy. The Google Apps marketplace lists 90 of ‘em: GetApp has over 280. There are thousands more (and they [...]
Archive | General
RSS feed for this sectionPretty self-explanatory.
Tools matter: 3 ways that cloud computing benefits business process and structure
Most small business owners understand cloud computing as a tool. A pay-as-you-go, web based tool. Not more, not less. And they’re pretty much right. Thing is, tools matter. They carry distinct advantages and disadvantages, which are sometimes subtle, long term, and structural. Cloud computing is no exception: besides the usual advantages, cloud based tools help [...]
Producteev training is out the door!
On the heels of yesterday’s announcement regarding Capsule training, we’re now offering Producteev 101, a weekly group webinar that covers basic Producteev navigation, use cases and best practices. Look no further if you’re in the market for Producteev training! Who it’s for Anyone just getting started or learning Producteev will benefit from this hour long [...]
Weekly Capsule CRM training, coming right up!
We’ve helped clients use Capsule CRM for years. It’s a great product, perfect for sales teams needing simple sales and workflow management. That’s why we’re offering Capsule CRM training, once a week, every week. That’s right, you read correctly – we’re now offering a weekly “Capsule 101″ webinar, intended to help new users understand, use and [...]
3 great business mobile apps (and why they matter)
The cloud revolution is in full swing, with dozens of new cloud-based software services popping up each month. We now have incredible business tools to manage everything from sales to marketing to accounting to inventory, and the software keeps getting better. As is the way with software development, and technical advancements in general, a new [...]
There’s you, there’s your customer, and there’s tech
VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.
The Gorilla and the Spiderweb: Two Competing Approaches to Small Business Software
I speak with small business owners every day. Most of the time, we’re speaking because they have problems – workflow problems, software problems, scaling problems. Solutions aren’t obvious. If they were, we wouldn’t be in business. Thing is, it’s not just that solutions aren’t obvious – it’s that solutions may solve the same problems (inventory, [...]
Fresh off the press – Solve360 training!
We’ve long loved Solve360. It’s really good. That’s why we gave them an A+ review, why we partnered with them, and it’s why we’re now offering weekly Solve360 support and training. That’s right – weekly Solve360 training. Twice a week, every other week, we’ll be teaching “Solve 101” and “Solve 102” webinars. We’re educators! Who [...]
The difference between UX and UI, as illustrated by cereal
We’re always game for good analogies, especially when they help clarify jargon, and ESPECIALLY when they involve cereal… Props to @ed_lea for the image.
3 Reasons Why VARs, Vendors, and Clients Need Waking Up
It’s a tough time to be a Value Added Reseller (VAR). For those who don’t know, VARs are a breed of IT consultant popularized in the 1990’s and still near-ubiquitous in certain channels. They’re hard to miss: Without going into too much detail, the VAR model is one of selling software licenses for the margin, [...]