By David Sims
[email protected]
The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is the East Village Opera Company’s “Overture Redux (Le Nozze Di Figaro),” the overture to Puccini’s The Marriage of Figaro replete with Brian May-style guitar and the keyboard figure from “Won’t Get Fooled Again:”
First off it’s the ever-popular Unsubstantiated Rumor Department. First Coffee received an e-mail from an industry insider yesterday asking:
“Have you heard anything about Talisma changing their business model and moving away from being a software provider to becoming solely a knowledge management services provider/consultant? This rumor has been brought up a couple of times recently to a few people here at [name of company] and I’m trying to reach out to those ‘in the know’ and confirm it or squash it.
“Thanks!”
Evidently First Coffee’s not so much in the know that he can answer this, but welcomes any replies from readers – especially Talisma – to set the matter straight. Confirm or squash away.
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CRM vendor Pivotal Systems has acquired the FACTS Business Unit of Tennessee-based Dalcon Business Systems, Inc., a vendor of software and professional services.
Included in the purchase will be Dalcon’s specific products for wholesale distribution companies; software, services and support. Dalcon’s offerings include the enterprise software known as FACTS developed by Infor.
Dalcon works in the new technology fields of data storage and backup products, e-mail security, and IP telephony.
As part of the acquisition, Pivotal Systems will take over Dalcon’s existing FACTS Business Unit. This includes software, services and support of Infor’s FACTS ERP Software. Dalcon’s current FACTS support staff will be working for Pivotal Systems.
“The acquisition of Dalcon’s FACTS Business Unit will add value to Pivotal System’s growing customer base, while continuing to focus on products for the distribution industry,” said Lori Allaman Hanken, Pivotal Systems President.
Pivotal Systems will use Dalcon’s employees as it works to integrate Dalcon’s complementary product offerings into Pivotal’s. Dalcon will continue to operate out of its Nashville office.
Minneapolis-based Pivotal Systems provides services in distribution, supply chain, CRM, inventory management, integrated networking, IP-based phone systems, and warehouse management.
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Planit Fusion Live, a new version of Planit’s design and visualization software for the Kitchen & Bath and home improvement sectors, was debuted by the company at booth 7550 at K/BIS 2006, held at McCormick Place, Chicago, from April 21-23.
Planit Fusion Live incorporates customer management tools, graphics and presentational quality for retailers.
The system’s “Live” technology lets users receive instant updates to both their manufacturers’ catalogs and Fusion software via the internet without the need to manage CD updates.
The software also includes a number of new productivity features, including “drag and drop” tools from the application’s Graphical Add palette, which are now available in both plan and elevation views. In addition, customized tiling capabilities have been introduced, along with the automated calculation of quantities and improved pricing routines.
The company’s Planit Design On-Line service has been extended to provide retailers with lead generation and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) functionality. By linking directly to the Planit Design On-Line website, end users can create their own room layouts using the system’s online design and visualization tools. Copies of the finished files are also emailed back to the retailer, complete with the prospect’s name and address, ready for immediate follow-up.
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PacificNet Inc., a vendor of CRM and telemarketing services, call center, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Direct Response Television (DRTV), and Value-Added Services (VAS) in China, has announced that due to the delay in the filing of its Form 10-KSB for the period ended December 31, 2005, it has received a letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that the company’s common stock is subject to delisting pursuant to Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14).
Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 4310(c)(14) requires the company to make on a timely basis all filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as required by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Accordingly, the Company’s securities are subject to delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market at the opening of business on April 28, 2006. PacificNet expects to be able to file its 10-KSB early next week or before April 28 in order to maintain its continued listing on Nasdaq.
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RightNow Technologies has announced that founder and CEO Greg Gianforte is bringing his bootstrapping message to the MySQL Users Conference 2006, which is being held April 24-27 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.
Gianforte’s presentation will encourage the next generation of software entrepreneurs to start and grow market-driven businesses without depending on excessive outside venture
capital investments, according to RightNow officials.
“It’s important for people who want to start a business to hear that their energy, ideas and drive are more important than their ability to borrow large sums of money,” Gianforte said. “If you have something customers want and you can deliver it at the right price-point, revenue and profits will come. If you don’t, all the capital in the world won’t make your business successful.”
Conventional wisdom has held that entrepreneurs need to write a business plan, raise capital, start a bonfire, and hope that a successful business takes shape before all the money burns away, Gianforte says. Bootstrappers, on the other hand, focus on meeting a legitimate market need, ensuring the viability of their go-to-market strategy, and meeting core business challenges within their existing resource limitations, rather than trying to solve all their problems by simply acquiring more capital.
They thus, Gianforte claims, initiate the sales learning process sooner than entrepreneurs who look to outside investment to sustain them through the early stages of their existence. He says that bootstrapping also promotes decisions that result in profitability and forces entrepreneurs to think more creatively.
It’s a compelling message, and Gianforte knows of whence he speaks: He has used the technique to start and grow several successful companies, including RightNow, which he founded in 1997 and took public in 2004 after 26 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. He is also the author of Bootstrapping Your Business: Start And Grow a Successful Company With Almost No Money, published in August of 2005.
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One Connect IP, a regional Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, has announced its acquisition of ZiaNet, the largest privately held Internet Service Provider in the state of New Mexico.
One Connect IP currently serves business and residential customers throughout the Mountain West Region and with this acquisition expands their hosted VoIP services to an additional 30,000 business and residential customers throughout New Mexico. Mesa Capital Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, led the investment round for One Connect IP.
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