The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is Leo Kottke's magnificent One Guitar, No Vocals, one of First Coffee's Ten Greatest Work Albums, although there are parts where you'd swear there are two guitars:
The electronic book segment is pretty well a feature of the landscape now, and according to a report from In-Stat, has "room for growth" given such new features such as e-mail and Web connectivity.
The electronic book segment is pretty well a feature of the landscape now, and according to a report from In-Stat, has "room for growth" given such new features such as e-mail and Web connectivity.
The research, "Electronic Book Survey: US Consumers' Attitudes and Behaviors Towards the Burgeoning E-Book Market," is available now for $1,495 and covers the US market.
Indeed, what with reading e-books on your iPod Touch and sending e-mail on your e-book reader, it isn't hard to see that we're going to end up with a blended product pretty soon here.
An e-book is a handheld consumer electronics device capable of accessing and storing digitized books for portable use. Examples are the Amazon Kindle DX -- and one can download and read Kindle books on the iPod Touch and iPhone as well, although without all the neat features of the Kindle reader itself -- and the recently introduced Sony E-Reader Daily Edition.
"According to In-Stat's most recent consumer survey, current e-book owners desire e-mail capability in the next e-book they purchase," says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst. "Longer battery life and Internet connectivity are the top two desired features among respondents who don't currently own an e-book but plan to buy one in the next year."
First Coffee will go along with the "longer battery life" request.
Recent research by In-Stat found that Amazon is the leading brand of e-book owned, the largest percentage of e-book owners (45.5 percent) is spending between $9 and $20 a month on e-book content and that "eleven percent of total survey respondents said they planned to purchase an e-book over the next 12 months."
In-Stat is a segment of the $9 billion Reed Elsevier global information network.
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Lyzasoft has introduced a feature for Lyza, the company's desktop data analysis product, allowing direct connectivity to Salesforce.com's portfolio of CRM apps.
Lyzasoft has introduced a feature for Lyza, the company's desktop data analysis product, allowing direct connectivity to Salesforce.com's portfolio of CRM apps.
Lyzasoft officials say this connectivity will allow business analysts using Lyza to "integrate Salesforce data with other enterprise data sources, then analyze, report and share the results." Current Lyza customers will receive the Salesforce connectivity upgrade at no additional cost.
In addition to Salesforce, Lyza provides data connections to enterprise databases such as IBM DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and Sybase, as well as Microsoft Excel workbooks, Access databases and text/flat files. Lyza runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Colin White, president of BI Research, said that while Salesforce.com is a recognized market and technology leader in SaaS, companies performing BI on Salesforce data in general find that "the product's analytical capabilities are lacking. There is great interest in products that enable organizations to add analytics to Salesforce," and that "there is also considerable interest in bringing Salesforce data into the enterprise for analytical purposes."
A full feature version of Lyza, including the new Salesforce.com connectivity, is available for free 30-day trial or purchase at lyzasoft.com.
"We see a significant need for Salesforce.com customers wanting to analyze their SaaS CRM data in concert with data from internal systems like billing, inventory, and staffing," said Lyzasoft CEO Scott Davis.
Lyza, complete with Salesforce.com connectivity, is available immediately and is priced at $899 for a single machine, one-year subscription license, unlimited online support and complimentary product updates.
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Do they ever love their mobiles in the Great White North: A recent Sympatico.ca survey found that nearly half of all Canadians -- 45 percent -- "can't leave home without" their mobile device.
Far more Canadians today than just last year agree that mobile media has information that is relevant to them, and survey officials say their findings show that mobile owners are more receptive to mobile media communication, finding it "less irritating and more entertaining and useful."
Mobile usage in the home overall has increased, as 33 per cent of Canadian users state that they accessed mobile media in the home in 2009 compared to 21 per cent in 2008.
The majority of Canadian mobile media users "access the same sites on their mobile device as on their home or office computer (47 per cent), and do so from both home (33 per cent) and during a commute (27 per cent)."
The majority of Canadian mobile media users "access the same sites on their mobile device as on their home or office computer (47 per cent), and do so from both home (33 per cent) and during a commute (27 per cent)."
And they're even getting more serious: According to the survey, while the primary reason for accessing the Internet via mobile is still "to pass the time," i.e. to goof off, an "increasing number" of users are seeking information or socializing. Why "socializing" and "to pass the time" aren't considered the same answer is a mystery to First Coffee.
The study was conducted as part of Sympatico.ca MOBILE's ongoing Mobile Media Labs program, designed to help Canadian brands "gain insights, co-create and experiment with mobile marketing strategies and tactics."
The study was conducted as part of Sympatico.ca MOBILE's ongoing Mobile Media Labs program, designed to help Canadian brands "gain insights, co-create and experiment with mobile marketing strategies and tactics."
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ValueSelling Associates, creators of the ValueSelling Framework, has announced the integration of its eValuePrompter into "every aspect" of the sales process, from lead to opportunity to deal close.
ValueSelling Associates, creators of the ValueSelling Framework, has announced the integration of its eValuePrompter into "every aspect" of the sales process, from lead to opportunity to deal close.
The Internet-based tool for prospect qualification is now available for integration with Customer Relationship Management systems.
Julie Thomas, president and chief executive officer, ValueSelling Associates, describes the ValuePrompter as "a tool for helping our clients with the process of the ValueSelling Framework... we understand the need for supporting the sales process from lead creation through close."
Julie Thomas, president and chief executive officer, ValueSelling Associates, describes the ValuePrompter as "a tool for helping our clients with the process of the ValueSelling Framework... we understand the need for supporting the sales process from lead creation through close."
Thomas say the eValuePrompter "now can be accessed from the lead stage in CRM systems, such as Salesforce.com." She explained that when the lead is converted to an opportunity, the eValuePrompter started in the lead stage is available throughout the entire sales process:
"Information is not lost from stage-to-stage and a complete history can be seen by the entire sales team."
Existing eValuePrompter users will receive an automatic upgrade to the enhanced product, company officials say, adding that people can try it free for 30 days.
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Helpstream, which works the Social CRM suites and customer service community side of the street, will "share its vision for the future of the Social CRM industry" through a blog series from company CEO Bob Warfield.
Helpstream, which works the Social CRM suites and customer service community side of the street, will "share its vision for the future of the Social CRM industry" through a blog series from company CEO Bob Warfield.
"The rapid adoption of social software is causing a major transformation in how consumers engage with vendors," Warfield said.
Each week will feature a new segment on the Social CRM landscape and introduce new approaches to fusing social Web technologies with customer relationship management.
According to a June 2009 survey conducted by CustomerThink, approximately two-thirds of U.S. consumers believe that companies should ramp up social media usage to identify service and support issues.
"The rise of social media has rendered the 'command and control' model of customer relationship management outdated," said Paul Greenberg, CRM strategist and author of "CRM at the Speed of Light" and a man who thinks Alex Rodriguez is underpaid. "Consumers are already controlling the conversation through platforms like Twitter and Facebook."
Helpstream's Social CRM can be deployed as a complete customer service system or as an integrated self-service and community case resolution complement to existing CRM systems.
According to a June 2009 survey conducted by CustomerThink, approximately two-thirds of U.S. consumers believe that companies should ramp up social media usage to identify service and support issues.
"The rise of social media has rendered the 'command and control' model of customer relationship management outdated," said Paul Greenberg, CRM strategist and author of "CRM at the Speed of Light" and a man who thinks Alex Rodriguez is underpaid. "Consumers are already controlling the conversation through platforms like Twitter and Facebook."
Helpstream's Social CRM can be deployed as a complete customer service system or as an integrated self-service and community case resolution complement to existing CRM systems.
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WiredContact, which sells Web-based customer relationship management products, has announced that Prestige Resorts & Destinations has implemented WiredContact Enterprise as its CRM tool.
WiredContact, which sells Web-based customer relationship management products, has announced that Prestige Resorts & Destinations has implemented WiredContact Enterprise as its CRM tool.
"Our existing CRM system lacked the customization and relationship management capabilities that our company needed," said Tori Trobak, director of Administration, saying that the company settled on WiredContact as a CRM platforms that could "deliver what we needed."
Trobak said the company also considered Salesforce.com, but "based on our analysis, over a three-year period WiredContact Enterprise will cost Prestige approximately 35 percent less than Salesforce.com.
As a result of implementing the WiredContact product, company officials say, Prestige Resorts has cut sales management time by half. Prestige Resorts connects meeting and event planners to a network of destination management companies, resorts and hotels.
WiredContact Enterprise offers online and mobile CRM capabilities, and is available in a self-hosted or hosted environment. It's a division of Practical Sales Tools, Inc.
As a result of implementing the WiredContact product, company officials say, Prestige Resorts has cut sales management time by half. Prestige Resorts connects meeting and event planners to a network of destination management companies, resorts and hotels.
WiredContact Enterprise offers online and mobile CRM capabilities, and is available in a self-hosted or hosted environment. It's a division of Practical Sales Tools, Inc.
