Apple becomes world's number one smartphone vendor in Q2 2011
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew an impressive 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in the second quarter of 2011. Both Apple and Samsung overtook long-time volume leader Nokia for the top two spots in our rankings.
Alex Spektor, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global smartphone shipments grew a healthy 76 percent annually to reach a record 110 million units in Q2 2011. We had previously reported on Apple becoming the largest smartphone vendor in terms of revenue and profits. Now, just four years after the release of the original iPhone, Apple has become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with 18 percent market share. Apple’s growth remained strong as it expanded distribution worldwide, particularly in China and Asia.”
Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Samsung overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in Q2 2011. Samsung’s shipments grew a huge 520 percent annually, for 17 percent global smartphone market share. Samsung’s Galaxy portfolio has proven popular, especially the high-tier S2 Android model.”
Tom Kang, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Having become the first ever vendor to ship 100 million smartphones in a single year during 2010, long-time leader Nokia has slipped two places in our rankings in Q2 2011. The vendor’s 15 percent global smartphone market share is less than half of what it was just one year earlier, as the industry awaits Nokia’s pending transition to Windows Phone 7.”
martes, 2 de agosto de 2011
miércoles, 15 de junio de 2011
The Best Small Business CRM Software? Here are some tips.
Customer relationship management (CRM) programs were once been best suited to large enterprises, but today they are essential to businesses of all sizes, and are available to small businesses in various forms. CRM solutions will enhance any business's productivity in sales, marketing, and for the customer service staff, as well as reduce the costs of finding and retaining leads, and increase revenues by unifying many business management processes in one platform. Of course, the trick to success with small business CRM is finding the right solution for your company.
Enterprise-scale CRM can be intimidating for smaller businesses, and it also tends to offer many more capabilities than smaller companies require, and at a price small-business owners will likely balk at paying. Adding even more expenses, large-scale CRM often requires more IT support than small businesses can readily provide. Thankfully, the growing need among small businesses for streamlined sales, marketing, and customer management processes has led to the emergence of small business CRM software, which many refer to as "CRM lite." These solutions acknowledge that employees of small businesses tend to wear many hats and have a variety of responsibilities, and these platforms are traditionally dialed-down versions of the large-enterprise products.
This brings us to an important thing to consider when selecting a small business CRM solution for your company: scalability. Most businesses start small, but when choosing a CRM solution, you have to look down the line and take consideration for growth. Your chosen solution should be able to both accommodate an increase in the user base, and allow for more capabilities as the company's needs evolve. Numbers-wise, small business CRM platforms are designed for companies with fewer than 500 clients, or fewer than 50 customer-facing staff members. And though CRM lite products have a small-business slant, they can still be fitting for divisions of larger enterprises with fewer than 100 simultaneous CRM users. For the most part, small business CRM caters to companies whose user bases are physically concentrated, rather than spread out over multi-server networks.
Almost as important as selecting the appropriate system for a certain number of end-users: deciding which type of deployment is best for your company: on-premise or hosted. Most small business CRM solutions are offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS), or on-demand platforms, which is an option that provides numerous benefits to small enterprise. For starters, on-demand solutions require much less up-front capital, as they require neither hardware nor the licensing fees necessary for on-premise CRM platforms. On-demand CRM solutions are ideal for budding companies in need of a system than can be deployed quickly, and with little impact on IT resources, as on-premise solutions often call for long and complicated implementation processes. On-premise solutions tend to work best for large enterprises that need a constant pulse on their CRM data, and that can afford the temporal and monetary costs of implementation.
The best small business CRM solutions will allow companies to customize the platform's dashboards and key features. This customization is usually offered in the form of smaller "license bundles" that allow users to pick and choose only the features needed, and therefore prevent them for overpaying on extensive packages with features that will remain unused. Small business CRM solutions also reflect the tendency smaller companies have of managing business across a number of different (and sometimes disjointed) productivity applications. This propensity to work across disparate applications adds to the importance of a simple user interface and options for customization, and explains why CRM systems that resemble basic word processing and reporting applications are so successful.
Many small business CRM offerings are primarily contact managers that secondarily provide the ability to organize sales and marketing campaigns, and offer some standard reporting capabilities. Common add-ons include help desk automation, sales forecasting, order-processing and tracking, and advanced analytics. Two companies that offer web-based CRM solutions and recently released contact management tools are Salesforce.com and SugarCRM. Salesforce's Contact Management Edition and Sugar's SugarExpress are both very basic forms of CRM, offering simple contact information and communications records, and both are meant for a small number of users (about 5-10). They are intended for the smallest business users, but the good thing about these products-and another advantage of SaaS solutions-is that they are wholly integrative into Salesforce's and Sugar's more extensive CRM products should the company grow.
Another thing you'll want to look for when choosing the right small business CRM: social networking tools. There has been great debate as to how helpful integrating products like Twitter and Facebook is to CRM processes, but there is no doubt that small businesses benefit greatly from incorporating social media. Unlike large enterprises, small businesses have more direct interactions with their customers, so while large enterprises use social networking tools to maintain a strong web presence and track conversations about their brand, small businesses have the advantage of using these platforms to nurture their existing relationships with customers. Most SaaS CRM solutions have social networking integrations, so look for a system that provides basic social media functionality and has a good tool for monitoring conversations.
The best small business CRM solution is out there. Just remember to assess your needs, and find a product that is scalable, and offers good contact management and social media integrations.
Customer relationship management (CRM) programs were once been best suited to large enterprises, but today they are essential to businesses of all sizes, and are available to small businesses in various forms. CRM solutions will enhance any business's productivity in sales, marketing, and for the customer service staff, as well as reduce the costs of finding and retaining leads, and increase revenues by unifying many business management processes in one platform. Of course, the trick to success with small business CRM is finding the right solution for your company.
Enterprise-scale CRM can be intimidating for smaller businesses, and it also tends to offer many more capabilities than smaller companies require, and at a price small-business owners will likely balk at paying. Adding even more expenses, large-scale CRM often requires more IT support than small businesses can readily provide. Thankfully, the growing need among small businesses for streamlined sales, marketing, and customer management processes has led to the emergence of small business CRM software, which many refer to as "CRM lite." These solutions acknowledge that employees of small businesses tend to wear many hats and have a variety of responsibilities, and these platforms are traditionally dialed-down versions of the large-enterprise products.
This brings us to an important thing to consider when selecting a small business CRM solution for your company: scalability. Most businesses start small, but when choosing a CRM solution, you have to look down the line and take consideration for growth. Your chosen solution should be able to both accommodate an increase in the user base, and allow for more capabilities as the company's needs evolve. Numbers-wise, small business CRM platforms are designed for companies with fewer than 500 clients, or fewer than 50 customer-facing staff members. And though CRM lite products have a small-business slant, they can still be fitting for divisions of larger enterprises with fewer than 100 simultaneous CRM users. For the most part, small business CRM caters to companies whose user bases are physically concentrated, rather than spread out over multi-server networks.
Almost as important as selecting the appropriate system for a certain number of end-users: deciding which type of deployment is best for your company: on-premise or hosted. Most small business CRM solutions are offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS), or on-demand platforms, which is an option that provides numerous benefits to small enterprise. For starters, on-demand solutions require much less up-front capital, as they require neither hardware nor the licensing fees necessary for on-premise CRM platforms. On-demand CRM solutions are ideal for budding companies in need of a system than can be deployed quickly, and with little impact on IT resources, as on-premise solutions often call for long and complicated implementation processes. On-premise solutions tend to work best for large enterprises that need a constant pulse on their CRM data, and that can afford the temporal and monetary costs of implementation.
The best small business CRM solutions will allow companies to customize the platform's dashboards and key features. This customization is usually offered in the form of smaller "license bundles" that allow users to pick and choose only the features needed, and therefore prevent them for overpaying on extensive packages with features that will remain unused. Small business CRM solutions also reflect the tendency smaller companies have of managing business across a number of different (and sometimes disjointed) productivity applications. This propensity to work across disparate applications adds to the importance of a simple user interface and options for customization, and explains why CRM systems that resemble basic word processing and reporting applications are so successful.
Many small business CRM offerings are primarily contact managers that secondarily provide the ability to organize sales and marketing campaigns, and offer some standard reporting capabilities. Common add-ons include help desk automation, sales forecasting, order-processing and tracking, and advanced analytics. Two companies that offer web-based CRM solutions and recently released contact management tools are Salesforce.com and SugarCRM. Salesforce's Contact Management Edition and Sugar's SugarExpress are both very basic forms of CRM, offering simple contact information and communications records, and both are meant for a small number of users (about 5-10). They are intended for the smallest business users, but the good thing about these products-and another advantage of SaaS solutions-is that they are wholly integrative into Salesforce's and Sugar's more extensive CRM products should the company grow.
Another thing you'll want to look for when choosing the right small business CRM: social networking tools. There has been great debate as to how helpful integrating products like Twitter and Facebook is to CRM processes, but there is no doubt that small businesses benefit greatly from incorporating social media. Unlike large enterprises, small businesses have more direct interactions with their customers, so while large enterprises use social networking tools to maintain a strong web presence and track conversations about their brand, small businesses have the advantage of using these platforms to nurture their existing relationships with customers. Most SaaS CRM solutions have social networking integrations, so look for a system that provides basic social media functionality and has a good tool for monitoring conversations.
The best small business CRM solution is out there. Just remember to assess your needs, and find a product that is scalable, and offers good contact management and social media integrations.
martes, 7 de junio de 2011
New 3D TV Technology Will Change
The box office is on fire with 3D movies right now thanks to ‘Avatar’ setting the tone with it’s advanced 3D technology. Since then a lot of current films are out in 3D at theaters for us to enjoy and of course we anticipate the arrival of their release on Blu-ray disc so it can be a joy to watch 3d TV at home.
A lot of big Hollywood producers have been awaken to the fact that 3D is gaining popularity, even if the movie stinks the special effects of 3-D is enough to keep you watching. I just know a crop of “B” rated films will emerge with a weak storyline but have plenty of third dimensional effects, one genre in particular is Horror. Since the technology of 3D is nothing new and not a lot of work to implement, I can see plenty of blood and gore squirting off screen right in your shocked horrified face! Sounds like fun for those of us who love the art of horror movies.
Not only movies will be going 3D crazy but plenty of TV shows and video games, so pretty much anything visible and in motion will begin to emerge on the scene. There is even the possibility if 3D based blogs and websites coming in the future thanks to the film makers intriguing visions of the new enhanced 3D reality that has come into focus in their new way of producing motion pictures.
It will not stop there, I have read rumors of 3D video cameras for home use and editing software to support it. That can be done now but the newer technology will make it that more easier for the average “videophile” to make 3D home movies so the 3D TV technology will eventually come full circle.
The box office is on fire with 3D movies right now thanks to ‘Avatar’ setting the tone with it’s advanced 3D technology. Since then a lot of current films are out in 3D at theaters for us to enjoy and of course we anticipate the arrival of their release on Blu-ray disc so it can be a joy to watch 3d TV at home.
A lot of big Hollywood producers have been awaken to the fact that 3D is gaining popularity, even if the movie stinks the special effects of 3-D is enough to keep you watching. I just know a crop of “B” rated films will emerge with a weak storyline but have plenty of third dimensional effects, one genre in particular is Horror. Since the technology of 3D is nothing new and not a lot of work to implement, I can see plenty of blood and gore squirting off screen right in your shocked horrified face! Sounds like fun for those of us who love the art of horror movies.
Not only movies will be going 3D crazy but plenty of TV shows and video games, so pretty much anything visible and in motion will begin to emerge on the scene. There is even the possibility if 3D based blogs and websites coming in the future thanks to the film makers intriguing visions of the new enhanced 3D reality that has come into focus in their new way of producing motion pictures.
It will not stop there, I have read rumors of 3D video cameras for home use and editing software to support it. That can be done now but the newer technology will make it that more easier for the average “videophile” to make 3D home movies so the 3D TV technology will eventually come full circle.
Business Intelligence software to reach 65.4 m revenue in 2011.
The market for business intelligence (BI) software in India is forecast to reach revenue of 65.4 m this year, up 15.7 per cent over 2010, according to consultancy firm.
Worldwide, business intelligencesoftware market revenue is forecast to grow 9.7 percent to reach 10.8 billion in 2011. business intelligencewas ranked number five on the list of the top 10 technology priorities in 2011, according to annual global CIO survey.
It is a sign of the strategic importance of business intelligencethat investment remains strong, research director.
He said this market segment had remained strong because the dominant vendors continued to put Business Intelligence, analytics and performance management at the centre of their messaging, while end-user organisations largely continued their business intelligence projects hoping that resulting transparency and insight would enable them to cut costs and improve productivity and agility down the line.
He said the market for business intelligence platforms will remain one of the fastest growing software markets despite sluggish economic growth in most regions.
It said decision making in India historically has been based on either gut feelings or on the business experience of managers.
Business intelligence will allow enterprises to make more fact-based decisions.
Business intelligence promotes revenue growth and faster innovation through shorter product and service life cycles and the ability to find where value is being created in the business, it claimed.
The market for business intelligence (BI) software in India is forecast to reach revenue of 65.4 m this year, up 15.7 per cent over 2010, according to consultancy firm.
Worldwide, business intelligencesoftware market revenue is forecast to grow 9.7 percent to reach 10.8 billion in 2011. business intelligencewas ranked number five on the list of the top 10 technology priorities in 2011, according to annual global CIO survey.
It is a sign of the strategic importance of business intelligencethat investment remains strong, research director.
He said this market segment had remained strong because the dominant vendors continued to put Business Intelligence, analytics and performance management at the centre of their messaging, while end-user organisations largely continued their business intelligence projects hoping that resulting transparency and insight would enable them to cut costs and improve productivity and agility down the line.
He said the market for business intelligence platforms will remain one of the fastest growing software markets despite sluggish economic growth in most regions.
It said decision making in India historically has been based on either gut feelings or on the business experience of managers.
Business intelligence will allow enterprises to make more fact-based decisions.
Business intelligence promotes revenue growth and faster innovation through shorter product and service life cycles and the ability to find where value is being created in the business, it claimed.
Apple Is Said to Complete Music Accords for New ICloud Service
Apple Inc. reached an agreement with Universal Music Group, the largest record label, setting the stage for its new service to let users access song libraries on multiple devices, two people with knowledge of the talks said.
The new music service, enabling customers to store their music on Apple’s servers, will be previewed on June 6 by Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs at Apple’s annual developers conference in San Francisco, said the people, who declined to be identified because the deals aren’t public.
Apple’s deal with Vivendi SA’s Universal Music, whose artists include Lady Gaga and U2, follows agreements with Sony Corp.’s music unit, Warner Music Group Corp. and EMI Group Ltd. By moving the files into the so-called cloud, songs will be available on devices such as the iPhone and iPad without users having to plug in and synchronize the gadgets. Instead, tracks can be streamed from anywhere with a Web connection.
To start, the service will be available only for songs that have been purchased through iTunes, said the people. Later in the year, Apple plans to introduce a $25-per-year plan so music purchased outside iTunes can be stored on its servers and streamed through an Internet connection.
Under the agreements with the labels, revenue from the cloud service will be split between Apple and the music companies. Apple will collect 30 percent, while the record labels will get 58 percent and owners of publishing rights will get 12 percent, the people said.
Earlier this week, Cupertino, California-based Apple said it would discuss its new iCloud service at the developers conference. The company also will talk about upgrades to its software for Mac personal computers and mobile devices.
Cnet.com earlier reported Apple had reached an agreement with Universal Music Group.
Apple Inc. reached an agreement with Universal Music Group, the largest record label, setting the stage for its new service to let users access song libraries on multiple devices, two people with knowledge of the talks said.
The new music service, enabling customers to store their music on Apple’s servers, will be previewed on June 6 by Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs at Apple’s annual developers conference in San Francisco, said the people, who declined to be identified because the deals aren’t public.
Apple’s deal with Vivendi SA’s Universal Music, whose artists include Lady Gaga and U2, follows agreements with Sony Corp.’s music unit, Warner Music Group Corp. and EMI Group Ltd. By moving the files into the so-called cloud, songs will be available on devices such as the iPhone and iPad without users having to plug in and synchronize the gadgets. Instead, tracks can be streamed from anywhere with a Web connection.
To start, the service will be available only for songs that have been purchased through iTunes, said the people. Later in the year, Apple plans to introduce a $25-per-year plan so music purchased outside iTunes can be stored on its servers and streamed through an Internet connection.
Under the agreements with the labels, revenue from the cloud service will be split between Apple and the music companies. Apple will collect 30 percent, while the record labels will get 58 percent and owners of publishing rights will get 12 percent, the people said.
Earlier this week, Cupertino, California-based Apple said it would discuss its new iCloud service at the developers conference. The company also will talk about upgrades to its software for Mac personal computers and mobile devices.
Cnet.com earlier reported Apple had reached an agreement with Universal Music Group.
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)