Quickbase Case: ProPoint Graphics
Filed under: Intuit, Intuit QuickBase, QuickBase, QuickBooks, SaaS
Profile
ProPoint Graphics specializes exclusively in PowerPoint and Flash presentation production on a project and ongoing basis. ProPoint Graphics has completed thousands of presentations for over a thousand clients of all sizes across most industries throughout the United States. The company meets the needs of its client base by delivering high-quality, professional presentations quickly and cost-effectively. ProPoint Graphics is a privately owned company and has successfully leveraged the right technology to maximize productivity among its employees, which include full-time, part-time and contract workers.
Challenges
Software as a Service Market Will Expand
IDC – Press Release – 26 Jan 2009
Software as a Service Market Will Expand Rather than Contract Despite the Economic Crisis, IDC Finds
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., January 26, 2009 – Recent IDC surveys and customer interviews support the finding that the harsh economic climate will actually accelerate the growth prospects for the software as a service (SaaS) model as vendors position offerings as right-sized, zero-CAPEX alternatives to on-premise applications. Buyers will opt for easy-to-use subscription services which meter current use, not future capacity, and vendors and partners will look for new products and recurring revenue streams. As such, IDC has increased its SaaS growth projection for 2009 from 36% growth to 40.5% growth over 2008.
“With a broad slowdown across IT sectors, businesses are increasingly bearish about their short-term ability to invest, whether for stability, growth, or cost savings down the road,” said Robert Mahowald, director, On-Demand and SaaS research at IDC. “But SaaS services have benefited by the perception that they are tactical fixes which allow for relatively easy expansion during hard times, and several key vendors finished the year very strong, reporting stable financials and inroads into new customer-sets.”
Additional findings from the IDC study include:
By the end of 2009, 76% of U.S. organizations will use at least one SaaS-delivered application for business use.
The percentage of U.S. firms which plan to spend at least 25% of their IT budgets on SaaS applications will increase from 23% in 2008 to nearly 45% in 2010.
This market’s growth prospects will accelerate the shift to SaaS for the whole value chain as the promise of a recurring revenue stream, and the opportunity to tap OPEX and project-related dollars, will benefit the whole SaaS ecosystem.
While demand for SaaS is strongest in North America, new contracts from customers in Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) also look particularly positive, and IDC expects that by year-end 2009, nearly 35% of worldwide revenue will be earned outside of the U.S.
On the downside, IDC interviews with SaaS providers highlighted several issues, such as cash-flow shortfalls related to slow-paying current clients, liquidity challenges stemming from tight credit at lenders, and — on the horizon — limited resources to scale up with expanded infrastructure to support new customers and new service offerings.
The IDC study, Economic Crisis Response: Worldwide Software as a Service Forecast Update (IDC #215504) augments other revised IDC forecasts by offering a post-2008 financial crisis update for the worldwide SaaS market, and specifically updates Worldwide Software on Demand 2008–2012 Forecast and 2007 Vendor Shares: Moving Toward an On-Demand World (IDC #213197, July 2008).
Contact
For more information, contact:
Robert Mahowald
rmahowald@idc.com
508-988-6701
Business Productivity Online Standard Suite
Business Productivity Online Standard Suite
Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite is a set of messaging and collaboration solutions hosted by Microsoft, and consists of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting, and Office Communications Online (coming soon). These online services are designed to give your business streamlined communication with high availability, comprehensive security, and simplified IT management. Your business benefits from always up-to-date technologies that are deployed rapidly, maximizing your valuable IT resources and reducing your need for infrastructure investments.
Why choose the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite?
For customers who need more than one standalone service, the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite provides the best value to customers by bundling multiple services at a discounted price.
Exchange Online offers 5GB mailbox storage per standard licence, configurable up to 25GB per mailbox.
Download Datasheet: Word | XPS
Learn more about hosted solutions with Microsoft Exchange Server
More Information
Read the technical requirements for Business Productivity Online Standard Suite.
Migrating to Business Productivity Online Standard Suite
Use the Microsoft Online Administration Center, the Migration Tool, and Active Directory Synchronization Tool to synchronize Active Directory users easily, and migrate Exchange Server mailboxes or POP3/IMAP4 mailboxes to Exchange Online.
- How to migrate on-premise Exchange Server mailboxes and POP3 and IMAP4 mailboxes to Exchange Online
- Migration Toolkit: sample planning materials
Other Products
Business Productivity Online Deskless Worker Suite
Ideal for segments of an organization who do not have messaging and collaboration capabilities today. The suite includes Exchange Online Deskless Worker and SharePoint Online Deskless Worker. Each standalone offer is priced at $2.55 per user per month; the deskless suite is priced at $3.82 per user per month-a 25% discount.
- Exchange Online Deskless Worker includes a 500MB mailbox for e-mail, calendar, contacts and Outlook Web Access Light along with anti-virus and anti-spam capabilities.
- SharePoint Online Deskless Worker gives users read-only access to portals along with the capability to fill out forms.
Try
Trial requirements
- Valid Microsoft Live ID account
Continue a current trial by signing into the Microsoft Online Customer Portal.
SaaS Summit: Cloud Computing Is Here to Stay
SaaS Summit: Cloud Computing Is Here to Stay
At the SaaS Summit in San Francisco Thursday morning, the discussions are kicking off with plenty of questions and a dose of reality.
What exactly is cloud computing? We’re hearing buzz terms like Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, Utility Computing, Grid Computing. Aren’t those all a form of cloud computing? For some, cloud computing is a fancy, albeit meaningless, buzz term for the larger umbrella that encompasses all of the above. But the general feeling is that cloud computing is a catch-all term that will help catch all of the forms of computing mentioned above while they make a name for themselves in the marketplace.
Is it safe? What are we doing about security?
The short answer is that there are still concerns about security and no one seems to be able to answer that question with real authority – which means that there are definitely some issues remaining. After all, we just learned that a glitch on Google Docs exposed many of the files publicly. But some at the sessions here have argued that glitches by the Googles, Amazons and Salesforces of the world are few and far between. A bigger risk is disgruntled or sloppy employees who expose critical files – something that could happen with or without a cloud solution.
What are the largest forces pushing companies into the cloud? That one is easy. It’s all about the dollars. Actually, that’s probably an oversimplified answer to that question but panelists so far overwhelmingly agree that companies in this economy are looking directly at their bottom lines. A panelist Thursday morning mentioned the cost savings for the city of Washington DC, which shifted 38,000 employees to Google Apps last year and reduced its software licensing costs from $4 million a year to $475,000. As one panelist said, “It all comes down to cost, cost cost.” But is that really true? In one session, a panelist said the software – no matter how much cost savings is involved – still needs to improve efficiency. If the software doesn’t do the job it should, then the cost savings actually look more like money wasted.
Will these new cloud startups be around in another year or two?
Ah, the fears from the last dot-com bust have not gone away, I see. Sure, plenty of companies from the last dot-com boom disintegrated when the boom busted. But there’s also a general feeling that the tech industry learned its lessons from the last tech downturn. There are big companies out there with plenty of cash on-hand – Google and Microsoft (MSFT) among them. Smart solution startups that are feeling the pinch of the economy could be ripe for pennies-on-the-dollar acquisitions – and that could allow the services themselves to survive, even if the companies don’t.
Who’s buying into the cloud – the large corporations or the SMBs? Cloud computing – and all the other SaaS and PaaS offerings that fall under that umbrella – are attractive for businesses of all sizes, panelists say. The reality – at least at this point in the game – is that SMBs aren’t as bogged down with bureaucracy, which allows them to make quick decisions and easily implement new technologies. Large enterprise companies will have a tougher time “just doing it” but eventually will be driven by the cost savings.
The overlying message: Cloud computing – or whatever you want to call it – is here to stay. There’s a new generation of leaders who understand the power of the cloud. And, in this economy, the CIOs and the CEOs are eager to hear about anything that could beef up the bottom line at the end of the day.
Salesforce.com Named #3 on Forbes ’25 Fastest Growing Tech Companies’ List
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Beware the Hype for Software as a Service
Viewpoint July 24, 2008, 12:01AM EST text size: TT
Beware the Hype for Software as a Service
What’s called SaaS, or on-demand software, needs some debunking. For starters, it isn’t cheap, and your data aren’t secure
Time to dispel a few popular myths.
SUVs are not cool. They never were. You Hummer guys were drawing snickers a few years ago. Now, with the price of gas nearing $5 a gallon, we’re laughing out loud. And Microsoft’s (MSFT) Vista is not a failure. To date, the software company has sold more than 150 million units. Vista has made Microsoft a ton of money. Yes, yes—it’s preloaded on every new computer. And yes, of course—it stinks. But no, it’s not a failure.
A couple more myths to dispel: Cell phones cause brain damage. Some of the conversations conducted on a cell phone would lead you to believe this. But there’s no evidence it’s bad for the brain. It’s also a myth that the longest day of the year is June 21. The longest day of the year for me was the Winter Middle School Orchestra Concert back in February. I know it was only an hour. But it didn’t feel like it. Read more
Dwyer Technology – making the transition to the Intuit Partner Platform
December 13, 2008
Dwyer Technology – making the transition to the Intuit Partner Platform
Joe Dwyer, owner and President of Dwyer Technology recently joined the Intuit Partner Platform team at the Adobe MAX Conference in San Francisco. As an existing Silver IDN developer with an active QuickBooks SDK application currently on the Intuit Marketplace called MobileBiz (an app enabling customers to take their QuickBooks anywhere they go via their mobile phone) and as one of the early adopters of the Intuit Partner Platform with a new Workplace application, we took the opportunity to talk to Joe about his experience on building his new app, TriggerConnect, on Intuit Partner Platform.
What is your new IPP application for the Intuit Workplace?
My application is called TriggerConnect is the fastest and easiest way for a customer to keep up to date with team members working on client projects. It is available as a beta on the Intuit Workplace. With TriggerConnect workers can update each other on all the latest client happenings in a “twitter-like” way, as well as attach photos and other documents for all to access.
The information from TriggerConnect is attached to your existing QuickBooks customer records enabling a single place to view the latest customer updates and contact information, without limiting access to only those that use QuickBooks on a day to day basis.
So, Joe: How long did it take you to build the app?
With the benefits of the Intuit Partner Platform, TriggerConnect went from concept to product launch in six weeks.
OK…So, what was your Flex learning curve?
Our expertise is in building applications that integrate with QuickBooks, but we had minimal Flex expertise at the start. Having several good Flex books and utilizing resources on the web was definitely a good help and we now consider ourselves well versed in the Flex language and techniques.
How was your transition to the Intuit Partner Platform from the traditional QuickBooks SDK?
The transition to the IPP from the traditional QuickBooks SDK was made easier because we have experience building dozens of applications that integrate with QuickBooks using the traditional SDK. So, we know the data model of QuickBooks well and it made it easier to transition to the IPP. Having servers, hosting, registration, and billing all setup by the IPP also removed a large development and ongoing infrastructure cost from our implementation.
You are also available to help other developers build on IPP?
DwyerTech exists to build applications that integrate with QuickBooks. We do this both for companies wanting to have a certified application they can sell, and for those that simply want to eliminate data entry within QuickBooks. Doing this within the Intuit Partner Platform will enable us to have more flexibility and deliver working SaaS applications at less cost to our ISV customers. Being one of the first developers to jump into IPP enables us to work closely with Intuit to make sure we have the core expertise and understand the framework to the deepest level.
We’re looking forward to enabling companies to be more efficient and automated through the use of their existing QuickBooks and the IPP. We have several initiatives that include mobile applications, e-commerce integration, and improved communication within small businesses. The IPP is a perfect solution for our company as it enables us to focus on the application logic and remove the issues and cost of hosting data in “the cloud”.
You can see a video of the TriggerConnect in action or try the Beta of the app directly within the Intuit Workplace.
Posted by Alex Barnett on December 13, 2008 in IPP, video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (4)
On-Demand/SaaS Reality
On-Demand/SaaS Reality
Industry leaders discuss the potential and practicalities of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and on-demand models.
by Evangelos Simoudis – Bahan Sadegh
Nov. 03, 2008
Who says that theater is dead? In the IT world, companies are the stage and SaaS vendors the ushers: putting a premium on efficiency, organization, and order. This means customers can be discriminating critics when selecting the SaaS vendor that’s right for them. But once you’ve decided on a SaaS solution, the biggest challenge lies in figuring out what to look for in a SaaS vendor.
SaaS migration may be the most efficiency-driven move that a small or mid-size business (SMB) makes, but it will only pay dividends if you choose the solution that sticks to modern SaaS principles. It’s easy to stumble and fall in this SaaS Theater because some vendors still use methods that keep SMBs tethered. You can pick the best fit for your SaaS needs with simple research and by following these ten suggestions:
1. Dynamic Billing – You should only be billed for what you use. Your company is dynamic: some months business goes up and some months it goes down. If your usage fluctuates, then your SaaS bills should follow suit. This is especially important in seasonal industries like retail or hospitality. Also, never agree to “software maintenance fees” or to pre-established “user licenses” because it defeats one of the primary goals of switching to a SaaS model.
2. Security – Security is paramount: most companies simply ask if the SaaS vendor uses SSL, but security is so much more than that. Ask your potential SaaS vendor:
- Does the data center that is housing the servers have physical security 24/7?
- Is the perimeter of the data center secured (do guards walk the perimeter at least once per 24 hours)?
- Who has permission to the access these servers (only internal employees or do contractors also have access)?
- Is there a log that captures who came in and when they left? If so then how often are those logs audited?
- Does the application use industry standard 128-bit encryption?
- If multiple customers are housed on the same server then are they logically/physically separated to ensure your data is not viewed by unauthorized eyes?
- Has the staff of the SaaS vendor who has access to your data gone through a criminal background check? It’s important to know whether or not convicted felons have access to your sensitive personal data.
- Does the vendor have a formal BCP (Business Continuity Plan)? Is the vendor willing to share it with you and does it satisfy your concerns?
GE Goes Live with Supply Information Management in Largest Software-as-a-service Deployment
GE Goes Live with Supply Information Management in Largest Software-as-a-service Deployment
Company taps Aravo SIM solution to automate and streamline supplier information-related business processes globally across business units; 500,000 suppliers, six languages, 10 countries
Posted: October 31st, 2008 01:14 PM GMT-05:00
By Editorial Staff
San Francisco, CA – October 31, 2008 – GE is working to transform its global supplier information management (SIM) process by deploying what is quite possibly one of the largest software-as-a-service deployments to date, using the Web-based SIM solution from Aravo to automate and streamline supplier information-related business processes across all of its business units worldwide.
The Aravo SIM solution, which forms the basis of GE’s Global Supplier Library, offers the company’s suppliers a self-service interface to author and maintain information required to do business with GE at both the corporate and business-unit levels, helping both GE and its suppliers increase efficiencies, improve supplier data quality, drive compliance and reduce costs.
Most Complex Supply Chain
GE manages what is arguably one of the world’s most complex supply chains, conducting business with over 500,000 suppliers across thousands of entities in more than 100 countries. The Global Procurement Group manages GE’s Global Supplier Library, a centralized repository at the corporate level for the management of supplier information feeding the firm’s multiple downstream business units.
The GSL was implemented in the 1990s to improve cross-enterprise coordination of supplier definitions, supplier reference numbers, supplier content and supporting data/documentation. The company needed to make process improvements to reduce a proliferation of vendors, improve visibility into the company-wide spend, aggregate supplier information and create a better understanding of what was being purchased from whom.
GE also wanted to more accurately track compliance, certifications, white papers and contracts. An overriding requirement was to make all of this data easy to find from within a universally accessible central repository on a global basis and in a consistent way. Supplier data quality also was an issue, as the legacy process did not provide a consistent means to validate and enrich the data as they came into the company during supplier onboarding and thereafter.
Controlling Complexity
GE sought to control this all this complexity with a Web-based software solution that was highly configurable and easily adopted by users. After considering internal alternatives and reviewing external options, GE determined that Aravo SIM was the best fit for its global needs.
The implementation of Aravo SIM began in March 2008 and is now live globally. The initial implementation phase supports GE’s corporate supplier management organization and will be rolled out to all GE business units by year end. Additional phases are planned for 2009. The Aravo platform at GE ties back into the company’s 15 instances of Oracle’s procurement solution.
“We evaluated a number of alternatives for managing our suppliers and their information, but Aravo SIM was the best commercially-available solution capable of meeting our complex, global needs,” said Gary Reiner, senior vice president and chief information officer of GE. “We are now managing over 500,000 suppliers and their data in Aravo SIM and have just gone live in six languages with suppliers around the world.”
Reiner said that GE expects the solution will deliver significant cost savings while improving data accuracy, compliance and productivity.
Increasing Data Accuracy
The supplier-facing interface with Aravo SIM offers six different languages, including Chinese and Japanese, while the internal, GE-facing interface currently is only in English (although Aravo offers multi-language options for this side of the solution as well).
To increase data accuracy within the supplier information management process, Aravo integrates with external data providers like ChoicePoint and Dun & Bradstreet. Now, when a new supplier is invited into the GE system, the Aravo solution performs a corporate background check on the supplier.
“Aravo SIM has enabled GE to streamline supplier management processes and employ a best practices-based methodology that ensures around-the-clock, global access to accurate, validated and approved supplier information,” said Aravo CEO Tim Albinson. “GE’s suppliers also reap significant benefits because Aravo SIM provides them with an intuitive interface to manage ongoing information flows.”
Strong Vendor Management Discipline
Industry analysts have noted that rapid implementation and ease-of-use are hallmarks of Aravo SIM. The solution is deployable out-of-the-box and delivered on a Web-based, SaaS platform, allowing complex supplier management projects to be rapidly planned and implemented using only a Web browser.
The platform’s dashboards, best-practice workflows and automated task management features enabled GE to quickly achieve their supplier management goals in a cost-effective and efficient manner, according to Aravo. In addition, the solution allowed GE to create, configure and launch a new set of firm-wide supplier enablement and management processes that offer task-level information and visibility to all global users via role-based dashboards and alerts.
“Our sourcing and compliance strategies require our employees to see 500,000 vendors with a common view across hundreds of global systems,” explained Tom Hattier, manager of GE’s Corporate Initiatives Group – Shared Sourcing Services. “Coordination requires strong vendor management discipline, both lean and simple, backed up by a global platform that can lock in the process. Aravo SIM met these requirements extremely well.”
Hattier added that the solution provides GE with a globally accessible application for the management of critical information around its supply base. “The service allows us to syndicate the information to our various purchasing, accounts payable and other systems so that we can have one consolidated view of what’s going on with all of our suppliers,” he said.
The implementation with GE could wind up helping other Aravo customers, according to Jon Bovit, vice president of strategy at Aravo. Bovit said that during the deployment at GE, the solution provider wound up building a number of new features into its base platform to accommodate a customer the size of GE. Because Aravo operates off a single code base for all its implementations, other clients would be able to take advantage of those features.
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