By Bill Loss, CEO, WebApps, Inc. a.k.a. SaaShr.com
Delivering Human Capital Management solutions under a SaaS model to the SMB market, we’ve recently stepped up our mobile strategy as a result of the competitive landscape. One interesting aspect to the mobile strategy challenge is the software industry is lumping “mobile” into one bucket, but from our perspective there are really two distinct buckets – the smart phone and the tablet. Given the inherent differences in screen real estate, decisions around the volume of data and number and complexity of functions allowed can greatly impact development efforts.
Equally challenging, is the decision to go browser-based or leverage a fat client architecture where code resides on the device itself. In the case of Android, we understand it’s easier to load apps directly to the app store as a result of a more limited verification process, so a fat client architecture might be preferred. In the case of iOS, frequent update cycles appear to be more difficult because in some cases we’ve heard it could take months to get the latest version of an app approved. Additionally, from an architectural perspective, we believe Apple restricts dynamic communication between the server and the device itself, in that some core functions which are better off residing on the server side may very well need to be coded on the fat client. These limitations can add complexity to an organization’s mobile strategy and may create a tug-of-war between whether fat client or browser-based is a better longer-term direction.
For many organizations, including ours, these are just some of the device/platform challenges which can potentially impact app compatibility and acceptance within the marketplace. With the goal of minimizing our internal R&D investment, events like All About Mobile help assist in identifying the appropriate subset of core functionality to deploy, when, and to what device and/or platform.
In July 2009 Information Industry professionals participated in a study on transitions and stress in the information industry. This study was conducted by Colleen MacDonald Wright, a PhD student in Counseling and Counselor Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and was designed to measure the work-to-family and family-to-work transition, boundary flexibility, mindful attention awareness, and perceived stress of people that work in the Information Industry. Aggregate survey results for wave 1 of this study are now available.
Highlights:
In this sample – people felt less stress about managing family obligations (such as taking children to doctors appointments) during work hours. However, when work cut into family time perceived stress increased.
Participants with greater work flexibility were less stressed, and participants with little work flexibility experienced more stress.
Participants that worked long hours were generally more stressed than those that worked fewer hours a week, but those who worked long hours from home had lower perceived stress.
Read these highlights and more in the complete wave 1 results.
Ronald Gould is Chief Executive Officer, Asia-Pacific, Chi-X Global. Before joining Chi-X, he served as Senior Advisor at the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority and Managing Partner of the Watch House Alliance, a financial services consultancy. He is also the former Chief Executive Officer and founder of ABG Sundal Collier ASA (“ABGSC”), a listed specialist investment bank. Prior to ABGSC, Ron was Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director of AXA Investment Managers. He was previously Vice Chairman of Barclays Bank Global asset management business. Earlier, he founded one of the first international investment groups in the US, one of the first foreign owned trust banks in Japan, as well as successful investment management companies in Asia, Japan, the UK and continental Europe.
“Navigating the Cloud” is a series of webinars to help software publishers combat the challenges associated with delivering software applications as a service in the cloud. Co-presented by Forrester, IDC, SafeNet and Saugatuck Technology, the webcast series educates software publishers on best practices for software monetization in the cloud, including service catalog definition and management, usage authorization and metering, business process optimization, and more.
Finding Success in SaaS
August 17, 2010, 1pm EDT
Adapting at Cloud Speed
September 9, 2010, 1pm EDT
Cloudy with a Chance of Insight
October 7, 2010, 1pm EDT
Lucrative Pricing and Packaging Strategies for the Cloud
November 4, 2010, 1pm EDT
Making the Transition: Your Journey into the Cloud Defined
December 13, 2010, 1pm EDT
2011 marks the 10th year of the SIIA Information Industry Summit. This year the Summit will focus on and around mobility. Sessions will cover a variety of topics including mobile business models, proprietary data, M&A, innovation, etc. Attendees will walk away with new ideas, takeaways for their own businesses and plenty of business cards!
All registered attendees also gain access to the CODiE Awards reception and dinner on January 25. Content CODiE Awards winners will be announced during this lively and festive event. Be there to congratulate colleagues and friends, or perhaps bring home an award for your company.
We hope to see you in January! Continue to check back for updates on speakers and sessions.
First, the obvious differences: The former conference is our first major component of SIIA’s new initiative on Personalized Learning and is being held in collaboration with ASCD and CCSSO. Two-thirds of the invited attendees represent leadership within the K-12 education sector – school districts, state agencies, professional associations, the federal government and education foundations. Attendees will focus on the policies, practices and technologies needed to enable the redesign of our education system from an industrial-age structure to one that is student-centered to meet each student’s personalized learning needs.
The Ed Tech Business Forum will be 10th annual and has become part of “Education Week” in New York, taking place each year the first week after Thanksgiving. Attendees are primarily from the industry, and represent ed tech platform companies, publishers, and financial firms. They’re there to learn and share information about the shifts they see in their business models.
The similarities: Some of SIIA members will be attending both conferences. While the purpose of the Symposium is to look at system re-design, the Forum will be looking to re-design their business. There’s a cause and effect, and hopefully, they’ll happen in tandem with each other. Our members do react to customer needs … and Personalized Learning is a major one right now. By working with industry colleagues at the Forum, they will gain major insights to Re-Inventing their business models.
Posted by Karen Billings, Vice President, SIIA Education Division
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SIIA’s “All About Mobile” blog is collecting short paragraphs covering war stories and best practices for ISVs!
All current registrants can submit Mobile Best Practices by email to Nate Philip.
Mobile Best Practices for ISVs
*Define in one sentence a specific issue/problem affecting ISVs as they transition to Mobile.
*In one paragraph, outline steps to overcome the issue based on your experiences. Please note, this should in no way be a product endorsement but instead an industry best practice.
For most Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), discussion on the Cloud has moved from “whether” to “when and how.” On paper, at least, there’s little question of the value of the Cloud, which promises to facilitate the development process, streamline delivery, and closely align investment with revenue. The allure is also felt by enterprise customers, who are attracted to the cloud as a flexible, low-maintenance delivery model.
But as is usually the case, there’s a large gulf between concept and implementation. For start- ups and companies looking to add software to their product portfolios, launching a successful cloud delivery model requires a solid business plan that includes development, production, and go-to-market approaches. For well-established ISVs, the challenge is no less daunting. They may find that adopting the new delivery model requires far more time, money, and research than anticipated – and that it can disrupt business processes far beyond the development. Yet, the risk of taking no action is as great as the risk of taking the wrong action. How, then, can ISVs successfully integrate the Cloud into their businesses?
In this paper, Stratecast examines the fragmented and still evolving cloud-based Software as a Service market. We look at the pitfalls and benefits to ISVs, along with considerations to guide the decision to enter the cloud. Finally, we look at the IBM SaaS Specialty Program as a high-value option for helping ISVs build and execute a SaaS strategy.
SIIA is thrilled to announce 4 mobile software categories in the 2011 CODiE Awards program! Extensive platform adoption through smartphones and tablets, 4G rollouts, and the beginning of a major enterprise transition have already begun. Mobile is changing the way people think about business and software. The SIIA CODiE Awards acknolowedges these developments, and is dedicated to recognizing this year’s most innovative companies and products.
1. Best Mobile Information Management Solution
Recognizes the best business application designed for use on mobile devices to organize, access and manage content, data, documents, or records.
Products nominated here are eligible for the Best Information Management Solution and Best Mobile Solution supercategories.
2. Best Mobile IT/Network Management Application Recognizes the best business application designed for use on mobile devices to manage IT operations.
Products nominated here are eligible for the Best IT/Network Management Solution and Best Mobile Solution supercategories.
3. Best Mobile On-Demand Application
Recognizes the best business application designed for use on mobile devices to either manage or access cloud-based or software-as-a-service solutions.
Products nominated here are eligible for the Best Mobile Solution and Best On-Demand Solution supercategories.
4. Best Mobile Operations Management Solution
Recognizes the best business application designed for use on mobile devices to manage any or various enterprise operations, including financial, human capital, sales, marketing, project management, data management, supply chain management, etc.
Products nominated here are eligible for the Best Mobile Solution and Best Operations Management Solution supercategories.
Ronald Gould is Chief Executive Officer, Asia-Pacific, Chi-X Global. Before joining Chi-X, he served as Senior Advisor at the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority and Managing Partner of the Watch House Alliance, a financial services consultancy. He is also the former Chief Executive Officer and founder of ABG Sundal Collier ASA (“ABGSC”), a listed specialist investment bank. Prior to ABGSC, Ron was Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director of AXA Investment Managers. He was previously Vice Chairman of Barclays Bank Global asset management business. Earlier, he founded one of the first international investment groups in the US, one of the first foreign owned trust banks in Japan, as well as successful investment management companies in Asia, Japan, the UK and continental Europe.