Microsoft Selects Paramount Technologies as an ISV Managed Partner
Paramount Technologies, a provider of middle-market Employee Workforce Automation solutions and a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has been selected by Microsoft as a High Potential Managed Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Partner in the US. Achieving this status demonstrates Microsoft's recognition of Paramount Technologies' experience and commitment in developing .NET solutions that enable companies to improve their business processes. Only 450 ISVs out of 30,000 attain this coveted distinction.
Microsoft Managed ISV Partners are chosen based on criteria including revenue growth and an established track record of success working closely with Microsoft. Through this program, Microsoft has devoted resources to help accelerate the adoption of Paramount Technologies' integrated solutions in the marketplace and achieve joint technical, product sales and marketing goals.
"Paramount Technologies is honored that Microsoft has recognized us for our market impact and our extensive work with .NET development. The resources provided by Microsoft will help us increase our speed to market for our intellectual property, promote and co-market our solutions, allow our sales people to close deals faster, and further position Paramount Technologies as a thought leader among Microsoft solutions partners," says Salim Khalife, Chairman and CEO, Paramount Technologies.
Salesforce.com and Google Expand Global Strategic Alliance with Force.com for Google App Engine
Salesforce.com, an enterprise cloud computing company, has expanded its global strategic alliance with Google with the availability of Force.com for Google App Engine. Force.com for Google App Engine is a new set of tools and services to enable developer success with application development in the cloud. The new offering brings together Force.com and Google App Engine, connecting two of the industry's leading cloud computing platforms and enabling the creation of entirely new Web and business applications. Force.com for Google App Engine builds on the relationship between salesforce.com and Google, spanning philanthropy, business applications, social networks and cloud computing.
"We have an open vision for cloud computing," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. "Developers now can take advantage of the easy to use and rapidly scalable cloud computing infrastructures from Google and salesforce.com to build and deliver powerful business applications."
"At Google, as at salesforce.com, we are committed to enabling developer success with cloud computing," said Tom Stocky, director of product management at Google. "Bringing together Google App Engine and Force.com will foster the creation of new Web applications and further demonstrate the power of the Web as a platform."
Force.com for Google App Engine provides a new set of tools and services that will foster the creation of new kinds of Web and business applications built and delivered entirely in the cloud. Instead of managing and maintaining their own client/server infrastructure, developers can use cloud computing infrastructure from Google and salesforce.com to build, run and deliver new applications on the Web. Web applications developed on App Engine are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as traffic and data storage needs grow. App Engine offers a rich developer community and libraries to power consumer-oriented interactive web applications.
Similarly, Force.com provides developers a complete environment to quickly build business applications that run on salesforce.com's trusted global infrastructure. Now, consumer-oriented Web applications built on App Engine can leverage enterprise data stored in Force.com.
"In times like these, companies are asking for ways they can take advantage of the low-cost and low-risk benefits of cloud computing for their enterprise application development projects," said Narinder Singh, CMO, Appirio, a salesforce.com and Google Enterprise partner. "Force.com for Google App Engine brings together the leaders in cloud computing to help address those needs and allows corporate IT to easily scale up or down to meet changing business conditions."
More than 5,000 salesforce.com customers are using Google Apps today, and more than 10,000 are using Salesforce for Google AdWords. And, 5 of the top 10 most popular applications on the Force.com AppExchange marketplace come from Google-related partners, demonstrating the growing developer opportunity and customer demand for third-party applications that leverage multiple cloud computing platforms.
More than Nine out of 10 Businesses Surveyed Across Eight Countries Prefer to Purchase Products That Have Been Adapted to Local Language and Market Needs
Companies that adapt their products to local languages and market needs have a significantly greater chance of selling to international buyers. In a September 2008 survey of 351 buyers of business software from eight non-Anglophone countries, Common Sense Advisory www.commonsenseadvisory.com) found a high correlation between purchasing likelihood and localized products. The data from the survey, which included businesspeople in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Spain, and Sweden, showed that more than nine out of 10 buyers prefer products and information that are available in their native languages and adapted to local requirements. These findings are detailed in the firm’s report “Localization Matters” and provide for a clear business case for localizing products and websites for business-to-business situations.
Common Sense Advisory Chief Research Officer Donald A. DePalma said, “Many firms still debate whether it makes business sense for them to localize their products, mostly because there is a longstanding assumption that people feel comfortable using English. However, this data clearly shows that even when people speak English confidently, they still prefer products in their language. They want to learn about these products in their own languages and use complex products that have been adapted to their businesses and cultural environments.”
The research report includes analysis of the survey findings and dozens of data points to help companies, especially software vendors and manufacturers of complex products with a software user interface, documentation and technical support, make the business case for localization, including the following:
Even when people speak English, they prefer to buy in their own languages.
• More than 80 percent said they felt that their English proficiency was good enough to understand the offers, benefits and terms and conditions associated with buying software; however, nearly all of the respondents said they were more likely to buy products with translated product information and localized interfaces.
• Companies with end users comfortable with English are still 4.5 times more likely to buy localized software than English software. The survey found that even when a buyer thinks that end users understand English well enough to use English-language productivity applications they are still 4.5 times more likely to purchase a software product if marketing, other collateral, and end-user documentation have been translated into their language; the software programming, documentation, and tools are available in their language, and post-sales technical support is available in their language.
Localization drives sales.
• Translating marketing materials drives sales. More than 80 percent said they wouldn’t give full consideration to a product that did not have localized marketing materials.
• For four out of five of buyers, translated information and localized software increase their likelihood to buy. One out of six buyers will never even consider buying software that’s not localized.
• When surveyed about purchasing via websites, Asian buyers are significantly less comfortable buying in English. Just five percent of the Japanese and seven percent of the Chinese respondents said they were very comfortable buying in languages other than their own, and 100 percent of both groups preferred to buy in their native languages.
For more information, visit www.commonsenseadvisory.com
River Logic and The Player Group Form Strategic Alliance to Help Clients Measure and Maximize ROI Through Integrated Business Planning and Advanced Performance Management
River Logic, Inc., a provider of integrated business planning and advanced business modeling software, has formed a strategic alliance with Dallas-based consulting firm, The Player Group, LLC, which manages and operates the North America region for the Beyond Budgeting Round Table.
Under the terms of the agreement, The Player Group consultants will offer Enterprise Optimizer (EO), River Logic's planning and modeling software platform, to improve the performance of client companies through unprecedented insight and understanding. Specifically, they will use EO to holistically model its clients' enterprise, and connect planning across all functional silos. The Player Group will use EO's technology to simultaneously conduct constraint-based modeling, activity-based costing, and full financial modeling in a single representation. This holistic approach to planning identifies the plans and decisions that will deliver the greatest financial impact to the client's organization.
Steve Player, founder and managing director of The Player Group said, "Enterprise Optimizer is literally changing the way business leaders see their operations and make decisions. By combining constraint-based modeling and activity-based costing with full financial modeling, organizations have the ability to integrate forward-looking approaches."
Apptis Technology Solutions (ATS) Achieves VMware Authorized Consultant (VAC) Partner Certification
Apptis Technology Solutions (ATS), a division of Apptis, Inc., and a technology solutions provider and value-added reseller, has been named a VMware Authorized Consultant (VAC) partner. This industry achievement allows ATS to provide complete virtualization solutions and services to its government customers.
As a VAC partner, ATS will continue to focus on increasing the efficiency and success of virtualization deployments for customers in the federal government, including the Military Health System, the Department of Defense and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition, with this new partner status, ATS will have access to a wider range of partner services including consulting best practices, implementation tools and intellectual property.
“The VAC partnership offers tremendous benefits that we will be able to transfer directly to our customers,” said Jim Smid, Data Center Practice Manager of ATS. “As we move forward we are very excited about the new opportunities that will arise as a result of ATS’ capabilities in providing government agencies the most robust virtualization solutions available on the market today.” |
