Mar 10

Consolidation in the Software Industry is Hardly New: Obsess About It or Risk Losing it All

Business No Comments »

Some analysts credit [Larry] Ellison with anticipating the consolidation in the enterprise software industry and leading the charge. Ellison ‘called a major shift in an entire market, which was impressive.’(1)
Anticipating consolidation? Calling a major shift? Didn’t Microsoft start as a PC operating system vendor in 1975? In the eighties they owned the desktop, today they’re across the enterprise. Computer Associates began with a sort program in 1976. Now its product suite offers one-stop shopping for managing the enterprise. And in 1973 SAP was selling an accounting package in Germany. Today its software automates the global enterprise from the shop floor to order fulfillment. Isn’t predicting consolidation in the software industry about as prescient as predicting that the sun is going to rise in the morning?
Consolidation is common in many industries, but three factors make the phenomenon of consolidation in the software industries, (FN 2) an ongoing repeatable event. The first factor is the natural evolution of software products and industries. New software industries start by delivering solutions to niche markets. This is, however, only the evolutionary starting point. Every industry has finite growth, and niche opportunities reach their limit quickly. Once the confines are actualized, a company, to continue growing, must expand their product’s capabilities by reaching into another industry to consolidate/converge additional functionality.
The second factor is software to software interconnectivity. Interconnectivity makes it so simple to converge products from one software industry to the next, it encourages consolidation. Open systems, service oriented architectures, programming interfaces and programming languages were created to facilitate the interconnection of diverse software products, making the process of expanding growth-promising functionality by consolidating products relatively simple.
The third factor: high-margin products and receptive investors, makes other industries envious of software. Margins often create huge war chests, and aggressive investors can create bank vaults that offer ready financing for acquisition-led consolidation strategies that promise opportunities for growth. Consolidation, though, is not always accomplished via acquisition. New capabilities can be built internally. The problem with this approach is that most companies find building paths into new industries difficult. It does require research, resources and focused execution. It also takes time. Many companies, failing to embrace that software lifecycles are time-compressed by intense competition and advances in technology, are caught off-guard by how quickly their industry becomes saturated.
Then there is the problem of competition for internal resources. Software companies are faced with non-stop feedback from demanding customers that have an unquenchable thirst for simplifying the complexities of information technology. And all of us know that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. This variety of challenges leaves companies without sufficient time to “build” a path, making the buy option very attractive. Buying though, is attractive in its own right because it delivers instant gratification and one-upmanship. Of course, well-heeled competitors in an effort to close the competitive gap can take the similarly expeditious buy route and the process of industry consolidation is now on a fast track.
Natural evolution, interconnectivity, available financing, and customer and competitive pressures have been fueling software consolidation for decades and there is no end in sight. Its an ongoing scenario of kill or be killed. Software companies that don’t keep a current strategy for consolidating or being consolidated face extinction.
The machination of consolidation in the software industries plays out like an ongoing game of little fish, big fish. And somewhere there’s always a hungrier bigger fish (or one that wants to be bigger), who is a looming consolidator. As an industry competitor in the ongoing game of consolidation there are four possible roles that can be played: consolidatee or little fish, consolidator or big fish, niche player or puffer fish (a fish with limited appeal), and odd-man out or the floating dead fish. Companies responsibly playing any of the first three roles will select viable competitive positions for their respective roles; the fourth, and the most commonly played role of the dead fish does not.
The selection, though, of a viable competitive position is not a solitary event; it is something that has to be continuously updated as an industry progresses through its lifecycle. This is because both the nature of an industry and the practicality of any competitive position are continually changing. In the introductory phase of an industry’s lifecycle there could be a thousand viable positions. By the time the mature phase rolls around, (1) the number of viable positions will be amalgamated into a few based on superior functionality, price or markets served, and (2) an industry once focused on solving problem X is now resolving A through X.
This implies that the path from the introductory to the mature phase will be strewn with carnage, but there will also be some long-term healthy niche survivors and some big winners. The prospects for being victorious will be greatly improved with an understanding of the relationships between lifecycle phases, competitive positioning and consolidation.
An industry’s introductory phase. In the introductory phase, an industry’s early entrants lead a life of competitive luxury. Competitors are few and far between, small in size and often unsophisticated business-wise. The customers are the early-adopter types who have few expectations beyond some rudimentary solution. This leads to a situation where there can be many probable (a subset of possible) competitive positions satisfying niche needs, most of which are too small to represent viable business models. See Figure 1. (Figures did not copy correctly. Go to www.sandpiperinnovationpartners.com and select the articles page to download a copy of this article with figures.)
The various positions in the introductory phase may be more or less “equal” at this point, but this equality does not pertain to future value. Some positions will be:
(1) more appealing to consolidatees because they cater to the likely interests of future consolidators;
(2) better for building a path of continuous growth that could lead to a superior exit opportunity or a dominant competitive position and to assuming the role of a future consolidator; or
(3) superior for building a lasting profitable niche position.
In order to understand which competitive positions are best suited to achieving any one of these three outcomes, it’s necessary to identify who the future consolidators are likely to be along with their probable motivations. The future consolidators (FC) will come from two sources: (1) current and (2) prospective competitors (PCs).
Deciding which of the current competitors are candidates for FCs may not be easy because the companies in the introductory phase are often small with limited budgets and resources. However, those companies who are led by industry experienced managers with vision, who have gained early market and technology leadership, and who have sufficient access to funds are reasonable bets. The PCs, on the other hand, may be easier to spot. They’re established companies who view participating in this industry as strategically sensible, under one condition-the goodness of the industry’s opportunity must be validated. Until validation occurs PCs sit on the sidelines actively or passively tracking an industry’s prospects.
Once the future consolidators have been identified, the next step is to decide which positions these companies are likely to stake out. Once this has been thoughtfully estimated in a process that requires analyzing each FC’s possible or known product and market strategies, the information is available for the current competitors to plan the positions of their products to be an attractive consolidatee, a durable niche player targeting a position the consolidators will probably shun, or a future consolidator who now has a fair idea of how to build a defensible position.
An industry’s early growth phase. In the early growth phase life takes on a decidedly different flavor. With the industry past its validation phase, the smell of money brings competitors out of the woodwork. One of the most formidable groups are the prospective competitors, many who are now prepared to shed their prospective qualifier and make a grand entrance by acquiring a suitable competitor. PCs often have complementary products, deep pockets, big customer bases, established channels, professional service organizations, and recognized brands. Armed with these advantages, these latecomers will substantively raise the competitive bar. This process of elevating the threshold may lead to redefining the industry and will redefine what constitutes a viable competitive position (See Figure 2), and it will alter the profile of the target customer. Gone are the days when customers were few in number and happy to pay a premium for a little piece of desirable functionality. Instead, customers are increasingly numerous, and demanding more functionality. All of the changes lay the groundwork for the first wave of consolidation.
All competitors, at this point, must re-evaluate the viability and strength of their current competitive positions relative to all other competitors, including any still looming PCs, in order to assess the goodness of their situation within the modified population of role-appropriate viable competitive positions. This updated appraisal should be used to strengthen or revise a competitor’s competitive position relative to their designated role. This is achieved by reinforcing the company’s product strategy on some element of functionality or price, and/or fortifying or augmenting markets served
Shakeout – the later growth phase. During the latter part of the growth phase competition for the growing number of increasingly demanding customers can become so intense that no one’s making money. This ignites a survival of the fittest shakeout, where the competitive bar is raised still higher. The fittest will have the strongest competitive positions on functionality and/or price and/or markets served. They’ll also have the financial resources to defend their positions against competitors aggressively pricing products without regard to cost, and interlopers with crafty marketing messages and costly campaigns that dupe customer into thinking that they have the superior position.
Consolidators are now working in overdrive to secure their place as a competitor with a dominant industry position. This means that consolidatees must be working overtime to see the fruition of their objective to be consolidated. Failure to do so could turn a little fish into a floating dead fish, because the consolidatee’s solution is now priced uncompetitively and/or available as a feature of a product holding a functionally superior position.
To the survivors, go the riches. Companies that survive the shakeout will hold clearly different positions (See Figure 3), that offer a promise for profitability, and they will enjoy a respite in ruthless price competition and costly hand-to-hand combat for customers. This though should not be viewed as an invitation to become complacent for two consequential reasons. First, the survivors, in anticipation of the inevitable flattening of growth that accompanies an industry’s mature phase, will need to be working diligently to determine the company’s next new product/industry in order to ensure continued growth. Second, survivors must support their positions against onlookers looking for openings that arise from arrogance or apathy and the actions of other survivors who will soon become frustrated by the leveling of growth and view one final round of consolidation as a means to buy revenue. Beware. Consolidation in this case is not a strategy for sustaining growth. You can consolidate mature A and B, but in the end you have mature AB, because the size of the world is constant. You can ask HP’s former CEO, Carly Fiorina, about the limits of consolidation as a growth strategy.
Conclusion. Only companies that can continually stake-out and restake-out competitive positions that are valued by the inevitable consolidators, or create and reinforce the position of consolidator, or target profitable niche markets will survive. You can’t avoid the underlying theme of consolidation that is constantly at work as software executives aggressively endeavor to execute strategies to secure an ongoing healthy existence, best the competition and deliver growth that will endear them to their shareholders.
Footnotes
1 Pimental, B. (May 6, 2005) San Francisco Chronicle.
2 The definition of an industry, as used here, is an adaptation from Michael Porter (Competitive Advantage, 1980, The Free Press, NY). It is the sum total of all companies offering products that solve a similar customer need (the direct and indirect competitors) and all other companies that exert influential forces on the success of the competitors. Defined in this way it is easy to see how the umbrella software industry is composed of many distinct software industries, and why search engine software does not compete with computer aided design software.
ฉ 2005 Kathleen Brush, Sandpiperinnovationgroup.com
Kathleen Brush is a turnaround and strategy consultant with http://www.Sandpiperinnovationgroup.com

Author: Kathleen Brush
Source: articleage.com

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Mar 09

How to Build Great Software

Computers and Technology No Comments »

In this article I’m going to explain the top 10 software development fallacies my company avoids. By avoiding these myths and concentrating on excellence, we are able to make great quality software.
Myth 1) Software must be designed in detail before development starts, so that a clear plan can be out-layed.
The truth) The more complex a design, the more like software the design itself is. By perfecting a design, then writing the software to that design, you’re effectively writing the work twice. Instead, by doing just some simple design sketches and data modelling rather than a book-like design, a good development team can create a shell for the software and efficiently refine it towards the finished product. This process of refinement creates natural prototypes, allows easy adaptation when issues that would be unforseen by a design arise (or brought up as fresh concerns by a client), and the total process takes significantly less time. To pull this off requires a close team, skill, and experience, but it is by far the best option for the majority of situations.
Myth 2) There are programmers, designers, analysts, and users.
The truth) By structuring development so that all developers get some exposure to each part of the development process, skills may be shared and greater insight may be gained. If developers are encouraged to actually use the software then they can use that expertise to think of improvements that otherwise would not come to light.
Myth 3) A happy team is a productive team.
The truth) A team of people with a wide variety of natural skills, experience and concern, that criticises each other and argues vehemently over the smallest details, will bring up and resolve issues that otherwise would never be tackled. A furnace of relentless argument is the best way to forge understanding and reach perfection.
Myth 4) It’s important we understand our direction and don’t compromise with it.
The truth) Life is compromise, and compromise is not a weakness. There will always be issues (such as efficiency, budget, ease-of-use, power, scope, and the need for easy internationalisation) that cannot be simultaneously met without such compromise.
Myth 5) We know what the client wants, we know what the issues are.
The truth) Without constant re-evaluation, it is easy to lose track of the objective. Developers are often faced with problems to solve that they consider the issues, when those are in fact separated from the actual market goals and can become totally irrelevant. Developers must always understand the market goals and be able to adapt when other things change, or even the goals themselves change.
Myth 6) Bigger is better. Features are cool.
The truth) Features can easily confuse users, and their actual value should always be considered against the cost of confusion. In some cases it is sensible to actually remove working features due to such concerns.
Myth 7a) The customer is always right.
The truth) Most customers try hard not to look ignorant in front of software developers, and hence phrase their suggestions in a technical way. The effect is that often suggestions aren’t really appropriate, because they’re not founded on a solid understanding of technical issues.
Myth 7b) The customer is often wrong.
The truth) Although customers needs are often not best met by doing literally what they say, they always know what they want and why they want it – and usually for very good reason. Understand them and adapt what they say, discuss with them, but never ignore them.
Myth 8) Comment your code a lot.
The truth) Good code needs hardly any commenting, because sensible uses of naming and white-space are better alternatives. Comments should only ever explain the non-obvious, or provide standard API documentation.
Myth 9) Such and such is needed, such and such is great.
The truth) A bad workman blames his tools. Whilst some development tools aid development substantially, a good developer can do great results in most things served to them. There are a few exceptions, like Microsoft Access, or assembly language, but generally speaking the difference in quality results is much more due to the skills of the developers than the quality of their tools.
Myth 10) The customer will understand if there’s an efficient and easy-to-use interface.
The truth) The interface doesn’t just need to be easy-to-use, it needs to be navigatable without an overall systems understanding. Screens need to be self-describing.
Managing Director of ocProducts, a company specialising in software (ocPortal) to help people build a website.

Author: Chris Graham
Source: download

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Mar 07

Software Distribution Tool Makes Life Easier

Computers and Technology No Comments »

Joplin, Missouri, June 16, 2002 – Microtek has announced its’ version one EzInstallware software distribution tool for software developers, corporate digital content providers, software developers, and software designers.

Hilton, CEO of Microtek, says, “We did not develop this software distribution tool to try to take over the installation market or put Installshield to shame.

All we did was listen to our customers who were telling us about their wants. So, as a result, we designed, developed, and created EzInstallware, which is able to compete with the most expensive software installation programs on the market, but for only the fraction of the cost.”

What makes EzInstallware different from every any other software distribution tool is it’s ease of use, the intuitive wizard, and most of all the price. The features are amongst the best in the industry.

“Most of our customers don’t have the time to deal with the hassle of overtly complicated, over priced, and less-than-user friendly installation software programs. They want to wrap up their applications with ease, quickness, and to do so with very little thinking.

And, because of this, we have developed a software tool that rivals the best on the market, with nearly all of the same features, but with ease of use”, says Hilton.

As one customer said, “If you want the ability to easily create professional installations within minutes, without thinking too much, and have great customer support, then by all means download the trialware of EzInstallware. It speaks for itself.”

Favored by software programmers, coders, installers, corporate digital content providers, and software vendors it is easy to see why EzInstallware is fast becoming the most popular software installation tool on the market.

To keep the tradition, major features have been added, such as:

- Quick step-by-step guide to move your project elements.

- Instantly support over 20 third party technologies including BDE, DAO, Jet, MDAC, MFC, ODBC, and VB.

- Start your installations with an intuitive interface wizard that includes dependency scannings of files.

- Scan .exe files for any dependencies.

- Create installations that target multiple Operating Systems such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows XP.

- EzInstallware allows end user to remove or reinstall applications.

- EzInstallware allows you to drop your files into your setup and automatically removed from end user’s system once installed.

- Edit remote registries for setups.

- EzInstallware allows end user to customize the uninstallation without a need to write any kind of customized DLL for the uninstallation.

- EzInstallware allow end user to install application(s) without having to have to ask questions.

- EzInstallware allows you to create a fully functional setups from EzInstallwares’ wizard which includes files, registry, and shortcuts.

- EzInstallware can create setups based on a .vbp file.

- EzInstallware allows you to automatically identify any missing file dependencies for your project.

- EzInstallware supports Microsofts’ Visual Studio .NET

“When these features are added, to the already popular program, you can see why EzInstallware is the clear leader in installation management software”, says Hilton Moore.

About Microtek Software

Microtek Software is a leader in the software deployment solutions industry. EzInstallware, the flagship product of Microtek, is used by software developers, corporate digital content, software vendors, and software creators.

Microtek is headquartered in Joplin, Missouri. For more information, visitยยยยยยยยยยยย

http://www.ezinstallware.com

Media Contact: softwaredistributiontool@ezinstallware.com

Phone Media Contact: 417-623-2484

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

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Mar 06

Toshiba Launches New Generation Stratagy Enterprise Server Release 3 Voice Processing Software and New Stratagy ES Model C1 Platform

Computers and Technology No Comments »

NEWS FROM TOSHIBA

TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS DIVISION

For More Information Contact:

Teri Bruno, TBPR

714-536-8407

teribruno@aol.com

JoAnn Moradshahi

Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.

Telecommunication Systems Division

949-583-3714

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toshiba Launches New Generation

Stratagy Enterprise Server Release 3 Voice Processing Software

and New Stratagy ES Model C1 Platform

Complete Integration With Toshiba’s New Strataยฎ CTX Line of Digital Business Telephone Systems for Enhanced Performance and Flexibility

IRVINE, Calif., February 5, 2002 โ€” Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (Toshiba TSD) today announced the launch of two new voice processing solutions, Stratagy Enterprise Service (ES) Release 3 software and Toshiba’s most cost-effective Stratagy ES Model, the C1 Platform with Release 3 software. Both feature proprietary integration with Toshiba’s new Strata CTXยฎ line of new-generation digital business telephone systems as well as Toshiba 3000-series digital telephones. (See release on Strata CTX product line, also announced today.)

Developed for Toshiba’s popular Stratagy ES Voice Processing System, which accommodates up to 96 ports of voice mail, Stratagy ES Release 3 Software delivers significant enhancements, including call handling, unified messaging, automated speech recognition, and text-to-speech capabilities. Toshiba’s new Stratagy ES Model C1 Platform is a completely new voice processing solution developed specifically to meet the needs of smaller system users requiring up to four ports of voice mail.

โ€œWhether users need a large voice mail system or a small one, Toshiba delivers a comprehensive and flexible system that integrates fully with their Toshiba telephone system,โ€ said Paul L. Wexler, executive vice president of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., in Irvine, Calif. โ€œToshiba users don’t have to sacrifice features or functionality to get the right-sized system. All of our Stratagy ES solutions deliver robust features that take advantage of the latest technology in a user-friendly format.โ€

Proprietary Integration with Toshiba’s New Strata CTX Line of Products

Designed specifically for use with Toshiba’s new Strata CTX digital telephone systems, Stratagy Release 3 Software and Stratagy ES Model C1 Platform provide proprietary integration for comprehensive communication between the systems.

“Our systems are designed with complete compatibility and proprietary integration so everything works well together,” said Michael E. Durance, vice president and general manager of Toshiba Telecommunication Systems Division. โ€œVoice mail is now an integral part of the workplace, and the new Toshiba voice processing solutions give users all the flexibility they need to manage and control their voice messaging, including unified messaging on their desktops and a visual presentation of their Stratagy ES message controls on their Strata CTX telephone’s LCD.โ€

Integration with Toshiba Strata CTX and Digital LCD Telephones

Both Stratagy ES Release 3 and Stratagy ES Model C1 are fully integrated with Toshiba 3000-series and 2000-series LCD digital telephones, allowing feature display on the telephones’ Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and message control using soft keys.

When used with the new Toshiba 3000-series digital telephones, many functions of the Stratagy ES voice mail system can be displayed on the digital telephone’s larger LCD and operated by soft keys, making it easier for users to operate certain features, such as Play, Reply, Pause, and Delete. Voice prompts still play over the handset should the user prefer to use them.

This proprietary integration also enables a โ€œCall Recordโ€ feature that allows the recording of telephone conversations directly into a Stratagy ES voice mailbox. This feature is useful for recording important conversations, such as tech support, customer service, and other technical calls.

Features also enabled with the system integration include โ€œDirect Transfer to Voice Mailboxโ€ capability, which allows calls to be transferred directly to a user’s voice mailbox without waiting for the call to forward from the called party’s telephone. This is particularly useful for transferring calls to voice mail boxes of employees who are not in the office, helping to prevent callers being bounced around before getting to the right voice mail box.

The new Strata CTX โ€œVoice Mail Conferencingโ€ feature provides the ability of conference members to be able to record conference calls into Stratagy ES mailboxes. This feature enables the conference members to refer back to the saved conference call and play, fast forward or rewind to review important parts of the call. This feature also enables playback of voice messages to conference members, a useful feature when the conference relates to a customer support or technical issue.

Stratagy ES Release 3 Enhancements Improve User Experience

Release 3 software brings to Stratagy ES significant new enhancements for improved productivity and control of the voice processing system, including:

ยง
Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) Automated Attendant โ€” New administration functions include the ability to create and manage synonyms for a user’s name, such as โ€œJonโ€ for โ€œJonathan.โ€ There are also new options for assignment of a mailbox’s ASR automated attendant privileges, including auto attendant transfer, user log-in and direct messaging.

ยง
Text-to-Speech Enhancements โ€” With Release 3, Stratagy ES unified messaging users can now forward and reply to email messages that have been read to them via text to speech. This feature greatly speeds up the process of replying to or forwarding messages.

Stratagy ES 3 Upgradability

All previously installed Stratagy ES systems may be upgraded to Release 3 software by an Authorized Toshiba Dealer.

โ€œThis is great news for existing Strata DK and Stratagy ES customers who want to improve their voice messaging productivity by using our simple upgrade path,โ€ said Durance.

New Stratagy ES Platform Model C1 for up to Four Ports

Toshiba also announced the new Stratagy ES Model C1 platform today. Toshiba’s most cost-effective Stratagy ES model, the C1 platform is a smaller voice processing platform designed to meet the needs of customers requiring up to four ports of voice mail with a fully featured voice processing solution and the benefits of Strata CTX integration.

The new Stratagy ES Model C1 is offered with Toshiba’s new Strata CTX in three hardware and two software configurations, offering a choice that meets smaller customer requirements.

Pricing & Availability

Stratagy ES Release 3 software is now available from Authorized Toshiba Dealers. Also, available now, the Stratagy ES Model C1 is priced under $3000, excluding installation. To find an Authorized Toshiba Dealer in your area, visit the Toshiba website at www.telecom.toshiba.com.

About Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (TAIS) is comprised of multiple divisions that provide computer, communications and imaging products and services. Products include industry leading portable computers, PDAs, mobile computing accessories, communications and portable servers, storage subsystems,

cable modems, digital business telephone systems, voice-mail, digital cameras, security systems, and projectors. TAIS provides sales, marketing, services and manufacturing for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, which is a world leader in high technology and integrated manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems. Toshiba has global sales of over $50 billion and more than 300 subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.

About Toshiba Telecommunication Systems Division

The Toshiba Telecommunication Systems Division markets the Strata CTX and Strata DK families of digital business telephone systems, Strata CS Communication Server, Stratagy voice processing systems, and Interactive Voice Response. For additional product information, contact Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division, 9740 Irvine Blvd., P.O. Box 19724, Irvine, CA 92618-1697, or visit the website at www.telecom.toshiba.com.

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

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Mar 05

Guitar Lesson Software Buying Guides

Arts & Entertainment No Comments »

Guitar lesson software or learning how to play guitar from computer software is getting more and more popular today. The software’s are widely available from the music or book store in VCD or DVD format. Besides, you also can buy it from the internet as there are tons of guitar lesson software products available from various websites for you to choose.

I personally like to purchase the guitar lesson software from the internet simply because I can test and try the product to ensure that it’s worth the money I’m paying for and the quality is up to my expectation. Searching and shopping for the guitar lesson software from the internet is not an easy task. There are too many products currently being sold in various websites. If you did not equip yourself with buying guides you’ll be lost in the “jungles” of information in the world wide web.

With this in mind, I have compile 6 simple guitar lesson software buying guides for you to use. These simple guides will help you to find the high quality software with excellence customer service at reasonable price.

(1) Professional website and reputable coach
First of all, look at the website and see if it is look neat and clean like it was designed by professional web designer. Also, see if the website contains the picture of the guitar coach or guitar guru. Browse through the page to see if the guitar lesson software is recommended by others in the same industry. All these are very important to ensure that the guitar lesson software that you going to buy is developed by professional and reputable guitar coach.

(2) Excellence Customer Experience
How to verify of if the owner of the product is providing you with the excellence customer experience when shopping in the internet? What you can do is to send an email to the owner (or customer service representative) of the guitar lesson software product and see how long it takes to reply your email. The rule is, stay away from any website that take more than 24 hours to reply to your email. The professional and reputable website usually provide the visitors with the FAQ (frequent ask questions) and the online help desk that you can submit the ticket for any inquiry in addition to the email contact.

(3) 100% Money Back Guarantee, No Question Ask!
Look for the guitar lesson software that is offering 100% money back guarantee with no question ask. No question asks mean, they will refund you right after they received your request (normally by sending them an email). If this is not enough, check if the website is registered with FAT (Fair Trade Authority). FAT members will be provided with the electronic FAT logo that will be placed in the website.

(6) Exclusive free gifts or bonuses
There are huge differences between bonuses and EXCLUSIVE bonuses. Exclusive bonus is the bonus that exclusively designed and developed by the owner of the guitar lesson software and offer exclusively ONLY on his or her website. If you have seen it somewhere else, it’s not exclusive bonus but bogus.

(5) Reasonable Price Tag
How much should I pay? What is the reasonable priced tag? From our analysis and extensive study done, the price tag for the high quality guitar lesson software is between USD30 to USD50 for an instant download version. Instant download version is the version that you could instantly download the whole package from the internet. Some product is offering both instant download and CD or DVD version. If you want to get the CD or DVD version ship to your house, be prepared to pay between USD250 to USD350.

(6) Jam track (Optional)
This is optional. But if the online guitar lesson video website is offering jam track feature at no extra cost, you might want to consider this. What is “Jam Track”? Jam Track is the recorded music track of the other instrument such as drum and bass guitar that cover a wide range of musical styles such as rock, jazz, country, blues and dance. Having jam track is like having your own band. You can practice and jam with your band at home.

When it comes to buying or choosing the guitar lesson software, you must remember that each website or product will provide you with various features and goodies. For this reason, it is recommended that you to investigate those websites by using guideline above so that you’ll get the guitar lesson software that is high in quality with reasonable and affordable price. But, if that’s too time consuming for you, just visit our website Ultimate Guitar Review. We’ve done the entire verification base on the guidelines above plus some other test for you and short listed only the guitar lesson software’s that meet our strict passing point for your consideration.

Author: Stephen Kim
Source: articledashboard.com

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Mar 04

Web-based Catering Software Is Great For Caterers and Clients Alike

Food & Beverage No Comments »

Virtually all successful caterers nowadays owe a good portion of their success to the websites they’ve built in order to attract new clients and retain their most loyal customers. The internet is undoubtedly a great way to gain new business, but is it possible to make your blossoming business even more efficient than it already is? Of course it is, so long as you get web-based catering software. Catering software is designed with programs to make a caterer’s multitude of jobs easier to accomplish. Programs that are included in catering software will often include menu creation, sales management, inventory control, employee staffing, event planning, room design, and even automated shopping lists. With these programs and more, your customer satisfaction ratings could rise higher than ever before, especially if you get web-based catering software.Web-based software is great for your customers because it allows them to be both interactive and proactive with your business and their upcoming events. First of all, web-based catering software can give your potential clients something more to look at than pretty pictures of food and your past events. They can search event themes using web-based catering software through your website. They can explore the variety of dishes you could prepare and how they will relate to the event they are envisioning. Let’s say, for instance, that a potential client is a young bride-to-be who imagines a reception theme relating to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and the famous Copacabana Palace Hotel. With catering software, she can easily view all of your best Brazilian dishes, as well as the design elements you would use to decorate the reception hall. And this would all be available for her to view from the comfort of her home.The master menu proposal is perhaps the most important aspect of any catered event. Although the theme of the event, the design of the room, and the overall organization of the event are critical considerations, nothing is more responsible for the success of the evening than the food. Preparing a master menu proposal for your client can be a long and tricky process. Many details go into the plans for the food, including the event theme, the area in which you live, the preferences of the client, and any potential food allergies your customer may possess. All of these factors can make planning the master menu proposal a difficult and time-consuming process. But that time can be substantially shortened using catering software. Your client can view the master menu you’ve created in a short amount of time, and once they have accepted or rejected certain aspects of the proposal, you can quickly adjust the proposal accordingly.If you don’t have a website up-and-running for your catering company, you still have options for catering software. There are non-web-based programs that you can use to maximize your company from your business location, so the computers there will be enabled with catering software; it simply won’t be available online for your clients. Some caterers prefer this type of software because it can potentially draw curious prospects into your place of business so you can have a chance to create a personal sales relationship. Either way you go, catering software can provide major advantages to any determined catering company.

Author: Gen Wright
Source: articlesbase.com

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Mar 03

Customer Finance Programs Key to Increasing Sales

Business No Comments »

While studies appearance that technology spending is already afresh on the rise, there’s a acumen you haven’t heard a aggregate blow of abatement from the software industry. While abounding budgets are already afresh acceptance for the acquirement of action software, accouterments and peripherals, there’s no catechism that today’s purchasers are smarter, savvier and added careful than ever.
Even admitting the purse strings accept loosened, antagonism is at an best high. It’s no best abundant to accommodate a software band-aid that meets the abeyant customer’s needs, or even to accommodate it at the best price. Today, acute vendors are consistently analytic for agency to break one footfall advanced of the competition.
While accretion sales is consistently allotment of a aggressive business strategy, software development companies generally discount a simple adjustment of accomplishing this cold – authoritative it easier for barter to buy.
One advantage accretion in acceptance a allotment of software vendors is to authorize a customized accounts affairs that provides no-hassle costs solutions for your -to-be clients. In accession to “one-stop shopping,” your barter can access the added allowances of costs that accomplish it easier for them to accomplish to technology purchases, including:
100 percent costs — Abounding accounts companies action 100 percent costs for the amount of software and aliment contracts, which requires no down payment. Because barter don’t accept to appear up with a down payment, they can accomplish a acquirement immediately, rather than authority up the auction with a “wait and see” mentality that generally accompanies a dip into banknote reserves. It aswell allows your barter to advance added basic in revenue-generating activities.
Improved banknote breeze administration – With software financing, your barter can conserve basic for reinvesting in their business and advance allotment accurateness through anchored annual payments. Costs aswell makes it simple for barter to admission multiple-year budgets by paying for the annual of your software over its advantageous life.
Flexible transaction structures – Barter can optimize activity budgets by demography advantage of the adjustable transaction structures accessible through costs to aerate the acknowledgment on their investment. For example, with software financing, barter can access up payments to bout the acquirement bearing of a new technology activity that is utilizing the software getting financed.
While costs provides a bright advantage for the buyer, if a affairs is able-bodied planned, the annual of advantages for software developers, distributors and resellers can be even added beneficial.
Improved Chump Relations
As acclaimed above, costs bales add amount for the chump by acceptable their affairs power, alms greater adaptability and accouterment convenience. It aswell increases their achievement through the adeptness to advantage their annual to access the absolute technology band-aid – which could cover software, hardware, service, support, affiliation and training – rather than alone the locations and pieces they could allow through an absolute purchase.
Shorter Sales Cycles
On the sales side, any chump who expresses some absorption in a artefact seems like a acceptable lead. However, there are abounding times if the catechism of how to pay for the new software prevents the auction from happening. Time absent on blocked deals can be alone if costs is allotment of the sale, as the adeptness to pay is anon advised in the equation. In addition, abounding accounts companies now action fast, simple acclaim and affidavit processes, so you can complete a auction bound and abstain cher processing delays.
Another annual is that as software needs are getting discussed in the sales process, the accounts specialist can plan with the arch banking administrator or accountant to actuate which costs advantage and transaction plan best apparel business needs and banknote flow.
Direct chump costs can aswell save software vendors millions of dollars anniversary year by abbreviation the amount of canicule a auction is outstanding. Consider a aggregation with annual banknote sales of $50 million. On average, it can yield 45 canicule to aggregate payment. Assuming a borrowing amount of 6 percent, the 45-day lag in transaction after-effects in a accustomed amount of $371,204. If the aforementioned numbers are run with a leasing accounts affairs that generates transaction aural 2 days, the accustomed amount drops $82,253, extenuative the aggregation added than $288,951 in one business quarter.
The Big Picture
Overall, accessories costs programs can:
Generate larger, added assisting sales faster;

Increase annual control;

Advance sales adeptness and productivity;

Lower days-sales-outstanding;

Advance banknote flow;

Differentiate your aggregation from its competition; and

Accommodate complete solutions for your customers.
Taking the Next Step
After anecdotic an absorption in alms adjustable costs as allotment of the sales process, the next footfall is to advance a accounts program. By partnering with an accomplished leasing aggregation to advance a accounts affairs for your customers, you can alteration all of the uncertainties of extending agreement to your chump to the accounts company.
Partnering with an accomplished accounts aggregation aswell agency you can apply on what your aggregation does best – developing software – while absolution a accounts able handle the intricacies of a accounts program. Put simply, by alive with a third party, your aggregation will accept all of the allowances with none of the risk.
Whether you accept to accredit your audience anon to your costs affairs accomplice or to plan with a third-party accounts accomplice to advance an centralized program, it is basic to accept an accomplished accessories accounts partner. During the sales process, the accounts able will be alive carefully with your customers, and it’s important that his or her accomplishments and annual levels reflect your company’s adeptness to accommodated your customers’ expectations. If analytic for a accounts partner, attending for a aggregation that:
Is adjustable and accommodating to plan with your administration aggregation to advance a affairs that will accommodated your banking objectives;
Is accomplished in the IT and software accounts world, back the sales process, client-decision criteria, and acquirement acceptance issues are altered than that of basic asset sellers;
Provides business abutment and abstracts to advice you advance your costs program
Is accommodating and able to accommodate your sales aggregation with abstracts and training to ensure sales aggregation associates are adequate and calmly able to accession costs as an advantage with their clients; and
Is a financially stable, abiding business partner.
Companies in seek of a leasing accomplice can appointment Accept Leasing (www.ChooseLeasing.org), a Web website developed by the Accessories Leasing Association, area you can acquisition answers to frequently asked questions about leasing and seek for an accomplished leasing aggregation specializing in bell-ringer accounts programs.
RJ Grimshaw is administrator of sales, carnality admiral of Key Accessories Finance’s Information Technology Group. Key Accessories Accounts (www.KEFonline.com) is one of the nation’s better bank-affiliated accessories leasing companies. Grimshaw has added than 10 years of leasing industry experience. He can be accomplished for questions at 713.354.4545.
RJ Grimshaw is administrator of sales, carnality admiral of Key Accessories Finance’s Information Technology Group. Key Accessories Accounts (http://www.KEFonline.com) is one of the nation’s better bank-affiliated accessories leasing companies. Grimshaw has added than 10 years of leasing industry experience. He can be accomplished for questions at 713.354.4545.

Author: RJ Grimshaw
Source: articleage.com

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Mar 02

Pros and Cons of DVD Database Software

Computers and Technology No Comments »

If you’ve been looking at DVD database software, you’re not alone. But as with so many purchases, it can be difficult to make up your mind when you’re poring over web pages of advice and possibilities. Sometimes, it just helps to know what the pluses and minuses are for your potential new software package. And to help you, here are the pros and the cons of DVD database software. Let them guide you as you shop for your media organization tool.

The Advantages of Software

Just as with nearly any software option, the DVD database software can truly help you do the work you need to do without the effort. All you need to do is to install or to upload the program, pay a single fee, and then you will let the program work its magic. The process takes only minutes and it can certainly clean up your duplicate files, organize your titles, and help you manage your media collection online or in your home. You will also find that there are many DVD database program options which can be custom tailored to your specific needs or they can be upgraded as your media collection grows or changes. For most people, even though without computer skills, this software is simple to use with a friendly interface so there’s no need to spend hours learning to use the software before you use the software.

Any Downsides to Using DVD Database Software?

Of course, if you don’t have a computer with enough available memory, you might have troubles using DVD database software. For those computers with smaller hard drives, the software can make other programs run more slowly, though only if you have a larger media collection to input into the chart. You might also find that some lesser known software programs might be advertised online as legitimate, but they might not work well or they might contain viruses and tracking cookies which can slow your computer experience as well. As a result, it’s always good advice to research your software choices before you choose to give that company your credit card number. Finally, some DVD database software programs can be labor intensive, though only at first.

The Verdict is In

In the end, it seems that a DVD database software program is not a bad idea for those who want to organize their media online. While it might not do all of the work for you, this program can certainly allow you to manage your library without having to break a sweat in the process. In addition, since the programs are widely available, it becomes easier and easier to find what you need at the level you need. After all, not everyone has to manage thousands of songs like a DJ might.

If you’re looking to gain control of your media, then DVD software can be helpful for you. Just take some time to think about what you need before you buy and you’ll have the right program for the right tasks.

Author: Maxim Smirnov
Source: ezinearticles.com

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Mar 01

Atlassian introduces JIRA 2.6 – customer driven features and improvements.

Computers and Technology No Comments »

Sydney, Australia – Mar. 3, 2004 – Atlassian Software Systems, the small and innovative Australian software company providing enterprise software to the world’s leading organizations, today released JIRA 2.6, the latest version of its flagship web-based, issue tracking and project management application.

Less than three months after the release of JIRA 2.5, Atlassian continues the tradition of frequent, customer driven and worthwhile upgrades with the release of JIRA 2.6 in both Professional and Enterprise editions. JIRA 2.6 creates an even more customisable, interoperable and powerful bug-tracking and issue management application. The browser based application has over 70 new features and improvements to again raise the bar in the bug-tracking and issue management niche. With more advanced source control integration, stronger email integration, Confluence integration and the ability to import issues from the open-source bug tracker Mantis, JIRA 2.6 is another major step forward in usability and functionality.

JIRA continues to help organisations to take the philosophy of project management deeper into the organization with an accessible platform that is highly usable by both technical and business users alike. In fact JIRA’s web based, internationalised interface allows for near universal accessibility.

Scott Farquhar, Atlassian Director said, “We continue to focus on making releases focused on user feedback and user demand. One key priority for us is providing legendary service to our customers, and out of this comes an ongoing dialog with our community about changes and enhancements they want to see in the product. With JIRA 2.6, each of the 70 odd new features or improvements has stemmed from a customers’ suggestion demonstrating that we continue to meet users evolving needs. I believe this is why JIRA is today used by project managers, developers, managers, testers and other staff across hundreds of organisations in over 30 countries.”

New features summary:

* Source Control Integration – direct to a CVS repository

* Quick Search – with more powerful searching, you can find issues even faster

* Streamlined Search Results – navigate and explore search results with ease

* XML-RPC/SOAP interface to JIRA – JIRA gets an external programmatic API

* Screenshots and Thumbnails – easily attach screenshots to issues

* Confluence Integration – JIRA now supports integration with Confluence

(http://www.atlassian.com/confluence/)

* Email Integration – add attachments automatically, threading support, and more!

* Internationalisation – translating is easier and non-English support grows stronger

* Bulk Edit – delete many issues at once

* Import More – import with ease from other issue trackers like Mantis or Bugzilla

Find our more about JIRA 2.6 now at Atlassian’s web site:

http://www.atlassian.com/c/PR-J/10171

Availability and Pricing

JIRA 2.6 is available now via Atlassian’s web site. JIRA’s fair and upfront per-server licensing policy includes unlimited projects, users and issues plus free upgrades and support for 12 months. JIRA is a J2EE application which runs on any platform. JIRA currently averages six releases annually.

About Atlassian

Atlassian is a small and innovative Australian software company providing enterprise software solutions to the world’s leading organizations. Our mission is to build a different kind of software company – one that listens to client needs, values innovation in development and solves customer problems with brilliant simplicity. Atlassian’s commitment to legendary service provides consistent, high quality support for all our customers.

Today, JIRA is used by project managers, developers, managers, testers and other staff across hundreds of organisations in over 30 countries. Customers include departments from NASA, CERN, Boeing, Cisco, Stanford University, 3M, BP, Sony, Caterpillar, Pfizer, Vodafone, World Bank, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and countless others. Adam Foxson of CPAN says of JIRA, “Thank you for putting out such mind-blowing software. Rarely do I give praise of this magnitude. You are a model of what all software should be.

Thank you for making available the absolute best tool of its class.”

This success is in part due to JIRA’s world leading price/performance benchmark in the issue tracking and project management application niche.

For further details or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Scott Farquhar

Director

ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD

Ph: (61 2) 9261 0904

Mob: (61) (0) 414 884 583

E: scott@atlassian.com

http://www.atlassian.com/c/PR-J/10171

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

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Feb 27

Pilot Implementation of the Amae Software Customer Integration (CI) Suite at Leading Credit Card Company Receives 84% Customer Participation

Computers and Technology No Comments »

Pilot Implementation of the Amaeโ„ข Software Customer Integration (CI) Suiteโ„ข at Leading Credit Card
Company Receives 84% Customer Participation

Amae Software CI Suite Enhances Contact Center, Delivers Customer Research, and Posts Customer Satisfaction Metrics

Mountain View, Ca. June 20, 2003 Amae Software’s pilot implementation at one of the largest providers of MasterCard and Visa credit cards in the world supporting 46.4 million accounts is receiving customer participation rates of 84% from customers forwarded to the system. The Amae CI Suite incorporates customer feedback collected from post-call surveys into the organization’s business processes and performance metrics.

Dr. Jon Anton of Benchmark Portal strongly believes that incorporating contextual and timely customer feedback into business processes is a vital key to understanding and improving quality of service, agent training, and overall customer satisfaction. โ€œThe Amae CI Suite automates a critical business process and provides the necessary feedback loop for organizations to improve processes and service.โ€

The Amae CI Suite offers all the features needed to improve the quality of customer interaction while lowering support costs. By collecting customer perspectives and integrating them automatically with relevant data, the application delivers an advanced level of customer analysis and reports to all levels of an organization. The CI Suite’s modular architecture utilizes existing IT infrastructure and is installed with minimal hardware requirements creating little or no change to business processes.

Maggie Klenke, founding partner of The Call Center School, comments, โ€œThe ability to understand the quality of service, from a customer’s perspective, in addition to traditionally accepted productivity metrics, is a requirement for contact center improvement. It not only allows immediate understanding of how well agent training, processes, and systems are functioning โ€” it also provides critical information that is needed to improve product development, marketing, and sales.”

โ€œThis is in line with our research and expectations and we now have customers in a variety of industries โ€” financial, telecommunications, and consumer – who have started pilot projects using the Amae CI Suite,โ€ noted Amae Software CEO Vance Christensen. โ€The results show that most customers are happy to participate and feel a sense of โ€˜involvement’ if given the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback regarding products and services in a manner that is timely and simple. The process builds strong customer loyalty and satisfaction.โ€

Please contact Amae Software for a complete demonstration of the CI Suite.

About Amae Software

Founded in 2001, Amae Software provides the Amaeโ„ข Customer Integration Suiteโ„ข for companies committed to: collecting critical information from customers while lowering costs and increasing productivity in the contact center; automating product/marketing/sales research; and improving overall customer satisfaction and loyalty. The company mission is to significantly reduce operational expenses and increase productivity by automating the collection of customer feedback and integrating it into existing business processes.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Amae Software is a privately held company. For more information, please visit www.amaesoftware.com, send e-mail to info@amaesoftware.com, or call 650-965-0820.

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

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