The body that is responsible for coming up with the PCI standards and also providing materials that are required to support and also enhance the security of the credit card payments is the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). This organization has created the security standards that surround credit card payments. Pay pal and World pay are among the payment systems that have greatly benefited from the credit card security standards that have been put in place.

The PCI DSS standard is a security system that has gained general acceptance worldwide. PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. The main aim of these standards is to assist organizations to process credit card payments with the aim of preventing fraud and hacking, which are a few of the security vulnerabilities that are experienced today. This implies that all organizations that transmit and process credit card payments must comply with these standards.

The requirements needed to comply with the standards

They are basically twelve requirements that are needed for organizations to comply with the PCI standard. These requirements provide specifications that issue a framework that provides a platform whereby secure payments can be done. The importance can be broken down in to the following three steps:

1. Assess

To start with, being able to identify all risks may pose a serious threat to the card holder’s data that is being processed, transmitted and also stored by the business. The route in which information flows from the start to the end is also very important.

2. Remediate

This specific stage focuses on providing a fix for vulnerabilities that include using software tools to scan the network with the aim of identifying any vulnerability in the system. The vulnerability is then ranked with the aim of providing a specific measure to the extent of the risk that is involved. The ranking is done from the most vulnerable to the least vulnerable. Workarounds or fixes are then selected in a bid to provide a solution for all the vulnerabilities that have been spotted.

3. Report

Reports will be conducted on a regularly basis so as to maintain PCI compliance. This is achieved by providing quarterly submissions of scanned reports that are completed by the PCI SSC.

The choice of taking on a self-assessment questionnaire can be completed by the merchants in the situation where the PCI DSS assessment is not required.

Why comply with the standards?

Those who are new to online trading will find out the PCI standards are vital for many reasons. By being compliant to the required security standard, you can be sure that your clients can make online payments very securely. In this day age, the internet is filled with scammers and fraudsters who aim at stealing from innocent victims. Most customers are very wary of this and thus would opt to deal with sites that have complied to the required security standards.

By making your website secure from future attacks, you will have prevented breach that is caused by theft of client information that could consequently have a negative impact on the organization. Having a corporate security payment system in place is a major plus for your organization. For instant, Pay pal is used widely for money transfers and purchasing of goods and services online.

Who should organizations meet the PCI standard requirements?

The PCI standards are applicable to virtually all organizations that store, transmit and process card holder data. These standards are also applicable to the general environment, which may include third parties that may also store, transmit and process card holder’s data. The third party vendors are many and include web hosters, software developers and EPOS vendors among others.

Other areas are being critically considered with the aim of ensuring safety when utilizing the client’s card information. Examples are technological advances that are being done on the ATM software.

Credit card issuers have gone through many losses that have been caused by credit card fraud and this has made them take steps with the aim of preventing such security vulnerabilities. Some of these steps that have been taken include: coordinating with merchants in a bid to establish and enforce fresh credit card number protection methods.

Procedure of sale authorization

There are mainly two processes that are used to authorize sales. These are:
• Utilizing a credit card terminal that is situated next to the cash register.
• Through the internet

Some of the merchants make use of the dial- up terminals while others prefer using the high-speed kind of internet connection. Irrespective of the specific approach that is utilized, the card issuers are usually concerned about the security of the data being transmitted securely. Situations have surfaced where credit card number theft is imminent. Hackers keep tapping in to internet connections and also phone lines each day. Therefore, all banks and credit card processing firms strive to ensure that they are PCI compliant.

The credit card companies and also banks are charged an annual PCI compliant fee. World Pay, Pay Pal and other online payment systems ensure that they comply with the required security standards.

Things have continued to heat up in the database competition that has raged in recent years starring Salesforce.com vs Oracle. Software giant Oracle has drastically changed its tune regarding cloud-based services with its recent announcement of the Oracle Public Cloud. By finally embracing cloud-based technology, Oracle is set to squarely face off with salesforce.com, a company which has openly embraced cloud-based technology for years.

In an announcement made at Oracle’s OpenWorld conference, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison made a formal announcement about the company’s new cloud services. Previously, Oracle remained stoically against offering any form of cloud-based services for their customers. The company formerly took a firm stance of keeping Oracle products located at customer sites and did not offer any options for companies that wished to have their data hosted in the cloud.

Oracle’s new Public Cloud will offer a wide variety of services and options that are not available from other software vendors, including salesforce.com. One of the biggest advantages that the new cloud-based services have over competitors is Oracle’s support of open Java and SQL standards. With other companies, their applications are highly proprietary and cannot be used on other platforms. Oracle has taken a radically different direction by basing their services on open standards that can be transported to other platforms and providers.

Providers such as salesforce.com support only proprietary platforms, but the new Oracle Public Cloud will support a wide variety of industry standards including Java, SQL, XML and BPOL. While this may seem to be a risky move for the company, it grants their clients greater ownership over their data and prevents a business from being forced to use a specific platform due to compatibility issues.

Oracle will be offering a broad range of applications and services that provide a comprehensive data infrastructure that can be completely cloud-based. The offerings from Public Cloud are grouped as Application and Platform Services.

Oracle Platform Services
The platform services offered by Public Cloud include Java and database instances. The database platform has a focus on the traditional Oracle database, while the Java portion focuses solely on Java services.

Oracle Java Cloud
The Oracle Java Cloud service will allow businesses to create new cloud instances in minutes, with a platform based on the enterprise-grade WebLogic Server. Additionally, users of the service will be able to choose between deploying applications in the cloud or onsite, and they will have the ability to move applications seamlessly between the two environments. A major selling point of the Java Cloud service is how it embraces open development. Developers can create new applications using Java EE standards and Oracle ADF. Java Cloud also supports server clustering and 3rd party frameworks such as Hibernate, Spring and EclipseLink. Oracle will offer powerful management tools for its Java Cloud users as well. They will get access to the Enterprise Manager console, which grants finely tuned control over WebLogic Servers. Monitoring for systems will be done through REST and will use RESTful clients to monitor all services.

Oracle Database Cloud Service
With the Oracle Database Cloud Service, Oracle offers a comprehensive suite that addresses all aspects of database utility. It includes Oracle Database 11g Release 2, multiple access methods, powerful development tools and productivity applications. These features combine to make Oracle Database Cloud Service the most comprehensive and business friendly option available for hosted databases.

For the core database, clients get access to the powerful Oracle Database 11g Release 2. This version of the Oracle database includes support for SQL, PL/SQL and a variety of other features. It is a high availability service and Oracle offers redundant servers, storage and access.

Data stored on the Oracle database can be accessed using SQL and PL/SQL. The database can be either hosted in the cloud or onsite. Users can access the database directly from the cloud or through data loading. This grants a new level of customization to the database configuration. With these options, companies can access their data the way that they want to, without administrative headaches and shortcomings.

The Oracle Database Cloud Service also includes an array of powerful development tools. Databases can be created with APEX and applications can be developed and deployed rapidly with these unique tools. Additionally, Oracle also offers REST monitoring services and use of RESTful clients for service monitoring.

Application Services
The main components of the new Oracle Application Services are the Fusion CRM, Fusion HCM and Social Network applications. The Fusion CRM provides a new twist on traditional CRM functionality, while Fusion HCM provides a comprehensive HR management tool and Social Network seeks to improve collaboration between employees.

Oracle Fusion CRM
Fusion CRM is set to solidly intensify the competition of salesforce.com vs Oracle. Fusion takes direct aim at salesforce.com’s flagship database product and improves upon it greatly.

Fusion CRM appears to offer most of the same functionality as other major CRM platforms. It provides a way for companies to track, organize and analyze key data. However, Fusion CRM goes even farther than most typical CRM offerings. Fusion offers ways for companies to plan, prospect, collaborate and close smarter.

By using Fusion CRM, Oracle clients can dynamically create the most efficient and precise sales territories, design superior compensation and quota plans and create highly accurate forecasts. The technology behind the Fusion CRM allows it to assign different weights to sales leads and dynamically assign leads to different sales representatives based upon territories and custom rules that are fully customizable. In turn, sales representatives can even be supplied with customized sales campaigns by Fusion.

The way that Fusion CRM can customize and manage sales territories is remarkable as well. Instead of relying on managers to guesstimate territories and then hard code them into the CRM, Fusion does the legwork by utilizing ground-breaking analytics and fully customizable criteria. Territories can be assigned in a manner that will automatically assign sales opportunities to the right rep for the job based upon these factors. When looking to restructure territories, Fusion CRM takes all of the guesswork out of the process. It can forecast how clients, accounts, leads and future opportunities would be reassigned before any permanent changes are put in place.

Sales forecasts are often a point of contention for sales leaders, and Fusion CRM tackles this challenge as well. With the unique ability to use real-time analytics for the most accurate forecasts, it is possible to dynamically update and revise forecasts to be more in line with the reality that sales leaders are facing every day. With accurate forecasts available, sales leaders are able to spend less time endlessly exchanging emails and becoming frustrated due to inaccurate or impossible forecasts.

Along with the powerful forecast tools, Fusion CRM also offers the best reporting and analytics infrastructure available. The reporting tools in Fusion are extremely powerful and completely customizable. With advanced reporting tools, clients can pull the data they seek and represent it in ways that truly make sense to others. Clear and concise reports are the most effective way to present data to management, and Fusion CRM delivers on this front.

Oracle Fusion HCM
Fusion HCM seeks to bring a strong HR suite to the offerings available for cloud-based services. The Fusion HCM will encompass everything from organization management to benefits administration. The HCM application covers pretty much every HR aspect imaginable. It offers support and data analytics for hiring, budgeting, employee benefits administration, payroll and absence management. As a cloud-based service, it provides easy access for HR employees to critical data. While all data connections are secure, HR employees can use Fusion HCM from virtually anywhere. With its powerful analytical tools, Fusion can organize and present valuable data in methods that are understandable and actionable.

Oracle Social Network
The Oracle Social Network application aims to address the common shortcomings regarding workplace collaboration. It uses a wide variety of innovative tools to create a real-time collaborative environment to boost productivity across the entire organization. It has support for multimedia items amongst users and allows them to securely share videos, voice, text and content regardless of physical location. Oracle Social Network is fully integrated into other Oracle applications, including Fusion CRM and HCM. The real-time tools included in the application include real-time shared markup, chat, application and web conference sharing and full content searches. Users can manipulate their individual stream of messages by flagging critical information, utilizing extensive filtering capabilities and creating a live digest, which gives a snapshot of their unread activity stream.

The new cloud-based offerings by Oracle are comprehensive and provide a much more cohesive experience for companies wishing to take key applications to the cloud. While Oracle is a relatively late adapter of cloud-based services, their new platform appears extremely solid and offers functionality and control that is not currently matched by other cloud-based providers. With comprehensive tools that can be cloud-based or located onsite and the ability for customers to retain control over their data, the new suite of tools from Oracle looks to be a major contender in the world of cloud-based applications and databases. Oracle Public Cloud appears to be doing many things right that their leading competitors do wrong.

The Salesforce.com Winter ’12 release promises to bring many exciting new changes, upgrades and updates. Nearly every aspect of the wildly popular cloud-computing platform is changed or updated in some way. That being said, users will not be overwhelmed by the changes. They are just subtle enough to bring much-needed improvements without drastically changing the overall design and flow of the platform. According to the official release page, there are more than 150 new features. To get a better idea about what to expect, an overview of the most important updates, changes and new features is provided below.

Dashboard Filters

The Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com now features dashboard filters. This feature allows you to add easy-to-change filters to the dashboard. When a change is made, it is applied to every single dashboard component.

Data.com

In the latest version of Salesforce.com, Jigsaw becomes Data.com. More has changed than just the name, though. One of the most notable and exciting changes concerns Dun & Bradstreet information, which is now contained within Data.com. Thanks to that addition, Data.com offers superior account information and contact data, which makes it a more robust feature all around. The new version also works to keep track of company and contacts’ social accounts, which will enhance the other social media features of Salesforce.com.

Chatter Messages

Chatter messages allow users to send private messages through Chatter. This will come in handy in situations when it’s not appropriate or necessary to initiate contact with the entire company or team at one time. It also allows users to see when another person is logged into Salesforce.com.

Chatter Approvals

In the Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com, it is now possible to manage approvals through a user’s Chatter feed. This should enhance productivity and largely eliminate the need to switch between various screens.

Social Contacts

When viewing a contact’s record, information from their Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook feeds will also appear. This information will only be displayed, of course, when a contact’s usernames for such services are known. Thanks to the upgrade of Data.com, however, it will be easier than ever to keep such information current.

Updated Reports Tab

The Reports tab has been given a major facelift in the latest version of Salesforce.com. For the Winter ’12 release, it puts Dashboards and Reports in a single place, which makes it a lot easier to run them when they are needed. If you have many different dashboards and reports, you will appreciate the addition of an enhanced search function. This function allows you to track down precisely what you need a lot more quickly and efficiently.

Customer Interaction in Private Chatter Groups

It is now possible to invite customers and partners to join you in private Chatter groups through Salesforce.com. These private, secure groups are great places to exchange ideas and to perform a multitude of different tasks. Depending on the situation, such groups could be used to share messages, posts, files and other information. There is a great deal of control involved in inviting customers into these groups, so there is no risk of allowing the wrong people in.

Visualforce Charting

The addition of pre-built components for charts and reports dramatically streamlines and enhances the Visualforce process. They no long have to be built from the ground up, which is sure to save you a lot of time and effort. This update makes sense because many people create large numbers of very similar reports and charts.

Sharing Chatter Files

The Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com allows you to share Chatter files with anyone. They do not have to be on Chatter. This is accomplished through the creation of an encrypted URL. The URL can then be shared via email or instant message. Many people are sure to get a great deal of use out of this new feature.

Upload and Share Files Simultaneously

It’s now possible to kill two birds with one stone when uploading and sharing files. The latest version of Salesforce.com allows you to share and upload files at the same time. When you are ready to upload a file, you can also elect to share it with certain people or groups. There is no longer a need to go back and perform this in two separate steps.

Redesigned Chatter Desktop

The ability to use Chatter through the desktop has proven to be quite popular. The Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com improves upon the last design. The interface has been redesigned to make it easier and more intuitive to use than ever.

Chatter Feed Enhancements

Several exciting updates have been made to the Chatter feed. It is now possible to “like” comments that are made by others. This not only lets the person know that you “like” their comment, but it allows you to receive updates from the thread in question. This update is quite similar to the “like” function that has been available on Facebook for some time.

It is now also possible to share and play YouTube videos on the Chatter feed. Once a video has been posted, it does not automatically play. The user must click on the video to play it. This is an important point because some people may not want videos to start playing at random.

Salesforce Knowledge Articles Enhancements

Enhancements to Salesforce knowledge articles have been made in the Winter ’12 release. The most notable one is that articles can be imported along with 49 different translated versions at one time. It is also possible to save older versions of published articles.

Updated Service Cloud Console

The Service Cloud console has a sleek new look for the Salesforce.com Winter ’12 release. You will notice that a lot of the extra white space has been eliminated.

Security Enhancements

A significant array of security enhancements are debuting with the Winter ’12 release. Updated encrypted custom field permissions are just one example. Just-in-Time provisioning for portals is now also available.

Cloud-Based Flow Designer

This new feature is currently in beta, but it is sure to pique many people’s interest. It allows users to update content and create new flows from within Salesforce.com. You should be on the lookout for additional enhancements to this exciting new feature in future releases of Salesforce.com.

SiteForce

SiteForce is debuting with the Salesforce.com Winter ’12 release. It’s a CMS editor that makes it a lot easier to create pages for sites. It gives you a lot more flexibility when it comes to customization. Many people are anticipating it to be a major improvement over VisualForce.

The changes and updates that are debuting with the Winter ’12 release of Salesforce.com include a little bit of something for everyone. Whether you’d like more options when it comes to communicating with your customers, or if you would like to have greater control of the customization of various pages, you are sure to approve of the latest version of this very popular cloud-computing platform. A wide range of small but important aesthetic changes also make for a more streamlined and intuitive experience. Now more than ever, it is a breeze for newcomers to get up to speed with this platform. The new changes and features are creating plenty of buzz, and they will continue to do so.

Even as a vast array of businesses and organizations are discovering the benefits and advantages of cloud computing, many of them aren’t putting it as fully to use as they could. Despite the breathless reports about companies switching almost entirely over to the cloud, it’s clear that security concerns are holding many businesses back from fully implementing the benefits of cloud computing. In many cases, misconceptions about how security works in cloud computing are causing people to wrongly believe that it isn’t right for government entities and other organizations that deal in highly sensitive and confidential material.

According to the Cloud Computing Tracking Poll, which involved the participation of more than 1,200 IT professionals, 32 percent of companies cited security concerns as the reason for not implementing the use of cloud computing even further. Indeed, respondents generally stated that, while many companies are using cloud computing to some degree, a significant proportion of them haven’t made any sort of dramatic switch. In many cases, a significant portion of a company’s information technology continues to exist and run through physical hardware. The fact that security issues are cited as the main cause of this is interesting because many IT professionals agree that the cloud is exceptionally safe.

One of the biggest advantages of cloud computing from a security standpoint is that it eliminates the need for things like flash drives and DVDs. Those types of things can all too easily end up in the wrong hands. When that happens, sensitive information is a breeze for just about anyone to access. When such information is stored in the cloud, however, there is no chance of dropping a disc or another form of media and inadvertently allowing someone else to access it. Everything is stored virtually, so there’s no physical type of data storage that can be breached.

Naturally, many companies are aware of this benefit. However, they are quick to point out that hackers are becoming more sophisticated in their methodologies than ever. If a hacker breaches a company’s private cloud, for example, he would then have full access to a bevy of highly sensitive data. Many of these fears arise due to the possibility of a hacking collective like Anonymous gaining access to a government agency’s private cloud. If that was to happen, the hard work would be over. Upon leaping that hurdle, hackers would generally have free reign over the agency’s data and information.

Indeed, there are many reports about the misgivings of several top government agencies about the full implementation of cloud computing. One thing that has triggered so much discussion about the topic was the order to put cloud computing “first.” This order was given by the White House back in December 2010. At the time, Vivek Kundra was the White House Chief Information Officer. He is the one who relayed the order to all government agencies. The order did not make cloud computing implementation a requirement, but it did ask all agencies to consider cloud computing over traditional hardware solutions.

Under the terms of the order, all agencies were asked to identify three services that could be switched over to the cloud. The government’s primary motivation for this request was, of course, financial. It is much more economical to manage computer services in the cloud than it is to manage them via traditional hardware. Agencies were given a timeframe of 12 months to identify one service to switch to the cloud. They were then asked to identify another two services within 18 months. Despite the fact that this was a clear order, many agencies have been holding back.

The main reason that so many agencies have been dragging their feet about switching their services to the cloud is security. Just like many businesses, many government agencies have serious reservations about the security of cloud computing. The State Department, the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health have all voiced specific concerns about the security of full cloud computing implementation. Most government agencies do not want to be early adopters of the technology. They want to wait and see whether or not other agencies experience security problems before they go ahead with the switch themselves.

As reluctant as many government agencies have been about switching certain services to the cloud, many have already switched other services there. For example, the State Department has already switched its public website to the cloud. Basically, agencies seem to feel no reluctance about switching non-sensitive or non-confidential information to the cloud, but they are much less trusting when it comes to sensitive or confidential information. That is perfectly natural, of course, but many of those concerns are unfounded. While a successful hacking attempt would be catastrophic, it’s just as risky to keep the data on hardware-based systems too.

One thing that isn’t helping when it comes to perceptions about security and cloud computing is a recent report by the Government Accountability Office. According to that agency, reports of security problems have gone up by an incredible 650 percent in the space of just five years. This shouldn’t keep businesses or government agencies from considering the cloud, however. A hybrid model is one great alternative. Under that scenario, highly sensitive information is kept on a private cloud; non-confidential information is kept on a public cloud. Under this model, companies and government agencies can enjoy the cost effectiveness of cloud computing while still benefiting from enhanced security features.

Above everything else, it’s important to keep in mind that cloud computing is still a relatively new concept. It may seem like it’s been around forever, but it is still a newcomer when compared with other types of information technology. As a result, it’s going to take time for a wider range of companies and organizations to embrace the technology. As more and more government agencies move to the cloud, however, ongoing concerns about security should start to fade. Eventually, people may even come to consider cloud computing to be a lot safer than other alternatives.

The Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com is brimming with a bounty of new features that are sure to thrill every member of your team. From innovative additions to the Chatter platform to exciting new customization options for Force.com, the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com is being met with open arms by everyone who relies on it. Unlike traditional software, of course, Salesforce.com is able to continuously release new and exciting updates since it is based in the cloud. Without a doubt, Salesforce.com is cloud computing at its best; the Spring 2011 release is further proof of that.

New and improved features have been added to virtually every facet of Salesforce.com with the Spring 2011 release. The best way to get a grasp of what’s included in the latest release is by breaking things down into five basic categories: Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Jigsaw, Force.com and Chatter. Whether your company makes full use of every available feature or tends to rely on a handful of them, familiarizing yourself with what’s new in each category could open up new horizons in terms of productivity and efficiency. The following information provides an overview of what you will find with the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Service Cloud

There are plenty of exciting new ways to take your customer service to a whole new level with the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com. From multilingual functionality to first-rate search capabilities, the Service Cloud is more useful and effective than ever. A few of the most notable and important updates include:

Multilingual Knowledge in the Cloud – It’s now possible to translate knowledge articles into several different languages, all with just the click of a button. This feature makes it remarkably easy to succeed in business on a truly global scale. The world is getting smaller; the ability to pass along information in multiple languages is critical. With Salesforce.com Spring 2011’s release, you can do so with ease.

Global Search for Service Cloud Console – Not sure where to find the information that you need? The Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com comes to the rescue with this nifty new feature. It allows you to search across Chatter feeds, files, articles and many different types of records – all in a single query. In turn, your productivity and efficiency are sure to explode.

Suggested Knowledge Sidebar – Nothing is more frustrated than getting hung up on a single case. When the right answers don’t appear quickly, you can end up spinning your tires and wasting a great deal of time. Saleforce.com’s Spring ’11 release includes a real-time suggested knowledge sidebar that provides ideas for you to explore. Instead of barking up the wrong tree, then, you can start heading in the right direction seamlessly and easily.

Unique Article Numbers – Organization is a critical part of running a successful business. With the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com, every article is given a unique article number. That way, nothing gets lost in the shuffle and organizing data is a lot more intuitive.

Case Milestone Validation Rules – The latest version of Salesforce.com also reduces the risk of things slipping through the cracks by allowing you to set rules for case milestones. You can also set it up so that certain standards must be met before a case can be saved. This will help keep those loose ends at bay and keep everyone in your organization on top of what’s happening.

The Spring ’11 Salesforce.com Service Cloud is more powerful and intuitive than ever. These latest updates are sure to make your Salesforce.com experience exceptionally rewarding. Of course, they are just the tip of the iceberg; the latest release has a whole lot more up its sleeve.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Sales Cloud

The Sales Cloud in the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com has been enhanced in many unique ways. Reports make it a cinch to analyze all of the data that you could ever want. These robust features will help to give you an edge on the competition while enhancing your bottom line.

Opportunity Product Sort – Not all products are created equal, especially from a marketing standpoint. After analyzing your data to determine which products need the most attention, you can sort them in order of priority. This allows you to zero in on what matters, without having to sift through mountains of confusing information. Your sales will be more effective and efficient with the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com.

Scatter Charts – All of the data in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t make sense of what it all means. Instead of poring over that information for hours or days on end, you can turn to the Sales Cloud’s Scatter Chart feature. This feature helps to discern emerging trends and patterns on your behalf. It also makes it easier to spot outliers and anomalies amid the information that’s being presented. In short, Scatter Charts help you work with data in a smarter and more effective way.

Enhanced Features for Outlook – There is a bevy of new features for Sales Cloud and Outlook in the Spring ’11 release. You can now associate any object with an email; in that way, you can keep tabs on important information in a more streamlined way. Chatter Sync lets you sync your Chatter contacts with your Outlook contacts. Web login via Outlook is also included in the latest version of Salesforce.com.

Report Builder Filters – Run reports and skim through the results more quickly with Report Builder filters. Filters can be applied in a variety of different ways in order to hone in on the data that is the most important to the task at hand. The one-click design of this feature ensures that virtually anyone can make positive use out of it. Any company that relies on reports in Salesforce.com is sure to appreciate this useful feature.

From sorting and filtering reports to syncing contacts across Outlook and Chatter, Salesforce.com’s Spring 2011 release is loaded with nifty new Sales Cloud features. Generating leads, making sales and closing deals can all be done more effectively and intuitively through these innovative new features and enhancements.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Jigsaw

Out-of-date information and contacts can put a huge damper on the success of any marketing or sales campaign. Every company knows the importance of accurate, up-to-date information. Salesforce.com has always offered prime features for keeping data current; the Spring ’11 release takes things one step further, with Jigsaw.

Jigsaw is a real-time data cloud that is loaded with plenty of remarkable features. A few of the key perks of Jigsaw include:

Access to Millions of Contacts – Business contacts are culled via a crowd-sourcing system to produce large volumes of accurate, useful information. More than 23 million business contacts can be accessed via Jigsaw for Salesfoce.com’s Spring 2011 release. More than 1.2 million people in the business community refresh that information continuously; in turn, up-to-the-minute data and contacts are always right at your fingertips.

High-Quality Leads – Instead of throwing away a lot of time and effort on leads that never would have gone anywhere, you can turn to Jigsaw for leads that pack a real wallop. These pinpointed leads aren’t just effective – they are also exceptionally accurate. Why waste your time with contact data that is woefully out of date, when the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com puts topnotch information in the palm of your hand?

Real-Time Data Change Notifications – Find out immediately whenever a contact’s information changes through Jigsaw’s real-time data change notifications. You’ll never waste your time with outdated phone numbers, email addresses and other contact information again when you start relying on Salesforce.com’s exciting Jigsaw feature.

Automatic Data Cleansing – Nothing is more frustrating than dealing with hundreds of old, useless records. Jigsaw automatically cleans out obsolete data so that you can keep plugging along in a productive and efficient way. You are sure to appreciate this automated feature, which requires no special effort on your part.

Complete, New Contacts within Salesforce.com – The best aspect of Jigsaw is the fact that all of this fresh, up-to-date information is pushed into Salesforce.com automatically. There is no legwork involved whatsoever. Everyone in your organization is sure to benefit from this important feature.

Jigsaw brings even more efficiency and usefulness to the table for Salesforce.com users. By updating to the Spring ’11 release, you can get your hands on this innovative new feature that is sure to enhance the way in which you do business. Most importantly, you will enjoy an even sharper competitive edge than ever.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Chatter

Since its debut, Chatter has been a wildly popular part of the Salesforce.com lineup. For the Spring 2011 release, Chatter gets even better. The incorporation of many well-known social networking features allows users to jump right in on the action without missing a beat. A handful of the most enticing features of Chatter for the Spring ’11 release are outlined below.

Unique New Ways to Communicate – Chatter for the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com includes features like @ mentions, which allow you to shoot quick replies to others. Private file sharing is also available. Email replies are also included so that you can take the conversation out of the stream, if necessary.

Trending Topics – Discover what topics are popular in your organization by making use of this exciting new feature. It’s a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on in your world.

My #Topics – Keep tabs on which topics are used the most by you and your team members with this innovative new Chatter feature. It works in a similar way as the Trending Topics feature, but its focused on the broader topics that matter to you and your organization.

”Like” Posts – It’s all too easy to let important topics fall through the cracks. The latest release of Salesforce.com allows you to “like” posts in Chatter. Once you’ve “liked” a post, you are kept apprised of any updates that occur within it – all without having to scroll back through all of the same information again.

Chatter Desktop – Access Chatter via your computer’s desktop in the Spring ’11 release of Salesforce.com.

Chatter Invitations – Allow others to make use of Chatter for free with Chatter invitations. You can get more people in on the conversation with this exciting tool. In turn, you will be able to take in a lot more information from a greater variety of sources – even if they don’t have Chatter set up at their own organization.

File Versioning – Stay abreast of what is happening with various files – and make sure that you’re always using the latest version – with file versioning.

Chatter Mobile Enhancements – Make quick and easy use of Chatter from your mobile device, whether it’s an iPad, an iPhone or a BlackBerry. On-the-go information is always at your fingertips when you enable this topnotch feature.

Chatter for Salesforce.com is more robust and useful than ever. The Spring 2011 release has brought many remarkable features to the table. Anyone who is acquainted with services like Twitter will be able to jump right in on the latest improvements.

New Spring 2011 Salesforce.com Features – Force.com

Generating new and useful apps for your organization couldn’t be easier, thanks to Force.com. The Spring ’11 release brings many new integral features to the table. A few examples of the most useful features include:

Rest API – These days, it’s vital to be able to integrate apps with popular online apps like Google and Facebook. The Rest API feature in the latest release of Salesforce.com streamlines the process considerably. Now it’s a snap to take advantage of everything that Facebook, Google and other topnotch apps have to offer.

Google Chrome Browser Support – The growing popularity of the Google Chrome web browser means that more people are using it than ever. In the past, Force.com was incompatible with the browser. Happily, the Spring ’11 release eliminates this issue. You can now use Google Chrome with Force.com for optimal performance.

Mass User Licensing – Quit wasting your time issuing one license after another. The newest version of Force.com allows you to mass issue user licenses. This will clear up a lot of free time that can be used for more important tasks.

Customizable Error Messages – It’s now possible to create custom error messages for users. This is important, since generic error messages simply don’t convey the specific information that you may need to pass along. Customize and tweak your error messages so that they are as relevant as possible to your users.

Visual Workflow – This exciting new feature works by applying business logic to the custom apps that you create. As a result, they produce better and more noticeable results for your organization. They are easy to put to work, too.

Customer Success Console – Provide more direct support to your users with this unique new feature that rolls out with the Spring ’11 release of Force.com and Salesforce.com. They will benefit from more direct support; you will benefit by being able to implement necessary changes in a more focused and targeted way.

System Log Console Execution Summary – Quit being in the dark about what’s happening with your code. This topnotch new feature lets you check your code’s performance quickly and easily. Nip issues in the bud, before they have negative impacts on your business and your users.

Getting the most out of the custom apps that you create for your business has never been more intuitive or simple. Salesforce.com’s Spring ’11 release bolsters the incredible effectiveness of Force.com in ways that you are sure to appreciate.

The Bottom Line on the Spring ’11 Release of Salesforce.com

As you can see, the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com is jam-packed with innovative new enhancements and features that make running a business easier. If you thought that your existing version of Salesforce.com was helpful, you won’t believe the difference that the latest version makes. Productivity and efficiency go through the roof with the most recent release of Salesforce.com. Key enhancements and improvements to everything from Chatter to the Service Cloud are sure to improve your company’s chances of success.

In addition to enhancements and improvements to existing features, the latest release of Salesforce.com brings entirely new functionality to the table. Chatter is bolstered by popular social networking features; Jigsaw puts up-to-date contacts at your fingertips. Support for everything from Google Chrome to the iPad, iPod and BlackBerry devices make on-the-go business simpler than ever. Bring your company up to speed with the Spring 2011 release of Salesforce.com. Whether you make regular use of all of the new and improved features or just a select handful of them, you are sure to see some marked improvements on the way in which you do business in the cloud.

In today’s competitive business world, salesforce.com offers the simplest, most streamlined – and most effective – cloud computing and CRM solutions around. Technology is constantly changing; companies’ needs always are, too. Luckily, salesforce.com recognizes that and is continually working to provide new, cutting-edge solutions and features to its lineup. One of the latest advances that it has brought to the table is the Visual Process Manager. Whether you’re already using salesforce.com – or if you’ve been thinking about it, but are on the fence – the Visual Process Manager is something that might just convince you to give salesforce.com a chance.

What is the Visual Process Manager?

Put simply, the Visual Process Manager allows you to sketch out the business processes that you need – and deploy them to the cloud – without using a stitch of code, infrastructure or software. Whether the process that you’re working with is simple or complex, the Visual Process Manager lets you integrate it into the cloud seamlessly and effectively. By automating business processes with the Visual Process Manager, you can enhance your cloud computing experience and create a more efficient, cohesive business model. In turn, your company’s goals will be met more consistently and strategically.

If you have a business process that needs automation, the Visual Process Manager should be able to help. Already, hundreds of companies are using it to automate popular processes such as:

Sales Quotes – Whether your company is sprawling or small, the sales quotes that it generates should be consistent and useful. With the Visual Process Manager, there’s finally a way to create sales quotes that are the same across the board. You’ll no longer have to worry about conflicting information or other issues cropping up – and your reps will be more productive, too.

Call Center Scripting – When a customer calls your company for help, he shouldn’t have to worry about reaching somebody who can provide it. Regardless of who takes his call, he should be able to access the information and assistance that he needs quickly and easily. The Visual Process Manager makes it easy to put effective call center scripting to work, ensuring that every single one of your reps is armed with the information and strategies that they need to provide topnotch customer service.

New Employee Training – Bringing a new employee up to speed as quickly and efficiently as possible is critical. New employees can flounder if they aren’t given the proper tools and training. Coming up with a streamlined way to train new employees is critical, and the Visual Process Manager can make that happen. Whether it’s through the Process Simulator or another component of the Visual Process Manager, your new employees will learn the ropes more quickly and easily.

How the Visual Process Manager Works

Now that you have an inkling about the possibilities that the Visual Process Manager brings to the table, you’re probably wondering how it all works. The key thing to keep in mind is that, like any other salesforce.com feature, the Visual Process Manager is intuitive and easy to use. It takes the usually complex undertaking of designing and implementing processes and makes it quick, easy and painless. By understanding the basic components of the Visual Process Manager, you can get a better idea for how it works altogether.

Process Designer

The first step in working with the Visual Process Manager involves using the Process Designer. With this component, you create the apps that you need through a series of questions, choices and forms. You can also make use of approval processes, decision trees and task assignments. With these pieces, you create the basic design for whatever process you need. As you make use of each component, simply drag and drop it into the design diagram. Before moving forward, you’ll be able to see whether the process has the correct components.

Process Wizard Builder

Once your process has been put into effect and unleashed into the cloud, you’re going to want to bring everyone up to speed on it as quickly as possible. The Process Wizard Builder makes that easy to do. With it, you can create a wizard that walks end users through the business process in question. Instead of engaging in time-consuming training sessions and other cumbersome steps, simply create an easy-to-use – and easy-to-understand – wizard that will clarify how the process works. This feature will save your company a lot of additional time and effort, and it will make your employees more effective as well.

Process Simulator

Most people prefer to have a “hands-on” preview of the process that they are going to use. The Visual Process Manager’s Process Simulator makes that a snap. Customers and reps can sit down and run the simulator in order to have a clear idea about how the process you’ve designed works. That way, they can feel totally comfortable about it before actually deploying it. This is a simple, easy way to bring people on board and to market the processes that you develop through the Visual Process Manager.

Simple and Complex Process Development through Visual Process Manager

The Visual Process Manager allows you to create simple and complex processes with equal dexterity. For instance, once-off processes – like email alerts, automated quotes and data field updates – can be designed and deployed in seconds. At the same time, multiple-step processes can be mapped out and modeled on the Process Designer and put into effect without any trouble. Within an organization, the flexibility of salesforce.com’s Visual Process Manager makes it a cinch for everyone to streamline the processes that they use. At the same time, it provides exceptional scalability that appeals to large and small organizations alike.

Additional highlights of the Visual Process Manager include:

Approvals – If needed, the Visual Process Manager can create specialized workflows that are routed through a series of people. Each person can then approve or decline the process, ensuring the most impeccable quality. This is especially useful in situations where a single process is going to be used by multiple departments; each department is sure to have its own specific needs and concerns, and the approval process allows each one to be heard and considered.

Rules – Depending on the complexity and the specifics of the process that you are designing, the Visual Process Manager allows you to easily incorporate formulas and other rules into the process. That way, you can use such formulas and other rules to enforce the strictest standards possible; this also ensures that other processes within your organization aren’t derailed by poorly designed processes. Consistency and quality are, therefore, easier to maintain.

Alerts and Tasks – Teamwork is essential within any organization. Most processes will depend upon the participation of a number of different team members. Luckily, salesforce.com took this into account when designing the Visual Process Manager. Alerts and tasks are built right into the process, if needed, ensuring that the necessary input and participation are received. This enhances the teamwork and cohesiveness of the entire organization, which amps up productivity and efficiency, too.

Monitor and Queue – A process can’t be effectively designed and implemented if it’s sent out into the world with little consideration. The Visual Process Manager provides exceptional transparency, ensuring that important steps within a process don’t slip through the cracks. This is just one more safety net that can be used to guard against failed processes and other issues. It’s also a simple way to enforce time-based workflows.

Create, Deploy and Manage All Business Processes

The Visual Process Manager takes traditional process design and implementation and turns it on its head, making it easy and intuitive. The days of feeling your way around blindly while creating and implementing business processes are long gone. Best of all, it works seamlessly with the salesforce.com and force.com platforms. If you’re already using salesforce.com, you’re sure to appreciate the flexibility that the Visual Process Manager brings to the table. If you’re thinking about turning to salesforce.com, the Visual Process Manager is something that could tip the scales for you.

These days, there is no room for error when it comes to running a successful business. Your customer service, sales and other business processes must be impeccable and effective. Customers have plenty of options; if your organization isn’t up to par, they can easily move along to another one. The Visual Process Manager makes it easier to not only get a customer’s business, but to hold onto it.

When your business processes are streamlined and consistent, your entire organization is going to excel on a much higher level. Salesforce.com’s Visual Process Manager can mean the difference between so-so customer service and sales and exceptional customer service and sales. Your customers are sure to notice the difference once you’ve implemented the Visual Process Manager – and your employees will appreciate it, too. From top to bottom, your company is going to enjoy many practical benefits through the Visual Process Manager. Get on board with it today and sharpen your competitive edge.

Companies that are looking for an application that can handle SaaS or Software as a Service development and management are going to find a solution in the combination between SDFC or Salesforce.com and Google Wave.

The focus behind the design of Google Wave is for it to serve as part of the next generation in communication and collaboration through the internet. Google Wave works similarly to other messaging systems such as Usenet and email, but rather than sending a message coupled with the previous thread of messages, requiring that all responses be stored in the inbox for each user for the purpose of context, these message documents, which are called waves, complain the complete thread for each multimedia message, known as a blip, and these waves are stored perpetually on a single central server. The waves are then shared with the collaborators who are able to be added as well as removed from the wave as needed during the existence of said wave.

Google Wave makes it possible for applications to be developed that are basically placed inside what is known as a wave. Those applications are then capable of interacting with any of the people that are on the wave. What happens then, is that Salesforce can be engineered in such a way that it allows customers and companies alike to interact with the wave, providing the software in a more direct manner into the wave as a service.

What this is going to achieve has to do with allowing customers as well as companies to interact with one another in a way that is much more real time than what was previously possibly by any means. Google Wave is also going to make it possible for easy monitoring of all of the software in the wave by way of robots that Google Wave uses. What these robots can do is make the concept of real time monitoring a lot easier.

As far as many companies are currently concerned, Google Wave is providing the possibility for being the ultimate tool in collaboration, which aligns with the concepts of cloud computing and allows businesses to do more than ever before. By increasing the possibility of collaboration between businesses, employees and customers, Google Wave is making it possible for businesses to operate on a much more effective level than ever before. Google Wave, combined with Salesforce.com, is definitely going to be far reaching when it comes to capabilities of being used for the management of SaaS development.

Google Wave is making collaboration over the internet easier than ever. Google Docs and other Google services have been improving on online collaboration some time now, but Google Wave is quickly proving to be a much larger step in the right direction, making business and SaaS management and development a lot simpler than ever before for many people.

The Salesforce.com cloud computing platform is becoming increasingly useful for non profit organizations. There is a lot of speculation about the ways in which cloud computing platform from Salesforce.com can help non profit organizations and groups.

Salesforce.com happens to be one of the most popular Ondemand Application Platform , and it is gaining a lot of popularity among non profit organizations because there is a special nonprofit starter pack that Salesforce.com offers. Accessible from virtually any browser and customizable in a myriad of different ways, this special web-accessible, web-enabled database solution for cloud computing is quickly gaining a serious amount of popularity for good reason. What makes it even better for non profit organizations is that it is offered for no fee through what is known as the Salesforce.com foundation.

Salesforce.com offers a powerful tool in the nonprofit starter pack. It offers a et of customizations that are specifically designed to turn the salesforce.com CRM into something that supports some of the most common processes for a non profit business or organization. This starter pack consists of a myriad of custom objects, custom fields, custom reports, page layouts, workflow, Force.com code and also Visual Force pages. This starter pack intended for non profits is being made available as a collection of Managed Packages that anyone can install. When nonprofit groups sign up for Salesforce.com CRM assistance, they can choose to use the regular salesforce.com software, or the special nonprofit starter pack version, which basically means that the starter pack is pre-installed on their donated instance of the app.

The purpose of the Nonprofit Starter Pack offered by Salesforce.com is to help non profit organizations utilize Salesforce.com so that they can further their unique missions. This is a very flexible and user friendly platform, that makes it truly powerful when it comes to helping an organization manage everything that it needs to manage. Because Salesforce.com is so flexible right out of the box, it can seem a little bit too much like a completely blank slate for people that are brand new to using it. The purpose of the nonprofit starter pack is to fill that blank slate in with a setup and configuration that already addresses many of the group’s key business practices and processes.

Although every nonprofit is unique, this starter pack, coupled with Salesforce.com software has been built to support many of the most common business practices and processes along a very large group of different non profit organizations. It aims to support a wide number of different business and non profit processes that are needed in order to handle the CRM aspect of managing an organization. It supports the tracking of organizations and individuals, the grouping of people within a common household, tracking of donations that are pledged over a period of time, tracks key relationships between different individuals and supports tracking of relationships between organizations and people as well.

The recent Salesforce.com and Adobe alliance has made it possible for businesses to leverage the power of Force.com in conjunction with Adobe. There are new plenty of new possibilities that have been made available in the realm of cloud computing. The Adobe Flash Builder is going to help Force.com change the offerings included in its platform, and this alliance is also going to make it possible for enterprise applications to become easier not only to develop but to use as well.

This alliance is bringing about a brand new offering that combines the Force.com platform’s power with the ubiquity and the richness of the Adobe platform in order to enable an all new generation of rich internet applications or RIAs that are cloud based in nature. This brand new office, which is known as Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com is integrating these two platforms together in order to bring the richness behind consumer Web to the enterprise cloud applications so that a brand new and significantly improved level of productivity by developers can be enabled and maintained.

Both Adobe and SalesForce.com clearly share a common vision when it comes to the acceleration of developer success with the use of cloud computing. By bringing Adobe Flash together with Force.com, it is becoming more possible to create new types of business applications capable of running in the cloud and they will be easier than ever to use in the consumer web.

Adobe’s Flash Builder for Force.com is going to empower developers from the cloud to the client by allowing them to build applications that will work in the same way that people do. It will make it possible for intuitive and interactive UI or User Interface features to be added including drag and drop, increasing user acceptance, improving upon productivity and reducing help desk requirements. It will incorporate in advanced visualizations for data including dashboards and charts which will provide a greater level of decision support.

Adobe’s Flash Builder for Force.com will make it possible to turn multiple step process applications into single screen experiences in order to build upon efficiency as well as usability. Adobe’s Flash Builder for Force.com will also provide client side integration on a light weight basis in order to unify the experiences of users all across systems both inside and outside of firewalls into single applications for greater business visibility.

This is a solution that is also going to empower developers with the flexibility that they need to scale applications so that they can apply to a wide variety of different businesses. This includes building applications that support desktop and browser deployment, adding rich user interface elements to SalesForce and Force.com applications that already exist, and creating new components for applications that are specifically tailored to certain job functions and use cases so that they can be integrated into already existing applications.

This combination of Adobe Flash and Force.com technologies is completely changing the speed at which developers can create excellent content for clients and their business applications.

Cloud computing is currently being perceived as a big thing for businesses on the internet. Everybody appears to be looking forward in an attempt to move their data toward cloud computing. But what is going to happen after the cloud? More specifically, what’s next after cloud computing?

The concept of Cloud Computing focuses on being able to provide user access to services, storage and applications without needing to reveal any of the underlying science and technology that makes the elements work.

Cloud computing has already existed for quite some time now, but many people are just now beginning to realize its full power and potential thanks to the improving of speed in computers and the internet. Cloud computing allows businesses and organizations to store their applications and data in a way that they can access them from absolutely anywhere. Some cloud computing applications are capable of being extremely reliable and secure, making it a nice option for many businesses.

Cloud computing makes it possible for online applications to interact with other applications and websites. Cloud computing has made it possible to interact on the internet without having to install certain applications on your computer, negating the need for software and hardware updates and making it simpler to access information and data online. Just as you can access an e-mail account from virtually any computer with an internet connection, it is quickly becoming possible to access a myriad of other types of data and information in the same way. There are many examples of what cloud computing is attempting to achieve, such as Google Apps and Google Docs, Amazon Turks, YouTube, Flickr and other web based applications and storage systems for example.

There is a lot of information moving around on the internet. There are purported to be more than 5 billion users on the internet today, and with so many people online, there has never been more information available at our fingertips. With so much information moving around, now is as good a time as any to begin to work with more capable information systems, and cloud computing is making this happen. By making it possible for different web technologies to communicate with one another, a business can easily take all of its important information and communication to the web for easier accessibility, better security and increased usability. The improvements in accessibility and usability that cloud computing is achieving are making the internet simpler to use both for businesses online and their customers as well.

Cloud computing technology may have been around for a while now, but we are only beginning to realize its full potential. Right now, cloud computing is the future of the internet, and the future of technology collaboration for many businesses. The future is currently in our hands, and it will be interesting to see what can be done by leveraging the power of cloud computing to improve business on the internet.

I do not think that you can blame technology anymore for the failure of IT projects. Technology has made rapid advancement since the very first time it became associated with business processes. The power of computing, the speed of internet and customer experience of technology has improved manifold. The superiority of technology capability to deliver value is improving even as I write this blog. Then what or who should be blamed?

There are essentially two important ingredients (if I may call it so) necessary to build a ‘commercially successful’ IT system or application – first ‘Technology’ and second ‘Economic Rationale’. Let me try and explain each of the ingredients in details.

Technology is the ‘real’ necessary ingredient (Both Hardware and software). You can draw parallels with your cooking utensils and the food to be cooked. Without technology you cannot imagine IT. Technology has evolved and changed over the years. From simple ledger keeping system technology can now understand react to human behaviour. The computing power, the speed of internet and the processing capability of chips have increased and improved manifold.

Now lets us talk about the next ingredient – ‘Economic Rationale’. IT applications like any other goods and services are governed by the Law of Supply and Demand. Therefore, before we start to develop an IT system we got to understand the need or the demand of the IT application. This is a ‘compulsory’ ingredient but often found missing.

A decade ago many IT projects failed because of technology issues; latency issues, hardware failure, poor customer experience or even availability of the application at places where or times when required. Therefore, earlier you could blame it on technology and many did even if technology had no hand in it. What about the second ingredient? It definitely did matter. In the early 1990s IT was consider essential to gain competitive advantage over rivals. Organisations invested millions in developing IT applications that streamlined business processes, reduced operational cost and allowed faster time to market. IT brought in many benefits and companies were quick to cash on IT. IT professionals and companies soaked themselves in millions and banks invested in anything that was .com. This created another problem and many know about the dotcom burst.

Now times are different. The capability of technology to deliver and generate value has increased tremendously. But, unfortunately this has led to other problems, technologist in their effort to prove their worth embedded solutions and functions that were not needed or asked for in the scope of the project. This proved to be a disaster. Many projects failed miserably because it failed to deliver what was asked for but instead provided ‘excitement’ functionality that was unnecessary. IT project managers failed to understand that IT too is governed by demand of feature. Consumers did not appreciate the extra bells and whistles. (I hope you appreciate the Google webpage because of its simplicity). Consumers need simple solution that solved their problem. Therefore, I believe that now IT projects fail because of failure to understand ‘Economics of IT application’.

Although the term was first coined back between 2000 and 2001, SaaS – which stands for Software as a Service – has only truly come into its own in more recent years. Original incarnations of this form of software deployment were greeted with enthusiasm by many customers, but fell far short of realizing their true potential. In the meantime, the Web 2.0 revolution has occurred, further changing the game and raising customer demands considerably. Today, SaaS has reached a point where it can offer truly amazing benefits to companies of all shapes and sizes – and has become affordable enough for more companies to participate in than ever before. In order to see how SaaS has gone from point A to point B, it is necessary to take a look at its evolution in a more in-depth way; but first, it is necessary to have a firm grasp of what it is and all that it entails.

What Is SaaS?

Software as a service is an application that is hosted on remote servers and accessed through the Internet. Rather than having to install multiple copies of the same expensive software on every employee’s computer, an organization can sign up for SaaS solutions that are paid for on a recurring basis. By doing this, the organization can avoid the hassle of having to continuously update many forms of software, and can reduce the amount of time that it spends applying patches and other maintenance to that software. In addition, SaaS largely eliminates the problem of maintaining costly EULAs (End User License Agreements) for a large percentage of the applications and software that are relied upon by a company’s employees.

By implementing SaaS solutions, an organization can cut many of its information technology expenditures considerably. Many forms of commercially available software have been introduced by SaaS providers; for a monthly fee, for instance, an organizaton and its employees can gain regular access to these applications through the Internet without ever installing the actual software on their computer hard drives. At the same time, SaaS can be configured to allow individuals within a company to collaborate on projects and other important functions on the same platform in a virtual way. Software updates for SaaS applications are handled remotely and are no longer the responsibility of a company’s IT department.

The SaaS Evolution Defined

The concept of evolution is an important one; it refers to the “survival of the fittest,” and creates an environment where continual improvement is the consistent goal. The evolution of SaaS has been no exception to these concepts, and has benefited enormously from them. Interestingly, although original inceptions of SaaS were greeted with enthusiasm and excitement by many business owners, they fell short in many key ways. The promise of SaaS as it was originally introduced failed to live up to the big dreams that many held for it on the onset, and the benefits that it provided – while exceptional – were limited almost immediately by practical concerns. The SaaS evolution is the process by which this form of software deployment has matured over time – and it continues on to this day. By definition, evolution is a never-ending process; as evidenced by the distinct phases undergone by SaaS, evolution continually hones and perfects a concept, while weeding out inferior models.

The Phases Of The SaaS Evolution

Defining the precise phases of the SaaS evolution is hardly cut and dry; many different changes have occurred over time – many simultaneously and overlapping – making analysis difficult. However, four general phases can be discerned from the time that SaaS was originally conceived all the way through to the present day – and into the future. As outlined below, these phases in the evolution of SaaS have taken it from an infancy marked by immediate but restricted benefits, through a more robust and functional adolescence into a maturity marked by increased customization. Many people believe that the true “golden years” of SaaS are yet to come, and that its potential is only just being tapped into in earnest.

Phase One Of The SaaS Evolution: Inception

During its initial inception and original incarnations, SaaS immediately allowed those implementing it to reduce their costs and increase the return on investment of their information technology processes. The quick realization of these benefits made SaaS skyrocket in popularity right off the bat; where it once made up approximately eight percent of all software, it was expected to include thirty percent of all software by 2009. However, those immediate benefits that organizations enjoyed when implementing and using SaaS were also quickly hampered by a lack of automation and customization; companies could tap into applications remotely, but could not easily customize them to enhance their benefits.

Phase Two of The SaaS Evolution: Increased Functionality

Convinced that they were off to a powerful and promising start, SaaS providers began working on and developing ways to enhance the experience for organizations that chose to implement it. The clamor for a more intuitive, customizable experience was intense, and SaaS began to meet those demands more and more. Where original examples of SaaS allowed users remote access to the same programs they’d always used, this new phase in the evolution of SaaS made it more adaptable on a business-by-business basis. Within an organization, users could now enjoy broader solutions to their software needs. When a particular type of software didn’t meet an organizations needs, it no longer needed to add a whole new kind of software in response; rather, it could customize the existing software and make it work in a more effective way.

Phases Three and Four Of The SaaS Evolution: Collaboration Among Organizations

The third and fourth phases of the SaaS evolution represent current conditions and the expected future of the platform. Rather than simply allowing an organization and its employees to work together on projects within the business itself, new incarnations of SaaS are increasingly allowing collaboration between separate organizations within an industry – and beyond. This is streamlining process improvement for many companies, and the spirit of collaboration fosters a spirit of continual improvement unlike any other phase of the SaaS evolution. Going forward, SaaS and CRM products that fail to provide these types of services will be weeded out, and SaaS will continue to become more sophisticated and beneficial for companies of all sizes.

SaaS: Customized and Intuitive Solutions For All

As SaaS continues its evolution, more and more companies will be able to run it. Where SaaS was once reserved for businesses with a certain budget, it is increasingly becoming realistic for a much wider variety of companies to enjoy. Applications and software that once cost an organization tens of thousands of dollars every year now cost only a couple of hundred in many cases – all thanks to the intuitive solutions offered by SaaS. There is little doubt that this evolution will continue on, and that innovations and improvements to the products provided by SaaS companies will become more and more customizable and beneficial to the organizations who choose to implement them. Where creating custom applications to run on SaaS platforms like Salesforce.com once required highly trained – and highly paid – IT personnel, creating them will become cheaper and easier as time moves on. A truly customized, specially designed software solution will one day be within the reach of virtually any sized business – and the promise of SaaS will be realized in ways never dreamed possible.