Startup Success With Crowd Sourced Software Testing and “99Tests”

In this world of instant global communication and online forums that allow individuals to contribute to the wealth of knowledge that lies a mere finger tap away, it’s no wonder companies have put two and two together and started crowd-sourcing aspects of their business.

But could this collaborative business phenomenon evolve into a world where there are no managers, and people could contribute when they wished because they were intrinsically motivated?

Software Testing with “99Tests”

That is the question Praveen Singh, CEO and Founder of 99tests, asked himself when he leaped into the crowd-sourcing fray in the winter of 2010 by starting a crowd-sourced software testing venture in the form of 99tests.

99tests offers crowd-sourced testing to software product companies around the globe.  These companies can hire twenty to sixty on-demand software testing professionals who will test their products in real world conditions over the course of a few days in order to catch critical bugs before customers do.

They test for various platforms such as mobile, Web and tablets and support a range of testing types such as functionality, security and performance testing.  With a workforce 4250 testers strong and over fifty global customers within two short years, 99tests has hit the software testing market floor running.

Many diverse companies from all over the globe have already enjoyed the effects of employing 99tests such as Intuit, Flipkart, and Cleartrip.

Whether you’re an established firm or a fledgling start up, 99tests accommodates your testing needs through fixed price per unit packages, a pricing standard used among other crowd sourcing companies such as CrowdFlower.  Each package varies in size depending on the client’s needs and 99tests communicates diligently with the client to make sure these needs are clearly presented and addressed.  99tests even provides a demo package for a steal to win you over.

And win you over they will when you consider that in just over two years, the 99tests community has logged 22,304 bugs.

Motivation Via Healthy Competition

Keeping the community dedicated to providing quality service is crucial to the success of crowd-sourcing firms, so what better way to motivate his testers than to turn each project into a healthy competition?

99tests makes each project a client sponsored competition amongst the assigned testers in which the top testers who find the most bugs receive a monetary prize.

But 99tests goes a step further and often these top testers will also win testing tools that help nourish and build their skill sets.  It is this perk that really sets 99tests apart from other crowd sourcing firms since it is not only their intention to deliver the best possible service to the clients, but also strive to strengthen each tester’s abilities.  By offering these incentives, 99tests guarantees a network of passionate and exceptionally talented testers.

In fact, founder Praveen Singh sees 99tests as a professional networking site for testers that creates a unique image and reputation for excellence. He would like to fortify his 99tests brand by creating a crowd-sourcing platform that testers want to be associated with and feel compelled to be a contributing part.

Praveen found a trusted partner in his Co-Founder Naveen Kumar, who expressed interest in 99tests after shutting down his own venture. Naveen plays a crucial role in the operations of 99tests taking care of the technology, development, and marketing aspects of the business. This leaves Praveen free to continue being the software crowd-sourcing evangelist he is.

It is equally important to Praveen to give value to the lives of the people in his community, as it is to provide his clients with exceptional service.  By outsourcing work to independent freelancers through an internationally accessible platform, he has helped place testers from remote corners of India in established organizations, significantly improving their quality of life.

In just over two years 99tests has been able to log over 20,000 bugs from this 4,000+ work force. They have done so with only a fraction of the 37 million dollars in venture capital their American goliath counterpart, uTest, has.

Praveen and Naveen’s goal for 2013 is to reach 10,000 testers and secure 200 customers by the year’s end.  They also want to expand into automation services and help companies manage the risk of releasing “buggy” software.  Ambitious, of course, but with increasing demand for crowd-sourced services, certainly promising.

Testing Tablet Photo via Shutterstock

Startup Success With Crowd Sourced Software Testing and “99Tests”

In this world of instant global communication and online forums that allow individuals to contribute to the wealth of knowledge that lies a mere finger tap away, it’s no wonder companies have put two and two together and started crowd-sourcing aspects of their business.

But could this collaborative business phenomenon evolve into a world where there are no managers, and people could contribute when they wished because they were intrinsically motivated?

Software Testing with “99Tests”

That is the question Praveen Singh, CEO and Founder of 99tests, asked himself when he leaped into the crowd-sourcing fray in the winter of 2010 by starting a crowd-sourced software testing venture in the form of 99tests.

99tests offers crowd-sourced testing to software product companies around the globe.  These companies can hire twenty to sixty on-demand software testing professionals who will test their products in real world conditions over the course of a few days in order to catch critical bugs before customers do.

They test for various platforms such as mobile, Web and tablets and support a range of testing types such as functionality, security and performance testing.  With a workforce 4250 testers strong and over fifty global customers within two short years, 99tests has hit the software testing market floor running.

Many diverse companies from all over the globe have already enjoyed the effects of employing 99tests such as Intuit, Flipkart, and Cleartrip.

Whether you’re an established firm or a fledgling start up, 99tests accommodates your testing needs through fixed price per unit packages, a pricing standard used among other crowd sourcing companies such as CrowdFlower.  Each package varies in size depending on the client’s needs and 99tests communicates diligently with the client to make sure these needs are clearly presented and addressed.  99tests even provides a demo package for a steal to win you over.

And win you over they will when you consider that in just over two years, the 99tests community has logged 22,304 bugs.

Motivation Via Healthy Competition

Keeping the community dedicated to providing quality service is crucial to the success of crowd-sourcing firms, so what better way to motivate his testers than to turn each project into a healthy competition?

99tests makes each project a client sponsored competition amongst the assigned testers in which the top testers who find the most bugs receive a monetary prize.

But 99tests goes a step further and often these top testers will also win testing tools that help nourish and build their skill sets.  It is this perk that really sets 99tests apart from other crowd sourcing firms since it is not only their intention to deliver the best possible service to the clients, but also strive to strengthen each tester’s abilities.  By offering these incentives, 99tests guarantees a network of passionate and exceptionally talented testers.

In fact, founder Praveen Singh sees 99tests as a professional networking site for testers that creates a unique image and reputation for excellence. He would like to fortify his 99tests brand by creating a crowd-sourcing platform that testers want to be associated with and feel compelled to be a contributing part.

Praveen found a trusted partner in his Co-Founder Naveen Kumar, who expressed interest in 99tests after shutting down his own venture. Naveen plays a crucial role in the operations of 99tests taking care of the technology, development, and marketing aspects of the business. This leaves Praveen free to continue being the software crowd-sourcing evangelist he is.

It is equally important to Praveen to give value to the lives of the people in his community, as it is to provide his clients with exceptional service.  By outsourcing work to independent freelancers through an internationally accessible platform, he has helped place testers from remote corners of India in established organizations, significantly improving their quality of life.

In just over two years 99tests has been able to log over 20,000 bugs from this 4,000+ work force. They have done so with only a fraction of the 37 million dollars in venture capital their American goliath counterpart, uTest, has.

Praveen and Naveen’s goal for 2013 is to reach 10,000 testers and secure 200 customers by the year’s end.  They also want to expand into automation services and help companies manage the risk of releasing “buggy” software.  Ambitious, of course, but with increasing demand for crowd-sourced services, certainly promising.

Testing Tablet Photo via Shutterstock

Five Ways To Customize Your Digital Marketing Efforts To Make Sure They’re On Target

As you promote your growing business via the business website, mobile devices, email marketing campaigns and social media, you need to ask yourself - are your digital marketing efforts truly effective?

In other words -

1. Are you able to customize promotional messages as per customer interests and demographics?
2. Do you have a differentiated marketing strategy for new customers, loyal customers and customers that are no longer doing business with you?
3. Do you know the preferred channel of engagement for each of your customers?

If you have answered ‘no’ to all of these questions, then most likely your business is bombarding customers with ‘generic’ messages and therefore your digital marketing efforts are not as effective as they should be.

Customize your digital marketing efforts

While it may seem improbable or cumbersome, personalizing digital marketing campaigns is the next wave of ‘relationship marketing’.

As per Scott Olrich, President, Marketing and Platform at Responsys, “Marketing is no longer about maximizing the number of people brands reach with a campaign, it’s about creating individualized interactions that engage customers and lead to long-term revenue growth and value”.    

So instead of bombarding all clients with the same message, you can achieve the following with the Responsys marketing software:

• Tailor email marketing campaigns as per client vintage/ demographics. For example, a new customer automatically gets a series of introductory email messages when he makes  the first purchase or enrolls on your website. Or you can develop an email campaign targeting customers who are professional women under the age of 30.
• Showcasing products on the website as per interests and hobbies of individual customers. So each time customers visit your website, they first see products that they would be most inclined towards purchasing.
• Customizing communications to clients as per their preferred mode of communication. Whether individual customers like to browse online, receive text messages or emails, you ensure that you connect with them accordingly.
• Know what customers are viewing on your website and Facebook fan page and tailor messages accordingly. For example, if a customer clicks on your latest collection of T-shirts, you can automatically trigger a promotional email containing information about the particular line of clothing.
• Understand the effectiveness of your mobile marketing campaign by reporting of clicks and conversions made from each page of your website.

With marketing budgets becoming more focused on digital content, its important to ensure that the communication remains ‘ relevant’ to the target audience. An integrated marketing management software that targets communications as per individual customers is a great way to maximize mileage from your digital marketing efforts.

Yahoo Will Free Up Inactive IDs, Possibly Including Yours

If you have an old inactive Yahoo ID you haven’t used in a while, you may loose it…soon. The Internet giant plans to “free up” those IDs for the benefit of new or existing users who want them, if the old users don’t sign in to Yahoo before July 15, 2013.

It looks like Yahoo is doing this primarily to make room for potential new users of its services coming over from Tumblr. As we’ve reported, Yahoo announced plans to acquire the popular social blogging network for $1.1 billion last month.

The company said on its official Tumblr blog Wednesday that it will allow new users to stake their claims on inactive Yahoo IDs. Here’s what Yahoo Senior Vice President of Platforms Jay Rossiter wrote about the changes in a post called “yourname@yahoo.com Can Be Yours!”:

If you’re like me, you want a Yahoo! ID that’s short, sweet, and memorable like albert@yahoo.com instead of albert9330399@yahoo.com. A Yahoo! ID is not only your email address, it also gives you access to content tailored to your interests - like sports scores for your favorite teams, weather in your hometown, and news that matters to you.

Here’s how Yahoo plans to give new users a crack at the old inactive IDs. In mid-July, Rossiter said Yahoo will be “resetting” IDs inactive for 12 months or longer. At that time, Rossiter says anyone will have a chance to “score” one of these free IDs. No word yet on exactly how this will work.

They can then return to Yahoo in mid August to find out whether they got the ID of their choice. Yahoo IDs are used to access most Yahoo services including Yahoo Mail and Flickr photostreams.

If you’re like a lot of early Yahoo users, including online business owners, you probably have a Yahoo ID you haven’t used in a while, perhaps to access an old Yahoo email account or MyYahoo page you used for business purposes. If you’d like to keep that account for future use, no problem. But you’ll need to act soon.

Rossiter says existing users need only log onto any Yahoo product prior to July 15, 2013. So, if you want to keep that old Yahoo ID - take note.

Five Ways To Customize Your Digital Marketing Efforts To Make Sure They’re On Target

As you promote your growing business via the business website, mobile devices, email marketing campaigns and social media, you need to ask yourself - are your digital marketing efforts truly effective?

In other words -

1. Are you able to customize promotional messages as per customer interests and demographics?
2. Do you have a differentiated marketing strategy for new customers, loyal customers and customers that are no longer doing business with you?
3. Do you know the preferred channel of engagement for each of your customers?

If you have answered ‘no’ to all of these questions, then most likely your business is bombarding customers with ‘generic’ messages and therefore your digital marketing efforts are not as effective as they should be.

Customize your digital marketing efforts

While it may seem improbable or cumbersome, personalizing digital marketing campaigns is the next wave of ‘relationship marketing’.

As per Scott Olrich, President, Marketing and Platform at Responsys, “Marketing is no longer about maximizing the number of people brands reach with a campaign, it’s about creating individualized interactions that engage customers and lead to long-term revenue growth and value”.    

So instead of bombarding all clients with the same message, you can achieve the following with the Responsys marketing software:

• Tailor email marketing campaigns as per client vintage/ demographics. For example, a new customer automatically gets a series of introductory email messages when he makes  the first purchase or enrolls on your website. Or you can develop an email campaign targeting customers who are professional women under the age of 30.
• Showcasing products on the website as per interests and hobbies of individual customers. So each time customers visit your website, they first see products that they would be most inclined towards purchasing.
• Customizing communications to clients as per their preferred mode of communication. Whether individual customers like to browse online, receive text messages or emails, you ensure that you connect with them accordingly.
• Know what customers are viewing on your website and Facebook fan page and tailor messages accordingly. For example, if a customer clicks on your latest collection of T-shirts, you can automatically trigger a promotional email containing information about the particular line of clothing.
• Understand the effectiveness of your mobile marketing campaign by reporting of clicks and conversions made from each page of your website.

With marketing budgets becoming more focused on digital content, its important to ensure that the communication remains ‘ relevant’ to the target audience. An integrated marketing management software that targets communications as per individual customers is a great way to maximize mileage from your digital marketing efforts.

Mid-Year Business Review: Risk Management Edition

For small-business owners, conducting a mid-year check-in is an essential part of staying on track for meeting annual revenue and growth goals. But a mid-year review can also be an effective risk-management tool to help keep your business safe from the various forces that can throw it off track.

Below are key questions to include in your business review to ensure that you’re adequately managing the risks that affect your business.

Business Review: Risk Management Questions

As with any mid-year review, half the battle is setting aside time to analyze your business and develop an action plan for items you need to work on. Get serious about latter portion of 2013 by setting aside a half day in the coming weeks to spend analyzing the current state of your company. When you do, take the time to consider these questions that focus on risk management.

Are your taxes on track?

In mid June, your second installment of estimated quarterly taxes is due. But if your revenue has increased since your initial projections, your tax liability might have changed, too. To make sure you don’t incur underpayment penalties, take time during your mid-year check-in to reexamine your calculations.

Dedicating a few minutes to crunching these numbers has the potential to save you time, energy, and unnecessary penalties when you’re filing your taxes next year.

How safe are your business premises?

A quick safety audit of your business premises will alert you to any hazards that could lead to property damage, bodily injury, or lawsuits for the people you serve and employ. Check batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, verify that furniture and decorative items are secure and unlikely to cause accidents, and make sure that light fixtures provide adequate illumination.

A little preventative work now can save you from a customer injury that leads to a costly lawsuit down the road.

Are you inviting a data breach?

These days, it’s almost impossible to run a business without handling client data of some kind. And if you have access to customer information, you’re at risk for having it compromised in a data breach. Minimizing your chances of being victimized requires a multi-pronged approach: Encrypt data, use strong passwords, change your passwords regularly, limit employee access to sensitive data, install antivirus software on your machines, and invest in a Cyber Liability Insurance policy that will cover your costs if and when a data breach does happen.

Small businesses are big targets and if you’ve skipped one or more of these steps, there’s no better time than the present to put protective measures in place.

Do you have policies in place for avoiding client lawsuits?

In many cases, client lawsuits are triggered not by sloppy or incomplete work but by clients who feel as if their needs haven’t been met or their concerns haven’t been addressed. One way to minimize the likelihood of dissatisfied clients is to institute a check-in strategy that includes communication during all phases of a project. Having a standard policy for touching base allows you to identify areas of concern and address problems when they’re small. Without such a policy, you’ll likely only hear about problems when they’ve escalated and are harder and more time-consuming to deal with.

Your communication system doesn’t have to be complicated: Even pre-written emails sent at specific stages in your projects can work by demonstrating to your clients that you’re thinking about them and available to address their concerns.

Do you know what your competitors are up to?

It’s never fun to be blindsided by a disruptive innovation from one of your biggest rivals. A new, out-of-the-blue product or service launch by one of your rivals can hurt both your credibility and your revenue. During your mid-year review, set aside some time to research your competition (and develop a schedule for doing this on a regular basis if you aren’t already).

At worst, you’ll find out about an upcoming challenge sooner than you might have; at best, you’ll get some great ideas you can adapt for your own business.

When did you last update your emergency or disaster plan?

Hurricane Sandy served as an unpleasant reminder about how serious weather events can affect small businesses. But now that the “Super Storm” has faded from headlines, the urgency behind disaster management plans has also sputtered. If you don’t have a plan in place for what you’ll do in the event of a tornado, hurricane, flood, earthquake, fire or power outage, take some time to sketch out the details.

Remember to include plans for contacting your employees, saving or preserving your inventory, and financing your ongoing business expenses if your revenue is disrupted. (Business Interruption Insurance might be able to help with the latter.)

Do your insurance policies protect you against the risks you currently face?

Finally, take a look at the limits and exclusions on your Business Liability Insurance policies. If you haven’t updated them in six months or more and have experienced any business changes in that time (e.g., moving to a new building, increasing revenue, offering new services or products, hiring new employees, etc.), there’s a good chance that your policies don’t fully cover you. A brief phone call to your insurance agent should clarify whether you need an update to your insurance policies.

Risk Management as Part of Revenue Growth

It’s all too easy to treat risk management as an afterthought while focusing primarily on more traditional revenue-boosting measures. In reality, though, a robust risk management plan is essential to maintaining steady revenue increases. After all, nothing drains a business’s assets faster than an unexpected catastrophe or disaster that demands large-scale repairs or a lawsuit that requires extensive time and money to defend.

If you’re having trouble finding time to update your risk management plan, think of it as one of the safeguards you put in place to shield the revenue you’ve worked so hard to earn. Take some advice from Ben Franklin, the owner of several small businesses:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Management Photo via Shutterstock

Mid-Year Business Review: Risk Management Edition

For small-business owners, conducting a mid-year check-in is an essential part of staying on track for meeting annual revenue and growth goals. But a mid-year review can also be an effective risk-management tool to help keep your business safe from the various forces that can throw it off track.

Below are key questions to include in your business review to ensure that you’re adequately managing the risks that affect your business.

Business Review: Risk Management Questions

As with any mid-year review, half the battle is setting aside time to analyze your business and develop an action plan for items you need to work on. Get serious about latter portion of 2013 by setting aside a half day in the coming weeks to spend analyzing the current state of your company. When you do, take the time to consider these questions that focus on risk management.

Are your taxes on track?

In mid June, your second installment of estimated quarterly taxes is due. But if your revenue has increased since your initial projections, your tax liability might have changed, too. To make sure you don’t incur underpayment penalties, take time during your mid-year check-in to reexamine your calculations.

Dedicating a few minutes to crunching these numbers has the potential to save you time, energy, and unnecessary penalties when you’re filing your taxes next year.

How safe are your business premises?

A quick safety audit of your business premises will alert you to any hazards that could lead to property damage, bodily injury, or lawsuits for the people you serve and employ. Check batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, verify that furniture and decorative items are secure and unlikely to cause accidents, and make sure that light fixtures provide adequate illumination.

A little preventative work now can save you from a customer injury that leads to a costly lawsuit down the road.

Are you inviting a data breach?

These days, it’s almost impossible to run a business without handling client data of some kind. And if you have access to customer information, you’re at risk for having it compromised in a data breach. Minimizing your chances of being victimized requires a multi-pronged approach: Encrypt data, use strong passwords, change your passwords regularly, limit employee access to sensitive data, install antivirus software on your machines, and invest in a Cyber Liability Insurance policy that will cover your costs if and when a data breach does happen.

Small businesses are big targets and if you’ve skipped one or more of these steps, there’s no better time than the present to put protective measures in place.

Do you have policies in place for avoiding client lawsuits?

In many cases, client lawsuits are triggered not by sloppy or incomplete work but by clients who feel as if their needs haven’t been met or their concerns haven’t been addressed. One way to minimize the likelihood of dissatisfied clients is to institute a check-in strategy that includes communication during all phases of a project. Having a standard policy for touching base allows you to identify areas of concern and address problems when they’re small. Without such a policy, you’ll likely only hear about problems when they’ve escalated and are harder and more time-consuming to deal with.

Your communication system doesn’t have to be complicated: Even pre-written emails sent at specific stages in your projects can work by demonstrating to your clients that you’re thinking about them and available to address their concerns.

Do you know what your competitors are up to?

It’s never fun to be blindsided by a disruptive innovation from one of your biggest rivals. A new, out-of-the-blue product or service launch by one of your rivals can hurt both your credibility and your revenue. During your mid-year review, set aside some time to research your competition (and develop a schedule for doing this on a regular basis if you aren’t already).

At worst, you’ll find out about an upcoming challenge sooner than you might have; at best, you’ll get some great ideas you can adapt for your own business.

When did you last update your emergency or disaster plan?

Hurricane Sandy served as an unpleasant reminder about how serious weather events can affect small businesses. But now that the “Super Storm” has faded from headlines, the urgency behind disaster management plans has also sputtered. If you don’t have a plan in place for what you’ll do in the event of a tornado, hurricane, flood, earthquake, fire or power outage, take some time to sketch out the details.

Remember to include plans for contacting your employees, saving or preserving your inventory, and financing your ongoing business expenses if your revenue is disrupted. (Business Interruption Insurance might be able to help with the latter.)

Do your insurance policies protect you against the risks you currently face?

Finally, take a look at the limits and exclusions on your Business Liability Insurance policies. If you haven’t updated them in six months or more and have experienced any business changes in that time (e.g., moving to a new building, increasing revenue, offering new services or products, hiring new employees, etc.), there’s a good chance that your policies don’t fully cover you. A brief phone call to your insurance agent should clarify whether you need an update to your insurance policies.

Risk Management as Part of Revenue Growth

It’s all too easy to treat risk management as an afterthought while focusing primarily on more traditional revenue-boosting measures. In reality, though, a robust risk management plan is essential to maintaining steady revenue increases. After all, nothing drains a business’s assets faster than an unexpected catastrophe or disaster that demands large-scale repairs or a lawsuit that requires extensive time and money to defend.

If you’re having trouble finding time to update your risk management plan, think of it as one of the safeguards you put in place to shield the revenue you’ve worked so hard to earn. Take some advice from Ben Franklin, the owner of several small businesses:

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Management Photo via Shutterstock

Enterprise BYOD offers mixed bag for enterprise endpoint security

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Wintel's dominance on enterprise endpoints may be eroding at the expense of a multitude of new devices and platforms, but thankfully for enterprises, the job of securing endpoints might be getting easier.

Treat all those mobile devices as suspect, and don't deliver data you can't afford to have there.

Peter Firstbrook,
research vice president, Gartner Inc.

Speaking Tuesday at the 2013 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit, Gartner Inc. Research Vice President Peter Firstbrook guided attendees through the evolving endpoint security landscape. Even though 75% of tablets and laptops are purchased by consumers, many will show up on enterprise networks, he said. Enterprises are encouraging the consumerization of IT for increased productivity benefits, he added, while security pros are left to manage the risks.

Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner forecasts that the number of endpoints secured by enterprises is expected to increase 25% from the end of 2012 through 2017. Though Windows devices will still make up the majority of enterprise endpoints in 2017, Firstbrook cautioned attendees that a wave of iOS and Android devices will have an increasingly positive effect on enterprise endpoint security. Foremost among the security benefits, he said, is that both platforms' vendors -- Apple Inc. and Google Inc. respectively -- emphasize security in their products and offer certain advantages over Windows, included embedded security features such as encryption and remote wipe.

Firstbrook also heaped praise on the locked-down app store model employed by iOS, which essentially utilizes a whitelisting-style system to allow in apps deemed secure and keep out apps that might be malicious or otherwise unsafe. The success of the Apple app store model, according to him, makes a return to the blacklisting technologies of yesteryear "insanity."

Despite the perception of Android as a platform plagued by malware, Firstbrook noted that Android application security has improved over time, thanks to Google's increased monitoring of its official app store. "The reality is, if you stick to Google Play" as a single source of application downloads, he said, "there is a really small percentage of malware in there."

Firstbrook also pointed out that these prominent mobile platforms hardly suffer from any notable malware infections compared to Windows machines, and that mobile device users typically must download malware directly, unlike in Windows environments, where self-propagating viruses are common.

While the whitelisting paradigm has worked well for app store security, Firstbrook indicated that application security vendors, including Veracode Inc. and Appthority Inc., are advancing application security further by classifying mobile apps by category -- such as business, education, entertainment, finance and gaming -- making it easier for an enterprise to allow or block use of certain types of mobile apps based on its mobile device security policy. He said he expects mobile device management (MDM) providers to add similar app categorization as well.

"It's not going to be possible to manage that 'good' list without categorization," Firstbrook noted.

Challenges posed by mobile platforms

Despite the security capabilities built into modern mobile platforms, Firstbrook said plenty of problems still exist. For example, Android and iOS devices also present the unique issue of being able to "sideload" apps via custom ROMs and jailbreaking, he said. Such techniques will affect the ability of enterprises to enforce application control, which could negate the benefits of curated app stores, both those offered by Apple and Google as well as enterprise app stores, he added.

This issue is especially prominent with Android, where manufacturers like Samsung and HTC pump out dozens of devices each year, all with different and customized versions of the open source OS. Firstbrook advised enterprises to stick to one vendor to minimize the security ramifications of this Android platform fragmentation. For those choosing among the OEMs, he pointed to the security features Samsung has added to its Android devices.

Additionally, Firstbrook said, Android and iOS together accrued more than 100 known vulnerabilities in 2012, and as enterprises increasingly allow mobile devices onto their networks, those devices will become a more enticing target for cybercriminals. "The bad news is, no question, attackers are going to focus on these platforms," he commented.

The new generation of powerful Web browsers now available on mobile devices ranks among the preeminent mobile security challenges facing IT security teams. Mobile browsers can often fall prey to the same potentially malicious sites targeting desktop users, Firstbrook noted, but enterprises often can't restrict mobile browsing as they can with desktop browsing. As a result, he said, enterprises should define acceptable use policies for mobile devices to protect users from Java, Flash and other exploitations.

Protect what's important

As part of the shift from Windows devices to mobile, Firstbrook advised enterprises to stop focusing on mobile malware defense and move resources to securing data and transaction systems. From a strategy standpoint, he said, enterprises should consider mobile security similar to how banks and other financial firms approach security: focusing on high-value transactions and understanding that they are unable to protect everything.

Enterprises also can categorize their data and transaction systems by their sensitivity and value: For example, Firstbrook said, all personally identifiable information should be encrypted. He highlighted secure Web gateways as a starting point for enterprises that need to inspect mobile device traffic to ensure sensitive IP isn't leaking out, and emphasized the importance of extending corporate Internet use policies to mobile devices.

Ultimately though, Firstbrook said some types of sensitive corporate data shouldn't be placed on mobile devices, so each enterprise should assess its risk appetite and decide whether the benefits of mobile outweigh the threat of data leakage.

"Treat all those mobile devices as suspect, and don't deliver data you can't afford to have there. You have to be realistic about what you're going to be able to protect," he said. "You have to focus in on critical data and transaction systems, and focus on protecting them."

Scaling for Growth: The Benefits of a Business Phone System in the Cloud

Growing businesses have at least one thing in common. They all need the ability to “scale”, i.e., be able to grow without infrastructure and systems holding them back. Or as I often say, you have to be able to get out of your own way as you grow.

If you are held back from opportunities because your existing systems aren’t flexible enough or it cost too much to expand, or you feel locked in to outdated technology that’s cumbersome to manage - then your business will suffer.

The good news in one area, telecommunications, is that there are many more choices for small businesses today than even 5 years ago.

One of those choices is a cloud phone system.

A cloud phone system is where you use the power and benefits of the cloud for telecommunications. Cloud phone systems offer a number of advantages:

Avoid costly equipment

With a cloud-based business phone system, there’s typically little hardware involved (other than the phones themselves). So you don’t need to worry about buying, maintaining and upgrading equipment or even the software, such as for a PBX switchboard. It saves on capital expenditures and also cuts down your internal maintenance costs.

Convenient management

A cloud phone system gives you a Web-based management console to configure features and users. Look for a system whose dashboard is easy to understand and use â€" by a non-telecommunications professional.

Fast to set up

Some phone systems require a lot of lead time to set up. For example, a dedicated VOIP system on your premises may require multiple visits by an installation crew, and training sessions to learn a complex system. A cloud system is much closer to “plug and play.”

Get more leverage with more features

For small and midsize businesses, you’re able to get the kind of features that large enterprise phone systems take for granted, but without the enterprise cost. You can easily get features such as call logs, conference calling, and auto attendants to direct incoming calls.

And while you could piece together such features from a variety of providers, there’s less complexity when you get them through a single provider, management them with a single interface, and get a single consolidated billing.

Easy to understand, predictable billing

Back in my corporate days I remember meetings where we talked about nothing but our high telephone costs. Those costs were mainly driven by expensive hardware we had on site, such a bulky PBX switchboard box, and complex added charges and complicated discount formulas. On more than one occasion we hired a consultant to come in and audit our phone bills, and help us to reduce them.

That’s when I learned the value of an easy to understand billing system. A system built on a flat monthly rate, with any add-on charges clearly identified, saves a lot of management time. It also helps control costs because it’s more predictable and you can budget more accurately.

911 emergency capabilities

One of the knocks against VOIP systems or a system like Skype, is that some don’t offer emergency calling. You need this. Better cloud systems today recognize that businesses need emergency (as well as 411 directory assistance) capabilities, and offer them as standard features.

Unified communications

Unified communications is often an extra feature, and for organizations that do heavy phone work, it can lend considerable efficiency. Unified communications means that you can seamlessly use other devices such as computers for placing and taking calls, getting voicemails sent to email, and other integrated features. It saves users time, and lets them be more productive. For instance, if you’re working on your computer and need to make a call, you can do so right then and there from your computer. If you need to check voicemails, you can go to your email inbox along with other messages.

Bottom line is this: consider these kinds of benefits when reviewing your phone system needs.  And if you haven’t reviewed your phone bills or business phone system in a while, do it soon.  A lot has changed in the last five years.  It pays to see what’s out there, and see how the right phone system can help your business scale, instead of getting in your way.

Cloud Systems Photo via Shutterstock

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (6/14 - 6/20)

Here is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (6/14 - 6/20) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area. Have a business and/or technology event coming up in the New York City area that you’d like us to add to our weekly post? If so, email us at eve...@smallbiztechnology.com.

The Power of Email Marketing

June 14, 2013, - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM, McBurney YMCA, 125 West 14th Street, New York, NY

Enjoy a fun and highly interactive class on social media and email marketing. Ask questions and get answers. Learn some amazing social media tips from NainI Nakagawa - founder of matchmyspirit.com . Naini will guide you step by step on how to REALLY use social media and email marketing to your advantage and actually acquire new clients right away !

 

Social Media and Your Business

June 14, 2013, - 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM, Women’s Venture Fund, 220 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10010

You have heard about social media, Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare but what does it mean for your business. Join us as our panel of experts, takes you through the social media maze successfully. Our experts will define it, demonstrate it and show you how to master social media for your business.
This event is affiliated with S.H.E. Summit Week, but is organized by the host. Please join us for the S.H.E. Summit 2 Day Conference - The Leadership and Lifestyle Event for Women. In addition, Women’s Venture Fund is offering an all Day workshop on how to grow your business on June 20th.

 

Intel Behind the Scenes: Inside the Perceptual Computing Dev Team

June 17, 2013, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, WeWork Labs, 175 Varick Street, New York, NY

Ever wonder why your computer doesn’t know that it’s you who is sitting in front of it or why you have to log into all those services and sites? Why you have to log in at all? How would daily tasks be different if our devices and the environment had eyes, ears and could speak? And how do we make all this happen?

These and other questions are at the core of Intel’s Perceptual Computing group’s mission. They’ve been busy developing technologies that will enable the community to start crafting these types of more natural interactions, devices, and spaces.

Join Seth Gibson, Intel’s Project Manager in charge of Perceptual Computing and colleagues, live from San Francisco, as they describe Intel’s current natural user interface technologies and give insight into Intel’s road map. Hear an overview of Intel’s prototyping process as well as the design lessons learned along the way.

Mobile Apps for Women and Networking Event

June 18, 2013, - 6:15 PM to 8:30 PM, ThoughtWorks, 99 Madison Ave. 15th fl, New York NY 10016

Networking at Webgrrls meetings is very focused. We will start the meetings with an overview of one of the latest technologies to get you inspired to see how you can leverage this technology in your career or business. 
After the topical discussion (see below), we will move to the heart and soul of the Networking meetings…the Introductions. Everyone will have 30 seconds to introduce themselves…tell us who you are and what you do, what you NEED, and what you can OFFER. This is designed to help attendees identify who is in the room that the MUST connect with.
The evening ends with an Informal networking, where everyone can connect more personally with the right people and exchange business cards, opportunities and leads.

Spice & Flavor Marketing: 49 Ideas to Jump Start Your Boring Marketing

June 18, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Regus Office Suites, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10106

In this seminar, Sameer and Ramon will share 49 ideas that will spice up your marketing program. You will learn how to use Information Marketing & Education Marketing to increase your bottom line by creating products and services that work in conjunction with your existing business or as a stand-alone business!
In this fun, interactive 2-hour seminar, you’ll learn how to:

1. Get clients to know, like & trust you!
2. Establish yourself as the expert in your industry (even if you’re not)
3. Add backend products & services so you’re never leaving money on the table!

Ramon will show you how to use the 7 steps of Lifecycle Marketing to capture leads, nurture prospects and turn customers into loyal, lifelong customers.
This seminar is not for the weak at heart, so be prepared to come and LEARN so you can leave and GROW your business!

 

LiveWorld presents Legal & Marketing: Social Media Allies or Enemies?

June 18, 2013, - 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Bridgewater Commons, 600 Commons Way, Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Following its success at Social Media Week 2013 in New York, this exciting panel discussion is coming to New Jersey by popular demand! We’ll bring together marketing and legal masters to debate how to create an environment of innovation and maintain compliance in this ever-changing world of social media.

Kablammie! Using Video Marketing to Make a Splash With Your Brand

June 18, 2013, - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, 16 W. 23rd Street, 4th fl., New York, NY

This is a class for those looking to take their business and brand to the next level through the use of video and video marketing. The goal is to help those attending understand the medium of visual storytelling and how to customize it to best suit their needs. As authenticity becomes one of the most important factors for success in any business, video will draw a line in the sand between those who truly want to connect with their audience and those who are merely looking to make a quick sale.

 

Tax Planning For Your Small Business

June 19, 2013, - 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, Conference Room C, New York, NY

Tax planning is a critical component in effectively managing your business and maximizing your cash flow. Projecting your taxes and planning how to handle them well in advance can substantially reduce the stress on your small business, and may even save you money. This important seminar can provide you with the essential guidelines for reviewing your federal, state and city tax situation and establishing a practical plan for anticipating and scheduling your payments.

 

Get Down To Business: Helping you Reach your Next Great Customer

June 20, 2013, - 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Scandinavia House, Volvo Hall, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Join us in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or New Jersey for a weeklong celebration of inspiration and education from some of the area’s top Small Business Experts. Each year Americans start one million new businesses. Nearly 80% fail within the first five years. How do you get through the pressure of just “keeping the lights on”?  We get it! Let’s get off that treadmill and move forward!!! Constant Contact has assembled some of the leading Small Business experts for a morning of inspiration and education to help you find your next customer and grow your business!

 

2013 NY Business Expo & Summit

June 20, 2013, - 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Atlman Building, 135W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

NY Entrepreneurs Business Network is hosting its 2nd NY Business Expo & Summit at the Altman Building in the great New York City. NYEBN welcomes you to join us for another round - that means excellent exposure for companies and brands, and an opportunity to meet and greet with other talented venture professionals. There, you will have a chance to partake in a twister-like environment that consists of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and start-up founders. It’s essential for start-ups and small business owners to learn the inner ropes to entrepreneurial success. Attendees will have a chance to hear it first hand from our inspirational guest speakers - from advice to how they untied kinks faced along the way.

NYC Events: Upcoming NYC Business and Technology Events (6/14 - 6/20)

Here is a listing of NYC Business and Technology Events for the upcoming week (6/14 - 6/20) that we thought would be beneficial to our small business community in the Greater NYC area. Have a business and/or technology event coming up in the New York City area that you’d like us to add to our weekly post? If so, email us at eve...@smallbiztechnology.com.

The Power of Email Marketing

June 14, 2013, - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM, McBurney YMCA, 125 West 14th Street, New York, NY

Enjoy a fun and highly interactive class on social media and email marketing. Ask questions and get answers. Learn some amazing social media tips from NainI Nakagawa - founder of matchmyspirit.com . Naini will guide you step by step on how to REALLY use social media and email marketing to your advantage and actually acquire new clients right away !

 

Social Media and Your Business

June 14, 2013, - 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM, Women’s Venture Fund, 220 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10010

You have heard about social media, Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare but what does it mean for your business. Join us as our panel of experts, takes you through the social media maze successfully. Our experts will define it, demonstrate it and show you how to master social media for your business.
This event is affiliated with S.H.E. Summit Week, but is organized by the host. Please join us for the S.H.E. Summit 2 Day Conference - The Leadership and Lifestyle Event for Women. In addition, Women’s Venture Fund is offering an all Day workshop on how to grow your business on June 20th.

 

Intel Behind the Scenes: Inside the Perceptual Computing Dev Team

June 17, 2013, 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, WeWork Labs, 175 Varick Street, New York, NY

Ever wonder why your computer doesn’t know that it’s you who is sitting in front of it or why you have to log into all those services and sites? Why you have to log in at all? How would daily tasks be different if our devices and the environment had eyes, ears and could speak? And how do we make all this happen?

These and other questions are at the core of Intel’s Perceptual Computing group’s mission. They’ve been busy developing technologies that will enable the community to start crafting these types of more natural interactions, devices, and spaces.

Join Seth Gibson, Intel’s Project Manager in charge of Perceptual Computing and colleagues, live from San Francisco, as they describe Intel’s current natural user interface technologies and give insight into Intel’s road map. Hear an overview of Intel’s prototyping process as well as the design lessons learned along the way.

Mobile Apps for Women and Networking Event

June 18, 2013, - 6:15 PM to 8:30 PM, ThoughtWorks, 99 Madison Ave. 15th fl, New York NY 10016

Networking at Webgrrls meetings is very focused. We will start the meetings with an overview of one of the latest technologies to get you inspired to see how you can leverage this technology in your career or business. 
After the topical discussion (see below), we will move to the heart and soul of the Networking meetings…the Introductions. Everyone will have 30 seconds to introduce themselves…tell us who you are and what you do, what you NEED, and what you can OFFER. This is designed to help attendees identify who is in the room that the MUST connect with.
The evening ends with an Informal networking, where everyone can connect more personally with the right people and exchange business cards, opportunities and leads.

Spice & Flavor Marketing: 49 Ideas to Jump Start Your Boring Marketing

June 18, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Regus Office Suites, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10106

In this seminar, Sameer and Ramon will share 49 ideas that will spice up your marketing program. You will learn how to use Information Marketing & Education Marketing to increase your bottom line by creating products and services that work in conjunction with your existing business or as a stand-alone business!
In this fun, interactive 2-hour seminar, you’ll learn how to:

1. Get clients to know, like & trust you!
2. Establish yourself as the expert in your industry (even if you’re not)
3. Add backend products & services so you’re never leaving money on the table!

Ramon will show you how to use the 7 steps of Lifecycle Marketing to capture leads, nurture prospects and turn customers into loyal, lifelong customers.
This seminar is not for the weak at heart, so be prepared to come and LEARN so you can leave and GROW your business!

 

LiveWorld presents Legal & Marketing: Social Media Allies or Enemies?

June 18, 2013, - 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Bridgewater Commons, 600 Commons Way, Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Following its success at Social Media Week 2013 in New York, this exciting panel discussion is coming to New Jersey by popular demand! We’ll bring together marketing and legal masters to debate how to create an environment of innovation and maintain compliance in this ever-changing world of social media.

Kablammie! Using Video Marketing to Make a Splash With Your Brand

June 18, 2013, - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, 16 W. 23rd Street, 4th fl., New York, NY

This is a class for those looking to take their business and brand to the next level through the use of video and video marketing. The goal is to help those attending understand the medium of visual storytelling and how to customize it to best suit their needs. As authenticity becomes one of the most important factors for success in any business, video will draw a line in the sand between those who truly want to connect with their audience and those who are merely looking to make a quick sale.

 

Tax Planning For Your Small Business

June 19, 2013, - 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, Conference Room C, New York, NY

Tax planning is a critical component in effectively managing your business and maximizing your cash flow. Projecting your taxes and planning how to handle them well in advance can substantially reduce the stress on your small business, and may even save you money. This important seminar can provide you with the essential guidelines for reviewing your federal, state and city tax situation and establishing a practical plan for anticipating and scheduling your payments.

 

Get Down To Business: Helping you Reach your Next Great Customer

June 20, 2013, - 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Scandinavia House, Volvo Hall, 58 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Join us in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or New Jersey for a weeklong celebration of inspiration and education from some of the area’s top Small Business Experts. Each year Americans start one million new businesses. Nearly 80% fail within the first five years. How do you get through the pressure of just “keeping the lights on”?  We get it! Let’s get off that treadmill and move forward!!! Constant Contact has assembled some of the leading Small Business experts for a morning of inspiration and education to help you find your next customer and grow your business!

 

2013 NY Business Expo & Summit

June 20, 2013, - 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Atlman Building, 135W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

NY Entrepreneurs Business Network is hosting its 2nd NY Business Expo & Summit at the Altman Building in the great New York City. NYEBN welcomes you to join us for another round - that means excellent exposure for companies and brands, and an opportunity to meet and greet with other talented venture professionals. There, you will have a chance to partake in a twister-like environment that consists of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and start-up founders. It’s essential for start-ups and small business owners to learn the inner ropes to entrepreneurial success. Attendees will have a chance to hear it first hand from our inspirational guest speakers - from advice to how they untied kinks faced along the way.

Risk manager scoops Infosec prize

Exhibiting at Infosecurity Europe for the second year, consultancy CS Risk Management gave away a pair of tickets to the British Grand Prix.

Winning the award was Jennie Davies, risk manager at AXA Wealth, (pictured) who collected the tickets from CS Risk Management's racing green stand.

Jennie said: “I was absolutely thrilled to win the tickets. I have wanted to go to the British Grand Prix for a long time so it is brilliant to get the opportunity.”

A spokesperson for CS Risk Management said: “In April we exhibited at the Infosecurity Europe event for our second year. This year we decided to use a motor sport theme for our stand as we have a lot of fans at CS Risk Management, and with motor sport being highly competitive it has a lot of information security risks.”

Wix Users Can Add Google Apps With One Click

Wix members can now add Google Apps for Business with just one click, a Wix spokesperson announced recently. The partnership between Wix and Google brings apps like Google Docs and Google Drive to the company’s more than 33 million members.

Wix is a free web design program released by Microsoft. Business owners can set up a professional-quality website without any coding required, customizing the site to match their exact needs. Members start by choosing from hundreds of templates created by professional web designers. Once a template is chosen, Wix’s easy-to-use drag-and-drop technology allows them to manipulate elements to create the perfect HTML5 website for their business.

By adding Google Apps for Business through Wix, business owners can enjoy a slight savings over the regular $5 per month Google charges on its own site. Members will pay $4.95 each month for the monthly plan or $4.08 per month if they pay for a year in advance. Once added, members will be able to check e-mail, upload documents, and manage their calendars, all in one place.

“Our goal is to enable our users to manage everything in a single unified place,” said Avishai Abrahami, Wix co-founder and CEO. “We’re already supporting the addition of powerful third-party created functionalities via the Wix App Market and this new Google Apps functionality is an important move in this direction.”

More than five million people use Google Apps for Business, which provides an easy way for business customers to share documents and manage e-mail and calendars. As mobile devices have become more popular, Google has stepped up to meet the need for Cloud-based apps that can be accessed anytime, from any device, with one login.

By adding Google Apps to Wix, which is also a Cloud-based app, business owners can manage their company websites, coordinate projects, and keep up with their calendars and contacts, all in one place. Wix already makes it easy to link your Gmail account to the website you have hosted on its site, directing e-mails to your Gmail account while allowing your e-mail address to reflect your website name. You can also let your customers contact you through a contact form that directs to your e-mail account using the instructions Wix provides here.

Wix offers a variety of add-ons that can super-charge your business site, including Shopify, an eCommerce platform that can provide shopping cart capabilities and eCommerce-quality product display options. Wix also offers a News List” app that provides business owners the ability to easily set up an eye-catching display that features the latest news about your business. Once in place, Wix’s interface makes it easy to update, adding new items by simply clicking “Edit News” on the news editor.

As Cloud computing continues to expand in popularity, services like Wix will continue to provide a way for customers to connect to everything through their Wix dashboard. By  having everything in one place, a business owner can save time and increase productivity by being able to connect from anywhere.

Wix Users Can Add Google Apps With One Click

Wix members can now add Google Apps for Business with just one click, a Wix spokesperson announced recently. The partnership between Wix and Google brings apps like Google Docs and Google Drive to the company’s more than 33 million members.

Wix is a free web design program released by Microsoft. Business owners can set up a professional-quality website without any coding required, customizing the site to match their exact needs. Members start by choosing from hundreds of templates created by professional web designers. Once a template is chosen, Wix’s easy-to-use drag-and-drop technology allows them to manipulate elements to create the perfect HTML5 website for their business.

By adding Google Apps for Business through Wix, business owners can enjoy a slight savings over the regular $5 per month Google charges on its own site. Members will pay $4.95 each month for the monthly plan or $4.08 per month if they pay for a year in advance. Once added, members will be able to check e-mail, upload documents, and manage their calendars, all in one place.

“Our goal is to enable our users to manage everything in a single unified place,” said Avishai Abrahami, Wix co-founder and CEO. “We’re already supporting the addition of powerful third-party created functionalities via the Wix App Market and this new Google Apps functionality is an important move in this direction.”

More than five million people use Google Apps for Business, which provides an easy way for business customers to share documents and manage e-mail and calendars. As mobile devices have become more popular, Google has stepped up to meet the need for Cloud-based apps that can be accessed anytime, from any device, with one login.

By adding Google Apps to Wix, which is also a Cloud-based app, business owners can manage their company websites, coordinate projects, and keep up with their calendars and contacts, all in one place. Wix already makes it easy to link your Gmail account to the website you have hosted on its site, directing e-mails to your Gmail account while allowing your e-mail address to reflect your website name. You can also let your customers contact you through a contact form that directs to your e-mail account using the instructions Wix provides here.

Wix offers a variety of add-ons that can super-charge your business site, including Shopify, an eCommerce platform that can provide shopping cart capabilities and eCommerce-quality product display options. Wix also offers a News List” app that provides business owners the ability to easily set up an eye-catching display that features the latest news about your business. Once in place, Wix’s interface makes it easy to update, adding new items by simply clicking “Edit News” on the news editor.

As Cloud computing continues to expand in popularity, services like Wix will continue to provide a way for customers to connect to everything through their Wix dashboard. By  having everything in one place, a business owner can save time and increase productivity by being able to connect from anywhere.

12 Business Leadership Lessons From Scout Law

Every week, you can find thousands of boys and young men across the nation attending their local Boy Scout meeting, learning the values and skills every good American man should know. With former Boy Scouts everywhere in today’s business world, it’s no wonder that their twelve pillars of Scout Law (pictured above) are incorporated into the way they practice business.

Surveys show that over 70 percent of consumers in America and Europe distrust businesses as a whole. But for the brands that they do trust, consumer loyalty is fierce. I’ve personally found that one of the easiest ways to instill trust is to mirror the 12 values found in the Scout Law:

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Whether you incorporate these values into the way you personally conduct business or into the way your brand operates as a whole, I think you’ll find that consumers will be excited to work with you time and time again. So let’s get down to business and analyze the Scout’s Law.

Create a Trustworthy Profile

Did you know that consumers consider transparency more important that brand appeal?

A lack of transparency directly correlates to a distinct lack of trust and consumer enthusiasm. Whether it’s being forthright with your stakeholders or honest about the sourcing of materials, there are many areas in which businesses can be transparent.

An excellent example of this is The Honest Company, which is transparent about materials used in their products for babies.

Loyalty Works Both Ways

When you truly focus on building a great customer experience, you’ll find that brands have the responsibility to increase loyalty to their consumers.

In my own business experiences, the more I’ve loyally focused on fulfilling consumer needs and making them happy, no matter what, the better business becomes. If you take a look at the world’s top companies, like Amazon and Apple, I think you’ll find that they have a fierce loyalty to their consumers.

Forget Fluff and Get Helpful

When most brands think about content marketing, their focus is on SEO - and rightly so. However, keywords and content strategy will only get you so far. Your content has to offer value and insight to consumers or there is no point to reading it.

Without helpful content, you’ll establish a reputation as a fluff-maker that consumers will avoid like the plague. Instead, show that you’re willing to help even if there’s no direct benefit for you.

Friendly, Courteous, and Kind Brands are Likeable Brands

As a southerner, Southern hospitality is basically my middle name. It’s molded the way I’ve conducted business and established a trusted reputation.

No one wants to do business with “mean” folks.

Obey the Market Rules

The premise that the “customer is always right” isn’t necessarily true. However, you must always behave as though it is.

Remember, without their business, you wouldn’t have a paycheck. Businessmen and brands alike need to remember how to obey their customers and be subservient to market demands. Brands such as Whole Foods have even incorporated this into their Core Values and mission statement.

Spread the Cheer

Emotions drive the business world as much as anything else. Think about the major brands that you use on a daily basis, such as Google and Facebook, and you’ll find that they’re all generally “happy” brands.

Get Thrifty like Mackelmore

Becoming more efficient with your resources and time not only benefits your bottom line, but also makes the consumer happier when the savings are passed onto them.

Bravery Gets You Attention

SodaStream recently had their commercials banned across the UK.

Why?

Because supermarket retailers were afraid that people would no longer purchase sodas if they could make them at home. Despite the controversy, SodaStream is fighting back - and hard. This has only resulted in more coverage and higher sales.

Clean is Always Better Than Dirty

Just like you would never want to walk into a dirty store, people don’t like shopping on unorganized and messy websites. Keep your Web presence clean by focusing on simplicity and content organization.

Reverent Brands are Supported Brands

Reverent brands give back to their communities whenever possible. You are doing good and building consumer goodwill when you take advantage of opportunities to give back.

Twelve Pillars of Scout Law Photo via Shutterstock

Wix Users Can Add Google Apps With One Click

Wix members can now add Google Apps for Business with just one click, a Wix spokesperson announced recently. The partnership between Wix and Google brings apps like Google Docs and Google Drive to the company’s more than 33 million members.

Wix is a free web design program released by Microsoft. Business owners can set up a professional-quality website without any coding required, customizing the site to match their exact needs. Members start by choosing from hundreds of templates created by professional web designers. Once a template is chosen, Wix’s easy-to-use drag-and-drop technology allows them to manipulate elements to create the perfect HTML5 website for their business.

By adding Google Apps for Business through Wix, business owners can enjoy a slight savings over the regular $5 per month Google charges on its own site. Members will pay $4.95 each month for the monthly plan or $4.08 per month if they pay for a year in advance. Once added, members will be able to check e-mail, upload documents, and manage their calendars, all in one place.

“Our goal is to enable our users to manage everything in a single unified place,” said Avishai Abrahami, Wix co-founder and CEO. “We’re already supporting the addition of powerful third-party created functionalities via the Wix App Market and this new Google Apps functionality is an important move in this direction.”

More than five million people use Google Apps for Business, which provides an easy way for business customers to share documents and manage e-mail and calendars. As mobile devices have become more popular, Google has stepped up to meet the need for Cloud-based apps that can be accessed anytime, from any device, with one login.

By adding Google Apps to Wix, which is also a Cloud-based app, business owners can manage their company websites, coordinate projects, and keep up with their calendars and contacts, all in one place. Wix already makes it easy to link your Gmail account to the website you have hosted on its site, directing e-mails to your Gmail account while allowing your e-mail address to reflect your website name. You can also let your customers contact you through a contact form that directs to your e-mail account using the instructions Wix provides here.

Wix offers a variety of add-ons that can super-charge your business site, including Shopify, an eCommerce platform that can provide shopping cart capabilities and eCommerce-quality product display options. Wix also offers a News List” app that provides business owners the ability to easily set up an eye-catching display that features the latest news about your business. Once in place, Wix’s interface makes it easy to update, adding new items by simply clicking “Edit News” on the news editor.

As Cloud computing continues to expand in popularity, services like Wix will continue to provide a way for customers to connect to everything through their Wix dashboard. By  having everything in one place, a business owner can save time and increase productivity by being able to connect from anywhere.

12 Business Leadership Lessons From Scout Law

Every week, you can find thousands of boys and young men across the nation attending their local Boy Scout meeting, learning the values and skills every good American man should know. With former Boy Scouts everywhere in today’s business world, it’s no wonder that their twelve pillars of Scout Law (pictured above) are incorporated into the way they practice business.

Surveys show that over 70 percent of consumers in America and Europe distrust businesses as a whole. But for the brands that they do trust, consumer loyalty is fierce. I’ve personally found that one of the easiest ways to instill trust is to mirror the 12 values found in the Scout Law:

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

Whether you incorporate these values into the way you personally conduct business or into the way your brand operates as a whole, I think you’ll find that consumers will be excited to work with you time and time again. So let’s get down to business and analyze the Scout’s Law.

Create a Trustworthy Profile

Did you know that consumers consider transparency more important that brand appeal?

A lack of transparency directly correlates to a distinct lack of trust and consumer enthusiasm. Whether it’s being forthright with your stakeholders or honest about the sourcing of materials, there are many areas in which businesses can be transparent.

An excellent example of this is The Honest Company, which is transparent about materials used in their products for babies.

Loyalty Works Both Ways

When you truly focus on building a great customer experience, you’ll find that brands have the responsibility to increase loyalty to their consumers.

In my own business experiences, the more I’ve loyally focused on fulfilling consumer needs and making them happy, no matter what, the better business becomes. If you take a look at the world’s top companies, like Amazon and Apple, I think you’ll find that they have a fierce loyalty to their consumers.

Forget Fluff and Get Helpful

When most brands think about content marketing, their focus is on SEO - and rightly so. However, keywords and content strategy will only get you so far. Your content has to offer value and insight to consumers or there is no point to reading it.

Without helpful content, you’ll establish a reputation as a fluff-maker that consumers will avoid like the plague. Instead, show that you’re willing to help even if there’s no direct benefit for you.

Friendly, Courteous, and Kind Brands are Likeable Brands

As a southerner, Southern hospitality is basically my middle name. It’s molded the way I’ve conducted business and established a trusted reputation.

No one wants to do business with “mean” folks.

Obey the Market Rules

The premise that the “customer is always right” isn’t necessarily true. However, you must always behave as though it is.

Remember, without their business, you wouldn’t have a paycheck. Businessmen and brands alike need to remember how to obey their customers and be subservient to market demands. Brands such as Whole Foods have even incorporated this into their Core Values and mission statement.

Spread the Cheer

Emotions drive the business world as much as anything else. Think about the major brands that you use on a daily basis, such as Google and Facebook, and you’ll find that they’re all generally “happy” brands.

Get Thrifty like Mackelmore

Becoming more efficient with your resources and time not only benefits your bottom line, but also makes the consumer happier when the savings are passed onto them.

Bravery Gets You Attention

SodaStream recently had their commercials banned across the UK.

Why?

Because supermarket retailers were afraid that people would no longer purchase sodas if they could make them at home. Despite the controversy, SodaStream is fighting back - and hard. This has only resulted in more coverage and higher sales.

Clean is Always Better Than Dirty

Just like you would never want to walk into a dirty store, people don’t like shopping on unorganized and messy websites. Keep your Web presence clean by focusing on simplicity and content organization.

Reverent Brands are Supported Brands

Reverent brands give back to their communities whenever possible. You are doing good and building consumer goodwill when you take advantage of opportunities to give back.

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New security functions added to Fortinet OS

Fortinet has added a variety of security configuration options to the latest version of its FortiOS operating system.

The company said that version five contains Fortinet Feature Select and offers a range of options, including: high-speed firewall, including a VPN, NGFW (to include a firewall, intrusion prevention and application control); ATP (advanced threat protection to include endpoint control); and UTM (includes all functions as well as email filtering, data loss prevention and vulnerability scanning). 

Also added is the FortiGuard Advanced Threat Protection Service, which includes botnet blacklisting, anti-malware signatures and cloud-based sandboxing, and a contextual visibility feature to give administrators deeper insights into historic or real-time network activities using detailed analytics, Fortinet claimed.

John Maddison, vice president of marketing for Fortinet, said: “In order to increase protection, simplify management and reduce costs, enterprises today are migrating away from multi-vendor firewall environments in favour of a single-vendor model.

“For example, an enterprise may have high-performance firewalls for its data centres, next-generation firewalls for their campus perimeters and UTMs for their distributed offices.”

Media Group deploys ForeScout solution

Omnicom Media Group has deployed ForeScout CounterAct to enable mobile connectivity and network visibility and analytics.

Selecting the solution to protect its 38 offices and 5,500 employees in the EMEA region, David King, technical services director EMEA at Omnicom Media Group, said: “The CounterAct platform easily adapted to our network infrastructure - it literally only took a few days to deploy.

“As with most implementations, we are learning and tweaking functions and expanding policies every month. Most recently we deployed CounterAct in Norway, which took less than a day since we could apply many of the same rules used in the UK office. We are also looking to roll out in Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Italy this year, which reflects NAC's value to our business.”

King said that having deployed the solution in the US offices, this would allow the company to allow a 'bring your own device' (BYOD) policy and provide network visibility via an agentless approach and the means to phase in security policy without disrupting the user experience.

John Hagerty, EMEA sales director for ForeScout, said: “Media companies such as Omnicom harbour a wealth of creativity that must not be stifled by technology. CounterAct fits this environment perfectly, as it delivers the real-time endpoint visibility and network protection OMG needed, without disrupting productivity.”

Ebay Tests Digital 24-Hour Shopping Windows in Brick and Mortar Storefronts

Retailers looking to sell more merchandise may not need more physical space to do it. They may soon be able to extend the boundaries of their brick-and-mortar shops with large digital screens â€" if an eBay test proves viable.

Ebay is introducing “24-hour window shops” in certain areas of New York City. The “window shops” are actually touchscreens measuring 9 feet across and 2 feet high.

They allow customers to purchase products a physical retail store may not have in stock. They will also be used to allow purchases after store hours. And they can be used in vacant storefronts or other locations, to extend the physical boundaries of brick and mortar retailers.

In fact, the test run for the new windows includes four screens in front of closed stores located in busy parts of New York City’s Soho and lower east side.

That test run began last week and will continue through July 7, Reuters reports.

Ebay partnered with Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc. for the beta run of its new shoppable windows venture. The digital store windows will allow the clothing retailer to launch its new Kate Spade Saturday fashion brand without initially opening additional physical retail stores.

“This ability for consumers to shop not only online and offline, but also locally and globally, is why eBay Inc. is particularly excited about its latest shopping innovation. With our partners at Kate Spade Saturday, we are launching four 24-hour Window Shops in Manhattan,” announced the official eBay blog.

Ebay will sell 30 items from the new fashion line via this 24-hour shopping technology, during the test period. The experience is more like shopping at a physical location than shopping online in another way too: immediacy. Purchases are delivered to customers by courier within the hour with payment managed through PayPal Here, a mobile payment service developed by Ebay.

Opportunities may be available for other retailers to take part in Ebay’s new “shoppable windows” venture once it passes the testing phase.

Steve Yankovich, vice president of innovation and new ventures at eBay told Julie Strickland of Inc.com the best approach for businesses interested in trying the platform is to adopt PayPal technology since that’s the method “shoppable windows” will use to make sales.

Image: eBay