Sage Summit: The Cloud and Mobility Change Everything

Almost exactly one year ago, Pascal Houillon (pictured), the CEO of Sage North America, took the stage in front of more than a thousand people at the company’s annual partner and customer conference.  He spoke passionately about the need for his company to change.

His vision for change involved strategic shifts, including:

• focus on your core business
• build your brand visibility
• embrace the cloud and the rapidly-growing preference of customers to use mobile  devices.

And today, almost exactly one year later, he again took the stage at Sage Summit (#SageSummit) with a similar message.  But this time, he was able to demonstrate actual progress by the global accounting and ERP software company over the past year.

The message from Houillon and other senior members of the leadership team might be summed up in a simple phrase:  the cloud and mobility change  everything.  And Sage, with 2 million customers worldwide (half in North America), is evolving along with the marketplace, they assert.

According to Houillon, Sage North America has divested 7 businesses that it deemed non-core. Where before it had a hodgepodge of different brand names, including Peachtree accounting software, today all products carry the Sage brand.  For example, Peachtree became Sage 50.  Instead of Act! â€" one of the business lines divested â€" the company is now focusing on the Sage CRM product.

By divesting, the company says it is not shrinking, but is able to allocate resources better and focus on the customer experience for core offerings.  One of the achievements company officials pointed to is that Sage’s “net promoter” score of customer satisfaction nearly doubled over the past year.

Company officials see new opportunities that the cloud and mobility open up.

Among them are Sage One, the cloud-based accounting and productivity system designed for startups and small  businesses of up to 10 employees, introduced a little over a year ago.  Sage One now has 10,000 customers worldwide, and the company continues to invest in it.  Sage plans additional enhancements later this year and next, that officials say will add functions and expand the product’s attractiveness for slightly larger businesses (up to 25 employees in size).

Mobility is another area of growth. Sage’s Mobile Payments - which allows just about any kind of mobile phone or computing device to accept credit card payments â€" continues to grow.

In addition to Mobile Payments, three new mobile apps were introduced this week. Users of the Sage ERP system can now automate sales, field service and billing/payment functions using mobile devices, in a seamless way with their Sage ERP system. In a promotional piece, Sage says it wants to show customers “how to transform the iPad from a You Tube-addition time-sucking device into a magic money machine.”

Sage Mobile Sales enables a field sales force to close sales quickly, wherever the customer happens to be. Sage Mobile Service improves efficiency in internal processes and cuts down on wasteful paperwork. Sage Billing and Payment helps companies get paid faster.

The key to the company’s mobile product strategy, asserts CTO Himanshu Palsule, is to create applications that are not just ported to mobile devices, but are built “native” to each type of mobile platform.   This way the apps can take advantage of the unique features of each platform. For example, mobile apps built on Windows 8 use the Windows 8 “Metro” style and touchable/clickable tiles.  This makes them intuitive to customers.

One of the upcoming products in the future led to spontaneous applause in the crowd when it was demoed. Sage Voice, a Siri-like application, will allow users to look up information in their Sage software by voice on a mobile device, even with only partial information such as a partial name.  As one attendee said, “THAT is how I like to look up information.”

According to Houillon, companies that need to change have more power in their hands than they may realize. “We can all leverage the assets we have in our hands, much more than what we think,” said Houillon.

Keep CRM Simple With W5 Templates

CRM is an important part of doing business, but solutions like Salesforce have an ongoing subscription price that can cut into a small business’s budget. Additionally, these solutions often come with more features than a growing small business needs in its early stages. For a new business, learning and managing a complex CRM can be time-consuming.

“The W5T product is built on a PC application everyone uses and is familiar with: Microsoft Excel,” says David Oshlag, founder of W5 Templates. “In fact, according to Gartner Research, there are over one billion users of the Microsoft Office suite product worldwide.”

As Oshlag points out, the name W5 Templates is built on the five W’s of most projects. He has found these five W’s are universal to most work activities:

• Who does what
• What needs to be accomplished
• Where something has to be
• Why something needs to be done
• When it needs to be completed

W5T uses color coding to allow workers to easily see, at a glance, when it’s time to follow up with a customer. The spreadsheet displays each project, along with contact information, date of last contact, and any notes workers need to include.

The best thing about W5T is that it works with existing software. The downfall is that if a business doesn’t have Microsoft Office, W5T won’t be usable. The built-in security features are also added through Microsoft’s security options.

While W5T is simple and clean, there’s no comparison to the interface of a service like Salesforce. Salesforce is a full app, designed to allow for easy flow from one screen to the next. W5T is a series of templates, and CRM templates are available for free. Additionally, W5T isn’t the only easy-to-use CRM offered as a one-time licensing fee, rather than a monthly subscription.

For businesses impressed with W5T, Sage ACT! Pro is worth investigating. Available for nearly $100 less than W5T, Sage ACT! Pro provides a single view of contact information, e-mails, activities, and to-do lists. The product also works with a variety of mobile devices, including iOS and Android tablets and phones, as well as Blackberries. Currently, W5T requires Windows XP or 7 or Mac OS X, along with Microsoft Office.

One thing W5T offers that other companies doesn’t is customization. The company tailors the product’s interface to each individual business’s needs. W5T also offers Google mapping to allow for easy access to each customer’s information.

CRM is an important part of growing a business. W5T and Sage ACT! Pro are both easy-to-learn alternatives to much more complex CRMs. Both services offer a free trial to allow you to determine which software is best for your business.

Keep CRM Simple With W5 Templates

CRM is an important part of doing business, but solutions like Salesforce have an ongoing subscription price that can cut into a small business’s budget. Additionally, these solutions often come with more features than a growing small business needs in its early stages. For a new business, learning and managing a complex CRM can be time-consuming.

“The W5T product is built on a PC application everyone uses and is familiar with: Microsoft Excel,” says David Oshlag, founder of W5 Templates. “In fact, according to Gartner Research, there are over one billion users of the Microsoft Office suite product worldwide.”

As Oshlag points out, the name W5 Templates is built on the five W’s of most projects. He has found these five W’s are universal to most work activities:

• Who does what
• What needs to be accomplished
• Where something has to be
• Why something needs to be done
• When it needs to be completed

W5T uses color coding to allow workers to easily see, at a glance, when it’s time to follow up with a customer. The spreadsheet displays each project, along with contact information, date of last contact, and any notes workers need to include.

The best thing about W5T is that it works with existing software. The downfall is that if a business doesn’t have Microsoft Office, W5T won’t be usable. The built-in security features are also added through Microsoft’s security options.

While W5T is simple and clean, there’s no comparison to the interface of a service like Salesforce. Salesforce is a full app, designed to allow for easy flow from one screen to the next. W5T is a series of templates, and CRM templates are available for free. Additionally, W5T isn’t the only easy-to-use CRM offered as a one-time licensing fee, rather than a monthly subscription.

For businesses impressed with W5T, Sage ACT! Pro is worth investigating. Available for nearly $100 less than W5T, Sage ACT! Pro provides a single view of contact information, e-mails, activities, and to-do lists. The product also works with a variety of mobile devices, including iOS and Android tablets and phones, as well as Blackberries. Currently, W5T requires Windows XP or 7 or Mac OS X, along with Microsoft Office.

One thing W5T offers that other companies doesn’t is customization. The company tailors the product’s interface to each individual business’s needs. W5T also offers Google mapping to allow for easy access to each customer’s information.

CRM is an important part of growing a business. W5T and Sage ACT! Pro are both easy-to-learn alternatives to much more complex CRMs. Both services offer a free trial to allow you to determine which software is best for your business.

You Can Now Embed Vine Videos on Your WordPress Site

If you use Vine and have a WordPress.com blog for building your brand, you can now embed vine videos easily on your blog or other WordPress site. In fact, doing so takes less actual code than embedding a YouTube Video or even a Twitter post.

In a recent post on the official WordPress.com blog, company “Story Wrangler” Cheri Lucas Rowlands explained the process briefly:

You know all those Vine masterpieces you’ve recorded with your mobile phone â€" six seconds of time, looping over and over, immortalized on your little screen? Now, you can embed these videos on your WordPress.com site, using a URL or shortcode.

Just a URL and a Bit of Shortcode

To embed Vine videos onto WordPress, you’ll first need the URL of your video. If you’ve posted your clip to Twitter or Facebook, this code appears at the end of the text in your post (as pictured in the third image below). It will always begin with “https.”

To get the URL from your Vine account, the process is a bit different. First, click on the three dots in the bottom right hand corner of your post (pictured in the first image above). A screen will come up with some choices. Pick the “Share this post” selection (as pictured in the second image above) and then “Embed.” (OK, this part is a bit like Twitter.)

Finally, to display your Vine clip as a looping video rather than a video embedded in a player like a YouTube clip, you’ll want to copy just the URL minus the “/embed” shortcode on the embed page. Place that in a single line in the HTML of your page where you want it to appear.

You can select the size of the video clip with a bit more shortcode. Minimum size for your clip is 300 by 300 pixels, the default if you add no extra shortcode. Or add a larger size using shortcode that would look like this:

“https://vine.co/v/hBFxTlV36Tg” width=400 height=400″

Keep in mind all Vine clips are square. If you choose different dimensions for the height and width of a clip, it will simply display using the smallest of the two sizes.

Select Simple or Postcard Format

Finally, you can use clips shared on your website to promote your brand on Vine. Insert the URL with the shortcode type=”postcard” after your URL. The result is a postcard-like frame around the clip displaying your Vine profile.

Opting with the shortcode type=”simple” creates a clip without a frame. Still, moving the cursor over the video will reveal your Vine account information with a thumbnail in the lower left corner of the screen.

5 Ways Facebook’s Graph Search Threatens Google

When Facebook announced the implementation of Facebook Graph Search to their site, the first thing that analysts started to write about was whether or not it posed any sort of threat to Google.

Naturally, Google downplayed the impact Facebook Graph Search would have, but the more that analysts looked at the situation, the more they began to see ways that Facebook Graph could pose a significant threat to Google.

Facebook Graph Search is designed to allow users to search from within Facebook’s database to find various people, places and things that a user has in common with both “friends” and “friends of friends.”

1. The Importance of Friends

When an individual wants information about a product, reviews are often used to help make a determination. But, more important that reviews are the opinions of friends.

For example, if someone is looking to buy a particular blender, he or she might look up online reviews about the blender to decide on the best blender to get. However, if a friend happens to mention that particular blender turned out to be virtually worthless, the person looking for a blender might choose to go with a different brand.

It’s for this reason, things like buying likes and fans will be virtually worthless. Facebook Graph Search will link purchasing power with the social power of a user’s friends.

2. Friends of Friends Will Really Matter

Where Facebook Graph Search will really stand out is allowing a user to expand beyond his or her own circle of friends. In other words, if someone only has 10 friends, the search results won’t be very useful. But, if those 10 friends happen to have 1000 friends among them, this can have an impact on search results.

Facebook Graph Search wants to help people pass from just searching for information to linking information with expanding circles of influence.

3. Facebook Graph Search is Integrated with Microsoft Bing

Facebook Graph Search fired a shot across Google’s bow when it integrated itself with Microsoft Bing. Eventually, Facebook wants its users to be able to remain on Facebook for long periods of time and conduct all their web search functions from within the program. This gives Microsoft Bing a lot of power among advertisers.

When an advertiser knows that Facebook Graph Search users will be getting their data from Microsoft Bing, they’ll focus their efforts on getting higher search rankings from Bing, rather than Google.

4. Facebook Graph Search is Already Where Google Wants to Be

Google has never made any secret about its desire to be the “one stop shopping” Internet location for users. However, attempts to gain a foothold in social networking has always failed. On the other hand, Facebook is already the social networking site used by literally billions of people around the world.

By linking social networking behavior with search results, it gives Facebook a stronger position than Google. With Facebook Graph Search added to the mix, it’s only going to make it harder on Google to achieve its goals than ever before.

5. Facebook Graph Search is Designed to Grow

The threat to Google from Facebook Graph Search comes with user growth. Users will discover the best way to improve their results from Facebook Graph is to expand the number of friends they have. Therefore, this tool actually gets users to keep adding other users to their base.

Working this way puts the pressure of expansion on users, rather than on Facebook Graph Search itself.

Image: Facebook

5 Ways Facebook’s Graph Search Threatens Google

When Facebook announced the implementation of Facebook Graph Search to their site, the first thing that analysts started to write about was whether or not it posed any sort of threat to Google.

Naturally, Google downplayed the impact Facebook Graph Search would have, but the more that analysts looked at the situation, the more they began to see ways that Facebook Graph could pose a significant threat to Google.

Facebook Graph Search is designed to allow users to search from within Facebook’s database to find various people, places and things that a user has in common with both “friends” and “friends of friends.”

1. The Importance of Friends

When an individual wants information about a product, reviews are often used to help make a determination. But, more important that reviews are the opinions of friends.

For example, if someone is looking to buy a particular blender, he or she might look up online reviews about the blender to decide on the best blender to get. However, if a friend happens to mention that particular blender turned out to be virtually worthless, the person looking for a blender might choose to go with a different brand.

It’s for this reason, things like buying likes and fans will be virtually worthless. Facebook Graph Search will link purchasing power with the social power of a user’s friends.

2. Friends of Friends Will Really Matter

Where Facebook Graph Search will really stand out is allowing a user to expand beyond his or her own circle of friends. In other words, if someone only has 10 friends, the search results won’t be very useful. But, if those 10 friends happen to have 1000 friends among them, this can have an impact on search results.

Facebook Graph Search wants to help people pass from just searching for information to linking information with expanding circles of influence.

3. Facebook Graph Search is Integrated with Microsoft Bing

Facebook Graph Search fired a shot across Google’s bow when it integrated itself with Microsoft Bing. Eventually, Facebook wants its users to be able to remain on Facebook for long periods of time and conduct all their web search functions from within the program. This gives Microsoft Bing a lot of power among advertisers.

When an advertiser knows that Facebook Graph Search users will be getting their data from Microsoft Bing, they’ll focus their efforts on getting higher search rankings from Bing, rather than Google.

4. Facebook Graph Search is Already Where Google Wants to Be

Google has never made any secret about its desire to be the “one stop shopping” Internet location for users. However, attempts to gain a foothold in social networking has always failed. On the other hand, Facebook is already the social networking site used by literally billions of people around the world.

By linking social networking behavior with search results, it gives Facebook a stronger position than Google. With Facebook Graph Search added to the mix, it’s only going to make it harder on Google to achieve its goals than ever before.

5. Facebook Graph Search is Designed to Grow

The threat to Google from Facebook Graph Search comes with user growth. Users will discover the best way to improve their results from Facebook Graph is to expand the number of friends they have. Therefore, this tool actually gets users to keep adding other users to their base.

Working this way puts the pressure of expansion on users, rather than on Facebook Graph Search itself.

Image: Facebook

Use Customer Complaints to Build Your Business

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

Use Customer Complaints to Build Your Business

Every small business owner dreads a customer complaint. Whether it comes through your website, an e-mail, or a phone call, it feels like a personal slight against all of your hard work. But the longer you stay in business, the more inevitable a complaint becomes. Over time, a successful business owner learns that the key isn’t to achieve a spotless complaint record. The key is to use complaints to help strengthen your business.

Research shows that customers value small businesses because they understand customers, anticipating their needs and exceeding expectations. A full 97 percent of customers state that small businesses are likely to say thank you, showing appreciation for a customer’s business. However, as a small business owner I’ve found that these high expectations can also set a business owner up for failure. A sudden surge in business can create an overworked staff and stretched resources, leading to the occasional disappointed customer.

Invite Feedback

It may seem like a scary idea, but soliciting customer feedback could be the best thing you ever do for your small business. Before you post a feedback form, be prepared. Not every comment will be a glowing commentary on your staff, facilities, and products. However, after the impact of any criticism wears off, you’ll likely be left with new insight into your business.

A customer’s opinion that your product breaks too easily could lead to your decision to switch material or manufacturers. A comment about the sloppiness of your sales staff could give you the incentive to create your first company-wide dress code.

Respond Quickly

When a complaint rolls in through social media or e-mail, it’s important to respond as quickly as possible. Nearly half of survey respondents state they expect to hear back from a brand within an hour of filing a complaint. This is especially important if the complaint is posted on your business’s social media page, where everyone can see it.

Responding quickly demonstrates to your customers that you not only value their opinion, but their time as well. Sixty-six percent of customers revealed that in providing good customer service, the most important thing a business can do is value their time.

Social Media is Important

Whether or not social media is important to your business strategy, it’s important to your customers. While 45 percent of customers expect businesses to provide customer service through social media, more than 60 percent of customers say they feel brands do not effectively communicate with them through social media sites.

Too many businesses use social media as a marketing tool, posting messages without paying attention to what customers are posting. Interacting with your social media followers not only shows your customers you care, it also has the ability to give you invaluable insight into how your business is being viewed by the community it serves.

Keep in mind that one person’s opinion is just that. However, over time you may notice certain trends that could lead you to make changes to your business that reduce customer complaints permanently. By taking each complaint seriously, you can fine-tune your business until it well exceeds customer expectations.

Survey: Businesses Benefit from Social Media Savvy

Activity on Facebook, Twitter and other social media is good for your business. At least that’s the opinion of many of your peers.

The BRANDfog 2012 CEO, Social Media and Leadership Survey (PDF) reveals that business leaders who use social media increase their brand’s profile and instill confidence in their leadership.

The survey polled hundreds of employees at companies ranging from Fortune 500s to small startups, and measured the effect of social media participation by the executive management team. The results can give owners and managers from businesses of all sizes insight into the overall effect of social media use.

Aman Singh, editorial director of CSRwire and a contributor to the BRANDfog Social Media Leadership Survey explains the results in a prepared statement included with the report:

Transparency, vision and open communication are key to great leadership and corporate social responsibility strategy today. It’s not surprising to see that the results of BRANDfog’s survey reaffirm that social media plays such an influential role in shaping a company’s brand image. What’s more, customers expect to hear from the executive leadership team on social media channels, as a direct way to connect and engage with the brands they love and causes they support.

Results Show Social Media Importance

Results of the survey show the importance of social media participation in almost all aspects of business operations and leadership. Especially in an era where tech savvy leadership is expected, lack of comfort with popular platforms like Facebook and Twitter can make you look out of step with the times.

For example, the survey showed 81 percent of respondents feel social media engagement is a necessary prerequisite for leading a company in a Web 2.0 world. But social media skills may be critical to a company’s very survival too, the survey says.

Specifically, 89.3 percent of respondents said business leaders who use social media are better able to connect with customers. And 66.3 percent felt social media use made it easier for business leaders to connect with investors too.

Improve Brand Image and Increase Trust

Use of social media by a business’s leadership team provides other benefits too, the survey suggests. Most importantly, 71 percent of respondents said they felt participation in social media by a company’s leadership improved its overall brand image.

And if you’re wondering how use of social media affects your career personally, 82 percent of those surveyed said they would be much more likely to trust a business leader with a social media presence.

BRANDfog is a consulting agency focused on helping business leaders improve their reputations and the reputations of their brands by helping them improve social media engagement.

Use Customer Complaints to Build Your Business

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

Use Customer Complaints to Build Your Business

Every small business owner dreads a customer complaint. Whether it comes through your website, an e-mail, or a phone call, it feels like a personal slight against all of your hard work. But the longer you stay in business, the more inevitable a complaint becomes. Over time, a successful business owner learns that the key isn’t to achieve a spotless complaint record. The key is to use complaints to help strengthen your business.

Research shows that customers value small businesses because they understand customers, anticipating their needs and exceeding expectations. A full 97 percent of customers state that small businesses are likely to say thank you, showing appreciation for a customer’s business. However, as a small business owner I’ve found that these high expectations can also set a business owner up for failure. A sudden surge in business can create an overworked staff and stretched resources, leading to the occasional disappointed customer.

Invite Feedback

It may seem like a scary idea, but soliciting customer feedback could be the best thing you ever do for your small business. Before you post a feedback form, be prepared. Not every comment will be a glowing commentary on your staff, facilities, and products. However, after the impact of any criticism wears off, you’ll likely be left with new insight into your business.

A customer’s opinion that your product breaks too easily could lead to your decision to switch material or manufacturers. A comment about the sloppiness of your sales staff could give you the incentive to create your first company-wide dress code.

Respond Quickly

When a complaint rolls in through social media or e-mail, it’s important to respond as quickly as possible. Nearly half of survey respondents state they expect to hear back from a brand within an hour of filing a complaint. This is especially important if the complaint is posted on your business’s social media page, where everyone can see it.

Responding quickly demonstrates to your customers that you not only value their opinion, but their time as well. Sixty-six percent of customers revealed that in providing good customer service, the most important thing a business can do is value their time.

Social Media is Important

Whether or not social media is important to your business strategy, it’s important to your customers. While 45 percent of customers expect businesses to provide customer service through social media, more than 60 percent of customers say they feel brands do not effectively communicate with them through social media sites.

Too many businesses use social media as a marketing tool, posting messages without paying attention to what customers are posting. Interacting with your social media followers not only shows your customers you care, it also has the ability to give you invaluable insight into how your business is being viewed by the community it serves.

Keep in mind that one person’s opinion is just that. However, over time you may notice certain trends that could lead you to make changes to your business that reduce customer complaints permanently. By taking each complaint seriously, you can fine-tune your business until it well exceeds customer expectations.

Use Customer Complaints to Build Your Business

I am blogging on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

Use Customer Complaints to Build Your Business

Every small business owner dreads a customer complaint. Whether it comes through your website, an e-mail, or a phone call, it feels like a personal slight against all of your hard work. But the longer you stay in business, the more inevitable a complaint becomes. Over time, a successful business owner learns that the key isn’t to achieve a spotless complaint record. The key is to use complaints to help strengthen your business.

Research shows that customers value small businesses because they understand customers, anticipating their needs and exceeding expectations. A full 97 percent of customers state that small businesses are likely to say thank you, showing appreciation for a customer’s business. However, as a small business owner I’ve found that these high expectations can also set a business owner up for failure. A sudden surge in business can create an overworked staff and stretched resources, leading to the occasional disappointed customer.

Invite Feedback

It may seem like a scary idea, but soliciting customer feedback could be the best thing you ever do for your small business. Before you post a feedback form, be prepared. Not every comment will be a glowing commentary on your staff, facilities, and products. However, after the impact of any criticism wears off, you’ll likely be left with new insight into your business.

A customer’s opinion that your product breaks too easily could lead to your decision to switch material or manufacturers. A comment about the sloppiness of your sales staff could give you the incentive to create your first company-wide dress code.

Respond Quickly

When a complaint rolls in through social media or e-mail, it’s important to respond as quickly as possible. Nearly half of survey respondents state they expect to hear back from a brand within an hour of filing a complaint. This is especially important if the complaint is posted on your business’s social media page, where everyone can see it.

Responding quickly demonstrates to your customers that you not only value their opinion, but their time as well. Sixty-six percent of customers revealed that in providing good customer service, the most important thing a business can do is value their time.

Social Media is Important

Whether or not social media is important to your business strategy, it’s important to your customers. While 45 percent of customers expect businesses to provide customer service through social media, more than 60 percent of customers say they feel brands do not effectively communicate with them through social media sites.

Too many businesses use social media as a marketing tool, posting messages without paying attention to what customers are posting. Interacting with your social media followers not only shows your customers you care, it also has the ability to give you invaluable insight into how your business is being viewed by the community it serves.

Keep in mind that one person’s opinion is just that. However, over time you may notice certain trends that could lead you to make changes to your business that reduce customer complaints permanently. By taking each complaint seriously, you can fine-tune your business until it well exceeds customer expectations.

SIM card DES flaw could affect up to 500 million users

Flaws in SIM cards could allow an attacker to take control of one and even clone it.

Presenting at the Black Hat conference this week in Las Vegas, German security researcher Karsten Nohl will present his findings based on the tests of 1,000 SIM cards.

According to Forbes, the encryption and software flaws are based on an old security standard and badly configured code, and could allow hackers to remotely infect a SIM with a virus that sends premium text messages, surreptitiously re-direct and record calls, and carry out payment system fraud, with the right combination of bugs.

Nohl said that just under a quarter of all the SIM cards he tested could be hacked, but estimated that an eighth of the world's SIM cards could be vulnerable, or about half a billion mobile devices. He also said the hack only works on SIMs that use an old encryption technology known as DES.

Nohl said in a blog post that while security updates delivered in over-the-air updates deployed via SMS, the option exists to use state-of-the-art AES or the 3DES algorithm, but many (if not most) SIM cards still rely on the DES cipher.

“To derive a DES over-the-air key, an attacker starts by sending a binary SMS to a target device. The SIM does not execute the improperly signed OTA command, but does in many cases respond to the attacker with an error code carrying a cryptographic signature, once again sent over binary SMS. A rainbow table resolves this plaintext-signature tuple to a 56-bit DES key within two minutes on a standard computer,” he said.

He said that once the DES key is cracked, the attacker can send a signed binary SMS, which downloads Java applets onto the SIM. These applets can send SMS messages, change voicemail numbers and query the phone location, among many other predefined functions.

To defend against the attack, Nohl recommended an improvement in SIM cards, the use of handset SMS firewalls and in-networking SMS filtering.

A spokeswoman for the GSMA, which represents nearly 800 mobile operators worldwide, said it has reviewed the research.

“We have been able to consider the implications and provide guidance to those network operators and SIM vendors that may be impacted," said GSMA spokeswoman Claire Cranton.

SIM card DES flaw could affect up to 500 million users

Flaws in SIM cards could allow an attacker to take control of one and even clone it.

Presenting at the Black Hat conference this week in Las Vegas, German security researcher Karsten Nohl will present his findings based on the tests of 1,000 SIM cards.

According to Forbes, the encryption and software flaws are based on an old security standard and badly configured code, and could allow hackers to remotely infect a SIM with a virus that sends premium text messages, surreptitiously re-direct and record calls, and carry out payment system fraud, with the right combination of bugs.

Nohl said that just under a quarter of all the SIM cards he tested could be hacked, but estimated that an eighth of the world's SIM cards could be vulnerable, or about half a billion mobile devices. He also said the hack only works on SIMs that use an old encryption technology known as DES.

Nohl said in a blog post that while security updates delivered in over-the-air updates deployed via SMS, the option exists to use state-of-the-art AES or the 3DES algorithm, but many (if not most) SIM cards still rely on the DES cipher.

“To derive a DES over-the-air key, an attacker starts by sending a binary SMS to a target device. The SIM does not execute the improperly signed OTA command, but does in many cases respond to the attacker with an error code carrying a cryptographic signature, once again sent over binary SMS. A rainbow table resolves this plaintext-signature tuple to a 56-bit DES key within two minutes on a standard computer,” he said.

He said that once the DES key is cracked, the attacker can send a signed binary SMS, which downloads Java applets onto the SIM. These applets can send SMS messages, change voicemail numbers and query the phone location, among many other predefined functions.

To defend against the attack, Nohl recommended an improvement in SIM cards, the use of handset SMS firewalls and in-networking SMS filtering.

A spokeswoman for the GSMA, which represents nearly 800 mobile operators worldwide, said it has reviewed the research.

“We have been able to consider the implications and provide guidance to those network operators and SIM vendors that may be impacted," said GSMA spokeswoman Claire Cranton.

Linux forum Ubuntu hacked and user details collected

Linux user forum Ubuntu was hacked over the weekend, with usernames, passwords and email addresses captured.

According to a notice on the website, it said that the forums were ‘down for maintenance' and it confirmed that there had been a security breach on the Ubuntu Forums.

Ubuntu confirmed that attackers had gained every user's local username, password and email address from the Ubuntu Forums database, although the passwords were stored as salted hashes. It strongly recommended changing password if users used the same password on another service.

It confirmed on Saturday 20th July that there had been a defacement of the site. Writing on the 2Buntu blog, developer Nathan Osman wrote that: “A group of hackers were able to successfully gain root (super user) access to the servers hosting the Ubuntu Forums today and compromised the entire website”, as reported by ITnews.

Osman said that all usernames, password hashes, email addresses and personal information were compromised. 

Jane Silber, CEO of Ubuntu parent Canonical, apologised for the breach and “ensuing inconvenience”. She said that it believes that the issue is limited to the Ubuntu Forums and no other Ubuntu or Canonical site or service was affected, and it had begun the process of notifying all users whose details have been compromised by email.

“We are continuing to investigate exactly how the attackers were able to gain access and are working with the software providers to address that issue,” she said. "Once the investigation is concluded we will provide as much detail as we safely can."

“The forums site will remain down until we can safely bring it up, and updates will be posted to the ubuntuforums.org page as they are available. Once again, we apologise for the issue.”

Small Business Employment Share Shrinking for a Good Reason

Source: Created from data from the U.S. Census Bureau

Big business now employs the majority of private sector workers. Small business’s share of private sector employment has fallen from 54.8 percent in 1987 to 49.2 percent in 2011. This shift has occurred largely because big business has gotten better at preserving jobs.

The figure above uses Census Bureau data to calculate the small business fraction of employment over time. As you can see, with the exception of the 2001 to 2004 period, small business’s share of employment has been trending downward it peaked in 1987.

Employment is the result of both job creation and job destruction. When firms are started or grow, they often create jobs. When companies shut down or shrink, they often destroy jobs. Employment rises if job creation is larger than job destruction, and falls if job destruction exceeds job creation.

A good analogy is the level of water in a sink. Job creation is like the water coming out of the faucet, job destruction is akin to water going down the drain, and employment is similar to the water level. If job creation is higher than job destruction - more water comes out of the faucet than goes down the drain - employment rises. If job destruction is higher than job creation - more water goes down the drain than comes out of the faucet - employment falls.

Now think of large and small firm employment like double sinks in a fancy bathroom. Big business is the one with the faster rising water level. According to Census Bureau data, between 1977 and 2011, employment at businesses with fewer than 500 employees increased 60.2 percent. But at businesses with 500 or more employees, employment increased 80.7 percent.

The difference in the rate of employment growth at big and small businesses explains why small business accounts for a smaller share of the labor force in 2011 (49.2 percent) than it did in 1977 (52.2 percent).

But what’s driving relatively higher employment growth at big companies?

The answer: A large decline in big company job destruction.

Census data show that both big and small firms created fewer jobs in 2011 than in 1977 - the number created at small firms declined by 4 percent, while the number created at large firms dropped by 11 percent. Both big and small firms also got better at job retention. However, big companies improved by far more, reducing their job destruction by 43 percent, as compared to 24 percent at companies with fewer than 500 workers.

Small business’s share of employment has declined over the past three-and-a-half decades for a “good” reason. Big business has reduced substantially the number of jobs it destroys through layoffs and firm closures. As a result, big company employment has risen faster than small company employment.

Small Business Employment Share Shrinking for a Good Reason

Source: Created from data from the U.S. Census Bureau

Big business now employs the majority of private sector workers. Small business’s share of private sector employment has fallen from 54.8 percent in 1987 to 49.2 percent in 2011. This shift has occurred largely because big business has gotten better at preserving jobs.

The figure above uses Census Bureau data to calculate the small business fraction of employment over time. As you can see, with the exception of the 2001 to 2004 period, small business’s share of employment has been trending downward it peaked in 1987.

Employment is the result of both job creation and job destruction. When firms are started or grow, they often create jobs. When companies shut down or shrink, they often destroy jobs. Employment rises if job creation is larger than job destruction, and falls if job destruction exceeds job creation.

A good analogy is the level of water in a sink. Job creation is like the water coming out of the faucet, job destruction is akin to water going down the drain, and employment is similar to the water level. If job creation is higher than job destruction - more water comes out of the faucet than goes down the drain - employment rises. If job destruction is higher than job creation - more water goes down the drain than comes out of the faucet - employment falls.

Now think of large and small firm employment like double sinks in a fancy bathroom. Big business is the one with the faster rising water level. According to Census Bureau data, between 1977 and 2011, employment at businesses with fewer than 500 employees increased 60.2 percent. But at businesses with 500 or more employees, employment increased 80.7 percent.

The difference in the rate of employment growth at big and small businesses explains why small business accounts for a smaller share of the labor force in 2011 (49.2 percent) than it did in 1977 (52.2 percent).

But what’s driving relatively higher employment growth at big companies?

The answer: A large decline in big company job destruction.

Census data show that both big and small firms created fewer jobs in 2011 than in 1977 - the number created at small firms declined by 4 percent, while the number created at large firms dropped by 11 percent. Both big and small firms also got better at job retention. However, big companies improved by far more, reducing their job destruction by 43 percent, as compared to 24 percent at companies with fewer than 500 workers.

Small business’s share of employment has declined over the past three-and-a-half decades for a “good” reason. Big business has reduced substantially the number of jobs it destroys through layoffs and firm closures. As a result, big company employment has risen faster than small company employment.

Apple developer website hacked, with names and contact details potentially exposed

An Apple developer website was taken offline over the weekend after it was hacked last week.

In an email sent on Sunday, Apple said that no customer information had been compromised as "sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed", but it was unable to rule out the possibility that some developers' names, mailing addresses and email addresses may have been accessed.

It said: “In the spirit of transparency, we want to inform you of the issue. We took the site down immediately on Thursday and have been working around the clock since then.

“In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we're completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database. We apologise for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.”

At the time of writing, the website is back online. According to the Guardian, information about its 275,000 registered third-party developers may have been stolen.

For a period, the Apple Store website was apparently down too, but the main concern for developers was that their apps would get pulled from the App Store as they would not be able to login to renew their developer accounts. According to Macworld, Apple eventually clarified that developers facing that specific situation need not worry.

The website allows access to iOS 7 and development kits such as OS X Mavericks, and helps developers allocate apps to beta testers. It also includes popular developer-only forums. Apple initially published a notice saying that the website was taken down for maintenance.

Apple developer website hacked, with names and contact details potentially exposed

An Apple developer website was taken offline over the weekend after it was hacked last week.

In an email sent on Sunday, Apple said that no customer information had been compromised as "sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed", but it was unable to rule out the possibility that some developers' names, mailing addresses and email addresses may have been accessed.

It said: “In the spirit of transparency, we want to inform you of the issue. We took the site down immediately on Thursday and have been working around the clock since then.

“In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we're completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database. We apologise for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.”

At the time of writing, the website is back online. According to the Guardian, information about its 275,000 registered third-party developers may have been stolen.

For a period, the Apple Store website was apparently down too, but the main concern for developers was that their apps would get pulled from the App Store as they would not be able to login to renew their developer accounts. According to Macworld, Apple eventually clarified that developers facing that specific situation need not worry.

The website allows access to iOS 7 and development kits such as OS X Mavericks, and helps developers allocate apps to beta testers. It also includes popular developer-only forums. Apple initially published a notice saying that the website was taken down for maintenance.