CRM Software: The Technology Behind the Tool

For those of us who use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications on a regular basis, they add immeasurable value to our productivity. We talk to so many people over the phone, email, text, Twitter and Facebook that it’s impossible to remember who said what and when they said it, but CRM software helps us manage the communication. We take this modern software marvel for granted, but deep in the core of CRM, you can find some major innovation and stunning technology.

The Inner Core

At the core of a CRM system is a Database (DB). Think of a huge spreadsheet with items like name, address, city, state, zip, email and notes. Now take that concept and feed it steroids. Boom! You have a DB. The DB at the core of a CRM system stores information and connects data relationships.

When you know person A works for company B, and person C used to work for company B but now works at company D, the DB deep inside the CRM system keeps track of this information for you. However, a CRM solution’s performance is only as good as the data it’s given; you should always make sure you feed your system the best data possible.

Do you remember life without CRM systems? I do, but barely. I remember Rolodex card files with people’s information written out and tiny handwritten notes covering the last thing you asked them. I remember people carrying around a “little black book.” I remember Franklin Covey®-branded PalmPilot™ devices helping to keep your contacts organized, and I remember very early incarnations of CRM systems that used one big text file instead of a DB. I can wax nostalgic about the way “things used to be,” but in reality, having a DB at the core of everything beats a paper Rolodex file any day of the week.

The Middle Layer

The DB is very good at its job, but not so smart when it comes to making decisions about the data entered. Another layer, the Business Logic Layer (BLL), handles this function. You can think of the BLL as a very smart butler, making decisions, running errands, and getting things done, all using the data in the DB.

As an example, let’s say we have a business rule that says, “for every contact in my CRM system who has a birthday, send me an email reminding me to send them a birthday card when their birthday is a week away.”

First, you need to have the contact’s email address in the CRM’s DB, and the BLL needs to know what to do with that information. Luckily, you only have to tell the BLL to do something once, and it will do it over and over. So the BLL wakes up and says “Hey, John Smith’s birthday is next week. I need to email my owner and tell him to send John Smith a card.”

A very simple example, yes, but it illustrates what the BLL does and how it works. You build business logic or business rules for your CRM system to follow, and it follows those rules. I have seen companies running almost completely on business rules, handling everything from bank drafts to commercial printing operations, so your BLL can get as complex as you want it to be.

The Top Layer

At the top layer of a CRM system lies the part you’re most likely to recognize: the Presentation Layer (PL). The PL consists of the screens and fields you view and fill out. The PL is connected to the DB via the BLL. In this way, you can build in business rules for what needs to happen to the data before it makes it to the DB, and you can build in business rules for how the data is displayed as well.

The PL can make or break the usefulness of a CRM system. If it’s too simple, the user won’t get the most out of the system. If it’s too complex, the user will go back to index cards (Don’t laughâ€"I’ve seen it happen!). Software publishers have to strike a balance between functionality and simplicity, and a well-designed PL has two primary traits: One, the PL is not intimidating to first time users; and two, it doesn’t get in the way of power users. Finance management specialist Mint.com offers an excellent example of a well-built presentation layer.

CRM systems follow classical three-tiered architecture. Data is stored in a database; the logic, rules, and alerts stay in the business logic layer; and the presentation layer faces the user. Developing an application this way means you can make changes to the individual layers without having to rewrite the complete system from scratch.

We may take effective CRM technology for granted, but taking some time to understand how the technology “under the hood” works can give us a new appreciation for the brainpower that goes into making it, as well as a deeper understanding of its power.

Tirrell Payton is a marketer and technologist with more than 15 years of experience in the digital world, and is the VP of Analytical Marketing at Egg Marketing and Communications. He is a former executive at Accenture, a global technology and consulting firm, where he helped companies transition from “industrial speed” to “web speed.” Prior to Accenture, he worked in the digital media division of Yahoo. Tirrell combines marketing sense with technology savvy with an unwavering eye on the bottom line. He is a regular contributor to ChamberofCommerce.com, Small Business Trends, and DIYMarketing as well as his own website, SEOTirrell. Follow him on Twitter @SEOTirrell.  

CRM Software: The Technology Behind the Tool

For those of us who use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications on a regular basis, they add immeasurable value to our productivity. We talk to so many people over the phone, email, text, Twitter and Facebook that it’s impossible to remember who said what and when they said it, but CRM software helps us manage the communication. We take this modern software marvel for granted, but deep in the core of CRM, you can find some major innovation and stunning technology.

The Inner Core

At the core of a CRM system is a Database (DB). Think of a huge spreadsheet with items like name, address, city, state, zip, email and notes. Now take that concept and feed it steroids. Boom! You have a DB. The DB at the core of a CRM system stores information and connects data relationships.

When you know person A works for company B, and person C used to work for company B but now works at company D, the DB deep inside the CRM system keeps track of this information for you. However, a CRM solution’s performance is only as good as the data it’s given; you should always make sure you feed your system the best data possible.

Do you remember life without CRM systems? I do, but barely. I remember Rolodex card files with people’s information written out and tiny handwritten notes covering the last thing you asked them. I remember people carrying around a “little black book.” I remember Franklin Covey®-branded PalmPilot™ devices helping to keep your contacts organized, and I remember very early incarnations of CRM systems that used one big text file instead of a DB. I can wax nostalgic about the way “things used to be,” but in reality, having a DB at the core of everything beats a paper Rolodex file any day of the week.

The Middle Layer

The DB is very good at its job, but not so smart when it comes to making decisions about the data entered. Another layer, the Business Logic Layer (BLL), handles this function. You can think of the BLL as a very smart butler, making decisions, running errands, and getting things done, all using the data in the DB.

As an example, let’s say we have a business rule that says, “for every contact in my CRM system who has a birthday, send me an email reminding me to send them a birthday card when their birthday is a week away.”

First, you need to have the contact’s email address in the CRM’s DB, and the BLL needs to know what to do with that information. Luckily, you only have to tell the BLL to do something once, and it will do it over and over. So the BLL wakes up and says “Hey, John Smith’s birthday is next week. I need to email my owner and tell him to send John Smith a card.”

A very simple example, yes, but it illustrates what the BLL does and how it works. You build business logic or business rules for your CRM system to follow, and it follows those rules. I have seen companies running almost completely on business rules, handling everything from bank drafts to commercial printing operations, so your BLL can get as complex as you want it to be.

The Top Layer

At the top layer of a CRM system lies the part you’re most likely to recognize: the Presentation Layer (PL). The PL consists of the screens and fields you view and fill out. The PL is connected to the DB via the BLL. In this way, you can build in business rules for what needs to happen to the data before it makes it to the DB, and you can build in business rules for how the data is displayed as well.

The PL can make or break the usefulness of a CRM system. If it’s too simple, the user won’t get the most out of the system. If it’s too complex, the user will go back to index cards (Don’t laughâ€"I’ve seen it happen!). Software publishers have to strike a balance between functionality and simplicity, and a well-designed PL has two primary traits: One, the PL is not intimidating to first time users; and two, it doesn’t get in the way of power users. Finance management specialist Mint.com offers an excellent example of a well-built presentation layer.

CRM systems follow classical three-tiered architecture. Data is stored in a database; the logic, rules, and alerts stay in the business logic layer; and the presentation layer faces the user. Developing an application this way means you can make changes to the individual layers without having to rewrite the complete system from scratch.

We may take effective CRM technology for granted, but taking some time to understand how the technology “under the hood” works can give us a new appreciation for the brainpower that goes into making it, as well as a deeper understanding of its power.

Tirrell Payton is a marketer and technologist with more than 15 years of experience in the digital world, and is the VP of Analytical Marketing at Egg Marketing and Communications. He is a former executive at Accenture, a global technology and consulting firm, where he helped companies transition from “industrial speed” to “web speed.” Prior to Accenture, he worked in the digital media division of Yahoo. Tirrell combines marketing sense with technology savvy with an unwavering eye on the bottom line. He is a regular contributor to ChamberofCommerce.com, Small Business Trends, and DIYMarketing as well as his own website, SEOTirrell. Follow him on Twitter @SEOTirrell.  

CRM Software: The Technology Behind the Tool

For those of us who use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications on a regular basis, they add immeasurable value to our productivity. We talk to so many people over the phone, email, text, Twitter and Facebook that it’s impossible to remember who said what and when they said it, but CRM software helps us manage the communication. We take this modern software marvel for granted, but deep in the core of CRM, you can find some major innovation and stunning technology.

The Inner Core

At the core of a CRM system is a Database (DB). Think of a huge spreadsheet with items like name, address, city, state, zip, email and notes. Now take that concept and feed it steroids. Boom! You have a DB. The DB at the core of a CRM system stores information and connects data relationships.

When you know person A works for company B, and person C used to work for company B but now works at company D, the DB deep inside the CRM system keeps track of this information for you. However, a CRM solution’s performance is only as good as the data it’s given; you should always make sure you feed your system the best data possible.

Do you remember life without CRM systems? I do, but barely. I remember Rolodex card files with people’s information written out and tiny handwritten notes covering the last thing you asked them. I remember people carrying around a “little black book.” I remember Franklin Covey®-branded PalmPilot™ devices helping to keep your contacts organized, and I remember very early incarnations of CRM systems that used one big text file instead of a DB. I can wax nostalgic about the way “things used to be,” but in reality, having a DB at the core of everything beats a paper Rolodex file any day of the week.

The Middle Layer

The DB is very good at its job, but not so smart when it comes to making decisions about the data entered. Another layer, the Business Logic Layer (BLL), handles this function. You can think of the BLL as a very smart butler, making decisions, running errands, and getting things done, all using the data in the DB.

As an example, let’s say we have a business rule that says, “for every contact in my CRM system who has a birthday, send me an email reminding me to send them a birthday card when their birthday is a week away.”

First, you need to have the contact’s email address in the CRM’s DB, and the BLL needs to know what to do with that information. Luckily, you only have to tell the BLL to do something once, and it will do it over and over. So the BLL wakes up and says “Hey, John Smith’s birthday is next week. I need to email my owner and tell him to send John Smith a card.”

A very simple example, yes, but it illustrates what the BLL does and how it works. You build business logic or business rules for your CRM system to follow, and it follows those rules. I have seen companies running almost completely on business rules, handling everything from bank drafts to commercial printing operations, so your BLL can get as complex as you want it to be.

The Top Layer

At the top layer of a CRM system lies the part you’re most likely to recognize: the Presentation Layer (PL). The PL consists of the screens and fields you view and fill out. The PL is connected to the DB via the BLL. In this way, you can build in business rules for what needs to happen to the data before it makes it to the DB, and you can build in business rules for how the data is displayed as well.

The PL can make or break the usefulness of a CRM system. If it’s too simple, the user won’t get the most out of the system. If it’s too complex, the user will go back to index cards (Don’t laughâ€"I’ve seen it happen!). Software publishers have to strike a balance between functionality and simplicity, and a well-designed PL has two primary traits: One, the PL is not intimidating to first time users; and two, it doesn’t get in the way of power users. Finance management specialist Mint.com offers an excellent example of a well-built presentation layer.

CRM systems follow classical three-tiered architecture. Data is stored in a database; the logic, rules, and alerts stay in the business logic layer; and the presentation layer faces the user. Developing an application this way means you can make changes to the individual layers without having to rewrite the complete system from scratch.

We may take effective CRM technology for granted, but taking some time to understand how the technology “under the hood” works can give us a new appreciation for the brainpower that goes into making it, as well as a deeper understanding of its power.

Tirrell Payton is a marketer and technologist with more than 15 years of experience in the digital world, and is the VP of Analytical Marketing at Egg Marketing and Communications. He is a former executive at Accenture, a global technology and consulting firm, where he helped companies transition from “industrial speed” to “web speed.” Prior to Accenture, he worked in the digital media division of Yahoo. Tirrell combines marketing sense with technology savvy with an unwavering eye on the bottom line. He is a regular contributor to ChamberofCommerce.com, Small Business Trends, and DIYMarketing as well as his own website, SEOTirrell. Follow him on Twitter @SEOTirrell.  

6 Million Things That Can Go Wrong With Your WordPress Site

“The website isn’t working!”

Four simple words that will send you into a spiral of dread and despair. You go to your website and see something like Internal Server Error or Connection Timed Out. Worse yet, your website seems to have completely disappeared. (This is fondly referred to as the “White Screen of Death.”)

While WordPress is a great blog and website platform, between plugin compatibility issues, theme updates and more, there just might be six million things that could go wrong.  But for now, let’s just focus on six main WordPress issues.

Things That Can Go Wrong With Your WordPress Website

Performance and Security Issues

Before you build a new website, it’s a good idea to get your website set up in the best way possible, to prevent future potential performance and security issues.

Million-Dollar Tip:

Not all hosts are created equal.  If you are not very technical or just want someone else to worry about performance and security for you, choose a company like Synthesis from Copyblogger Media that offers managed hosting for WordPress.  You will pay more but you get guaranteed performance, automatic security updates and piece of mind that lets you sleep at night.

Updates

When logged in as WordPress admin, you will constantly be reminded to update your plugins, your framework, your theme and WordPress itself. Most people proceed with the installation without a thought, then oopsâ€"your header image is broken, or your website looks different than you expected, requiring extra work.

Million-Dollar Tip:

Visit the website of your theme or plugin before performing the update. Read the details of the update to determine if your website’s look or functionality will be impacted.

Ten Million Dollar Tip:

Make sure you have completely backed up your site with a service like CodeGuard or a premium Plugin like BackupBuddy before you update anything.

Server Migration

Maybe your current hosting runs too slow, maybe you don’t like their customer service, or maybe your site keeps getting corrupted. Whatever the reason, when you decide to switch your hosting provider, WordPress might be a little crabby about the changeover.

Million-Dollar Tip:

If you’re worried about the migration process, try hiring a WordPress service company like Fantasktic to handle everything for $99. You’ll experience minimal downtime (if any) and you won’t have to worry about the technical details.

Plugin Compatibility

If you’ve made any changes to your website recently and now you’re having problems, an incompatible plugin is likely the issue. Be sure to check each plugin’s compatibility with your current version of WordPress before installation. Sometimes plugins aren’t compatible with each other and there’s no way to anticipate the conflict in advance.

Million-Dollar Tip:

If your WordPress website is broken and you suspect plugin issues, you need to isolate the plugins folder on your hosting server. To do so, rename your “plugins” folder to “plugins_old” (your server should automatically generate a new copy of the “plugins” folder when you do this). Now, open your website again and, if it now works, you know a plugin conflict is to blame. Copy each plugin from “plugins_old” back into “plugins,” one at a time, to identify which plugin is the culprit.

Super Spamming

Spammers can access your WordPress website in numerous ways, and no doubt about it - they’ll be on the attack every day. Spammers can create fake accounts on your website or post comments littered with garbage links and inappropriate topics.

Million-Dollar Tip:

Spam-fighterAkismet is an unbeatable solution for curbing all those spam comments. While Akismet used to be a separate WordPress plugin, it now comes default with the latest version of WordPress, so all you need to do is activate it and you’re ready to go.

Who The Heck Knows?

Most people who run a WordPress site have, at one time or another, experienced a white-knuckle WordPress situation no amount of tweaking or research can repair. Maybe you’re completely locked out of your website.

Maybe you’ve somehow managed to create an infinite loop of code you can’t access to fix. First of all, don’t panic. In all likelihood, there’s a solution out there somewhere.

Million-Dollar Tip:

If everything else fails, and you feel like all is lost, visit the WordPress Support Forums for help. If the documentation for your problem doesn’t already exist (which it very likely does), you can post your specific problem in the forums, and a surprisingly enthusiastic team of WordPress admins and users will offer specific solutions.

Don’t Let These Potential WordPress Problems Get to You

WordPress is a useful website platform, and you’ll most likely be very happy with your website 99% of the time. Just keep an eye out for issues and don’t be afraid to ask for help when you encounter a problem.

Frustrated Woman Photo via Shutterstock

Executive Spotlight: Creating Goals and Mentoring Others Is What Drives Joe Cayero of Verizon Wireless

Joe Cayero wants to be remembered as a great leader and mentor in his work life, but also takes pride in making sure he is being “the world’s bestest dad ever” to his 5-year-old son.  As the Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for Verizon Wireless, Cayero credits his family for giving him the foundation necessary to accomplish his many career goals.

“My parents moved to the USA without knowing how to speak English.  In fact, they came without even having a job lined up.  What they did have were strong moral values and an even stronger work ethic. It sounds hokey, but I too believe that if you treat people with dignity and respect, along with a strong conviction and committed to your beliefs, the odds are in your favor of meeting and realizing your goals with dreams can become a reality.” Cayero said.

Cayero said his dreams of working with technology probably began back when his parents first purchased a Tandy TRS 80 computer. Although they had very little money, his parents were committed to making sure Joe was exposed to innovation that could potentially become the basis of many future opportunities. They were right. Cayero’s journey with Verizon began about 20 years ago with the shared vision that eventually, everything we do in life and business would be driven by a handset or a personal device. Today, he gets to see those dreams as his reality each day at at Verizon.

“We are the market leader and shape the industry.  Our uncompromising standards are unparalleled within the wireless industry - and that’s not lost on our customers.” Cayero said. “Our culture is second to none. I would challenge anyone to find a harder working, more customer -focused organization in any industry.  We have an internal CREDO which I have read literally hundreds of times.  Yet every time I read it, I can’t help but feel proud of where and whom I work with.  It also reminds me of what is really important as it relates to our customers and our guiding principles here at Verizon Wireless.”

Cayero believes that Verizon has the right goals in mind for creating success as a company. One of the most important goals Cayero has is to make sure he is working to mentor and guide his fellow employees because they are the most “prized asset” at Verizon.

“To think that I inspired, mentored or coached someone and have positively impacted them either personally and/or professionally is a fulfilling experience.” Cayero said.

And whatever Cayero is doing at Verizon must be working, because the company recently reported double digit earnings growth in five of their last six quarters of business.

Small Businesses Spend More on Travel, Per Concur Survey

Small businesses are playing the role of big spenders on the road. A new study found that small businesses spend more on travel than big business.

The Concur Expense IQ report covering 2012 reveals that small businesses spend about 24 percent more per year on these expenses than bigger companies. The report is a survey of Concur users and how much they spent annually on travel and entertainment.

The study also specifies some reasons for that disparity:

Negotiating leverage, driven by scale and sophisticated spend management strategies, continues to give large market companies significant advantages in controlling their T&E spending.

Air Travel

Items like baggage fees on flights and other ancillary charges for business travelers nearly doubled in the last year, the study found. Concur users spent $58 million on these fees in 2012, compared to $30 million the year prior.

Despite the amount of these fees, which are the same for big or small businesses, it’s small businesses that are paying more often. The report also found that small businesses purchase 37 percent more airline tickets in a quarter than big businesses.

Food and Lodging

Even if your business travel doesn’t require flight, small businesses are paying more for hotel rooms and rental cars, too. The average small business traveler will spend about $736 per quarter, compared to a big business traveler’s $608 per quarter for lodging. Other expenses on the ground also hit small businesses harder.

A small business traveler is dining out about 40 times a year and spends around $340 every three months on take-out or restaurant meals. The big business traveler eats out less often and typically spends less too.

The study found that each small business traveler will spend about $500 more per quarter than a big business traveler. And every expense involved in travel - from airline tickets to hotels to food - is typically higher than what a big business traveler would pay.

Concur provides integrated travel and expense management solutions to 15,000 business clients around the world serving 5 million users.

Image: Concur Expense IQ Report

Small Businesses Spend More on Travel, Per Concur Survey

Small businesses are playing the role of big spenders on the road. A new study found that small businesses spend more on travel than big business.

The Concur Expense IQ report covering 2012 reveals that small businesses spend about 24 percent more per year on these expenses than bigger companies. The report is a survey of Concur users and how much they spent annually on travel and entertainment.

The study also specifies some reasons for that disparity:

Negotiating leverage, driven by scale and sophisticated spend management strategies, continues to give large market companies significant advantages in controlling their T&E spending.

Air Travel

Items like baggage fees on flights and other ancillary charges for business travelers nearly doubled in the last year, the study found. Concur users spent $58 million on these fees in 2012, compared to $30 million the year prior.

Despite the amount of these fees, which are the same for big or small businesses, it’s small businesses that are paying more often. The report also found that small businesses purchase 37 percent more airline tickets in a quarter than big businesses.

Food and Lodging

Even if your business travel doesn’t require flight, small businesses are paying more for hotel rooms and rental cars, too. The average small business traveler will spend about $736 per quarter, compared to a big business traveler’s $608 per quarter for lodging. Other expenses on the ground also hit small businesses harder.

A small business traveler is dining out about 40 times a year and spends around $340 every three months on take-out or restaurant meals. The big business traveler eats out less often and typically spends less too.

The study found that each small business traveler will spend about $500 more per quarter than a big business traveler. And every expense involved in travel - from airline tickets to hotels to food - is typically higher than what a big business traveler would pay.

Concur provides integrated travel and expense management solutions to 15,000 business clients around the world serving 5 million users.

Image: Concur Expense IQ Report

Executive Spotlight: Creating Goals and Mentoring Others Is What Drives Joe Cayero of Verizon Wireless

Joe Cayero wants to be remembered as a great leader and mentor in his work life, but also takes pride in making sure he is being “the world’s bestest dad ever” to his 5-year-old son.  As the Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for Verizon Wireless, Cayero credits his family for giving him the foundation necessary to accomplish his many career goals.

“My parents moved to the USA without knowing how to speak English.  In fact, they came without even having a job lined up.  What they did have were strong moral values and an even stronger work ethic. It sounds hokey, but I too believe that if you treat people with dignity and respect, along with a strong conviction and committed to your beliefs, the odds are in your favor of meeting and realizing your goals with dreams can become a reality.” Cayero said.

Cayero said his dreams of working with technology probably began back when his parents first purchased a Tandy TRS 80 computer. Although they had very little money, his parents were committed to making sure Joe was exposed to innovation that could potentially become the basis of many future opportunities. They were right. Cayero’s journey with Verizon began about 20 years ago with the shared vision that eventually, everything we do in life and business would be driven by a handset or a personal device. Today, he gets to see those dreams as his reality each day at at Verizon.

“We are the market leader and shape the industry.  Our uncompromising standards are unparalleled within the wireless industry - and that’s not lost on our customers.” Cayero said. “Our culture is second to none. I would challenge anyone to find a harder working, more customer -focused organization in any industry.  We have an internal CREDO which I have read literally hundreds of times.  Yet every time I read it, I can’t help but feel proud of where and whom I work with.  It also reminds me of what is really important as it relates to our customers and our guiding principles here at Verizon Wireless.”

Cayero believes that Verizon has the right goals in mind for creating success as a company. One of the most important goals Cayero has is to make sure he is working to mentor and guide his fellow employees because they are the most “prized asset” at Verizon.

“To think that I inspired, mentored or coached someone and have positively impacted them either personally and/or professionally is a fulfilling experience.” Cayero said.

And whatever Cayero is doing at Verizon must be working, because the company recently reported double digit earnings growth in five of their last six quarters of business.

Are Americans Becoming Interested in Entrepreneurship Again?

The recently released Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a nationally representative survey of American adults, reveals that the fraction of Americans who intend to start a business rose to 12.5 percent in 2012 â€" a substantial increase from the 8.3 percent recorded in 2008.

What’s behind the change?

It doesn’t appear to be driven by a shift in Americans’ beliefs about their entrepreneurial abilities. In both 2008 and 2012, 56 percent of Americans said they had the skills to start a business.

It might be related to the rising fraction of Americans who believe that there are “good opportunities for entrepreneurship around them.” Only 37 percent of those surveyed by the GEM said that there were good start-up opportunities in 2008. In 2012, that fraction had increased to 44 percent. As the authors of the report explain, the current number “represents a jump of more than 20% from 2011 and the highest level recorded since GEM began in 1999.”

While more Americans perceive entrepreneurial opportunities than did five years ago, a greater fraction is also concerned about failing. In 2008, only 25 percent of those surveyed by GEM feared entrepreneurial failure. By 2012 that fraction had increased to 32 percent.

Americans are beginning to act on their increasing entrepreneurial intentions. According to the GEM, the fraction of respondents with start-ups less than three-and-a-half years old jumped in 2011 and continued to rise in 2012, to the highest level since the survey was initiated in 1999.

Other sources show similar patterns. Census Bureau data on new employer firm formation showed a 2.3 percent increase in the number of firms per thousand people (from 1.28 to 1.31) between 2010 and 2011. (Government figures for new employer firm formation for 2012 haven’t been released yet.)

However, the rise in entrepreneurship appears concentrated among people just beginning to launch their businesses. While the fraction of Americans who had a business three-or-fewer months old grew between 2011 and 2012, the share with businesses between 3 months and three-and-a-half years old declined.

While start-up activity may be climbing out of its trough, existing entrepreneurs still appear to be exiting at elevated rates. Bureau of Labor Statistics data don’t show evidence of an increase in fraction of self-employed Americans. As the figure below shows, after declining continuously for several years, the self-employed share of the civilian labor force remained stable at 6.02 percent between April 2012 and April 2013. If the fraction of Americans starting businesses is rebounding, but the share of self-employed Americans is flat, then the fraction of self-employed exiting must still be high.

American Entrepreneur Photo via Shutterstock

Are Americans Becoming Interested in Entrepreneurship Again?

The recently released Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a nationally representative survey of American adults, reveals that the fraction of Americans who intend to start a business rose to 12.5 percent in 2012 â€" a substantial increase from the 8.3 percent recorded in 2008.

What’s behind the change?

It doesn’t appear to be driven by a shift in Americans’ beliefs about their entrepreneurial abilities. In both 2008 and 2012, 56 percent of Americans said they had the skills to start a business.

It might be related to the rising fraction of Americans who believe that there are “good opportunities for entrepreneurship around them.” Only 37 percent of those surveyed by the GEM said that there were good start-up opportunities in 2008. In 2012, that fraction had increased to 44 percent. As the authors of the report explain, the current number “represents a jump of more than 20% from 2011 and the highest level recorded since GEM began in 1999.”

While more Americans perceive entrepreneurial opportunities than did five years ago, a greater fraction is also concerned about failing. In 2008, only 25 percent of those surveyed by GEM feared entrepreneurial failure. By 2012 that fraction had increased to 32 percent.

Americans are beginning to act on their increasing entrepreneurial intentions. According to the GEM, the fraction of respondents with start-ups less than three-and-a-half years old jumped in 2011 and continued to rise in 2012, to the highest level since the survey was initiated in 1999.

Other sources show similar patterns. Census Bureau data on new employer firm formation showed a 2.3 percent increase in the number of firms per thousand people (from 1.28 to 1.31) between 2010 and 2011. (Government figures for new employer firm formation for 2012 haven’t been released yet.)

However, the rise in entrepreneurship appears concentrated among people just beginning to launch their businesses. While the fraction of Americans who had a business three-or-fewer months old grew between 2011 and 2012, the share with businesses between 3 months and three-and-a-half years old declined.

While start-up activity may be climbing out of its trough, existing entrepreneurs still appear to be exiting at elevated rates. Bureau of Labor Statistics data don’t show evidence of an increase in fraction of self-employed Americans. As the figure below shows, after declining continuously for several years, the self-employed share of the civilian labor force remained stable at 6.02 percent between April 2012 and April 2013. If the fraction of Americans starting businesses is rebounding, but the share of self-employed Americans is flat, then the fraction of self-employed exiting must still be high.

American Entrepreneur Photo via Shutterstock

ThreatBLADE technology launched by Solera and parent Blue Coat

Solera has announced the launch of ThreatBLADES to help protect against and resolve targeted attacks.

From parent Blue Coat, who announced the acquisition of Solera in May, ThreatBLADES unify threat intelligence, big data security analytics and security visibility to protect against zero-day, advance persistent, web and email threats, spear phishing attacks and malicious files and botnets.

They are integrated into the Solera Security Analytics Platform (formally Solera DeepSee) and are powered by the Blue Coat WebPulse Collaborative Defense system.

Three blades are offered: for malware analysis that detects, identifies and safely analyses suspected malware-infected files with integrated malware-detonation sandbox technology; WebThreat which incorporates IP and URL reputation intelligence to detect and defend against Web 2.0 threats, advanced persistent threat command-and-control call-backs, spear phishing attacks and botnets; and the FileThreat which uses WebPulse intelligence to guard against known viruses and malware embedded in virtually any file type.

The MalwareAnalysis BLADE is available as an on-premise or highly scalable cloud-based solution, and all will be available through a software update to the Solera Security Analytics Platform. All of the ThreatBLADES will be generally available in September.

Steve Shillingford, senior vice president and general manager of the advanced threat protection group at Blue Coat, said: “Organisations are under enormous pressure as cyber attacks continue to increase in number and severity. However, traditional security measures and novelty point solutions are no longer enough. A comprehensive and modern big data security platform is now a critical requirement.

“Our innovative solution, combining the Solera Platform with Blue Coat ThreatBLADES, provides a powerful, extensible platform to help organisations detect and analyse emerging threats while gaining 360-degree visibility into their networks.”

IID plans expansion of incident and attack sharing

IID has announced plans to expand its offerings to enable Fortune 500 companies, governments, law enforcement and service providers to share attack intelligence.

The company has said that it will aggregate, filter and share actionable data from thousands of contributing sources and it will work with select brands to automate the collection and dispersion of collective intelligence.

IID CEO Lars Harvey said that it is working to replace the industry's standard one-to-one manual sharing process with widespread, automated intelligence collaboration. 

“As threats have grown exponentially over the years, what we have learned is that whack-a-mole responses quickly eat up resources while failing to anticipate the latest breaches,” he said.

“The only way to truly secure the Internet is with collaboration on a large scale - and that requires automation.”

IID claimed that while some very limited security information-sharing groups have emerged, these groups are typically confined to very tight industry and peer circles and/or ad-hoc email communication lists.

Rod Rasmussen, IID president and CTO, said: “For the most part, the ‘good guys' are operating in their own silos. They are keeping up on the latest attack methods, but often the information they are obtaining a) is not actionable b) is not timely and c) takes substantial human capital to obtain.”

The concept of sharing attack information and data has dominated news this year. In early February, the European Commission called for a cooperation mechanism to share early warnings on risks and incidents between member states and the commission, via a secure infrastructure.

At the RSA Conference in February, FBI director Robert Mueller called for better collaboration between government departments and the private sector, echoing requirements set by President Obama.

In the UK, the government announced the Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP) between police, private sector, MI5 and GCHQ to allow access to shared information. This will be complemented by a ‘fusion cell' that will be supported on the government side by the Security Service, GCHQ and the National Crime Agency, and by industry analysts from a variety of sectors.