Last week, IBM said it plans to expand a program under which it works with independent software vendors to adapt their software for hosted environments. IBM plans to increase the number of vendors in its hosting program from 30 to 60 by year's end; among IBM's latest partners for hosted software are providers of accounting, records-management, and communications-management software.
Also last week, hosted customer-relationship-management software vendor NetSuite Inc. added new capabilities--such as a contract-management module--to its software. RightNow may soon add sales-force-management capabilities to compete more directly with Salesforce.com Inc., CEO Greg Gianforte hints.
IDC analyst Amy Mizoras Konary says businesses' desire to reduce IT complexity along with improved delivery and integration technologies, such as Web services, are helping reinvigorate the software-as-service concept. That rings true with Gary Burgess, CIO at PolyVision Corp., a seller of graphic communications equipment. Burgess says integrating incoming customer data from his company's Web storefront, which is hosted by Digital Agent LLC, with Salesforce's CRM software through XML was straightforward, taking only about two hours to accomplish.
Some users remain cautious. Apparel maker VF Imagewear began using hosted CRM applications from Salesforce in November, but it took several months for the company's IT department to green-light the project.
"There was some initial resistance about letting that data outside the company," says Susan Vincler, sales research manager at VF Imagewear. With their security concerns satisfied, the company's IT officials signed off. Now officials at parent company VF Corp. are mulling use of Salesforce's software in other areas. Says Vincler, "It's catching on."
Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer for Juniper Networks, explains how the advanced technology is transforming operations.
Contact center leaders from 8x8, Awaken Intelligence, and 360insight discuss the importance of agent experience.
AI may force enterprises to rewire parts of their data centers so they are fully optimized to run such workloads. The question is do you use Ethernet or InfiniBand?
