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One of the age-old challenges that has plagued the software industry, like many others,is how vendors can reach small- and mid-sized businesses with their software products ...

All the hype about Big Data over the past year has succeeded in educating executives in organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry about the unprecedented potential to use analytics to improve operations, sales effectiveness and customer support. ...

Software as a Service has become an accepted alternative to traditional on-premises enterprise applications, and a broader set of cloud services is becoming a viable option for businesses seeking more flexible and economical computing capabilities ...

THINKstrategies, the Cloud Computing Showplace, and Rising TideMedia hosted our second annual Cloud Channel Summit earlier this week, giving executives fromleading cloud and channel companies a peer-to-peer networking forum where they could share perspectives on how to forge successful partnerships to capitalize on theunprecedented opportunities created by the cloud...

I've been suggesting for the past few years that a more robust channel ecosystemmust emerge for the cloud movement to continue to grow at its current pace. Whilefundamental nature of the cloud computing business creates significant challenges fortraditional channel companies, rapidly rising user demand creates market pressures andopportunities that cannot be ignored...

The only topic getting more attention in the tech industry than the Cloud is the debate over the future implications of the upcoming US presidential election. And, in many ways the two topics are intimately intertwined. Both are being propelled by plenty of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). ...

Some of the details disclosed in the interview may have come as a surprise even to regular Salesforce.com watchers, said Jeffrey M. Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies, though Benioff's trademark openness was a given "He has been dropping more hints than ever about t...

Now that Software as a Service and the broader cloud computing concept havegained widespread recognition and acceptance, it will be interesting to see whether onlinemarketplaces will become a preferred method for acquiring these on-demand resources ...

In the stampede of established players and relative startups seeking to capture a pieceof the rapidly expanding cloud market, it is inevitable there will be a few casualties.However, it is surprising which companies have failed to gain an edge in this "Cloud Rush"environment ...

Today's rapidly expanding array of cloud-based applications are quickly deliveringquantifiable business benefits, as three years ofTHINKstrategies Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards have clearly proven. ...

The debate about the viability of cloud alternatives has given way to a new set of discussions about how to maximize the value of today's rapidly evolving cloud services. This new round of deliberations centers on the right approach to planning, selecting, deploying, administering, and optimizing the performance of cloud-based applications and other resources...

These incremental updates add up to a lot of enthusiasm for the product among SugarCRM's user base, Jeffrey M. Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies, told CRM Buyer. "The new release not only enhances features but improves the performance, which is essential for pleasi...

"There is no question that the government sector has shown a growing receptivity to cloud alternatives," Jeffrey M. Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies, told CRM Buyer. "We have seen not only Salesforce.com but also RightNow Technologies successfully penetrate the go...

The exponential growth of data from a widening array of sources is making the term "Big Data" a hot topic among corporate executives from businesses of all sizes across nearly every industry ...

I recently read an article in USA Today about the escalating concerns within a widening array of organizations over the growing security risks associated with today's social networks ...

It amazes me that there are still analyst reports and other industry studies questioning the value of today's cloud solutions. While there is no question that the return on investment will vary depending on a variety of factors, there is plenty of evidence that anyone who employs cloud solutions thoughtfully today can generate plenty of measurable and tangible business benefits...

"I can't think of a better fit for Salesforce.com," Jeffrey M. Kaplan, managing director of THINKstrategies, told the E-Commerce Times. Salesforce.com did not respond to our request for further details.

With little public fanfare, SAP and Google announced a strategic alliance to integrate SAP's BusinessByDesign and Google Apps during an "influencer" forum last month. Although senior executives from both companies boasted about the significance of this joint initiative, neither issued a public announcement, and little press coverage ensued from the event. This raises a question about what it takes to create a partnership in the Cloud that is truly compelling and game-changing...

The success of the cloud movement over the past year has spawned a proliferation of players seeking to win a share of this rapidly growing market. While the market opportunities appear to be endless, the "cloud rush" effect that has overtaken the industry is making it more difficult than ever for companies to clearly differentiate themselves and gain a leadership position in their particular segment of the market. Overcoming these challenges will become even harder in 2012 as the market becomes more cluttered.

Oracle's recent acquisition of RightNow raises a question: Can multiple cloud companies be merged together to form a tightly coupled suite of solutions like those which were promised but never delivered during the client-server era? ...