Forbes
Chris Barbin is the co-founder and CEO of Appirio, a 7-year-old San Francisco company that helps medium-to-large businesses move their systems to the cloud, and he’s made self-quantification a core part of his company’s culture.
Barbin, a track and cross-country athlete who has run eight marathons, had long used fitness to bring his team together through events like Tough Mudders and long-distance relay races. An early adopter of self-quantification apps like RunKeeper, Barbin decided to take his company’s fitness activities to the next level and devised the CloudFit Program to help hundreds of employees track their activity, nutrition and sleep.
Barbin’s unique program, which launched at the beginning of this year, is powered by Jawbone Up devices and technology, and connects directly with the company’s social intranet platform, Salesforce Chatter. Three hundred of Appirio’s 700 employees opted into the program, and 80 percent have agreed to seamlessly share their data with each other on Chatter. Barbin also hired a full-time virtual trainer to work with employees to help them develop individual nutrition and fitness plans...
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Appirio in the News
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
The rise of the digital nanny state
The Washington Post
...San Francisco-based cloud technology company Appirio has distributed 200 Up bands to its employees as part of its internal wellness program, CloudFit. The company chose the Up band for a few reasons: Jawbone offered them a discount, and the API could be integrated into Appirio’s system. The wristband also had a sleek design, longer battery life and collected activity data and sleep data, steering the company away from the Nike Fuelband. The deal made even more dollars and sense, since Appirio also negotiated with its U.S. health-care provider to cover the first $20,000 in costs dedicated to creating the company wellness program, with the goal of negotiating deeper insurance discounts once enough data had been collected, according to a company representative.
Appirio employees are not required to wear the bands, and if they do, they don’t have to share their data with one another or with the company overall. The wellness program has led to “an uptick in collaboration of its virtual employees that now have more in common (by sharing their UP data). This collaboration translates to a positive and motivational workforce,” according to the company representative...
Read more
...San Francisco-based cloud technology company Appirio has distributed 200 Up bands to its employees as part of its internal wellness program, CloudFit. The company chose the Up band for a few reasons: Jawbone offered them a discount, and the API could be integrated into Appirio’s system. The wristband also had a sleek design, longer battery life and collected activity data and sleep data, steering the company away from the Nike Fuelband. The deal made even more dollars and sense, since Appirio also negotiated with its U.S. health-care provider to cover the first $20,000 in costs dedicated to creating the company wellness program, with the goal of negotiating deeper insurance discounts once enough data had been collected, according to a company representative.
Appirio employees are not required to wear the bands, and if they do, they don’t have to share their data with one another or with the company overall. The wellness program has led to “an uptick in collaboration of its virtual employees that now have more in common (by sharing their UP data). This collaboration translates to a positive and motivational workforce,” according to the company representative...
Read more
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Why SaaS HR Software Is Ready to Take Off
CIO
...Jason Averbook, chief business innovation officer at cloud services provider Appirio, says the HR application sector is in the midst of a replacement cycle. Averbrook was previously CEO at Knowledge Infusion, a human capital management consultancy Appirio acquired last year.
Up to 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 will replace or re-implement its core HR system in the next four years," he says. "Most of the software that's out there was written before the Internet was born. It doesn't meet the needs and expectations of employees and managers. That's why you see so much activity around the cloud."
CIOs opting for human resources in the cloud have a number of choices from companies that grew up in the cloud or have moved to SaaS delivery following a history on on-premises products. Vendors offering human resources management applications in SaaS form include ADP, Ceridian, Kronos, Oracle, SAP and Workday.
Averbook says a pending on-premises upgrade of a legacy human resources system can trigger a move to SaaS. Many aging in-house systems have been customized beyond recognition and require a ton of internal support to keep them running, he points out. "CIOs want to get out of the business of maintaining back office systems. When the time to upgrade comes, it's natural to look elsewhere."...
Read more
...Jason Averbook, chief business innovation officer at cloud services provider Appirio, says the HR application sector is in the midst of a replacement cycle. Averbrook was previously CEO at Knowledge Infusion, a human capital management consultancy Appirio acquired last year.
Up to 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 will replace or re-implement its core HR system in the next four years," he says. "Most of the software that's out there was written before the Internet was born. It doesn't meet the needs and expectations of employees and managers. That's why you see so much activity around the cloud."
CIOs opting for human resources in the cloud have a number of choices from companies that grew up in the cloud or have moved to SaaS delivery following a history on on-premises products. Vendors offering human resources management applications in SaaS form include ADP, Ceridian, Kronos, Oracle, SAP and Workday.
Averbook says a pending on-premises upgrade of a legacy human resources system can trigger a move to SaaS. Many aging in-house systems have been customized beyond recognition and require a ton of internal support to keep them running, he points out. "CIOs want to get out of the business of maintaining back office systems. When the time to upgrade comes, it's natural to look elsewhere."...
Read more
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Skyrocket Your Business With The Cloud
techbubbles
For many organisations, cloud computing has become a way of connecting the dots between multiple business functions, and if done properly, can help future-proof a business model and drive innovation. As the lines between business and technology continue to blur, more organisations need to view IT as an integrated part of the enterprise that can impact long-term success, rather than just a mere side project. Agility is the currency of the new economy.
...At Appirio, we believe strongly in the role of the enterprise architect: an employee which manages the company’s IT services with a view to addressing overall business requirements – we push transparency to an extreme and we encourage communication through all levels and parts of the business. We also believe that people work better in an environment where they care and are supportive of each other. Cloud communication tools such as Salesforce, Workday and Google allow us to easily do that without investing millions of £s in building bespoke systems.
Cloud is helping organisations to reimagine their business. By applying technology to overarching issues, companies can maintain an agile stance, benefitting from an integrated IT infrastructure and from employees who know how to use it to its maximum potential.
Read more
For many organisations, cloud computing has become a way of connecting the dots between multiple business functions, and if done properly, can help future-proof a business model and drive innovation. As the lines between business and technology continue to blur, more organisations need to view IT as an integrated part of the enterprise that can impact long-term success, rather than just a mere side project. Agility is the currency of the new economy.
...At Appirio, we believe strongly in the role of the enterprise architect: an employee which manages the company’s IT services with a view to addressing overall business requirements – we push transparency to an extreme and we encourage communication through all levels and parts of the business. We also believe that people work better in an environment where they care and are supportive of each other. Cloud communication tools such as Salesforce, Workday and Google allow us to easily do that without investing millions of £s in building bespoke systems.
Cloud is helping organisations to reimagine their business. By applying technology to overarching issues, companies can maintain an agile stance, benefitting from an integrated IT infrastructure and from employees who know how to use it to its maximum potential.
Read more
Monday, July 1, 2013
Your Employer Wants To Know When You’re Sleeping
Chicago Grid
Employees at Appirio in San Francisco may not see their Chicago-based CEO on a daily basis, but they know how he slept last night.
Appirio, a cloud services provider, bought 200 Jawbone Up wristbands for employees as part of a wellness program launched this year. The bands, which retail for $129.99, use motion sensors to track sleep patterns and activity. Employers see only anonymous data, and employees can choose to share (or not share) their personal information with co-workers via a Web interface.
Appirio is among a growing number of companies buying fitness monitors for employees in an effort to reduce health insurance costs. The company’s health insurer gave Appirio $20,000 to start a wellness program, says VP of human resources Shannon Daly.
“I want to get enough data to go back to our benefits carrier this summer and say, ‘Look how we’ve been making change and traction on health,’” she says. “If we can get our benefits to stay static or go lower, that’s money for [employees] in their pockets.”...
Read more
Employees at Appirio in San Francisco may not see their Chicago-based CEO on a daily basis, but they know how he slept last night.
Appirio, a cloud services provider, bought 200 Jawbone Up wristbands for employees as part of a wellness program launched this year. The bands, which retail for $129.99, use motion sensors to track sleep patterns and activity. Employers see only anonymous data, and employees can choose to share (or not share) their personal information with co-workers via a Web interface.
Appirio is among a growing number of companies buying fitness monitors for employees in an effort to reduce health insurance costs. The company’s health insurer gave Appirio $20,000 to start a wellness program, says VP of human resources Shannon Daly.
“I want to get enough data to go back to our benefits carrier this summer and say, ‘Look how we’ve been making change and traction on health,’” she says. “If we can get our benefits to stay static or go lower, that’s money for [employees] in their pockets.”...
Read more
Thursday, June 20, 2013
10 best integrators for salesforce.com
ZDNet
Salesforce.com has one of the most established partner ecosystems of any cloud application provider, and Forrester periodically conducts a Wave ranking that evaluates which ones are doing the best job.
This week, the research firm updated its assessment, identifying the 10 companies that it feels are best-equipped to handle integrations, customizations and migrations related to the CRM platform (and all the various other applications, cloud or otherwise, that plug into it).
...Here are the 10 next-gen partners that Forrester ranks, along with where they fit. (The list is in the order that Forrester offers.)
Strong Performers
Appirio - The boutique services firm has 250 Salesforce.com-skilled resources, almost all of which are certified. (The company requires certification within 90 days of hiring.) It has two other differentiators: access to more than 70,000 developers through the CloudSpokes platform and relationships with other cloud providers, including Marketo, Workday, Google, Box and Jobvite...
Read more
Salesforce.com has one of the most established partner ecosystems of any cloud application provider, and Forrester periodically conducts a Wave ranking that evaluates which ones are doing the best job.
This week, the research firm updated its assessment, identifying the 10 companies that it feels are best-equipped to handle integrations, customizations and migrations related to the CRM platform (and all the various other applications, cloud or otherwise, that plug into it).
...Here are the 10 next-gen partners that Forrester ranks, along with where they fit. (The list is in the order that Forrester offers.)
Strong Performers
Appirio - The boutique services firm has 250 Salesforce.com-skilled resources, almost all of which are certified. (The company requires certification within 90 days of hiring.) It has two other differentiators: access to more than 70,000 developers through the CloudSpokes platform and relationships with other cloud providers, including Marketo, Workday, Google, Box and Jobvite...
Read more
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Paid volunteer time increasingly common employee benefit
MPR News
...Boosting employee engagement also can save companies money. Low employee engagement levels mean high turnover, which is costly for employers, said consultant Jason Averbook of Appirio, a company that offers services to help its business clients develop better relationships with their customers and workforce.
Replacing an employee who earns $50,000 can cost a company about that much in time and expense, he said.
Human resources experts say letting workers use company time to volunteer is a pretty inexpensive way to drive engagement higher and keep workers around. It also may be more fulfilling for employees than a pay raise, as an enjoyable experience outweighs pay in many organizations, Averbook said.
Read more
...Boosting employee engagement also can save companies money. Low employee engagement levels mean high turnover, which is costly for employers, said consultant Jason Averbook of Appirio, a company that offers services to help its business clients develop better relationships with their customers and workforce.
Replacing an employee who earns $50,000 can cost a company about that much in time and expense, he said.
Human resources experts say letting workers use company time to volunteer is a pretty inexpensive way to drive engagement higher and keep workers around. It also may be more fulfilling for employees than a pay raise, as an enjoyable experience outweighs pay in many organizations, Averbook said.
Read more
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Jawbone's UP Band Saves Appirio Healthcare Dollars
NBC Bay Area News
You may already wear one, to help your health. It turns out that cool high-tech band on your wrist may also save your company big money.
Jawbone, the San Francisco company that makes the popular UP band (full disclosure, one is dangling on my right wrist as I type these words...), just signed a deal to team up with Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a group that helps kids avoid obesity, by living healthy lives.
Yes, the guess here is that the plan will include bands worn, and data checked - In fact, the plan is to sell special orange bands, and donate $20 from each sale to Alliance. If you get one, you'll be helping yourself, and donating money to a good cause.
The band/healthcare plan is already in place at San Francisco's Appirio. The company says that, thanks to employees wearing the UP bands, they were able to negotiate a $20,000 reduction in their health insurance.
It's one thing to have a band lead you to more walking, or better sleeping. It's another to save a company lots of money. Look for the band/healthcare trend to catch on soon.
You may already wear one, to help your health. It turns out that cool high-tech band on your wrist may also save your company big money.
Jawbone, the San Francisco company that makes the popular UP band (full disclosure, one is dangling on my right wrist as I type these words...), just signed a deal to team up with Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a group that helps kids avoid obesity, by living healthy lives.
Yes, the guess here is that the plan will include bands worn, and data checked - In fact, the plan is to sell special orange bands, and donate $20 from each sale to Alliance. If you get one, you'll be helping yourself, and donating money to a good cause.
The band/healthcare plan is already in place at San Francisco's Appirio. The company says that, thanks to employees wearing the UP bands, they were able to negotiate a $20,000 reduction in their health insurance.
It's one thing to have a band lead you to more walking, or better sleeping. It's another to save a company lots of money. Look for the band/healthcare trend to catch on soon.
View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Successful Bay Area companies serve their communities in myriad ways
San Jose Mercury News
...Appirio's CEO Chris Barbin is passionate about community programs that give back via employee time and talent. When the San Francisco-based company was still young, Barbin brought on an expert to lead the company's community outreach through the Silver Lining Program. Each employee has eight hours of volunteer time off annually to use as they wish. In 2012, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties recognized the company's contributions. Appirio is 25th in the Small Companies category...
Read more
...Appirio's CEO Chris Barbin is passionate about community programs that give back via employee time and talent. When the San Francisco-based company was still young, Barbin brought on an expert to lead the company's community outreach through the Silver Lining Program. Each employee has eight hours of volunteer time off annually to use as they wish. In 2012, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties recognized the company's contributions. Appirio is 25th in the Small Companies category...
Read more
Friday, June 7, 2013
Why Appirio issued Jawbone fitness monitors to employees
CITE World
There are plenty of consumer tools that jump to mind as useful for boosting productivity at work. Smartphones, tablets, and apps like Evernote and DropBox.
How about fitness monitors? Appirio thinks so.
It has issued Jawbone UP monitors to 200 employees as part of an internal fitness and wellness program and said that benefits include increased productivity and employee satisfaction as well as the more tangible insurance savings.
Appirio is working with Jawbone on new features that will let it aggregate user data as well as tie corporate information into the Jawbone dashboard. In about a month it expects to have completed integration that will feed Jawbone data into Salesforce and Chatter, also.
The roots of the initiative go back to the very start of the company.
“We’ve always had an athletic and competitive culture,” said Chris Barbin, co-founder and CEO of Appirio, a seven-year-old business with around 700 employees who help enterprises migrate to public cloud services. From the start, the company would coordinate activities like working toward marathons.
Earlier this year, however, the company decided to formalize its fitness activities into a new program. Dubbed CloudFit, it includes offering employees Jawbone UP fitness monitors and hiring a “virtual trainer” who uses Chatter to set workouts, offer advice on nutrition and offer encouragement...
Read more
There are plenty of consumer tools that jump to mind as useful for boosting productivity at work. Smartphones, tablets, and apps like Evernote and DropBox.
How about fitness monitors? Appirio thinks so.
It has issued Jawbone UP monitors to 200 employees as part of an internal fitness and wellness program and said that benefits include increased productivity and employee satisfaction as well as the more tangible insurance savings.
Appirio is working with Jawbone on new features that will let it aggregate user data as well as tie corporate information into the Jawbone dashboard. In about a month it expects to have completed integration that will feed Jawbone data into Salesforce and Chatter, also.
The roots of the initiative go back to the very start of the company.
“We’ve always had an athletic and competitive culture,” said Chris Barbin, co-founder and CEO of Appirio, a seven-year-old business with around 700 employees who help enterprises migrate to public cloud services. From the start, the company would coordinate activities like working toward marathons.
Earlier this year, however, the company decided to formalize its fitness activities into a new program. Dubbed CloudFit, it includes offering employees Jawbone UP fitness monitors and hiring a “virtual trainer” who uses Chatter to set workouts, offer advice on nutrition and offer encouragement...
Read more
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
One in five people think Google Glass should be banned
CITE World
...It sounds like wearable devices aren’t being very widely used in the enterprise, yet. The study found that 6 percent of respondent businesses in the U.S. and U.K. are providing wearable technology devices for employees. It only gave one example of how though – Appirio, a cloud services provider, has an opt-in program where employees can track health information using the Jawbone UP. Surely there will be additional applications that could be useful to businesses as new devices hit the market...
Read more
...It sounds like wearable devices aren’t being very widely used in the enterprise, yet. The study found that 6 percent of respondent businesses in the U.S. and U.K. are providing wearable technology devices for employees. It only gave one example of how though – Appirio, a cloud services provider, has an opt-in program where employees can track health information using the Jawbone UP. Surely there will be additional applications that could be useful to businesses as new devices hit the market...
Read more
Monday, June 3, 2013
Logging our lives with wearable tech
BBC News
...The cloud technology firm Appirio has issued many of its staff with the UP wristband, tracking everything from their food intake to their sleep patterns. It is a voluntary scheme, and Lori Williams who runs the European division of the American business says it's already proving valuable for employees and the firm.
"We've had about a hundred employees that have lost a stone or more in the last several months. Last month alone, we collectively walked about 17,000km (10,563 miles). So it's making us not just better employees but I think better people. And I think that's the benefit."
The company has also managed to cut its health insurance costs in the United States by showing its insurer the impact of this life-logging plan.
But, although the scheme is voluntary at this company, there are bound to be concerns that this kind of monitoring will become standard. Ten years from now, how will an employer using life-logging technology view those who choose to opt out?...
Read more
...The cloud technology firm Appirio has issued many of its staff with the UP wristband, tracking everything from their food intake to their sleep patterns. It is a voluntary scheme, and Lori Williams who runs the European division of the American business says it's already proving valuable for employees and the firm.
"We've had about a hundred employees that have lost a stone or more in the last several months. Last month alone, we collectively walked about 17,000km (10,563 miles). So it's making us not just better employees but I think better people. And I think that's the benefit."
The company has also managed to cut its health insurance costs in the United States by showing its insurer the impact of this life-logging plan.
But, although the scheme is voluntary at this company, there are bound to be concerns that this kind of monitoring will become standard. Ten years from now, how will an employer using life-logging technology view those who choose to opt out?...
Read more
With data gleaned from workers, companies hope to improve bottom line
MPR News
...Consultant Jason Averbook of Appirio, a company that offers services to help its business clients develop better relationships with their customers and workforce, helps employers use these systems. He said when one of his clients in the financial industry used analytic software to identify its top performing money managers, it found that the best were former real estate agents; they had great people skills. Averbook said that insight then shaped recruiting efforts.
"They went out in the housing crash of 2008, targeted the markets that were hit hardest in the real estate bust, went out and did massive recruiting efforts [and] turned real estate agents into these money managers," he said. "And those have been the most successful money managers."...
Read more
...Consultant Jason Averbook of Appirio, a company that offers services to help its business clients develop better relationships with their customers and workforce, helps employers use these systems. He said when one of his clients in the financial industry used analytic software to identify its top performing money managers, it found that the best were former real estate agents; they had great people skills. Averbook said that insight then shaped recruiting efforts.
"They went out in the housing crash of 2008, targeted the markets that were hit hardest in the real estate bust, went out and did massive recruiting efforts [and] turned real estate agents into these money managers," he said. "And those have been the most successful money managers."...
Read more
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
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Monday, May 27, 2013
Four Must-Have Enterprise Mobile Apps
Forbes
...Another cloud services provider, Appirio helps enterprise firms make the most of new technologies and softwares like salesforce.com and Google Apps. A massive team of cloud experts identifies which inflexible softwares are bogging down your company and help bring your business dealings into the 21st century.
This extends to developing a proper mobile strategy, with configurable mobile apps and mobile content delivery. Figuring out how mobile can best impact your business is an asset few large companies can live without.
Read more
...Another cloud services provider, Appirio helps enterprise firms make the most of new technologies and softwares like salesforce.com and Google Apps. A massive team of cloud experts identifies which inflexible softwares are bogging down your company and help bring your business dealings into the 21st century.
This extends to developing a proper mobile strategy, with configurable mobile apps and mobile content delivery. Figuring out how mobile can best impact your business is an asset few large companies can live without.
Read more
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Cloud SIs do it differently
diginomica
...The need for speed also means that cloud SIs tend to reuse experience (and indeed custom development) from one customer to another. FirstHosted has a deliberate strategy of developing expertise in specific markets that it can leverage across customers. This is not dissimilar to the vertical strategies of traditional SIs, but with one key difference: on a multitenant cloud platform, custom code does not have to be rewritten for each customer’s separate implementation, enabling cost-effective, timely reuse.
The reusability of code written to a single, shared platform inspired cloud integrator Appirio to found the CloudSpokes developer community, where development challenges are solved by crowdsourcing. Appirio regularly uses it in projects on Salesforce.com, Google, AWS and other cloud platforms. “We’re using it in roughly 25% of our projects now,” Appirio’s CEO Chris Barbin told me earlier this month.
Barbin sees its use of CloudSpokes as a clear differentiator for the firm against larger, traditional SIs, who he feels would be reluctant to adopt the same approach because it would not suit their business model: “We believe that the next generation of evolution in the services vertical will be crowdsourcing. It’s difficult for an IBM or a Deloitte to embrace crowdsourcing because it’s taking food off their own plate.”
Last week, e-signature provider DocuSign teamed up with Appirio to add a DocuSign-specific Spoke to CloudSpokes, as file collaboration provider Box has previously done. In a statement released with the announcement, Neil Hudspith, DocuSign’s chief revenue officer, commented that in its customer engagements, “Appirio has figured out how to blend speed with business impact.” There’s that emphasis once more on speed and business outcomes...
Read more
...The need for speed also means that cloud SIs tend to reuse experience (and indeed custom development) from one customer to another. FirstHosted has a deliberate strategy of developing expertise in specific markets that it can leverage across customers. This is not dissimilar to the vertical strategies of traditional SIs, but with one key difference: on a multitenant cloud platform, custom code does not have to be rewritten for each customer’s separate implementation, enabling cost-effective, timely reuse.
The reusability of code written to a single, shared platform inspired cloud integrator Appirio to found the CloudSpokes developer community, where development challenges are solved by crowdsourcing. Appirio regularly uses it in projects on Salesforce.com, Google, AWS and other cloud platforms. “We’re using it in roughly 25% of our projects now,” Appirio’s CEO Chris Barbin told me earlier this month.
Barbin sees its use of CloudSpokes as a clear differentiator for the firm against larger, traditional SIs, who he feels would be reluctant to adopt the same approach because it would not suit their business model: “We believe that the next generation of evolution in the services vertical will be crowdsourcing. It’s difficult for an IBM or a Deloitte to embrace crowdsourcing because it’s taking food off their own plate.”
Last week, e-signature provider DocuSign teamed up with Appirio to add a DocuSign-specific Spoke to CloudSpokes, as file collaboration provider Box has previously done. In a statement released with the announcement, Neil Hudspith, DocuSign’s chief revenue officer, commented that in its customer engagements, “Appirio has figured out how to blend speed with business impact.” There’s that emphasis once more on speed and business outcomes...
Read more
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Appirio picks up DocuSign implementation practice
ZDNet
DocuSign has tapped global cloud integrator Appirio to handle implementation, integration and development services for its cloud-hosted e-signature transaction management technology.
Under the relationship, Appirio will expand its own use of DocuSign internally and invest in resources that will help it include the services within the solutions it offers. Currently, Appirio has more than 500 enterprise accounts.
Perhaps even more important: the alliance also means that DocuSign will become a more integral component for the roughly 75,000 independent cloud developers who participate in CloudSpokes, a community that Appirio uses to help extend the reach of its own technical resources...
Read more
DocuSign has tapped global cloud integrator Appirio to handle implementation, integration and development services for its cloud-hosted e-signature transaction management technology.
Under the relationship, Appirio will expand its own use of DocuSign internally and invest in resources that will help it include the services within the solutions it offers. Currently, Appirio has more than 500 enterprise accounts.
Perhaps even more important: the alliance also means that DocuSign will become a more integral component for the roughly 75,000 independent cloud developers who participate in CloudSpokes, a community that Appirio uses to help extend the reach of its own technical resources...
Read more
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
SoMoClo - ugly verbal invention but important business innovation
CloudPro
Lori Williams, European general manager at service provider Appirio says that organisations have to have a strategy that encompasses social, mobile and cloud.
“Social and mobile are fundamental changes in the way consumers and employees communicate, so a company’s strategy has to encompass both,” she says.
Cloud platforms and these applications fit naturally with both trends since cloud applications are designed to be accessible anywhere and across platforms through powerful, stable APIs. In addition, they are designed to evolve rapidly and support new ways of working, far more quickly than traditional applications.
For instance, Salesforce embraced social a few years ago with Chatter and now every one of its customers not only has access to Chatter but also the ability to create custom applications using Chatter or access Chatter data using mobile APIs. “We really see cloud as the critical enabler that helps organisations develop a technology strategy that can address social, mobile and the next revolution that comes along!” says Williams...
Read more
Lori Williams, European general manager at service provider Appirio says that organisations have to have a strategy that encompasses social, mobile and cloud.
“Social and mobile are fundamental changes in the way consumers and employees communicate, so a company’s strategy has to encompass both,” she says.
Cloud platforms and these applications fit naturally with both trends since cloud applications are designed to be accessible anywhere and across platforms through powerful, stable APIs. In addition, they are designed to evolve rapidly and support new ways of working, far more quickly than traditional applications.
For instance, Salesforce embraced social a few years ago with Chatter and now every one of its customers not only has access to Chatter but also the ability to create custom applications using Chatter or access Chatter data using mobile APIs. “We really see cloud as the critical enabler that helps organisations develop a technology strategy that can address social, mobile and the next revolution that comes along!” says Williams...
Read more
Monday, May 13, 2013
Oracle and SAP ARE big software, but for how long? Choked by the cloud, or death by a 1,000 cuts
The Register
...Fewer companies ask ‘Why cloud?’. Now they ask ‘Why not cloud?’
Two such areas are sales force automation and human capital management, both focuses for Appirio, a seven-year-old, San Francisco-based cloud integrator that has helped over 500 companies implement SaaS applications from Salesforce.com, Workday, Google Apps and Cornerstone. These are not small companies, either, says Lori Williams, Appirio’s general manager of European operations. They include coffee chain Starbucks, beauty firm L’Oreal, pest control company Rentokil and automotive giant Toyota.
“Over the last year we’ve seen fewer and fewer companies here asking ‘Why cloud?’. Now they’re asking ‘Why not cloud?’ instead,” says Williams. “It’s about seeing value early from SaaS applications, rather than in 18 months or 24 months with an on-premise implementation. Big companies that are looking at a Salesforce or a Workday have baggage from previous systems that they’re trying to move away from. They’re looking for a different way. They’ve lived through the legacy way - the big, legacy, on-premise projects with lots of people and lots of money involved.”...
Read more
...Fewer companies ask ‘Why cloud?’. Now they ask ‘Why not cloud?’
Two such areas are sales force automation and human capital management, both focuses for Appirio, a seven-year-old, San Francisco-based cloud integrator that has helped over 500 companies implement SaaS applications from Salesforce.com, Workday, Google Apps and Cornerstone. These are not small companies, either, says Lori Williams, Appirio’s general manager of European operations. They include coffee chain Starbucks, beauty firm L’Oreal, pest control company Rentokil and automotive giant Toyota.
“Over the last year we’ve seen fewer and fewer companies here asking ‘Why cloud?’. Now they’re asking ‘Why not cloud?’ instead,” says Williams. “It’s about seeing value early from SaaS applications, rather than in 18 months or 24 months with an on-premise implementation. Big companies that are looking at a Salesforce or a Workday have baggage from previous systems that they’re trying to move away from. They’re looking for a different way. They’ve lived through the legacy way - the big, legacy, on-premise projects with lots of people and lots of money involved.”...
Read more
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Immigration vs. Job Creation in America
CNBC
Narinder Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Appirio, says U.S. immigration policy must be addressed in the context of job creation.
Narinder Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Appirio, says U.S. immigration policy must be addressed in the context of job creation.
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