Even though I work at a technology company where we develop innovative software applications (besides coding software, our team turns up servers and networking equipment all the time) I frequently have to remind my family that “I” personally do not know the first thing about setting up a home printer or wireless router. Sometimes I can really see the disappointment in their faces when I remind them of this fact.
I felt redeemed last week, however. I made a fantastic breakthrough with my grandmother (of all family members) when I introduced her to a new healthcare solution that would automatically remind her of the daily prescriptions that she needed to take.
My grandmother is 86 years old [...]

From Austin to Reston we go! We are geared up and ready for the week – my colleague Ben Benner and I will be attending Appian FORUM09 to announce and support the launch of our newly released Jaduka Notifications Service for Accounts Receivable.
Appian FORUM09 is the premier event for Appian’s BPM customer and partner community and a unique opportunity for networking and knowledge-sharing with elite practitioners, thought-leaders, and technology experts in business process management. It’s our pleasure to attend as a Gold Sponsor for this much anticipated gathering. Interested in attending? Visit the Appian FORUM09 site here.
We are excited to get to Reston to launch the Jaduka Notifications Service for Accounts Receivable [...]

With Jaduka and Appian, you can have your cake & eat it too—seriously. By combining Jaduka’s On-Demand Voice Communications Services with Appian’s Business Process Management (BPM) Suite, business processes are able to do something they’ve never been able to do before. For the first time, we are extending the boundaries of business processes safely beyond your internal teams and the corporate firewall. We are taking your business processes and now involving what is most important to you – connecting with your clients, vendors and partners.
This revolutionary way of extending business processes has almost endless applications. You will now have the ability to automate and accomplish such tasks as validating leads, scheduling/rescheduling appointments, validating a client’s [...]

At Jaduka we are focused on adding voice to improve business processes and our solutions continue to gain traction in the enterprise and with brands, advertisers and resellers.
That’s why we are excited about a collaborative relationship now underway with Appian that will add Jaduka’s Voice Services to Appian’s Business Process Management (BPM) Software.
Appian’s Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) provides a complete platform for organizations to easily design, execute, manage, and optimize business processes. BPMS lets organizations gain control over critical processes, increase efficiency and reduce operating costs.
By combining Jaduka On-Demand Voice Services with Appian’s Business Process Management Solutions we’re aiming to create even more effective and efficient ways for connecting people, data, and systems and [...]

A comment I overhead at SaaScon that I can’t get out of my head and I believe speaks volumes for how SaaS will soon dominate premise-based solutions goes something like this: “Companies are now using SaaS monitoring solutions to monitor their SaaS applications.” Who would have imagined?
Take a premise-based solution and a SaaS based solution and I can’t imagine why anyone would choose premise over SaaS—can you?
Let’s see, a premise-based solution requires:

A server or set of servers for the solution to run on.

Facility space for this server or set of servers.

Cooling costs for this server or set of servers.

Networking costs for this server or set of servers.

Someone to manage the server [...]

The time spent at SaaScon09 last week has only further validated my belief that Software as a Service (SaaS) is not a technology fad, nor is it just one more IT acronym for O’Reilly to fill that last remaining space on your bookshelf.
As I reflect on the many conversations I had, and the feedback I received at SaaScon, I feel more confident than ever that SaaS has become a widely accepted and trusted model that companies are quickly moving towards.
CFOs like SaaS over premised-based solutions because costs savings are paramount: there are no infrastructure costs (i.e. migrate from CAPEX to OPEX). SaaS offers a pay-as-you-go or subscription-based billing models (i.e. pay for what you use). [...]

An article this morning on mobile commerce - “Survey Says: Retailers Need to Go Mobile” - referenced a recent survey conducted by Foresee Results that reported nearly a third of online shoppers said they used their mobile phone as part of their regular shopping trip. Whether used for calling or texting a friend for advice prior to making a purchase, or for taking a picture of a product with their mobile phone and sending it to themselves to look at it later from home, the mobile phone has become an important tool that consumers use when making purchase decisions. The article went on to explain the need for brick-and-mortar retailers to consider developing and [...]

I just received a recorded message from the local Toyota dealership in Austin. The message indicated that my vehicle is due for service and then provided me with the dealership phone number so I could call and schedule an appointment.
The approach Toyota is taking in proactively reaching out to their customer is good, but it’s not good enough and, in this instance, it wasn’t frictionless enough to get me to stop what I was doing and make a service appointment.
What might Toyota have done better?
1. Indicate which car required service. I own two Toyota vehicles so how about listing the year, make, and model of the vehicle that requires service.
2. Provide more specific information. Indicate [...]

While most companies are reporting lower than expected earnings in 2008, there are some bright spots. NetworkIP has had our best year ever, reflecting a growing adoption of the NetworkIP Jaduka “Intelligent” Platform for telephony, voice/data applications, and feature development.
The Wall Street Journal reports that while software purchases are expected to decline, three pockets of technology will grow: Software as a Service (SaaS), Mobile Productivity Applications, and Security solutions.
We agree. We’re seeing a large increase in the numbers and types of telephony and commerce applications running on the NetworkIP Jaduka “Intelligent” Platform. Adoption of our SaaS solutions and voice API is growing by about a million API calls a month. Our voice API opens [...]

Believe it or not, I like Wiki’s definition of Cloud Computing the best. Wiki defines Cloud Computing as a general concept that incorporates Software as a Service (SaaS), Data as a Service (DaaS), Web 2.0 & other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users.
The best example of Cloud Computing that comes to mind & the ones I use most often are Google’s Mail, Talk, & Doc Applications. Why do I use these applications instead of similar applications already installed on my PC? The answer is simple, these Cloud Computing tools allow me to access my e-mail, message with colleagues, & [...]