Yammer possibly seeking a new $50M investment
Rumors are circulating that enterprise-focused social network Yammer is raising a new mega funding round of more than $50 million, which would push the startup’s valuation near $1 billion.
Yammer provides companies with their own private social network that employees use to quickly communicate and update their activity throughout the day. A company’s Yammer network is closed off from public view and is only accessible to people who have a company-branded email address. Over 200,000 … Continue Reading
Forrester: Nearly 50% of businesses now issuing Macs, 27% support the iPad
The myth that Macs aren’t welcome in the enterprise appears to be finally dying out, according to new research from Forrester. The company reports that almost 50 percent of businesses in North America and Western Europe now issue Mac computers.
While the focus of many “Apple in the enterprise” headlines focus on iPad business adoption, Mac computers are seeing surprisingly strong adoption numbers too.
Forrester’s new report, titled “Apple Infiltrates The Enterprise And Reshapes The … Continue Reading
The iPad is an incredible tool for work — if your IT department will allow it
Apple said in October that 93 percent of Fortune 500 companies have deployed or are testing iPads, an incredible feat considering that big businesses generally take forever to incorporate new technology into their workflows.
Enterprises deploy technology slowly because they tend to plan methodically and for the long term. In most situations, the IT departments and managers are the ones calling the shots. They think they know what’s best when it comes to incorporating tech … Continue Reading
BestVendor grabs $3M to help professionals find great apps
Consumer-facing applications get all the love, but professionals need apps too, right? Yes, says BestVendor, a startup that aims to help business folks find the best web, mobile and desktop applications. Now, the company has $3 million in fresh funding to complete that mission.
The just-hatched company focuses its attention on the lesser-loved class of applications — you know, the super important category of apps that help us perform better at work — and operates … Continue Reading
Salesforce to acquire social enterprise player Rypple, re-name it ‘Successforce’
Cloud-based software giant Salesforce.com has agreed to buy performance management firm Rypple for an undisclosed sum, the two companies announced today.
Rypple dubs itself as a “cloud-based social performance management company.” Basically, it provides software designed to help managers improve employee performance through “social goals” and consistent feedback and recognition. It competes in an increasingly competitive (and essential) market for cloud-based human resource management services. Leading competitors include SuccessFactors, which enterprise giant SAP recently announced … Continue Reading
Jive Software raises $161M in its IPO at $12 a share, begins trading tomorrow
Enterprise social networking company Jive Software priced shares of its initial public offering at $12 a share and sold them to raise $161.3 million on Monday. Trading begins tomorrow for the company’s stock on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol JIVE.
Palo Alto-based Jive filed to go public back in late August, with a stated intention of raising up to $100 million. But the offering will be higher than its original plan with an offering … Continue Reading
SuccessFactors just can’t stop acquiring, even while it’s being acquired
Even while the big fish is swallowing it, the medium fish is still gobbling up an even smaller fish.
Just four days after the news broke that German enterprise software giant SAP is buying SuccessFactors, SuccessFactors has a little acquisition of its own to announce: It’s buying Jobs2Web for $110 million in cash.
Jobs2Web is a site that helps companies manage their online recruiting and hiring processes. It was founded in 2003 and is based … Continue Reading
SAP acquires SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion
SAP has announced plans to acquire cloud-based business software provider SuccessFactors for $40 per share, a 52 percent premium over the company’s closing price of $26.25 on December 2. The deal is worth $3.4 billion.
SuccessFactors provides online tools for managing employee performance, including performance management, setting goals and managing to them, setting compensation accordingly, and training. Its stated mission is to make each customers “a more meritocratic place to work, where promotion and pay … Continue Reading
iPads in the enterprise: CEO ego is driving adoption
iPads have taken over the boardroom, and corporate CEOs and their egos are to thank for the somewhat surprising trend. At least, that’s the consensus among a panel of cloud computing and enterprise experts who gathered to discuss the reality and implications of mobile devices infiltrating the office.
“Apple is killing it in the enterprise, and they’re not even trying,” Alan Masarek, CEO of Quickoffice said in a season entitled “The year of Cloud Commuting” … Continue Reading
BlackBerry Mobile Fusion brings RIM’s enterprise expertise to iOS, Android
In yet another blow for BlackBerry loyalists, Research in Motion announced BlackBerry Mobile Fusion today, a tool that will allow businesses to make employee iOS and Android devices just as secure as RIM’s own smartphones.
The announcement likely comes as a relief to IT managers, who have had to juggle multiple security solutions for corporate and personally owned mobile devices. RIM’s BlackBerry is far from its heyday as the only worthwhile enterprise mobile device — … Continue Reading
Got a Google Apps problem at work? Now, you can call tech support 24/7
Google is giving all its Google Apps for Business customers access to a 24/7 tech support phone line.
At the company’s all-day cloud event, Atmosphere, the company announced that the around-the-clock phone support would be available effective immediately. Separate support lines will operate for U.S. and international customers.
“To improve the experience of our customers, we now provide 24 x 7 phone support to small, medium and large Google Apps for Business customers for all … Continue Reading
Meet our 10 finalists for the CloudBeat 2011 Innovation Showdown
Our first annual CloudBeat 2011 conference is fast approaching! Today we are extremely happy to announce our finalists for the conference’s Innovation Showdown, a battle between 10 companies that are each making big waves with unique cloud technologies.
In these 10 finalists, we were looking for companies with products that are using the cloud in a disruptive way. The more revolutionary the company’s idea, the the better its chances. Nominations included startups as well as … Continue Reading
Mavenlink raises $3.9M for start-to-finish project management tool
Mavenlink, an Irvine-based startup offering start-to-finish project management, has raised $3.9 million and is adding 15,000 new users each month, the company announced Wednesday.
The startup, founded in 2008, is tailored around the remote workforce and supports project-related tasks such as file sharing, task management and milestone and time tracking. The freemium project management tool also integrates with Google Apps, allows for online invoicing and supports expense tracking.
“The workforce that businesses need today is … Continue Reading
Stalk your coworkers’ every move with Yammer’s activity stream ticker
If eavesdropping on the music-listening and video-watching behaviors of your Facebook friends on its real-time ticker satisfies the stalker within, you may experience equal delight (as much as possible in a work environment, that is) from Yammer’s newest tool.
Yammer, the social network for companies, has introduced a Facebook-inspired ticker, giving you the ability to spy on — ahem, track in real time — your coworkers’ every action, both inside and outside of Yammer. The … Continue Reading
Panasonic launches rugged Toughpad tablets, calls all others toys
Is the world ready for extreme tablets that can take a licking and keep on ticking? Panasonic is betting on it.
The company officially announced its Toughpad lineup of rugged tablets today, the 10-inch A1 and 7-inch B1, which are built for heavy-duty usage scenarios like military deployment, construction sites, and unruly kindergarten classrooms.
Panasonic has been offering the occasional tidbit of information about the slates since June, but today is the first time it … Continue Reading
Best Buy branches out with cloud, IT services with $167M mindSHIFT acquisition
Best Buy has agreed to acquire IT and cloud services provider mindSHIFT for $167 million to help extend its business further beyond retail, the company announced today.
This is an important move for Best Buy because the company is slowly becoming Amazon’s showroom floor instead of being a place people purchase electronics. mindSHIFT will give Best Buy a much better opportunity to help small and mid-sized companies with IT, cloud and enterprise services and will … Continue Reading
How the enterprise is adopting tablets (infographic)
It’s no secret enterprises have begun to adopt tablets with the same fervor of consumers. Since the debut of Apple’s iPad in Jan. 2010, the integration of tablet devices into our lives and work has progressed rapidly — so fast that it’s sometimes hard to put in perspective how quickly got here.
The exclusively obtained infographic below breaks down how far workforce adoption of tablet technology has come — and where it’s headed. (The graphic … Continue Reading
Samsung: We want enterprises to think of us like they do IBM
Samsung is best known for its consumer-focused products, but the company is beginning to take enterprise more seriously and wants to gain recognition from the business community.
“We want businesses to think about us like they think about IBM,” Ken Daniels, Samsung senior director for strategic alliances in enterprise mobility, said Wednesday at the CTIA Enterprise conference in San Diego. “Wherever you have an office in the world, you can buy a Samsung phone, so … Continue Reading
Zenprise raises $30M to secure mobile devices for the enterprise
Mobile service Zenprise has raised $30 million to help businesses better manage their mobile devices when it comes to security and functionality, the company announced today.
Zenprise is capitalizing on the substantial increase of smartphone use in the workplace. The company offers its Zenprise MobileManager service for on-premise deployments and Zencloud for cloud deployments.
The funding round was led by Greylock Partners, with participation from all of Zenprise’s existing investors including Rembrandt Venture Partners, Ignition … Continue Reading
Motorola announces the ET1 tablet, a tank for businesses
Today, Motorola unveiled the ET1, a 7-inch, rugged tablet created with the enterprise in mind.
The tablet was constructed to offer more security and sturdiness than a consumer tablet would need. It also features multi-user login options and enterprise applications for workforce and inventory management.
The 1.4-pound ET1 features a 7-inch touchscreen and front and rear cameras. It will will run the Android 2.3 operating system, Gingerbread, which has been optimized specifically for enterprise use. … Continue Reading
