Top 10 Cloud services

Cloud computing is the use of computing resources (both hardware and software) that are delivered to the user over a network (usually over the Internet). The name comes from the common use of a cloud-shaped symbol as an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it contains in system diagrams. Cloud computing entrusts remote services with a user's data, software and computation.

End users access cloud-based applications through web browser (such as Opera, Firefox, Internet Explorer etc.) while the software and hardware you are using is stored on servers at a remote location.

In the business model of using software as a service, users are provided access to application software and databases. Cloud providers manage the infrastructure and platforms that run the applications. SaaS is sometimes referred to as "on-demand software" and is usually priced on a pay-per-use basis. SaaS providers generally price applications using a subscription fee.

Proponents claim that the SaaS allows a business the potential to reduce IT operational costs by outsourcing hardware and software maintenance and support to the cloud provider. This enables the business to reallocate IT operations costs away from hardware/software spending and personnel expenses, towards meeting other IT goals. In addition, with applications hosted centrally, updates can be released without the need for users to install new software. One drawback of SaaS is that the users' data are stored on the cloud provider's server. As a result, there could be unauthorized access to the data.

If your company decided to use Google Apps you might be tempted to use a myriad of applications available (free and pay) in the Google Apps Marketplace. The choice is overwhelming so you could start off by checking the apps that have been downloaded by other businesses. In order to get you started I made a list of 10 must have apps you should install.

1. MailChimp - A newsletter service that can be integrated with a bunch of other popular small business cloud apps, including Rapportive, Batchbook CRM, Zendesk and Freshbooks. It also connects with e-commerce software including Shopify and Magento.
2. FlashPanel - Management and security capabilities, including the ability to manage passwords, control user access, manage email usage and consumption, or create (and delete) shared contacts.
3. Do by Salesforce - A projects and tasks manager; you can share items with people on your Google Contacts list.
4. Accounting tools by Wave - A small-business accounting system that includes invoicing and reporting features. 
5. Mavenlink - A workforce and project management system that shows time sheets, budgets and costs related to ongoing projects, accounts receivable aging reeports and other information that will help with resource utilization and planning.
6. Gantter Project - An application for handling scheduling of complex projects, which integrates with Google Drive for sharing and collaboration. It can import files from Microsoft Project.
7. Insightly - A basic application for tracking customer interactions.
8. Draw.io - An app for producing graphical diagrams using predefined objects.
9. Zoho CRM - As with the other CRM tools mentioned, this service is for tracking leads and customer prospects. But it can also be used for customer support management and marketing automation.
10. Capsule CRM - A customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates with Google Apps, and with cloud accounting and financial management software including Freshbooks and Xero.

Management

Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objective using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management comprises of planning, organization, staffing, leadership and control of an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. 

Since organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human action, including design, to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. 

One could view management functionally, such as measuring quantity, adjusting plans, meeting goals. This applies even in situations where planning does not take place. From this perspective, Henry Fayol (1841–1925) considers management to consist of six functions: forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. He was one of the most influential contributors to modern concepts of management.

Another way of thinking, Mary Parker Follet (1868–1933), defined management as "the art of getting things done through people". She described management as philosophy.

Some people, however, find this definition useful but far too narrow. The phrase "management is what managers do" occurs widely, suggesting the difficulty of defining management, the shifting nature of definitions and the connection of managerial practices with the existence of a managerial cadre.

One habit of thought regards management as equivalent to "business administration" and thus excludes management in places outside commerce such as public sector or charities. More realistically, however, every organization must manage its work, people, processes, technology, etc. to maximize effectiveness. Nonetheless, many people refer to university departments that teach management as "business schools."

English speakers may also use the term "management" or "the management" as a collective word describing the managers of an organization, for example of a corporation.

As the general recognition of managers as a class solidified during the 20th century and gave perceived practitioners of the art/science of management a certain amount of prestige, so the way opened for popular management ideas. In this context many management trenda may have had more to do with popular psychology than with scientific theories of management.

Towards the end of the 20th century, business management came to consist of six separate branches, namely:

• Human resource management
• Operations management or production management
• Strategic management
• Marketing management
• Financial management
• Information technology management responsible for management information systems

9 Online business models

One of the most popular questions for startups online (and even major ones like Twitter and Facebook) is ‘what is your business model’. Sometimes the question is sincere but often it is voiced more like an accusation: what are you exactly trying to acomplish?

The interesting thing about business models is that there is not much magic involved. Business models are pretty much set and all you have to do really is apply one of them to your business. The hard part is choosing the right one for you. You can choose one or the combination of couple of them.

So here comes the list:

Brokerage
Brokers are market-makers: they bring buyers and sellers together and facilitate transactions.

Advertising
The web advertising model is an extension of the traditional media broadcast model. The broadcaster, in this case, a web site, provides content (usually, but not necessarily, for free) and services (like email, IM, blogs) mixed with advertising messages in the form of banner ads.

Infomediary
Independently collected data about producers and their products are useful to consumers when considering a purchase. Some firms function as infomediaries (information intermediaries) assisting buyers and/or sellers understand a given market.

Merchant
Wholesalers and retailers of goods and services. Sales may be made based on list prices or through auction.

Manufacturer (Direct)
The manufacturer or “direct model”, it is predicated on the power of the web to allow a manufacturer (i.e., a company that creates a product or service) to reach buyers directly and thereby compress the distribution channel.

Affiliate
In contrast to the generalized portal, which seeks to drive a high volume of traffic to one site, the affiliate model, provides purchase opportunities wherever people may be surfing. It does this by offering financial incentives (in the form of a percentage of revenue) to affiliated partner sites.

Community
The viability of the community model is based on user loyalty. Users have a high investment in both time and emotion. Revenue can be based on the sale of ancillary products and services or voluntary contributions; or revenue may be tied to contextual advertising and subscriptions for premium services.

Subscription
Users are charged a periodic – daily, monthly or annual – fee to subscribe to a service.

Utility
The utility or “on-demand” model is based on metering usage, or a “pay as you go” approach.

You can combine any of these models and vary slightly to make new models. But this is a nice list to get started with.

BCG Matrix

The BCG matrix (also known as B-Box, BCG analysis, BCG-matrix, Boston Box, Boston Matrix, Boston Consulting Group analysis, portfolio diagram) is a chart, or matrix, created by Bruce Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 as a tool for corporations that will help them analyze their business units or products. By using the BCG matrix it will help companies to allocate their resources and is often used as an analytical tool in brands marketing, product management, strategic management and portfolio analysis. 

In order to use the chart the analyst creates a scatter graph so as to rank the business units or products based on their market share and growth rates. There are four main categories.

1. Cash cows are units or products with high market share but slow growth. These are usually the products that generate a lot of revenue while not demanding much in terms of their maintenance for the company. They are regarded as boring, but every company would be happy to have a number of them. Their only purpose is to be "milked" with as little investment into them as possible. 
2. Dogs, or sometimes called pets, are products with low market share in a mature, slow growing market. They usually only "break even", generating enough cash to keep the current market share. It is a good line of products in that it has a social benefit of providing a jobs and possible synergies with other products, but generally they are considered worthless since there is no extra revenue generated by them. Most of the companies would prefer selling them off.
3. Question marks, or problem children, are rapid growers and in doing so consumer large amounts of cash. They have low market share and do not generate much in return. The end result is large net cash consumption. They have a potential to become a star, and eventually cash cow. If it doesn't suceed in becoming a market leader after some time (usually measured in years) it will slide down to a rank of dog. Question marks have to be analyzed carefully so as to determine are they worth the investement.
4. Stars are products with high market shares in a fast growing industry. Everybody hopes that a star will be a cash cow. Sustaining the high market share may require further investments, but it just might be worth it in order to maintain the high market share. When the growth slows down, if they had been able to maintain the highest market share, they become cash cows, or they become dogs if they have a low market share. 

As a particular industry matures and its growth slows, all business units become either cash cows or dogs. The natural cycle for most business units is that they start as question marks, then turn into stars. Eventually the market stops growing thus the business unit becomes a cash cow. At the end of the cycle the cash cow turns into a dog.

The overall goal of this ranking was to help corporate analysts decide which of their business units to fund, and how much; and which units to sell.

Best Business to start in 2013.

On your behalf I have been surfing the Youtube a bit and found this nice video. It might help you with an idea of what to do when starting your home business. I give it thumbs up!

Top 10 Business Books of 2012

There were many good business books in 2012. You could learn a lot on how to improve your organization or further your career. So I decided to provide you with couple of books that I thought were worth reading. Here comes the list.

1. Nine Minutes on Monday
By James Robbins
(McGraw-Hill)

Mr. Robbins outlines nine core needs people hold, and then sets out nine questions to ask yourself every Monday morning that will reveal ways you can help your staff meet those needs in the coming week. The questions include: Whom will I give feedback to this week; whom will I reward or recognize this week; how can I promote a feeling of autonomy in one employee this week; and how can I help someone grow this week?

2. The Four Disciplines of Execution
By Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling
(Free Press)
Three FranklinCovey consultants report on the success they had with their four-step process for managing the behavioural changes in staff that allows change to occur. Focusing on the most vital aspect of the change is crucial, along with creating a cadence of accountability so that the change effort doesn’t get sidetracked by the whirlwind. That’s highlighted by holding a single, un-cancellable weekly meeting, in which everyone reports on how they fared in the past week on commitments they made toward the change effort and what they will do next week.

3. Understanding Michael Porter
By Joan Magretta
(Harvard Business School Press)
Harvard Professor Michael Porter is the most widely cited strategy guru, but his ideas are often misunderstood or only partially comprehended because of their complexity. In this book, Ms. Magretta, who worked with him, presents a surprisingly clear summary of his work, making matters such as competitive advantage and “five forces” theory easier to understand and apply properly.

4. How to be Exceptional
By John Zenger, Joseph Folkman, Robert Sherwin Jr. and Barbara Steel
(McGraw-Hill)
Four consultants offer compelling evidence for focusing on your strengths rather than weaknesses (except when the weakness can prove to be a fatal flaw) and then explain how to work effectively on your strengths, a course of action which is not necessarily obvious.

5. So Good They Can’t Ignore You
By Cal Newport
(Business Plus)
The blogger and assistant professor of computing science at Georgetown University, writing in the research-and-anecdote style of popular writer Malcolm Gladwell, successfully challenges the myth that the key to success is to follow your passion. Instead he offers four linked, alternative rules, including becoming a craftsman so adept at what you do that people can’t ignore you.

6. Talk, Inc.
By Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind
(Harvard Business Review Press)
The authors, a Harvard professor and communications professional, studied communications in modern organizations and found the top-down style has been replaced by two-way conversations between leaders and the troops. Even written communications, such as a CEO’s blog, can no longer be impersonal and directive but instead must be personal and more conversational. They also explain four elements that can help you be effective with this new approach.

7. The Advantage
By Patrick Lencioni
(Jossey-Bass)
The masterful writer of business fables switches to a straight ahead, non-fiction approach, bringing together his many practical ideas under the rubric of making your organization smart and healthy. You probably have heard some of his ideas before, but it’s refreshing to see them stitched together in one intelligent leadership manual. I have read all his books and found this a helpful summary, with additional ideas to ponder.

8. Who’s in the Room?
By Bob Frisch
(Jossey-Bass)
The Massachusetts-based consultant debunks the notion that top corporate decisions are made by the senior executive team, and shows how it’s usually a small “kitchen cabinet” team of advisers with the CEO who thrash through the possibilities and come to key conclusions. He argues that this is an effective system, and sets out some ideas for CEOs to more profitably utilize their senior teams and other decision-making teams.

9. The Primes
By Chris McGoff
(John Wiley)
This quirky offering by a Washington, D.C., consultant sets out 46 practical and provocative rules for effective management that don’t add up to a leadership system but certainly get you thinking. It’s sweet reading, with short chapters and powerful graphics making the ideas clear.

10. Hannibal and Me
By Andreas Kluth
(Riverhead)
This extended essay by an Economist writer uses the story of Hannibal as a leaping off point to explore the trajectory of our careers and life. It’s an absorbing, well-written, insightful journey into the past that makes today clearer.

Note: If you click on each book title it will take you to Harvey Schachter's review of that particular book whom I thank for the job he did.

Courier Delivery Services

Courier Delivery has been the pulse of communication since time immemorial. Even though the internet has taken up the bulk of mail communication process, courier still plays an active role when it comes to delivering tangible goods around the world with reliability and express speed that only courier companies can provide.

The process of courier is quite complicated and requires several components within the company to perform flawlessly and reliably. Right from the point of pick-up till the delivery, an item passes through several processes that are known only to those inside the business and which hardly matter to the end users. All that matters is the end delivery and peace of mind.

What to Look For In a Courier Service Provider?

Once you decide to use a courier service you have to ensure that you know what options are available and what not. First and the most obvious is the presence of the courier company at the other end. Mostly, smaller companies have collaborations with larger ones to deliver items. However this is not always reliable. A company with a dedicated team of professionals handling the entire process independently is a much better one.

Second comes the pricing. Tariffs vary across companies, make sure that as a customer you look for all available alternatives that provide the speed and reliability at a cheap price. Never choose a costlier one when you can have the same from a more economical courier delivery company.

Then comes the ease of pick up and drop. Most courier companies have local presence in the form of depots and pick up points; the best among them also provide pick up right from your doorstep if you choose. At the other end, the recipient should not be inconvenienced for the sake of delivery. He or she needs to be intimated well ahead about the time of delivery so that he or she can make the necessary arrangements to be present at the time of time of delivery. This commitment and care can be expected only from the best.

What Are The Tariffs?

As already mentioned, this aspect is variable and you as a customer should do your research to know about the cheapest available. Talk to your friends and neighbours if you are completely new to this. Most companies will be happy to revert to your queries regarding price options. You could also visit their websites and get a good idea about the several schemes on offer. Requesting a quote can be very helpful in getting the clear picture of the process.

Finally, if you are availing any of the internet related service, whether it be payment or delivery make sure that the company is accredited and authentic.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_16036.shtml