Google on verge of buying Groupon for billions

Google Inc. (GOOG-Q555.71-26.40-4.54%) appears poised to make the biggest acquisition in its history, a proposed $6-billion (U.S.) purchase of what is, by some measures, the fastest-growing Web firm ever.

Citing unnamed sources, a number of news outlets reported this week that Google is in talks to purchase Groupon, an online discount coupon site that matches groups of subscribers with local deals. The purchase price, originally reported to be around $2.5-billion, now stands at between $5-billion and $6-billion, according to reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Representatives for both Google and Groupon refused to comment on Tuesday.

The Groupon purchase would give Google strong footing in the rapidly expanding local Internet advertising market, which tailors deals and discounts to users based on their current location. While Google still leads the world in traditional Web advertising, rivals such as Facebook have made significant gains in new and lucrative areas such as social and location-based marketing – two areas where Groupon operates.

“[Group discounts are] a new form of advertising that leverages social media,” said Chris Nguyen, founder of Toronto-based group discount site TeamSave. “And the best part about it is that it’s completely measurable marketing.”

The group-discount business model is fairly simple. In Groupon’s case, local businesses in more than 160 North American cities use the site to offer steep discounts and special offers, usually for 50 to 90 per cent off regular prices. However, the offers don’t materialize unless a certain minimum number of customers sign up, and users can only sign up for a limited period of time – deals typically expire after 24 hours. Basically, the site offers Web-based coupons to consumers, and exposure and economies of scale to businesses. In turn, Groupon takes a roughly 50-per-cent cut from all revenues.

At just under two years old, Groupon is growing at a quick clip. A funding round last April pegged the company’s worth at more than $1.3-billion. Unlike many other Internet services, which rack up millions of users but are unable to translate that following into profit, Groupon is already making money. In a recent cover story, Forbes magazine described Groupon as “the fastest-growing company … ever.”

A number of companies have launched similar services – this year, Canadian site Red Flag Deals launched its “Deal of the Day” service, which is similar to Groupon’s business. Facebook also recently launched a deals service in the U.S., tied to its Places feature, which lets users “check in” from various physical locations, such as coffee shops or university campuses.

Indeed, some analysts have cited the technical ease of creating a group discount site as a potential downside to Groupon’s business model. However the company continues to lead the burgeoning market, with more than 300 employees, many of them salespeople and copy writers, rather than technical staff.

Google’s own experiences with online coupons have been mixed at best. The company previously tried to use its maps service to let local businesses advertise special deals to users. However, the service required users to print and cut out actual paper coupons, and it never gained much traction. An attempt to buy local recommendations site Yelp last year also fell through.

For Google, the potential advantages of such a purchase are clear. Despite having the biggest presence of any company on the Web, Google falls behind competitors such as Facebook when it comes to social experiences – mostly, visitors to Google’s website simply find what they’re searching for and move on, whereas Facebook users spend a lot more time interacting with one another on the site. Groupon, through its knowledge of users’ shopping habits, gives Google a better look into consumers’ lives.

But Groupon’s most important asset is its presence in the local shopping market. Because the site essentially exists to cater to users in specific locations – by offering them discounts on nearby products and services – it has built close ties with local merchants. Those relationships are of great use to Google, which has largely refocused its strategy to the mobile Web, delivering services to users based on proximity – something that GPS-enabled smart phones have made much simpler in recent years.

But any $6-billion deal is bound to produce at least some regulatory headaches for Google. This week, the European Commission announced it would launch an antitrust investigation of the site. In the past, many of Google’s acquisitions have attracted attention from federal regulators, and a Groupon purchase may well do the same.

Sourced: http://bit.ly/g4ZLUk

Tags: deal of the day, facebook, google, groupon, places, red flag deals

Avectra Introduces Moneris Integration and Tax Computation for Canadian netFORUM Association Software Users

Integrated payment processing and tax accounting further strengthens leading association management software service for Canadian associations

Mclean, VA (SaaS Newswire via Vocus Distribution Partnership) November 29, 2010

Avectra, the industry’s association management software innovator, now offers new services for the company’s Canada-based customers. Introduced in the most recent release of netFORUM Team and netFORUM Pro, Canadian customers can now perform computations for value added tax (VAT), goods and services tax (GST) and/or harmonized sales tax (HST) as well as process credit card transactions through Moneris Solutions, the leading payment processor in Canada.

In addition to these product developments, Avectra also operates data hosting services in a “Class A” data center in Toronto that helps Canadian associations comply with PIPEDA laws.

“We have been received enthusiastically by our Canadian customers and prospects looking for a top-of-the-line membership management system that not only adheres to the unique requirements of the Canadian market, but also successfully manages their association and members with a rich combination of integrated membership, e-Marketing, e-Commerce and social community features,” said Patrick Dorsey, vice president of marketing for Avectra. “In addition to Avectra’s premier-level, Canada based data hosting operations, our integration with Moneris and VAT/GST/HST computations deliver the essential capabilities Canadian associations need to manage their organizations and serve their members.”

Avectra customers with Moneris accounts can now set up their netFORUM association management software to process credit card transactions directly within the system. This integration enables associations to offer one-stop e-Commerce for dues payment as well as the ability to sell products online through the association website. In addition to Moneris, netFORUM Team and Pro also integrates with PayPal and Authorize.net for payment processing.

With the recent software update to netFORUM, Canadian associations can also specify and track sales tax for memberships, certifications, donations, merchandise and events. netFORUM’s tax tracking takes into consideration the Harmonized Sales Tax rules that enable applicable taxes based on the member’s province.

“Our investment in state-of-the-art data facilities and functionality specifically for this market means Avectra provides more than just a PIPEDA compliant, reliable service for our Canadian member-based customers. It means there is a more efficient and successful way for Canadian associations to manage their business and their members,” said Dorsey.

Avectra’s hosting facility in Toronto, Ontario, is operated by leading communications provider Primus Business Services. In addition to providing the most reliable and redundant network available, the data center provides world-class access and environmental controls for Canada-based associations using Avectra’s netFORUM association management software.

For more information about Avectra’s membership management software or to sign up for a free online demonstration, visit http://www.avectra.com/livedemo

About netFORUM Team & Pro
netFORUM Team & Pro are Avectra’s 100% web-based association management software solutions. With complete association management functionality, both products are designed and configured to meet association needs without the cost or complexity of customization. Avectra Social Community provides netFORUM Team and Pro customers with social networking tools designed to improve the organization’s business, recruitment efforts, member communications, and results by inspiring conversations with and between members, building long-term loyalty, and forging deeper relationships with their members.

About netFORUM Enterprise
netFORUM Enterprise is Avectra’s hosted, enterprise level association management that delivers advanced association management tools and the ability to be customized to meet the most complex business needs – all while remaining on the upgrade path.

With more than 30 modules designed for complete association management and Avectra’s on demand SaaS (software-as-a-service) model, netFORUM Enterprise is accessible at any time, from anywhere. And customers can rest assured knowing that their data is safe, as all Avectra solutions run in a secure, world-class hosting facility with complete system redundancy, fail-safe power systems and full database backup.

In addition to Avectra’s internal development and implementation resources, the company also boasts a network of implementation and industry solution partners who work with the company’s customers to implement netFORUM Enterprise or extend the system’s functionality.

About Avectra
Since 1993, Avectra has been translating our customers’ needs into market-leading association management software – whether our customers serve members by the hundreds or hundreds of thousands. Our 100% web-based technology integrates data with business processes and then automates it, so our customers can engage members, provide access to all of their resources and get more done. Each of our solutions is continually refined by the user community, ensuring that we have the features our customers need to run their businesses and lead their industries. With ongoing, automatic upgrades that won’t disrupt service or incur additional costs, we keep our customers current with the latest technology. Avectra is headquartered in McLean, VA, with a regional office in Chicago, IL.

To explore the netFORUM family of products, please visit http://www.avectra.com, or call 800-858-8272.

Media Contact:
Patrick Dorsey
(703) 506-7037
pdorsey(at)avectra(dot)com

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Tags: AMS, association management software, canadian associations, moneris integration and tax computation, netforum canada clients, netforumpro, netforumteam

PROLIN Announces Business Data Analyzer for Real-Time Business Metrics Displayed on Striking Dashboards

PROLIN’s Business Data Analyzer adds easy-to-use, real-time business intelligence reporting and modeling for HP Service Desk installations, with no change or disruption to their current environment.

San Mateo, CA (SaaS Newswire via PRWEB Distribution Partner) November 29, 2010

PROLIN, an innovator in SaaS-based IT Service Management (ITSM), today announced PROLIN Business Data Analyzer, a best-of-breed, Web-based, visualization tool that helps PROLIN customers create custom dashboards of their most vital business information. PROLIN Business Data Analyzer adds key functionality for HP Service Desk 4.5, HP Service Manager 7, and HP Service Center customers, helping them protect and enhance their investments through non-disruptive, effortless, product extensions.

PROLIN Business Data Analyzer provides easy-to-use tools that enable users to drag-and-drop data to quickly create meaningful displays, “dashlettes,” of striking visuals in consolidated business-oriented views. Within minutes PROLIN customers can load data, perform analysis, and share results, making vital information quickly accessible to decision makers throughout the organization.

• Quick creation of business dashboards
• Unified views
• Easy way to combine a multitude of data elements, from various sources, to create a unified view of the business environment
• Striking and meaningful visuals in consolidated, business-oriented views
• Dynamic data – Web-based dashboards are updated automatically with no need to resynchronize or repopulate
• Drill-down charts and tables provide access to detailed data

“PROLIN Business Data Analyzer adds easy-to-use, real-time business intelligence reporting and modeling for HP Service Desk installations, with no change or disruption to their current environment,” said Jerome H. Mol, founder and CEO of PROLIN. “Business Data Analyzer is the first in a group of value-added products PROLIN will be introducing over the next few weeks. We are gratified by the tremendous response we are receiving from HP Service Desk customers to PROLIN’s ITSM as a Service Smart Suite and add on product roadmap.”

About PROLIN
PROLIN, the renowned pioneer in ITIL-based ITSM in the ‘80s and ‘90s, has reunited to revitalize IT Service Management with ITSM as a Service. PROLIN’s team of experienced engineering and business professionals are focused on bringing leading-edge technology, and fun, back to IT service management. PROLIN is privately held and has headquarters in San Mateo, CA, USA; development teams in Roseville, CA, USA, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Sales & Support Centers in San Mateo, CA, USA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Melbourne, Australia. For more information, please visit: http://www.prolin.com.

Editorial Contact:

Frances Mann-Craik
Chief Marketing Officer
PROLIN
frances(at)prolin(dot)com
US: +1 408-868-9577

# # #

Tags: business data analyzer, business intelligence, itsm, prolin, real-time, saas news

Intel Capital Invests $77 million in Innovative Companies Around the World

Posted by Ben on November 19th, 2010

Intel Capital, Intel Corporation’s global investment organization, reaffirmed its dedication to foster worldwide innovation with the announcement of 18 new investments. The new deals total approximately $77 million and were announced today at the 11th annual Intel Capital CEO Summit, Intel Capital’s gathering of portfolio company CEOs, corporate technology decision makers from Global 1000 companies and thought leaders from around the world. The new Intel Capital investments span 11 countries including Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States.

The new investments align with Intel’s strategic focus on fostering innovation in core PC and server market segments including cloud computing, mobility solutions and access to broadband wireless in geographies around the world. Additionally, these investments will help enable advancements in adjacent computing areas including smart TV, tablets and smartphones.

“Innovation continues to thrive all over the world,” said Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital and Intel executive vice president. “Despite the economic environment, these 18 investments help advance next generation computing technologies aligning with Intel’s vision that more and more devices will compute and connect to the Internet, called the ‘compute continuum.’ The innovative technology developed by these companies supports the compute continuum from advancements in PCs and server trends, such as cloud computing, to building out the ecosystem around smart TVs and smartphones.”

2010 has also been an excellent year for Intel Capital portfolio companies. To date, 28 Intel Capital portfolio companies have exited in 2010 either through an IPO or acquisition. These exits clearly demonstrate Intel Capital’s dedication to support portfolio company business development efforts through events such as Intel Capital Technology Days (ITDs) and the Intel Capital CEO Summit, and are a key indication of the critical role technology innovation has played in driving the global economic recovery.

“The successful exits of our portfolio companies demonstrate Intel Capital’s company building and business development capabilities,” Sodhani said.

The new investments include Adaptivity, Althea Systems, Anobit, boo-box, De Novo, IPTEGO, Layar, Lilliputian Systems, Inc, Ortiva Wireless, Rock Flow Dynamics, Select-TV, SilkRoad, Taifatech, Videon Central, Verismo Networks, Winchannel, YuMe and Yummly.com.

In addition to the new investments, Intel Capital also highlighted recent follow-on investments in GainSpan, JackBe, Fonality, TecTotal and Wortal.

Details on the new investments follow:

Adaptivity (Charlotte, N.C.) helps companies address the complexities associated with IT design and implementation. Adaptivity’s Blueprint 4IT Lifecycle Suite™ enables intelligent IT design decisions to be incorporated into repeatable actions across the technology build and deployment lifecycle. Whether seeking to rationalize IT portfolios or design enterprise cloud programs, companies use Adaptivity’s tailored blueprints to optimize legacy infrastructure operations and accelerate the delivery of new IT services. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and build out sales and marketing infrastructure.

Althea Systems’ (Bangalore, India) cloud-based video discovery platform makes it easier to find and share online videos across various devices. Althea launched a PC version of Shufflr, a social video browser, with a rich, immersive video experience in July. Shufflr’s video discovery platform on the cloud aggregates video from several sources and combines machine aided and social discovery engines to help users find video they like. Shufflr will soon be available on smartphones, tablets and TVs, providing continuity of video experience from one device to another. The investment from Intel Capital will help the company expand its development team and marketing efforts.

Anobit (Herzeliya Pituach, Israel) is a provider of solutions to the growing NAND flash memory market segment. Its patented MSP (Memory Signal Processing) technology significantly improves the endurance and thus the cost structure of NAND-based products and systems. Anobit’s products, ranging from flash controllers to enterprise-class solid state drives, are designed for leading NAND flash manufacturers, consumer electronics vendors and storage solution providers. The company will use the funding to expand its core business operations to meet surging demand for its technology and products.

boo-box (São Paulo, Brazil) is one of the first technology-based ad systems in Brazil to address advertising on social media. Its innovative platform allows creative freedom for agencies, intelligent targeting for advertisers and increased control for publishers. boo-box services range from ad serving to affiliate marketing, addressing all types of advertising needs in social media. The investment from Intel Capital will be used to accelerate development of targeting and optimization tools, and to strengthen business operations.

De Novo (Kiev, Ukraine) is the first enterprise-class data center provider offering high quality IT services to leading enterprises in the Ukraine. De Novo experts have significant experience in project realization focused on IT systems research, design, implementation and maintenance at the corporate level. Intel Capital’s investment will be used to expand outsourcing services, such as Software as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, based in the De Novo Data Center.

IPTEGO (Berlin, Germany) is a provider of Next Generation Network optimization software. IPTEGO’s PALLADION software suite analyzes Next Generation Networks from any vendor to provide real-time network intelligence, troubleshooting, customer experience monitoring and seamless integration of third-party products. Utilizing PALLADION allows operators to securely and quickly migrate to IP-based networks such as IMS, reduce operational costs, generate additional revenue and minimize churn. Intel Capital’s investment will allow the company to speed up penetration of global markets and ensure rapid growth.

Layar (Amsterdam, Netherlands) is the largest augmented reality platform in mobile used to bring impactful experiences into people’s everyday lives. Layar works with thousands of developers creating nearly 1,500 layers for users to see the world with new information and meaningful digital content. The Layar platform is available on Android, iPhone and Bada* devices and also comes globally pre-installed on tens of millions of phones promoted by leading handset manufacturers and carriers. Layar will use the funding to further develop its platform and drive the development of meaningful augmented reality content.

Lilliputian Systems, Inc. (Wilmington, Mass.) is developing a Personal Power solution for consumer electronics devices that targets the portable power market segment. The company delivers a small form-factor battery charging solution that provides extended run-time for today’s CE devices. Lilliputian’s patented Silicon Power Cell technology is based on highly efficient solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) wafer fabrication methods, and is fueled by recyclable high-energy butane cartridges. Intel Capital’s equity stake provides resources for volume manufacturing.

Ortiva Wireless (La Jolla, Calif.) offers advanced commercial solutions for proactive management of mobile video, allowing service providers to dramatically improve control, quality and efficiency of rich media content delivery. Ortiva’s iVOG (internet Video Optimization Gateway) for open internet media and mVOG (mobile Video Optimization Gateway) for portal services extend service reach, increase network efficiency, and improve video coverage density for mobile operators while dynamically shaping the content to give subscribers the smoothest video and clearest audio experience possible – regardless of fluctuating and hostile wireless network conditions. The new funding will be used to expand sales, marketing and engineering resources.

Rock Flow Dynamics (Moscow, Russia) offers high performance modeling software to simulate fluid and gas filtration dynamics of hydrocarbon underground reservoirs. The company’s fully integrated dynamics modeling solution, tNavigator, was designed from the ground up for the latest generation of multicore processors and can be seamlessly used for reservoir simulations on laptops, multiprocessor servers and clusters. The Intel Capital investment will be used to establish a Houston office and expand sales and marketing globally.

Select-TV (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a provider of end-to-end systems and content solutions for IPTV deployment. Widely deployed in luxury hotels and resorts in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Select TV’s set-top box utilizes the power of the Intel Atom processor to provide easy navigation to Web content and highly interactive entertainment and online education applications. The company has also recently embarked on trials in Southeast Asia with telecom operators who are deploying IPTV to consumer homes. Intel Capital’s investment will be used to accelerate the development of IPTV solutions and to expand the company’s presence in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe.

SilkRoad technology, Inc. (Chicago) provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) integrated talent management solution. Through SilkRoad’s Life Suite, companies are able to hire better employees, identify high and low performers, drive a pay-for-performance culture and improve employee tenure. The SilkRoad Life Suite solution set includes: OpenHire, for recruiting management; RedCarpet for employee onboarding and life events; WingSpan for flexible employee performance management; GreenLight for learning management; Eprise for employee intranets and content management; and HeartBeat for core HR. Plans for Intel Capital’s investment include a significant expansion of SilkRoad’s worldwide direct sales and marketing efforts, strategic acquisitions and continued product development.

Taifatech (Jhubei City, Taiwan) is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in system-on-a chip (SoCs) and system design solutions that provide management and connectivity through LAN or WLAN. To address the growing digital video delivery market segment, Taifatech has developed solutions that provide wireless connectivity for such systems. Taifatech’s Taiwan-based team utilizes its strong networking and video ASIC design expertise, coupled with a team of software developers and local Taiwan-based OEMs, to provide the cost effective solutions. Intel Capital’s investment will be used to expand Taifatech’s development efforts of Intel architecture-based wireless connectivity solutions.

Videon Central, Inc. (State College, Penn.) is an independent software vendor (ISV) that specializes in applying core IP and integration services for the growing consumer electronics market segment of internet connected digital video products. Videon is the leading ISV of Blu-ray disc middleware and video streaming technology for embedded devices and a charter member of the Intel Consumer Electronics Network (Intel CEN). Videon offers OEM and content development companies a unique set of capabilities to facilitate their digital media product applications. Intel Capital’s investment will be used to build Videon’s market position by expanding our IP portfolio to take advantage of the growing smart TV segment.

Verismo Networks’ (Mountain View, Calif. and Bangalore) open Internet TV platform brings seamless convergence of IPTV linear channels, Internet video, social networking and personal media playback directly to the TV. The Verismo end-to-end solution enables OEMs in service providers and IP MSO segments to expand their reach globally and cost effectively while giving subscribers an un-paralleled viewing experience. Verismo will use the investment to accelerate its growth and expand its sales and marketing operations.

WinChannel (Beijing, China) is a developer of information and sales management software for the consumer industry. Winchannel’s software platform manages and analyzes channel information such as replenishment orders, sales transactions, inventory and promotional activities in near real time, helping brand owning companies to monitor and understand market mechanisms and market responses to promotion, making sales operations more efficient. The investment from Intel Capital will be used in R&D and as working capital.

YuMe (Redwood City, Calif.) is a video advertising technology company that delivers video ads across all connected device channels — online, mobile, and CE/TV. Its ACE technology platform powers both its premium ad network and its enterprise solutions: ACE for Publishers and ACE for Advertisers. ACE for Publishers, a complete set of cloud-based ad operations tools, enables publishers to simplify video ad management functions to drive higher revenue, streamlined processes, and lower operating costs. ACE for Advertisers, an end-to-end, buy-side video campaign management system provides an enterprise-class solution and professional services package that mitigates the complexity of video ad campaign management. Meanwhile, YuMe’s premium video ad network helps advertisers reach their target audience at scale whenever and wherever they’re watching video. The investment will be used to further video advertising technology monetization solutions.

Yummly.com (Palo Alto, Calif.) is pioneering semantic search and recommendations for food. Its robust platform empowers people to search for and discover recipes based on their personal tastes and preferences, and offers a comprehensive database of more than 500,000 recipes aggregated from leading cooking sites and cookbooks. Yummly plans to apply funding from Intel Capital’s investment to expand its engineering team and further develop its platform’s functionality and features.

Intel Capital CEO Summit 2010 is sponsored by Aon Corporation, Capgemini, Credit Suisse, Evercore Partners, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, KPMG, Morrison & Foerster, Needham & Company, NYSE Euronext and Silicon Valley Bank. The summit is the pre-eminent technology networking event, with over 700 attendees from Intel Capital portfolio companies and Intel’s global customers and partners. Industry technology executives attend the summit to identify innovative solutions and business development opportunities.

Pulled from/Sourced: http://bit.ly/9kud1V

Props: Tweaktown

Tags: $77 million, intel, intel capital, invest, saas news, saas tech news

Oracle should get $40.6 million at most, says SAP expert

Posted by Ben on November 17th, 2010

Nov 16 SaaS Newswire via (Reuters Legal) – SAP AG should have to pay Oracle Corp no more than $40.6 million to resolve their years-long lawsuit over software theft, an SAP damages expert said on Tuesday.

Stephen Clarke, SAP’s expert, said in court on Tuesday that damages must be the product of a reasonable business calculation, not an emotional reaction to the theft.

“There’s no anger allowed. There’s no punishment allowed,” Clarke said.

SAP and Oracle, which dominate the global market for software that helps businesses run more efficiently, are battling in court to determine the amount of damages for software theft by SAP.

SAP has accepted liability for its TomorrowNow subsidiary having wrongfully downloaded millions of Oracle files.

Last week, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said his company would have charged SAP $4 billion to license the programs that were wrongfully downloaded. Oracle’s own expert later pegged damages at $1.6 billion.

Oracle’s claims include copyright infringement, violations of California and federal computer fraud acts, breach of contract and intentional interference with the company’s business interests.

Out of 853 customers SAP was able to woo from Oracle, 561 of them never did any business with TomorrowNow, Clarke said.

Clarke also acknowledged that SAP has paid his own firm about $14 million in fees. Oracle’s damages expert testified last week that he had earned fees of about $4 million.

SAP is expected to rest its case after Clarke is finished testifying this week, at which point Oracle may attempt to put on a rebuttal case.

The case is Oracle USA Inc et al v. SAP AG et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 4:07-CV-1658. Oracle is represented by the San Francisco office of Bingham McCutchen and the Armonk, New York, and Oakland, California, offices of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. SAP is represented by the San Francisco, New York, Palo Alto and Houston offices of Jones Day.

(Reporting by Dan Levine of Reuters; Additional reporting by Terry Baynes of Reuters Legal)
Pulled from/Sourced: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AG0CO20101117

Tags: oracle, SaaS, SAP, software theft

NACDS encourages members to use RollStream’s CEN to assure CPSIA compliance

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (SaaS Newswire) A group representing the nation’s chain pharmacies alerted retailers and manufacturers Thursday about a new rule, part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, that requires tracking labels on certain products.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said that under the new CPSIA rule, which goes into effect March 1, 2011, packaged items –– including certain DVDs, video games, art materials, sporting goods and other products geared for children ages 12 years or younger –– may require tracking labels to be in compliance with CPSIA.

The legislation imposes new document-sharing requirements regarding product-safety-testing certificates on certain consumer products. The new rule follows the first round of implementations this past February.

In an effort to assist retailers and manufacturers to comply with the law, NACDS is encouraging its members to participate in the certificate exchange network developed by RollStream. The CEN provides retailers, manufacturers and distributors a single, online platform to exchange certificates of conformity. It enables manufacturers to directly post certificates to the online platform or provide a link to existing certificates of conformity that a manufacturer may store electronically elsewhere.

“The certificate exchange network has helped retailers and suppliers prepare for the implementation of the requirements of the CPSIA,” said NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson. “NACDS urges retailers and manufacturers to utilize the CEN for the next round to help reduce the risks and minimize the costs associated with compliance.”

Added RollStream CEO Kristin Muhlner, “While complying with CPSIA regulations can be challenging for many retailers and manufacturers, noncompliance can be financially devastating. We are excited to provide NACDS members with a solution that enables the industry to reduce the risks and minimize the costs associated with CPSIA compliance.”

By Allison Cerra
Pulled from/Sourced: http://bit.ly/aMe8Yv

Tags: CEN, certificate exchange network, compliance, CPSIA, nacds, rollstream

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Zoho Suite is November’s most popular application on GetApp.com

Barcelona, Spain (SaaS Newswire) 3 November 2010 - GetApp.com, the business software app store, published today the Top 20 Business Apps ranking for November 2010. The ranking shows which business software applications were most popular on the GetApp.com platform amongst enterprise buyers, a majority of them small businesses, over the last 30 days.

This month’s ranking sees the Zoho Suite taking the top honors. With millions of user, Zoho offers a popular portfolio of over 20 integrated online applications, including various collaboration and productivity tools for businesses of all sizes. In continuation of recent months’ trend, CRM solutions also remain strongly represented in this November’s Top 20.

‘Zoho’s apps have been listed on GetApp only for a month or so, and we are already seeing well-qualified business leads coming from there’, said Raju Vegesna, Zoho’s Evangelist. ‘Also, GetApp serves as an easy, one-stop shop where small & medium businesses can find all software to run their businesses on.’

The complete GetApp.com Top 20 Business Apps ranking for November 2010 is as follows:

1. Workbooks – CRM
2. Mavenlink – Project Management
3. LiveBall – Website Optimization
4. SurveyGizmo – Online Surveys
5. WORKetc – CRM & Billing
6. PipelineDeals – CRM
7. @task – Social Project Management
8. Zoho CRM – CRM
9. Checkfront – Event Management
10. NetSuite – Business Management Suite
11. Net Atlantic – Email Automation
12. TeamSupport – Customer Service
13. Corecon V7 – Architecture, Engineering and Construction
14. TeamLab – Collaboration
15. PipeJump – CRM
16. Loc8 – Asset & Help Desk Management
17. Topyx – E-Learning
18. RevX Advanced Billing & Customer Care – Billing & Customer Care
19. CloudSigma – Infrastructure As a Service
20. 3Scale – API Management

Each month, the top-ranked software applications receive a GetApp.com badge of excellence, as well as increased publicity and exposure throughout the GetApp.com network.

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About the GetApp.com Top 20 Business Apps Methodology
The GetApp.com Top 20 Business Apps ranking is based on a composite algorithm that incorporates several criteria, including listing popularity on GetApp.com, number of reviews and comments, social media presence such as Twitter and Facebook followers, volume and quality of integration points, and input from analyst reports. The ranking is updated monthly.

About GetApp.com
GetApp.com is a business software app store for the buyers of enterprise applications. It offers a simple way for buyers to find, compare and evaluate applications and a low cost channel for providers to be found online. Software buyers come to GetApp.com for the convenience of researching enterprise applications and deployment solutions in one place, saving weeks from their traditional purchasing cycles. Application providers come to GetApp.com to reach out to a worldwide audience of active buyers, receive qualified traffic to their website and receive sales leads relevant to their target markets. For more information, please visit http://www.getapp.com/.

Press Contact
Tom Dibaja
tom.dibaja@getapp.com

Tags: getapp.com, liveball, mayenlink, mobile app wire, pipelinedeals, saas news, surveygizmo, top 20 business app, workbook apps, workbooks, worketc