The Fine Line Between SaaS Business Optimization and Innovation Let’s take a minute to talk about optimization vs. innovation, especially where it applies to software, namely SaaS software. There is a very clear and distinct difference between these two core concepts, and not understanding this difference can doom you from the start. Often, people will label optimization of a design to be a form of innovation, and will often even go as far as to market it as such. They rarely get called out on this, as consumers aren’t tech experts, though they’re far from stupid. Oh, they know something’s
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What To Do With Humongous Student Data Some US states are taking the bold step of resolving the problem of streams of student data scattered everywhere. Usually, voluminous student data is stored in various programs. For instance, testing scores are saved in testing programs, and grades are kept in instructional software and learning management applications. More often than not, this data resides in the program and is never extracted and combined with the other data. Now, there is a new project underway that is being supported and funded by large foundations and state education leaders. The project aims to provide
Cloud Helps Europe’s Small Biz Smash the Economy The tribulation of the European economy has sunk dramatically enough to warrant the front page of even American financial headlines. Yet in the face of such widespread woe has arisen a new population of pliable SMEs, or small- or medium-sized enterprises, throughout the continent. Cloud computing has reinvigorated the SME set, particularly those with a small staff, with its simplicity of use, speedy implementation, and a cost-effective scalability that makes traditional server solutions seem arthritic and old hat. Cloud is also reducing their costs of operation by an attractive range — by
The LG Cloud Service: LG’s Take On Cloud Storage Come Streaming South Korean giant LG electronics has just spilled the beans over its native Cloud-based streaming service bearing the simplistic (and rather unimaginative) name LG Cloud. The service, still in its beta mode of operation, is set to empower users with the provision to share and stream content effortlessly across a multitude of (supposedly LG) devices. The service design philosophy is centered around what LG describes as the “three screens approach”. The terminology is a vivid indicator of the fact that the service has been tailored to encompass the three
An International Cloud Progress Report For those (few) of you who do not know, the cloud’s reach has clearly extended far beyond America’s fair shores. Cloud computing continues to boom abroad in intriguing and dynamic ways. Here is an overview of the latest in cloud as it’s growing in three countries: China, Germany, and India. China Market Watch has just reported a potentially landmark event in the relationship between expansive cloud computing and the Internet systems of insular, protectionist China. Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) and China Telecom Corporation are uniting forces in order to offer Chinese citizens a unique array
Cloud Computing Startups Raise Big Money: UPDATE 7 This is the eighth in a continuing series on startups raising funding. You can read the first six in the series here: Cloud Computing Startups Raise Big Money: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Today, there are two startups in focus – Symplified and Tidemark. Tidemark (http://www.tidemark.net/) California startup Tidemark, which promises to provide “Enterprise Performance Management Built for the Cloud,” raised $24 million in Series C funding led by Redpoint Ventures, with Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and entrepreneur Dave Duffield participating. Earlier, it had raised $6.3 million in Series A
