We’ve heard of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and probably also Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), but now NetSuite is defining a new breed of cloud services which it dubs Commerce-as-a-Service (CaaS) with its latest offering, SuiteCommerce.

SuiteCommerce aims to unify B2B, B2C and Machine-to-Machine commerce models on a single platform. Most businesses run their eCommerce platforms, offline stores, POS terminals and B2B transactions on separate systems of various costs which can add up to quite a substantial amount and has the potential to result in multiple points of failure as information between these separate systems may not be communicated optimally.

NetSuite has, over the past decade, transformed how businesses operate internally with its suite of ERP and CRM tools. With SuiteCommerce, NetSuite’s goal is to transform how businesses interact with other businesses and their customers through the Commerce as a Service platform.

There are 3 important technologies that SuiteCommerce is comprised of:

• SuiteCommerce Experience enables businesses to deliver rich user experiences with its flexible, scalable and high-performance platform.

• SuiteCommerce Services exposes the back-end commerce functionality and data as services of NetSuite to the SuiteCommerce Experience or any other commerce front-end application.
   
• NetSuite Commerce Platform provides the core business processing features to run modern commerce operations, including inventory management, order management and payment processing, among others.

Learn more from NetSuite’s official press release: 
http://www.netsuite.com/portal/press/releases/nlpr05-15-12f.shtml

Cloud computing has undeniably made its mark as a compelling option, especially for many rapidly-growing companies whether they’re a small business or a thriving enterprise.  An expected promising growth (i.e. 6 times faster than all software, according to IDC) for software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions means more organizations opting for a cloud strategy.  This white paper clearly takes any business or IT professional through a careful consideration between using individual cloud systems for key processes and utilizing an integrated suite that covers all the same functions and more. 

This 15-page white paper begins with providing a snapshot of the risk of fragmented cloud solutions and the advantages of integrated cloud applications — pretty much like a pros-and-cons overview! Ease of information access (anywhere by anyone) and the unbeatable efficiency on process automation flows between departments are clearly two of the compelling reasons that an integrated cloud application overtakes cloud silos.  Best practices for running business in the cloud are thoughtfully itemized and explained afterwards.  User-driven innovation and customization, reporting and analytics for expanded awareness, the benefit of a world-class data centre, and the environmental benefits of cloud computing are few of the 8 best practices insightfully featured.  The white paper wraps up with how these best practices are seamlessly executable with the key functions of NetSuite’s Integrated Business Management Suite.  This makes a very attractive proposition for businesses to position themselves for efficient and cost-effective growth, and improved competitiveness.

Click here to download the white paper (PDF)

If you’re looking to explore how you can run your business applications on the Cloud, leave us your contact details via the form on the right.

BookRenter.com has been the leader in providing affordable textbook rental for college students. This case study outlines how this innovative textbook hub used Wildfire Applications to run a well planned social strategy including contests, monthly coupons, sweepstakes and fresh content. Bookrenter.com was able to grow their fan base from 40,000 to 137,000 fans using Wildfire Social Marketing Suite.

The highlights of this case study are of three things.  Firstly, BookRenter.com was ready to experiment with engagement strategies.  Their contest ideas revolved around relevant and timely concepts.  To cite, they partnered with College Humor (a popular website for college students) for a photo caption contest, essay contest for an internship opportunity, and a back to school photo contest entitled “Summer Snap-off”.  Secondly, the prizes they offered stayed relevant and appealing – opting for the likes of discounts, scholarships, high-end electronic products, and internships.  Lastly but most importantly, BookRenter.com leveraged on email marketing by activating Wildfire’s sign-up form to build its newsletter distribution list.

Click here to download the case study (pdf)

If you’re looking at boosting your social media marketing strategy, leave us your contact details via the form on the right.

United States – Google has won a US$35 Million (~ S$43.25 Million) contract with the United States Department of the Interior to migrate its over 90,000 email accounts away from its legacy platform to Google Apps for Government.

Google won this over Microsoft which was first awarded a much-bigger contract to perform the migrations initially. But when Google and its partner Onix Networking filed a suit to block the contract as Google thought that the DOI’s procurement process unfairly favoured Microsoft and never gave Google a fair chance, the Microsoft and Google rivalry escalated.

Eventually, the DOI cancelled its plans to go with Microsoft as they realised their initial decision was “stale in light of new developments in technology and entrants into the market”.

Read the full story from TechCrunch: Google Wins $35 Million U.S. Government Contract Over Microsoft

You know it’s the Age of the Cloud when you consider these facts about Amazon Web Services.

• One-third (1/3) of all internet users access an Amazon Web Services (AWS) powered website once a day on average.
• 1% of all internet consumer traffic on average comes from or goes to Amazon-managed infrastructure.
• Amazon’s CloudFront and S3 are the 4th largest content delivery network (CDN).

These facts alone are staggering but magnify that tenfold when you realise that Amazon is just one among many players in the cloud industry.

Source: GigaOm – Just How Big is the Amazon Cloud Anyway?

“Our Enterprise business also saw excellent progress as large organizations and small businesses continue to see the value of Google Apps as a cost-effective and feature-rich productivity suite. Some of our top customers to go Google in Q1 include global pharmaceutical company Roche, more than 90,000 users; the State of Colorado, which announced they intend to move 26,000 employees and users to Google; also the University of Pennsylvania and Rome have gone Google. Not only that, small business adoption of Google Apps is on fire, with SMB signups almost doubling in the past 6 months. So we’re happy with the business and we’re happy with the way Enterprise continues to progress.” - Nikesh Arora, Senior VP and Chief Business Officer, Google.

Read full article here on Talkin’ Cloud : “Google Apps Small Business Adoption Is On Fire, Google Says”

NRG Engineering is an oil and gas consulting business based in Singapore, founded in an effort to bring the expertise and experience of seasoned energy professionals together with the innovative thinking of contemporary oil and gas experts. Since 2005, NRG Engineering has expanded its team and its partnerships in order to offer a broad range of services to its clients who are looking for consulting services, project and risk management and training programs. With offices in more than 10 countries and a team of 92 staff, the company aims to be the leading oil and gas engineering consulting company in Southeast Asia.

They wanted to provide a robust and scalable communication system and reduce the cost associated with administering an email system. NRG Engineering deployed Google Apps for Business to streamline communication within the organisation and with clients. Through Google Sites and Docs, they managed to raise productivity levels and information sharing.

As a result, they saved 30% on operating expenses as compared to their previous solution, ensured system reliability with the launch of Google Apps as their collaboration suite. There is also now real time communication across the organisation.

“The return on investment using Google Apps is much higher compared to the previous communication solution. We don’t have more hardware or software to purchase and the annual cost is 30% lower than our operating expenses with the previous system.”

- Gilles Depardieu, Chief Technology Officer, NRG Engineering.

Click Here To Download & Read The Case Study – “NRG Engineering save thousands with Google Apps Premier Edition“.

From the Official Google Enterprise Blog - Google Apps Vault Brings Information Governance to Google Apps

Google has officially announced the availability of Google Apps Vault for customers of Google Apps for Business. Google Apps Vault allows you to reduce risks and costs associated with litigation, investigation, and compliance audits. For an additional $5/user/month, you can add capabilities to Google Apps that help prepare your business for these situations.

To learn more about Google Apps Vault, click here to go to Google’s official product page for Vault.

Engage with us today to discuss how your business can benefit from the e-discovery features of Google Apps Vault in the event of litigations, investigations and compliance audits.

In the article “A surefire recipe for cloud failure” from Infoworld, David Linthicum describes a common mistake of IT leaders and teams when deciding to move their company to adopt cloud computing – they don’t plan for the bigger picture, they don’t strategise, they don’t take into consideration the architecture.

He offers the steps needed for IT to take before beginning the execution of a cloud plan.

“The risk now is that enterprises are rushing into cloud computing without understanding the technology in relation to the problems they should be solving. The planning requirements are not cumbersome, but they are necessary for success.” – David Linthicum, in “A surefire recipe for cloud failure“.

This is where PointStar as a Cloud Consultancy is able to add value to your search for a perfect cloud strategy that fits your business needs and requirements. To begin a conversation with our cloud experts, leave us a message via our contact forms on this website.

Computerworld - Microsoft makes a price cut to slow Google Apps

“The price cuts reflect Microsoft’s fear of Google. Google Apps for Business has increasing momentum in the enterprise sector, and Microsoft is doing everything they can to prevent further incursions.”

- Gartner analyst Matthew Cain.

The battle between Microsoft and Google is intensifying as Microsoft moves to slash prices of its latest cloud-based productivity suite, Office 365, in a bid to compete with Google Apps’ success.

Google states over 4 million businesses have moved to Google Apps worldwide, while Microsoft reportedly states 3 to 5 million Office 365 user licences have been sold.

Note that Google Apps has 4 million businesses while Office 365 has 3 to 5 million user licences. There is a big difference between the two underlined items if you haven’t noticed it already. Businesses can have anywhere from one to tens of thousands of employees using Google Apps, so multiply that by 4 million businesses, in terms of numbers, Google Apps is dominating the market hands-down.

Now both has its pros and cons and it is not our place to declare one to be the absolute game-ending winner in the enterprise cloud wars. Only the “Invisible Hand of the Market” can do that.

But, since we are a Google Apps Authorized Reseller, naturally we are more biased towards Google Apps, so, to help facilitate your decision, here are 365 reasons (pun completely intended) to consider Google Apps for Business.