In the last day Microsoft have shelled out a reported £5B to purchase Skype from an investment company and ebay (who still owned around 35%). There has been a lot of buzz on the internet about this purchase: Why have they done it? Have they paid too much? Are they going to ruin Skype?

At the moment no one knows the answers to these questions but I personally think this is quite a good purchase, as long as they can integrate this into the rest of the product range.

So let’s look at why they’ve done it:
Now they have access to 700 million users; obtained a great technology; and are now the market leader in VoIP.

In one foul swoop they have jumped ahead of Apple and Google in consumer internet telephony and video conferencing, plus kept it out of the hands of Facebook. The interesting thing is that Skype is the only truly platform agnostic offering, in that it runs all major desktop systems as well as nearly all mobile phones, which is something Apple and Google can’t claim yet.

Have they paid too much?
It is hard to say if they have paid too much or not, my feeling is yes but if it helps them gain ground in the consumer market, which is something they are striving for (this is why Apple has done so well), then it could be money well spent. The issue Microsoft had was that they were bidding against other companies with pretty deep pockets and they probably needed/wanted Skype more than the others.

Will Microsoft ruin Skype??
I don’t think they will ruin Skype, they’ve paid too much to allow it to wither and die. I think they will wait for a while, take stock of their acquisition and look for ways to integrate it into their other products. XBOX live is ripe for integration as is the Microsoft Office platform, there is also the possibility of aligning it with - or replacing - Live Messenger. (That said I wouldn’t want to be responsible for integrating those platforms together.)

Overall I think this is a good move for Microsoft and quite a brave one, time will tell to see if it is a wise one.

The launch of Music Beta by Google is said to be announced today at I/O developer conference.

However, it seems they are not only likely to get Amazon & Apple’s back up but also that of many record labels for proceeding without their permission. Like Amazon, Google argues that consumers will only be able to store and stream music that they already own, claiming therefore that licenses aren’t necessary.

Rival Apple is expected to launch a music streaming service this year also, and with their relationships with record labels already established, their journey is very likely to be an easier one.

Legal rubbish aside, which is to be best??

Until it officially launches, impossible to tell – especially as the beta version is said to be invitation only and in just the US for now. However, Google is ensuring that it’s Cloud Music service will be suitably integrated with the Android, which looks set to be a very popular feature and starting point when competing with Amazon & Apple.

Image source: Skruggen.com

Recently, two major incidents have made an obvious dent in people’s confidence in the Cloud.

At the end of last month Amazon had errors with it’s connectivity which affected other websites such as Foursquare & Reddit. Amazon have since blamed ‘Human error’ but this comes too late to prevent arousing fears toward the Cloud.

To top it off, Sony went and had a massive security breach, whereby 77 million users had their personal details and even credit card details jeopardised by hackers.

It seems there are massive lessons to be learned in terms of the Cloud and proves that businesses should be aware but not afraid. Simply be sure of the following:

• That you trust your provider
• That your provider has a recovery system in place
• That you are fully aware of how and where your data is stored

Although it has put a slightly murky Cloud above Cloud Computing, it has by no means destroyed the overall reputation. The silver lining in fact is an appeal toward Cloud services belonging to smaller company’s: Those that you can actually speak to; those who have a more personal approach when it comes to the Cloud.

Great news for those of you with a Blackberry PlayBook: The Video Chat application enables video and voice over Wi-Fi calling and is said to be available within the next month.

Key features are said to be:

• One-Click Video and Voice over Wi-Fi Calls
• Incoming Call Notifications – you’ll receive a notification pop-up when a new video call comes in, allowing you to accept the call as either a video or voice call, or decline the call. It also allows a “Do not disturb” option.
• Powerful In-Call Functions – by using the picture-in-picture function you can preview your own video image prior to placing the call. You can also switch cameras from front to rear so your friends can see what you are seeing.
• Friends List – BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat comes with a Friends List for maintaining your favorite contacts.

Tom Goguen, VP, Collaboration and Social Networking at Research In Motion (RIM) says: “We are excited to be enabling our customers to share important moments and events with family and friends via video calls.  With the BlackBerry PlayBook’s high-resolution video cameras and stunning display, a Video Chat call is the next best thing to being there.”

The new application seems aimed toward to the public, though the majority of BlackBerry users are businesses. So, is Video Chat a major benefit for you/your business?

American music site VEVO has been made available in the UK today and looks set to be a big hit. In March, more than 52 million Americans visited Vevo.com to watch videos for an average of 80 minutes each; I wonder if it’ll have the same impact here in the UK?

One of it’s benefits is that the music is entirely official – therefore you no longer have to plough through user-added video’s like in YouTube. However, I like the user-added video’s. I probably wouldn’t download them onto my ipod but it is nice to have the option of an amateur/home video version in addition to the ‘official’.

The site (vevo.com) itself is very clean, easy to use and user-friendly, plus you can download 75 songs to your playlist for free. But as far as I know, I don’t think there is a limit on YouTube?

I predict that VEVO will be popular in the UK but will not defeat YouTube; typically, us Brits appreciate the personal home made style video’s too. We like humour, authenticity and individualism.  For now, I’m not quite sold. Perhaps you think I should be?

This morning I attended the Productivity Ninja workshop at Wine Street Business Centre and what a great event! There were at least 80 people in the room and it seemed every single person there could relate to the issue of productivity (and lack of in the workplace!). Lee Cottier, the host, talked about distractions – just how many there are and how easy they are to succumb to; maintaining momentum; changing your mindset; and dealing with your e-mails.

Did you know that interruptions consume an average 2.1 hours per day?!

The hour session was jam packed full of productivity tips, my favourite were these:

• Keep your e-mails closed, only checking it 3-4 times per day
• Keep a list of things achieved, not just ‘To Do’ as this can become stressful and sometimes demoralising.
• File e-mails as soon as you’ve dealt with them
• Have a strict morning routine that doesn’t involve checking your e-mails and social networks
• Work in dashes using the Pomodoro Technique, which is in batches of 25 minutes followed by a short break

There were loads more tips, all of which are available on their blog

Naturally, as soon as I got back to the office – and checked my e-mail – I started to look at Productivity software, and personally found the best one to be Remember The Milk. The basic package is free to use and we found it to be simple, efficient and highly effective.

Do I consider myself a Productivity Ninja? Not just yet, but once I’ve implemented the above, I would say I’ll be well on my way.

SpiderGroup issued a survey to local businesses this month, which revealed similar results: That 60% of those questioned thought ‘working from anywhere’ to be the most attractive quality of the cloud.

Perhaps this shows that keeping up-to-date with technology is more important than saving money? It certainly seems to represent society today – that people are much more mobile – which is in fact an enormous benefit to businesses.



What is it?

The Cloud is just another word for the Internet.

Over time it has been adopted by the marketing department as it sounds sexier than the internet and has now moved into “common” terminology for the internet.

Logically, cloud computing is computing delivered from the internet.

Depending on the type of cloud service you opt for, you can obtain software or systems to provide:

In other words all of the things you use on your computer, plus more, without having to buy the software and have it installed.

There are other names that are used that essentially refer to the same thing, a few examples are: Software as a Service (SaaS), Application service providers (ASP), Utility Computing, SOA and Infrastructure as a Service.

Over the years, Cloud Computing has gained huge popularity, starting in the mid 1990’s when several services started to pop up such as Hotmail, one of the very first cloud computing examples.

Over time many more services have been developed, did you know that services such as Yahoo mail, Google mail, Facebook, Twitter and even Amazon are classed as examples of cloud computing?

One of the predictions I made a couple of years after starting SpiderGroup back in 2004 was that eventually the PC as we know it would be replaced by browser and internet enabled devices, this is slowly happening. I’m sure many of you already possess an iPad.

We are now at a point where you can run a business from your office, home, in fact anywhere you are. The IT industry has evolved to a point where it has significantly matured so that it isn’t an expensive black-hole of expense but a key business enabler, a utility such as water or electricity.

Why should I care?

• Save money because there is no need for Onsite servers, IT Support contracts, Backup systems and Anti-virus
• Software is always up to date
• Managed by experts
• Monthly licensing for all your IT
• Scalable per/user pricing and predictable budgeting for your business IT and support
• Increased security on your data
• In-built Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Summing it up

With the emergence of the Cloud; no you don’t need an umbrella, you just need to know what it can do for your business: Cloud computing is the future of business technology.

The HTC Sensation (formerly know as the Pyramid) is to be made available to Vodafone in mid-May.

HTC refer to the HTC Sensation as a “Multimedia Superphone”. Why? Because of their brand new application, Watch, which allows you to rent or buy movies and to start streaming the video’s as they download.

It will also boast an 8- mega-pixel camera, a dual core processor, 1GB of internal storage and stereo sound.

If you are not on Vodafone, the HTC Sensation will be available on all networks one month after it’s release.

Well? Do you want one?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, which basically means it manages how a business interacts with its customers.

The CRM market is quite saturated, so it can be daunting, especially as this tool looks after most of your businesses sales and retention: Choosing the right one is a huge decision.

Step One: Decide whether you actually need one! The benefits are vast, though it depends on your current system and the size of your customer database.

Some of the benefits:

• Increased sales; through improved contact; better timings and by predicting needs based on historic trends
• Identify needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements
• Cross-selling other products by highlighting and suggesting alternatives or enhancements
• Identify which of your customers are profitable
• Send e-mails within a CRM solution and track in-coming e-mails
• Attach follow up tags against telephone calls and e-mails
• Ability to run marketing campaigns in specific CRM’s
• Ability to export information into MS Excel, Outlook, SharePoint and other MS platforms

CRM’s exist to optimize a business and to act as a reminder for chase-ups. Dependent on which solution you go for, most, allow users to easily import and export information via Excel files for marketing campaigns at the push of a single button.

Others allow users to run custom reports e.g. if you have a sales pipeline, a report can be produced to show which was successful and which you should come back to at a later date.

Where are they held?

Most CRM’s are hosted, which means that the information is held within the CRM and monitored by your CRM provider.

Security

Most CRM’s such as Dynamics 4.0 by Microsoft, allow companies to setup users and define individual privileges.

Each CRM can differ but if you have a question, feel free to pop a comment below and we will try our best to help you out.

What should I ask my new CRM provider?

• How do you import my contacts? Do you need it in an excel spread sheet via CD form?
• What security measures do you have in place for my information?
• Who has access to my database on your CRM solution?
• Is it backed up? If so, how often?

Customer Relationship Management takes care of your customers, whilst generating new leads; it can be vital in the growth and development of your business.

Which do you use?