'Net Features : enterprise

Rank Enterprise Content with Inboundwriter

Allison Howen — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:15:00 GMT

Producing quality content is easier said than done. This is why content optimization platform Inboundwriter has launched a new enterprise software tier that is designed specifically for assisting medium and large-sized organizations.

“When we first launched InboundWriter in 2011, the core functionality was aimed at individual writers; however, we soon discovered that enterprise users large and small were seeking us out and using InboundWriter with more advanced workflows,” said Alexander Balva, VP of engineering. “We recognized that we have a large opportunity to broaden our product footprint and significantly enhance our value proposition.”

The Inboundwriter platform provides writers with search and social Web insights so that they can better understand what topics their readers find most interesting. Additionally, the platform provides writers with keyword and topic information, so they can maximize their content’s value. In fact, every article written within Inboundwriter receives a score, based on aspects such as topic focus, title, images and most frequently mentioned terms. According to Inboundwriter CEO Skip Besthoff, this helps enterprises discover which departments or writers are doing well with content creation, as well as assists them in identifying the departments and writers that can improve upon their content.

The company's new enterprise offering includes API integration, live end-user support, a more precise recommendation engine and RankAbove analytics. The company also partnered with blogging tool Zemanta, in order to help writers find complementary images, which don't infringe on copyright laws, for their articles. Furthermore, although InboundWriter was initially a single-user tool geared toward bloggers and individual writers, the enterprise launch introduces multiuser functionality, which enables administrators, such as a Web editor or content manager, to review all of the writers' articles and scores.

By optimizing content, businesses can dramatically increase traffic and engagement rates. For example, a recent Inboundwriter study revealed that writers who leveraged the content optimization platform found a 17 percent increase in conversions, a 153 percent increase in time-on-page metrics and a 29-33 percent increase in search traffic.

“InboundWriter has displayed remarkable innovation, having pioneered a scalable, automated platform that empowers writers to optimize content as part of their natural workflow,” said Besthoff. “I’m thrilled with the advancements in our product and the results we drive for customers.”

Sync Enterprise Content with Alfresco EMS

Allison Howen — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 10:25:00 GMT

If you need a better way to connect to your business outside of the office, you might want to check out Alfresco’s new sync platform for enterprise content.

The platform extends information beyond firewall barriers to enable enterprises to build extranets, collaborate with customers and simplify employees’ access with mobile devices.

Previously, organizations needed to access internal systems externally or use disconnected cloud services to collaborate outside the firewall. However, Alfresco’s new platform helps solve this problem by allowing businesses to connect people, content, systems and processes securely on both sides of the firewall. Additionally, the platform enables IT departments to provide a seamless experience for users accessing confidential content that can't be put in the cloud.

“The trend of the ‘consumerized enterprise’ has led to other vendor solutions that focus and address consumer needs, not those of the enterprise. Unfortunately, this industry trend has created content chaos and companies are demanding a better alternative,” said John Powell, CEO of Alfresco. “We are distinctly positioned to create the next phase of enterprise content management (ECM) to bring seamless synchronization to the market with Alfresco that is enterprise-proven, IT-tested and business consumer-approved.”

The sync platform has been bundled into a new enterprise subscription called Alfresco One, which includes:

Alfresco Enterprise – A feature-rich ECM platform that governs an enterprise’s content.

Alfresco Enterprise Cloud Network – A corporately controlled SaaS cloud service that includes the ability to invite colleagues to a cloud site from outside the organization.

Alfresco Enterprise Sync – A platform that allows employees to select documents and folders from Alfresco Enterprise and sync them to Alfresco in the cloud.

Alfresco Desktop Sync (beta) – This new feature provides users with the ability to sync between files saved to the desktop, cloud site or on-premise solution, and will (generally) be available in November.

Alfresco Mobile – Native iOS apps that provide secure access to employees through a device of choice.

Enhanced Encryption and Security – Content is encrypted in the cloud when being accessed on tablets and smartphones, which reduces risk in case a device is lost or stolen.

Enterprise Cloud Adoption Rates Continue to Rise

Michael Garrity — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:30:00 GMT

We hear all the time about the rapidly growing adoption rates of cloud computing. Among enterprise customers, specifically, the cloud is quickly becoming more of a present reality than a technology of the future.

Bluelock is a certified VMware vCloudR Datacenter provider of Virtual Datacenters that are hosted in the public cloud, but more importantly, it’s one of the companies helping to drive this significant public cloud growth. Earlier this week, the company announced “continued strong enterprise growth,” adding a number of midsize-to-large enterprise organizations to its roster, including the VMware vFabricT Application Director, F5 Networks, eMeter and Codesigned, among others.

The company’s growth in its Virtual Datacenter revenue now exceeds 50 percent in a year-over-year comparison.

In addition, Bluelock has been named to the list of the “10 Most Powerful IaaS Companies” by Network World, made CRN’s list of the 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors of 2012 and got a mention in the “Talkin’ Cloud 100” report from Nine Lives Media. In other words, the company is becoming quite the hot commodity in the world of cloud computing.

A Bluelock Virtual Datacenter takes just a few minutes to set up using either vCloud’s Director-based self-service interface or Bluelock’s managed services team, and it allows customers to quickly build virtual machines (VM) with public or private catalogs of VM templates. Or, if they’d prefer, they can simply upload their own virtual machines that are already running in an environment.

These Datacenters also let customers subtract and add capacity as needed and offer pay-as-you-go pricing options. And thanks to the ability to upload and download VMware-compatible workloads, users can efficiently move VMDK files to and from Bluelock’s own public cloud.

Time to Start Thinking Inside the Box?

Michael Garrity — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:00:00 GMT

Box, considered by many to be the most underrated name in cloud computing, just released a handful of new features aimed at enterprise customers. So, if you haven’t checked it out yet, now may be the time give Box a look.

Among the recent additions are the ability to search for files across the whole company, a dashboard with more controls for administrators, mobile security options (e.g. passcode locks), multiple email domain support, activity notification archiving and an enterprise licensing agreement (ELA).

All of these features were included to help large-scale organizations more easily manage bigger, company-wide Box deployments at a scale that wasn’t possible before. This will make pesky issues like regulatory compliance go more smoothly.

Plus, the new ELA means that Box customers will get more predictable pricing when the precise size of their teams changes, as opposed to paying on a seat-by-seat basis.

Think Inside the Box with Enterprise App System

Michael Garrity — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:00:00 GMT

It’s time for enterprise-level companies to starting thinking inside the Box. Specifically, the cloud services company of the same name, which has just released numerous enterprise-class applications that will use a Box.net cloud-based workspace and create a “virtual desktop” around it. This new app system is called Box OneCloud.

The idea is an attempt to position Box to be a major force in the post-PC world by establishing a cross-platform cloud system that lets users create and edit all of their files from within the cloud. OneCloud will be the first mobile framework built for enterprises that brings together mobile content and the applications designed to work with it.

The new solution comes in the form of four premiere apps for the iPad that are meant to represent best-in-class functionality and implement a round-trip connection to Box. When a file is edited or modified outside of the system, it can be saved back to Box in its original location.

These apps include the following features:

- QuickOffice allows users to edit Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents on-the-go, with any important changes that are made automatically saved back to the Box account.

- PDF Expert from Readdledocs is for adding annotations to documents by drawing, highlighting or making notes on the files, and then saving them back to Box where the changes can be viewed by the whole team.

- PaperPort Notes lets users record ideas and to-do items while they’re out and about with tools like voice dictation and recording, for when sitting down and typing is just not an option.

- Finally, Adobe’s popular EchoSign e-signature platform helps with signing crucial documents electronically with the greatest of ease, as they can be opened, signed and sent back all from an iPad.

All of these apps will be directly tied to an enterprise’s Box account, making files accessible to anyone within the organization. To find more compatible apps, users can open a file in Box and click the cloud logo on the top menu. A dropdown menu will appear and list all of the compatible apps installed on the device; it also features a button that will let users add compatible apps that aren’t currently installed.

Video-Based Usability Testing for the Enterprise

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:00:00 GMT

Usability and remote testing platform Userlytics released an enterprise version of its interactive testing solution this week.

The enterprise-ready platform will provide an executive summary of key events and comments which are linked to the relevant video and timelines. Enterprise users can also download the composited “Video in Videos” (ViV) – video of the tester synched with the video of their onscreen activity – for use in presentations and internal media, and be able to annotate each participation video to highlight important user feedback.

“Despite the wealth of available metrics, marketers and designers are faced with a qualitative blindspot when it comes to analyzing the success or failure of a campaign or digital property,” said Alejandro Rivas-Micoud, CEO of Userlytics. “They may know the click-through rates of various demographics for a particular ad or the abandon rate on an e-commerce site, but they generally don’t know the ‘why’ behind these numbers. With Userlytics, agencies and brands can actually ride alongside as target audiences, in the real world context of their home or work, interact with ads, videos, applications and websites. No other solution provides this type of rich multimedia record of users’ actions, thoughts and feelings or is as easy, fast and cost-effective to use.”