Security, Anti-Spam and Paperless Office Top Tech List: Information security technologies such as firewalls, anti-virus software and password protectors once again topped the American Institute of CPAs’ list of technologies that will have the most influence on business in 2004.
The survey also revealed that anti-spam, digital optimization (or paperless office), and database and application integration technologies — all new to this year’s list — earned top rankings. Privacy technologies, however, have apparently become less important and did not even make this year’s list.
Some relatively older issues, including wireless technologies and disaster recovery planning, are still relevant, though there was a slight a shift in their importance. Wireless technologies now rank at No. 5 on the 2004 list and disaster recovery planning moved down a notch to No. 6.
Serenic Founder to Serve on MBS Advisory Council: Jay Malik, founder and chief executive of nonprofit accounting product maker Serenic Software Inc., has been nominated to serve on Microsoft Business Solutions’ Partner Advisory Council for the Small and Mid-market Solutions and Partners Division.
The SMS&P PAC’s purpose is to gather and disseminate partner feedback on strategic Microsoft products, competition and programs through ongoing dialogue and quarterly meetings between select SMS&P partners and Microsoft executives. Headed by former worldwide sales and marketing manager Orlando Ayala, the SMS&P group’s goal is to increase market awareness within the small and mid-market segments of Microsoft’s product offerings.
Last August, Serenic joined MBS’s Inner Circle, an elite group that recognizes partners’ commitments to achieving high levels of customer satisfaction, active pursuit of product and technological advancement, and exceptional sales performance.
NetSuite Expands Sales Management Force: Online accounting and business management product maker NetSuite Inc. is expanding its sales management team with the addition of Michael Williams as senior vice president of worldwide sales and James Ramsey as vice president of small-and-medium business sales. Williams oversees the direct and channel sales teams to further grow the company’s revenues and broaden the distribution of product offerings, including NetSuite, Oracle Small Business Suite, NetERP and NetCRM. With 10 years of high-tech sales experience, Ramsey will head up NetSuite’s small and midsized business sales initiative to increase sales of its products.
Microsoft Gets New CRM Product Manager: In what may be considered a fence-jumping move, Aberdeen Group research analyst Karen Smith has joined Microsoft Business Solutions to help push forward its year-old customer relationship management product.
During her tenure at Aberdeen, Smith served as a research director with the CRM practice, and also focused on business strategies, technologies, best practices and methodologies that are critical to driving collaborative selling and marketing opportunities; optimizing sales and partner relationships; reducing overhead selling and operational costs; and integrating front- and back-office applications.
CSI Web Builder Integrates with PPC Tax Library: Accountants using Creative Solutions’ Web Builder solution can now integrate a Web content option into their electronic client communications strategy and choose up to 50 articles from Practitioners Publishing Co.’s Tax and Business Alert library via a recent partnership between the two Thomson businesses.
This content can be added immediately to firm Web sites through the purchase of monthly subscriptions that are available directly from CSI either during the initial Web site set up or subsequently through the administrator tools.
The standard Web Builder package includes the basic option of posting up to three of 10 available Tax and Business Alert articles. The Tax and Business Alert library is updated with five to seven articles monthly. Accounting firms can set up a free 30-day trial Web site through
