Software : Evernote Business to get best practice guide

Evernote Business to get best practice guide
Exploiting enterprise social for SMBs
Broadway gives its regards to Samsung's Galaxy S4
iPad ready for closeup with latest YouTube Capture update

Evernote Business to get best practice guide

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Evernote is planning to produce best practice guidance for its recently released Evernote Business software.

The guide will be aimed at how companies can make the best use of Evernote Business to improve internal collaboration, and will be based on feedback from early adopters.

Phil McGeachie, Vice President Evernote Business Sales, said it will cover subjects such as how to curate content to the best effect in the Business Library function, and will be based on the question of "How can I use it better?"

"We will talk to all of the businesses we can," he said. "We think there are some great use cases in all the verticals where it is used."

McGeachie said there is no firm timeline on the best practice becoming available, but that it should be within two months or so. It will be disseminated through various channels such as the website and blogs.

Evernote launched the Business version of its content sharing software, which has a loyal following in the consumer market, in December. McGeachie said it is aimed largely at the small to midsized business market.

Company CEO Phil Libin recently told TRPro that Evernote is aimed at making expertise and knowledge easier to find within companies.

Exploiting enterprise social for SMBs

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Advocates of enterprise social - or enterprise 2.0 – claim it is a way of working that can improve employee productivity and customer relationships using social software.

Internally, it enables employees to collaborate on documents without the need for email. At the same time, targeted use of social networks keeps customers close and new clients interested.

Software giants Microsoft and IBM are already immersed in the space, alongside smaller players including Jive Software and Yammer (now owned by Microsoft). Analyst firm Ovum estimates the current value of the enterprise social networking market to be in excess of $500 million, with around 10% of organisations in established IT markets deploying solutions or subscribing to services.

"Enterprise social software allows SMBs to go about business in a more agile way," says Richard Edwards,Principal Analyst at Ovum.

"It is a continuation of some of those consumeristic approaches to enterprise communication and collaboration," he adds. "In our consumer lives we use Twitter and Dropbox to share ideas, so why don't enterprises have the opportunity to use these ideas?"

"Social business is about organisations that really try and leverage relationships," says Stuart McRae, Executive Collaboration and Social Business Evangelist at IBM. "It's about empowering employees to do their jobs and to maintain relationships with customers - and the two go hand in hand."

Replacing email

Ovum believes that enterprise social's potential is at least equal to that of the corporate email market, in which Exchange Server is a multi-billion dollar product for Microsoft. If momentum continues, experts say it's possible that such an approach could replace email in some businesses.

"The nature of this software means it could be ubiquitous by the mid point of this decade," Edwards says.

"Enterprise social will be what enterprise email is today. But whereas email is limited, enterprise social allows everyone to read questions and respond. Enterprise social networks are about being out in the open."

In an evolving IT world, this new approach can keep employees engaged in something with which they identify.

Instant sharing

Chris Patton, Commercial Director of CDG UK, says: "There is a new generation of information workers with different expectations of technology and how they can interface with it. For them, sharing dialogue, documents and communications instantly without functionally poor technology getting in the way is viewed as essential."

"Social software allows business leaders to articulate what the company is trying to do in terms of ongoing and continuous discussions," adds Edwards. "Enterprise social networks can also be used to do work and upload documents onto a shared workspace and work on them collaboratively.

"You wouldn't necessarily prohibit others in the business from seeing the document as they could help contribute to it. You can't do this with email."

McRae agrees: "So instead of emailing content you can share with everyone. That revolutionises things internally so you can share information."

Edwards adds: "We are seeing displacement from email into enterprise social networks. These business models allow them to have the advantage of the tools without having to pay for the servers. You will find business managers self-selecting the systems to collaborate on."

With vendors including IBM, Microsoft, VMWare, Salesforce and Citrix offering the software, the market is growing quickly. "Because there are so many vendors the market will mature rapidly," says Edwards.

Cloud first

Edwards suggests SMBs look at cloud before moving to enterprise social. "I suggest SMBs looking at this to consider cloud first," he says. "Some of the software runs on the cloud and the software is always being updated."

Edwards adds: "You can add capabilities on a six month basis. At the moment if you're an iPhone user, or Android, you get bug fixes. By adopting cloud based enterprise social you get that same experience."

McRae agrees, adding: "SMBs should look at cloud first. There are still a lot of conversations in SMBs; cloud can work better in that sort of world."

Putting in software capabilities allows firms to grow and manage the network, says McRae. "It gives you the opportunity to manage relationships better. You can manage relationships with prospective clients and suppliers."

Enterprise social encourages businesses to make knowledge available to everyone, such as putting updated customer information on a shared area after going out in the field. Meanwhile, online photo collaboration makes it possible to share ideas ahead of time, leaving meetings for decision-making, so workers can be much more efficient, says McRae.

Used correctly, enterprise social can benefit SMBs specifically. McRae says: "A lot of SMBs are b2b, which means it is even more important that the sales rep builds a relationship with the customer.

"It allows prospects a close relationship. It's about looking at what's possible and looking at how this can help me."

Broadway gives its regards to Samsung's Galaxy S4

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On a frigid New York night, Samsung took to two of the city's most iconic locations to share first look at the Galaxy S4.

While those in Radio City Music Hall had a prime seat in the audience for the big Unboxing event, the general public had a chance to join in via live stream in Times Square.

In the heart of Broadway, even rapidly dropping temperatures, blaring horns, and taunting billboards from competitors couldn't keep hundreds of technorati from turning out for their chance to see what Samsung's next generation flagship had to offer.

After a lengthy wait in which Samsung's staff encouraged "The Wave" and chants to keep the audience engaged, and more importantly, warm, all eyes were glued to the giant screens dishing all the details.

Suit and Tie

Samsung Galaxy S4 Unboxing Event

Even though the crowd seemed rather nonplussed by the performance pieces interspersed between the actual facts and specs of the Galaxy S4, almost every single person who was there when it started stayed through to the end.

By the time the sun had set, and Samsung's event had closed, many in attendance were hoping to be the first to get their hands on the S4, but were treated to one more "bonus": a flash mob performance.

Dusting off the freshly minted single "Suit and Tie," the Unboxed dancers paid homage to the setting once more before anyone was allowed to glimpse at an S4 firsthand.

Disappointingly, Samsung wasn't quite prepared for the deluge of the weather weary crowd, as they descended to the small, narrow demo stage in a heaping mass.

There were some close calls, and security was indeed necessary on at least one occasion, but after everything settled down, every single person got to spend a little one-on-one time with the Galaxy S4.

Public perception

Samsung Galaxy S4 Unboxing event

Time with the smartphone was kept to a five-minute period, which didn't allow for any truly formal opinions to form.

However, those on hand that did get a look at the phone came away rather impressed for the most part.

"I didn't get to mess around with many of the new features, but I did like the feel and the new no-touch controls," said Aaron, an Android developer from New Jersey.

"I don't have a Samsung now, but it looks way better than a S3, and I will probably be getting one soon."

Jordan Lopez, already a Galaxy S3 owner from the Bronx liked what he saw, but was tempering his excitement.

"I think all the new features are great, as long as they work," Lopez told us.

"I was disappointed with how some of the features on the S3 worked, and I hope they improve them for S4."

There were also plenty of international smartphone enthusiasts present, with some people from Fiji, Chile, and even women like Prianka from India ready to give Samsung a shot.

"I'm not a Samsung user, but I'm going to get the S4 as soon as it's available," Prianka explained.

"It's got a 13MP camera, and I like to take photos, so this is really nice."

iPad ready for closeup with latest YouTube Capture update

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YouTube Capture's iPhone app is a handy way to shoot, edit and share videos while on the go, but why should smartphone users have all the fun? With the latest update, iPad owners can now do the same right from their tablets.

YouTube announced Friday that its YouTube Capture for iOS app has been updated to version 1.2, bringing iPad and iPad mini owners along for the moviemaking fun.

After capturing video, the app can help users add optional automatic color correction, stabilization and even background music in addition to trimming movies to eliminate unwanted footage.

In addition to shooting video using the built-in camera on an iPad 4, iPhone or iPod touch, YouTube Capture makes it easy to share with Google+, Facebook and Twitter all at once.

Mobile viewing increases

First introduced on the iPhone back in December, the free iOS app is touted as the easiest way for smartphone (and now tablet) owners to record video right on their device and share it immediately with the world.

YouTube Capture 1.2 is the first release that lets iPad and iPad mini owners take advantage of the app on its stunning Retina Display.

The Google-owned company claims 25 percent of all content viewed from its service is being done from mobile devices, and YouTube Capture helps users share from anywhere.

The new update is now available as a free download from the App Store.

Yahuui Blog

Friday, March 15, 2013