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Understanding the Pre-Shopping ROBO Mentality February 09, 2010 
The term "ROBO" -- Research Online, Buy Offline -- was coined by Yahoo to describe the growing number of consumers who research online but buy offline. Online "pre-shopping" has become a common activity prior to a variety of purchases. According to Forrester, online research will influence $1 trillion in offline sales by 2012.
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Trend Micro Rejiggers Small-Biz SaaS Security February 08, 2010 
Trend Micro on Monday announced a new and completely overhauled version of its Software as a Service for small and medium-sized businesses. The new version, named "Worry-Free Business Security Services," replaces "Worry-Free Business Security Hosted," which was launched only 10 months ago.
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Europe's E-Invoicing Compliance Guidelines and You February 05, 2010 
Value-Added Tax generates approximately one-third of all public revenue in many of the world's wealthiest countries; in some EU Member States, the VAT contribution to the fiscal mix is close to 40 percent. Electronic invoicing remains one of the most challenging areas of conducting e-business in and with the European Union.
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Real-Time Analytics Makes for Happy, Loyal Customers February 05, 2010 
For businesses serving the public, employees are the face of the company. Likewise, the manner in which employees interact with customers shapes their perception of the business and its brand. Ultimately, customer loyalty is built through positive interactions and high-quality customer service that meets the individual's specific needs.
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The Unique Role of the Board Strategist February 04, 2010 
A well-rounded board is an absolute necessity in these economically trying times. The average board of today usually consists of at least one person who has expertise in the company's business; a high-profile person who brings credibility and gravitas to issues; a financial person who, among other things, can chair the audit committee; and an attorney who has experience with corporate governance matters.
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Can't We All Just Get Along? Post-Merger IT Integration February 04, 2010 
Enterprises that have merged with or acquired the systems and assets of another company know how difficult it is to combine disparate systems -- platforms, databases and software solutions -- with its existing infrastructure. Mergers can be very disruptive, especially if the companies have standardized on differing platforms, protocols and encryption methods.
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Plan Ahead to Prevent Maintenance Window Pain February 03, 2010 
System administrators are well aware of the pain associated with maintenance windows. This effort is usually taking place off-hours and requires challenging coordination between different activities and often different departmental personnel. Maintenance windows are very important to obtain an updated infrastructure and to mitigate risks of an unplanned outage.
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Requiem for the Golden Age of Advertising February 03, 2010 
"Brought to you by ..." Ahhh, the golden age of advertising. The ads themselves were social markers, drivers of our conversation, definers of what was -- and was not -- cool. We took them at face value, we obeyed their siren songs, and we sampled, and we bought, and we sang the jingles. How quaint those times seem now.
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Outsourcing Lead Generation: Who Do You Trust? February 02, 2010 
Practically every business has a dirty little secret: It's called customer attrition. Rarely can a company claim someone as a customer for life. There will always be pressure from the competition -- and as a result, there will always be customer attrition. Certainly, businesses do everything they can to retain their current base, but retention isn't enough.
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Startup, Know Thyself: Q&A With Sierra Ventures Managing Director Tim Guleri January 29, 2010 
In this business climate, the road to striking a venture capital deal is difficult for both funder and fundee. Small startups with big ideas obviously have a harder time finding VC firms willing to take a chance on them, but those VC firms themselves are under added pressure to make the correct decisions regarding where to put their limited resources.
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VoFi Is Coming - Are You Ready? January 28, 2010 
In case you missed it, seven long years of wrangling have come to an end: 802.11n has now been officially ratified by the IEEE. Super-fast WiFi is here. The 802.11n standard ushers in increased network throughput and range that will change wireless access, services and applications. With this final blessing, any hesitancy that existed within many organizations around 802.11n deployment has been removed.
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The 5 Best-Kept SharePoint Management Secrets January 27, 2010 
Microsoft SharePoint Server is an incredibly versatile tool for setting up portals and Web sites that facilitate communication and collaboration within a company, between companies, and with Internet users at large. This versatility and the ability of SharePoint to boost productivity has made it the fastest-growing product in the history of Microsoft.
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MashLogic: Links Done Your Way January 27, 2010 
In the world of venture capital fund-raising, the would-be entrepreneur is usually the party who goes looking for acceptance. However, that's not the way MashLogic got funded. Instead, several partners at Bessemer Venture Partners sought out Ranjit Padmanabhan with seed money and the cofounder title to start up MashLogic in late 2007.
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How to Create an Agile PMO January 26, 2010 
It often seems that an agile development environment will always be at odds with the structure and constraints of the project management office. Yet it does not have to be this way. Creating an agile PMO that bridges the gap between these two very important groups can help organizations to prioritize projects and allocate resources much more effectively.
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Venture Capital Funding Spread Thin in Q4 January 22, 2010 
Venture capitalists invested less money in U.S. startups in the fourth quarter and showed signs of spreading out those fewer dollars among more companies, reflecting continued caution amid uncertainty about the economy. The shaky economy has meant that startups are less likely to find buyers or complete initial public offerings.
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End-to-End Encryption: Beyond PCI Compliance January 22, 2010 
PCI DSS has undoubtedly made a significant improvement to the security of cardholder account numbers and other sensitive information within the payment card infrastructure. The standard lays out a strong set of requirements that merchants, acquirers and processors must follow. However, complying with PCI DSS should not be considered a silver bullet.
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