E-Commerce News: ECT News Exclusives

Privacy in the Public Cloud: Q&A With Terremark Exec Jason Lochhead
October 12, 2009

When Amazon began offering cheap pay-as-you-go access to computing resources in the cloud to the public, it broke new ground. Independent developers, small businesses and individual departments of large businesses leaped at the chance to work on projects while keeping infrastructure costs down.

FOSS vs. the Winged Monkeys: Q&A With Open Source for America's Chris Lundberg
August 21, 2009

Chris Lundberg has worked for years to drive the availability of technology to the masses. He has managed teams developing software for the Library of Congress, worked with the U.S. Navy to develop satellite communications software and consulted for Accenture in developing telecom Internet solutions.

Cracks in the US Cybersecurity Walls: Q&A With NetWitness CEO Amit Yoran
August 14, 2009

Cybersecurity is a shambles in the U.S., but nobody seems able to do anything about it, and things appear to be going from bad to worse. NetWitness CEO Amit Yoran, who served as cybersecurity chief during the George W. Bush administration, discussed U.S. cybersecurity with TechNewsWorld in an exclusive interview.

Rough Times for Angels: Q&A With MarketStar Chairman Alan E. Hall
August 13, 2009

You might say that entrepreneur Alan E. Hall lives in two business worlds. Don't complain to him how challenging it is to grow a business in today's fragile economy. He knows those struggles firsthand as a business owner. He also knows how next-to-impossible it is for startup business owners to find financial backers. Hall is a player in the venture capital sector as well.

Managing Content Instead of Data: Q&A With SpringCM CEO Dan Carmel
August 03, 2009

There are always niche vendors developing new applications around functionality that doesn't quite fit into a defined software category. When the analyst community takes note -- and then decides to give the category a name -- a bona fide trend is established. That is happening to SpringCM, a SaaS provider that helps companies manage their processes around content rather than data.

Efficiency Through Outsourced Marketing: Q&A With Quaero Founder Naras Eechambadi
July 27, 2009

It may seem that CSG Systems, a provider of customer interaction and billing management software, acquired marketing company Quaero in the nick of time. The deal was announced at the end of the year -- just as it was becoming painfully clear that the recession was likely to be much deeper than initially feared.

Wielding the Technology Sword: Q&A With Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne
July 24, 2009

Overstock.com is a retail site that sells products in just about any consumer category, from clothes to electronics to home goods to furniture. Not surprisingly, it hid a major skid last fall when the U.S. economy went into seizure. "We were growing 27 percent through the first part of the year," CEO Patrick Byrne told the E-Commerce Times.

It's All About Nurturing Leads: Q&A With Manticore CEO Jeff Erramouspe
July 20, 2009

This is the marketing resource management world: There are the enterprise-oriented types of platforms that can handle robust applications. Their downside is that they require consultants to manage their difficult implementations and dedicated personnel for their ongoing use. Then there are the lower-end tools that give users relatively limited functionality -- but are easy to implement and operate.

Making the Rapid ROI Promise Stick: Q&A With Savvion CEO M.A. Ketabchi
July 13, 2009

M.A. Ketabchi, president, CEO and founder of business process management provider Savvion, might have done just as well focusing on product marketing in his career. From the beginning, he has distinguished Savvion from the competition by concentrating on the one thing potential customers care about the most: rapid ROI.

SaaS Keeps Recession Wolves at Bay: Q&A With E2open CEO Mark Woodward
July 06, 2009

It is has been a roller-coaster year for E2open CEO Mark Woodward, mainly because that is how long he has been at the helm of the Software as a Service provider of supply-and-demand chain, procurement, and B2B integration applications. Over the past twelve months, he oversaw a shift in product focus and the introduction of new functionality, primarily on the sell side.

ERP Should Pay for Itself in a Year: Q&A With xTuple CEO Ned Lilly
June 29, 2009

xTuple is an open source ERP provider, and CEO Ned Lilly says there are few fellow travelers on his company's path. In this tanking economy, the company has been leveraging both its open source bona fides and the fundamental functionality that is inherent in an ERP system to gain market share.

Collaborating in the Cloud: Q&A With PBworks CEO Jim Groff
June 22, 2009

Cloud computing is remaking just about every software category -- and project management is no exception. In the on-premise software era, collaboration was limited by the technology of a particular firm, as well as the security requirements of a particular industry. That was then, of course.

Turning 'Interesting Moments' Into Sales: Q&A With Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez
June 15, 2009

If there is any one characteristic of the current economy that stands out, it is that people are just not buying. From billionaires to budget shoppers, frugal is in. Enter Marketo, a startup whose raison d'etre is to get people to buy. Surprisingly -- or not, given its product lineup -- Marketo is doing very well these days.

Keeping Credit Card Numbers Well-Cloaked: Q&A With Fingerhut's Mark Lieberg
June 11, 2009

It's a fact that might not bring a lot of comfort to consumers and businesses, but it's true: The methods for protecting e-commerce transactions haven't changed a great deal since online shopping became a viable option in the early '90s. SSL and TSL encryption are the protocols that slap on that little padlock you see at the bottom of a Web site once you've begun the purchase process.

Outsource or Keep It Home? Have It Your Way: Q&A With Alpine Access CEO Chris Carrington
June 08, 2009

Not that long ago, the outsourcing of customer service to home-based agents was a small niche category, viewed as not quite on par with a bricks-and-mortar call center operation. For a number of reasons, that perception is changing -- starting with the lower costs involved and ending with the growing number of quality providers that have highly qualified staffs on hand.

Riding Out the Storm: Q&A With Information Builders CEO Gerry Cohen
June 01, 2009

Business Intelligence has evolved considerably in the last several years. At one time the domain of PhDs or other highly trained employees, it has become accessible to the masses. Indeed, one of the competitive differentiators among the vendors in the market -- from the huge stack players to the small best-of-breed providers -- is not whether, but how, they make this complex technology available to business line users.