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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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

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.
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.

Are We Risking Our Digital Lives?
January 20, 2010
Consumers are growing increasingly comfortable storing sensitive information on their computers, USB flash drives, and external hard drives, as well as using Web-based solutions to automate regular tasks such as shopping for holiday gifts, paying bills and tracking financial portfolios. At the same time, cybercriminals are developing increasingly savvy techniques.
Improve Morale, Improve Security
January 19, 2010
Have you ever tried to work when you're really sick? I don't mean a little cough or sniffles. I'm talking about a genuine, drag-out, "can't get out of bed" illness -- the kind where it hurts to stand up, let alone go into the office. I hate to admit it, but I've gone to work in that condition -- you probably have too, although pretty much everyone agrees we shouldn't.

Transforming Financial CRM From Retention Mode to Growth Mode
January 19, 2010
As financial institutions gear up for 2010, many companies are still on the long road to recovery after facing some of the most difficult challenges in years. Mortgage defaults and foreclosures, new regulations on credit card and bank fees, and the constant barrage of related news stories sent customer call volumes through the roof in 2009.
When It Comes to Server Migration, You Can Learn a Lot From a Twit
January 18, 2010
OK folks, Twitter may be a fad, but it is also a wealth of information into real people's problems, and I don't think it is going away anytime soon. In fact Google and Yahoo announced recently that they are going to begin crawling tweets, and they will appear in search queries. So yes, I am a fellow "twit," and proudly so, because I know how to use it to find the information that I am looking for.

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