Some of the Benefits of Software and Data As a Service

What the heck is a web service, anyway?

Well, it's a service brought to you over the Internet, dummy. One can split web services into two categories: software as a service and data as a service. Data powers software and software can be delivered over "platform as a service", which will not be discussed here but will be the subject of other articles.

Software as a Service (SaaS) Unlike traditional software, like Word or Lotus 1-2-3, it doesn't come on a floppy disk or CD; it's brought to you over the internet. Google is one example of a Software as a Service; you don't need to install anything on your computer to use it and its functionality is delivered to you over the web. To cite Google in another example, Google Docs is a web service that lets you read and create documents over the Internet rather than having to install anything on your machine.

Data as a Service (DaaS) Rather than saving and accessing data on your local machine or server, DaaS involves the hosting of data on an external web service provider's server. For instance, Postcode Anywhere maintains accurate databases of masses of information, such as valid UK addresses/postcodes and mapping data. This can work for personal data, too. Web services like Hotmail or Gmail, for instance, both host your data - your emails and attachments (Data as a Service) and provide you with email software (Software as a Service). No data or software is hosted on your own server or PC.

What's so great about web services?

With so many benefits, this might actually take some time...

1) No installation - no maintenance - no messing about with updates

Web services are the next generation in software. Software as a Service do not require installation and you always have the latest version. Think of how much time is lost installing, updating and managing software - this is just not the case with a web service. The service provider professionals take care of all of the software management for you. And with Data as a Service, all your data will be up-to-the-minute, fed to you directly from the source.

2) Centralised, lean, responsive

You can run any number of programs off the same pool of data, held on the web service database. This means that once you set up the data you need to manage, you can have several programs - all written in different languages - using it to work. What does this mean practically? It means you can maintain a database of customer records in your San Francisco HQ through your desktop PC running Vista while your London sales manager accesses the details off her Apple laptop. Neither person has any software installed; they just plug into the Internet and get on with the job. And it's just as easy for the developers to make the software as it is for the businesspeople to use it. Development tasks that would take weeks normally can now be polished off in seconds. The software that accesses the data can be either traditional software installed on your machine, or itself Software as a Service brought to you by a SaaS provider.

3) Eminently affordable

Because web services charge you for how much you use the service rather than charging a lump sum just for having the service in the first place, anyone can now have access to the kind of software and datasets that only the biggest players in business could previously afford.

So... what's data as a service again?

Traditionally, you would find data on a book or a CD that was mailed to you. You would then use this data in your business for as long as possible before having to update your dataset.

...and what's so great about data as a service?

Having data stored on a central server, which is constantly updated, makes sense. It's a solution that makes mailing out data on a CD (that's out of date before it even arrives through your letterbox) a thing of the past. Who wants old data? How can you possibly keep up-to-date data using traditional static models? High-speed internet has paved the way for efficient data solutions where your business will always be on top. No more mail shots sent to people who live elsewhere or don't exist and no more out of date information.

These web services sound cool... but what can I actually do with them?

There many, many possible applications for web services. Here are some examples:

In Customer Relations Management, bring up your clients' details at the click of a button with business data management.

In Ecommerce, make sure your customers are providing you with the correct bank details or credit card details with bank account and credit card validation.

In E-marketing, verify your contacts' email addresses to check they're current before sending out marketing materials.

In Haulage, plan a highly optimized route to save costs with multi-vehicle multi drop-off route optimisation software - or use similar software to budget fuel allowances. In this case, both the data (geocoordinates) and software (complex route optimization) are provided as a service. You can still plug this into your applications in a number of ways.

There are many, many applications for these web services; anywhere you could use a traditional installed-on-your-desktop application, or self-hosted data in fact.

James Williams, known as Mr Webservice, has a mission to educate people about the benefits of the new wave of "as a service" products delivered over the Internet.

If you would like to know more about software-as-a-service, data-as-a-service, or any other aspect of service-oriented architecture, you should check out his web services blog [http://www.thewebserviceblog.co.uk/].

James Williams works for The Web Service [http://www.thewebservice.com], a company with nearly a decade of experience of delivering innovative web service solutions for developers and businesses through sister brand Postcode Anywhere. Free resources, trials and code snippets are available on-site.

© James L Williams. This article may be reproduced as long as this signature, including links and attribution, is included.

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Top 5 Benefits of Courier Services in DC

Courier services are a great way to save time and money for your business, especially in a busy district like DC. So what does a courier service do for you? A courier service will provide you with door to door shipping and delivery of all your packages, letters, and other important shipments that your company needs to send or receive. Courier services can be local, regional, or even international, depending on your company's needs. To be able to select the appropriate courier service for you, you will need to ask yourself a few simple questions. You will need to know the frequency of your shipping needs, the location that most of your packages go, and whether you commonly use such services as overnight or express shipping methods.

Typical mail service and other shipping companies may work for many types of companies, but if there is a lot of shipping between businesses located in the same area or a need for quicker service, a courier service might be the best economical choice for you company.

Why should your business use a courier service? A courier service can ship all types of packages, no matter the size. There are also convenient ways to pay for the service with automatic billing and online interfaces so that your courier service is just as streamlined as your company. Courier services will often offer delivery guarantees, insurance on shipments, and many other perks. For some services, you can easily schedule pickups to save you time. Most services also offer the options of same day, overnight and express shipping. So picking the right courier service for your needs should be easy. If you want to keep a courier service working for you, a consistent relationship with the company will guarantee that you will be saving time and money by using their service. This will benefit you as well as your customers.

You will find that your business will have great benefits from using a courier service. You will be sure that your shipments will arrive to their destinations on time. It doesn't matter what method you choose to ship your package or letter, the courier service will delivery on time and intact. That is a better guarantee than any other shipping service or standard mail service. When you are choosing your courier service, there will also be benefits that are particular to the company that you choose. Some offer discounted rates while others give out special deals for longer service with a business. Couriers in the same area will often times have different rates, so make sure to compare those as well. Whichever you decide to choose, make sure that the courier service will work well with your company and their needs.

A courier service is a great way to stay fast and reliable to your business associates and to your customers. This way, you will stand out from your competition as a very successful business.

Jordan McPelt is a professional writer specializing in Courier Services and Washington DC Delivery. To learn more about Washington DC Courier Services, visit http://www.washingtonexpress.com

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6 Benefits to Financing a Small Business With a Credit Card

Starting a small business without the aid of a credit card can be quite stressful. Since business expenditures can be add-up to significant tax deductions, it is imperative to separate personal expenses from work-related charges. Aside from the tax savings, a business credit card represents expanded options; particularly with the right card.

As with any financial product, not all business credit cards are the same. An annual statement is a popular feature of most business credit cards. Tallying up business related products and services are made simple with the convenience of recorded statements. Nevertheless, a good business credit card should have other features besides a balance sheet. Here are other features, to look for in a small business credit card:

· An exceptional credit line

· A low preferred business APR

· Extra business credit cards for employees

· Customizable business checks

· Custom cards with your business name

· Complimentary online account management

All of the above features can be mission critical to starting and conducting business. Review the following six benefits to finance a new company on a business credit card:

1. Easy Expenditure Tracking

Depending on the credit card company, a record of all transactions may be available annually or by request only. Small business credit cards offering free online account management is an important feature. The ability to check transactions and manage online payments simplifies bookkeeping. The same record can be used during tax-time to calculate profits and earnings.

2. Finance Business Needs With a Low APR

A low preferred business APR can ease the transition of being paid by new clients and covering unforeseen expenses. The financial stresses of starting a new small business can hinder productivity. Be it the cost of renting or buying new equipment, immediate expenditures can wreak costly distress on any business. A business credit card with a low APR can help offset the pangs of paying a balance over time versus right away. The best business credit cards offer a 0% introductory APR.

3. Control Employee Spending

To ensure that employees are conscientious about the company budget, additional business credit cards may control their spending. A business credit card with online management and additional credit cards enables a small business owner to track spending, maintain records and receipts. During conventions, Bill Amato's sales representatives put in long hours. To compensate and track their meals, each of his employees has a company credit card. Bill uses Advanta business cards because it allows him the ability to control employee expenditures by tracking their spending transactions online.

4. Manage Client Expenses

For simple account management, small business owners can pay for products and services using a business credit card check. For instance, Jane Brody, proprietor of an event management company uses business credit card checks to pay for additional client expenditures. Since the checks are customized to her business and then made payable to the supplier for a specified job and client, she is able to track and tack on any additional fees to each customer's invoice. Not to mention, each client is billed for late payment transaction fees.

5. Ensure Business Productivity

An exceptional credit line is useful for the fast growing small business that has to cover travel, new technology and other expenditures. A robust credit line can be the difference between staying in business and going out of business. The inability to access a line of credit without depending on a small business loan, can bring a growing company to a screeching halt.

In the case of new franchise owner, Jim Denko his new small business was just beginning to return an investment. On the down side, Jim required a line of credit so that he did not have to dip into the family's money market account and emergency reserve. Because Jim was qualified for a small business credit card, he was approved with a generous line of credit. The availability allowed him the freedom to test out new inventory for his franchise.

6. Take Advantage of Extras

The ultimate business credit card can be found in the "extras." For instance, certain business credit cards come with amazing discounts and special incentives. These advantages can add up to savings. Perfect example, Advanta business credit cards, not only come with a healthy credit line, the credit card is devised for small business owners to be successful. Many popular business credit cards feature generous cash back and travel rewards.

Small Business Advice: To minimize confusing your personal cost with the costs of starting a new business, apply for a business credit card that provides you with the tools to run a profitable business.

Copyright Ed Vegliante. Free online reprints of this article are allowed provided the resource box remains intact with a live link back to http://www.credit-card-surplus.com .

Please click here to find offers for Small Business Credit Cards [http://www.credit-card-surplus.com/business.php].

Ed Vegliante runs the website http://www.Credit-Card-Surplus.com , a well organized credit card directory enabling the consumer to compare and apply for a variety of credit card offers. View more Credit Card Articles.

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Pay-Per-Click: Some of the Prominent Benefits You Can Enjoy

By Pankaj Roy

Internet marketing is no doubt the most prominent form of advertisement and promotion that have made it big in today’s market. With newer techniques and strategies being tried out to ensure more benefits for a company website design, Pay per click is an effective method that can help you enjoy an upscale in the return.

But most often it is found that many people do not have a fair idea of this new technique. Here in this article, we provide you with a brief synopsis of pay per click and its benefits:

What does pay per click mean?


Considered by many as complex and tough, in reality pay per click is a simple and interesting way of advertising. All you have to do is place the ad in text format in the search engines. Commonly seen at the right hand side of search engines, these ads are placed in such manner so that it is easily noticeable to viewers. The most interesting fact about this pay per click ad is that you will be entitled to pay only if someone clicks on the advertisement.

Benefits of Pay per click


Read below to know about the benefits of pay per click advertising that you can easily avail:

• There are many companies that provide with various rebate offers in special seasons to attract more customers. For such companies, pay per click is a great way to promote their service or product for a certain period of time. You can avail the maximum benefits by advertising about your company for the exact number of days that you want to.


• Another very lucrative benefit of using pay per click option is that it reduces your cost of advertisement and campaign. You only have to pay for the times users click on your advertisement. Also it allows you to stay within your fixed budget and gain the best results.


• Every company has its targeted audience and so do you. To narrow down your search and reach out to maximum number of targeted audience, pay per click is again a beneficial option to try out. you can change the pay per click setting to a specific geographical place, country or city that you want the advertisement to focus on.

Last but not the least, the best benefit of pay per click is that it gives you with instant results in comparison to SEO which is a natural and time taking process.

To know more about pay per click, you can depend on a website design company who has expert PPC experts to help you.

The author has been working as a search engine optimizer in WebGuru Infosystems – a leading website design and development company, for the past 2 years. He has also written articles on different topics such as website design, SEO, logo design, graphic design etc..

This is a post from The Web Optimist – SEO in The Desert.

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Pay-Per-Click: Some of the Prominent Benefits You Can Enjoy is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO

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Media With Benefits

I didn’t make up the phrase “Media with Benefits:” I heard it used by a media agency leader yesterday in a closed-door meeting I was hosting. (Since it was said in that context, I’ll let the originator stay anonymous or self-identify at their own discretion). It’s too rich a slogan not to seize and interpret here in The Drift. We can parse this phrase two different ways: both in terms of its intent and also through a broader existential interpretation that questions what a media seller really does for a living these days.

How It Was Originally Intended: From a media director’s point of view, it means “Yes, we’ll buy banners and pre-roll videos and push-downs and sponsorships from you, but we need you to add value. Give us insights, integration, creative support, special research. We can’t be seen as just buying placements anymore, and you can no longer afford to simply be a source for those placements.” If this post stopped here, it would have been a good and valuable read. This is the minimum that a media sales professional should be doing in the market today. Your job is to create value; you’ll just be getting compensated in media dollars.

The Larger Concept: The deeper, existential translation of “Media With Benefits” challenges the very nature of how the seller and the media sales organization see their place in the world.  The system for precisely distributing outbound advertising messages across the infinite supply of online “inventory” is fully in place, and that market is commoditized now and forever. If you’re selling “holes in pages” today, the best you can hope for is increasing “yield” while reducing friction and cost. (Newsflash: Google and Facebook have a pretty good head start on you.)

Hope is not lost, however. The answer for today’s media seller is to raise your aim, not lower it. Focus on (1) accomplishing marketing tasks, (2) creating compact, distributable marketing environments, and (3) doing it all by co-opting the same ad pipeline that’s about to commoditize and marginalize you.  In short, start pushing better stuff through the pipes.  Bring the marketer fresh creative concepts, research opportunities, information services, CRM options — you name it –and plan ways to distribute and fulfill them through the ridiculously intricate ecosystem of plumbing, networks and platforms we’ve built.

Marketers don’t need more media in which to advertise. Start leveraging our infrastructure to deliver true marketing benefits and you’ll find yourself happily back in the game.   Want to talk about some examples?  Give me a call.

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See Also:

• How To Capitalize On Your Company's 15 Minutes Of Fame
• How 5 Strange And Unknown Products Became Household Names

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