Training a new employee is a lengthy process. Recognizing that this can be especially burdensome for small businesses, local entrepreneur Chris Ronzio recently launched Trainual, a Web-based software geared toward small businesses to make the training process easier. Because the software is Web-based, it affords convenient access from any location at any time. “Building the … [More]
A New, More Secure Payment Method
“It’s been something that’s been in the works for quite some time now,” says Scott Shedd, referring to the upcoming switch from traditional credit and debit cards to EMV cards. Shedd is the information security consulting manager for WGM, an IT company located in Scottsdale that analyzes technology risks and compliance. The noticeable difference between a traditional card … [More]
Pay-in-Advance Meals
Restaurants are starting to use technology to cut their losses from reservation no-shows through a ticketing system similar to that for theater performances, pioneered in 2011 by Nick Kokonas; diners will not be able to change reservations or get refunds, but can give their reservation to someone else. Kokonas’s “Tock” also provides restaurants with other commercial business … [More]
Amazon Opens for Business
Amazon recently launched Amazon Business with features tailored to businesses. It was designed as a response to business customers wanting an experience at work similar to how they shop at home, according to Prentis Wilson, vice pr esident of Amazon Business, who says it offers “features and back-end integration businesses need to save time and money.” … [More]
LifeLock Program for the Workplace
LifeLock’s recently launched product, LifeLock Benefit Elite™ identity theft protection, was created specifically for employers and brokers to offer as a benefit for employees. It is designed to help detect potential fraud, including issues with a 401(k) account, and bring it to the attention of the employee through alerts within the company’s network via email, text or phone. … [More]
Accounting on the Go
FreshBooks is working with Apple to deliver a made-for-business app to allow small-business owners to run their business and invoice their clients from anywhere, using a mobile device that can fit into their pocket. Also available are enhanced security features Touch ID and Passcode, currently available for download from the App Store. … [More]
Translation, Please
Translate Your World, developers of across-language communication software, has released new software that enables almost anyone to converse in real-time across 25 different languages. There has never been anything like Translate Your World. Just go to a webpage and talk. The words of each speaker are instantly translated into the other language, to appear as subtitles or be … [More]
Save Time. Time Off.
There are a lot of hours lost in the office. What causes this loss? Is it meetings, phone calls, personal time? Sapience Analytics has created a tool for employees to monitor their workday and determine their most productive times of the day. The program, Sapience Buddy, works behind the scenes on the user’s computer and indicates the person’s time on computer work, websites, … [More]
Marketing Podcasts Teach and Inform
In an effort to help interested professionals become better marketers and businesspeople, MarketingPodcasts.com created this service to help discover podcasts that can teach and inform in areas that relate to marketing as well as other areas that can truly benefit business. The system checks the iTunes Podcasts directory twice a week for podcasts, adding to its own directory … [More]
Got Tech? Got the Right Tech?
What exactly is productivity? In professional terms, productivity often means, well … more. But, more what? In a literal sense, productivity is the rate of output per a unit of input — essentially, the amount of work that can be completed given an amount of time or money. This makes sense in simplified scenarios; for example if one employee is able to send six emails per hour, … [More]
Technology Assesses Physical Fitness for the Job
A post-hiring physical involves a host of compliance issues, but technology is giving businesses a way to assess some applicants’ fitness for the job as a simple step in the interview process. “Cost Reduction Technologies came up with a way to test an individual’s strength and agility,” says Melissa Lykins, claims manager for Lovitt & Touché, an insurance and employee … [More]
Geolocation Is a Marketing Find
There are 6 billion smartphones in the world, and the number that have geolocation technology continues to grow. “It’s the largest growth rate ever seen in any technology,” says Andy Lombard, CEO and founder of Socialwhirled, a marketing and technology company based in Phoenix. The marketing landscape is shifting dramatically, and Lombard believes geolocation is important … [More]
Tech Sectors: The Technology Advantage, Sustaining Arizona’s Economy
Jobs in the technology sector are among the best-paying, and therefore help to raise the economy generally. There is also a multiplier effect, as each single technology-sector job creates more than four jobs in the broader community. Creating the jobs and the work force to fill them, then, has become an important focus of economic development from the local to the statewide … [More]
Secure Against Internal as well as External Breaches
Diligence against cyber security breaches is as much an issue of internal processes as external threats. In fact, the breach Home Depot so publicly suffered last year was enabled through a pfishing scheme whereby hackers first gained access to a third-party vendor that had access privileges with Home Depot. In the recent survey “Privilege Gone Wild 2” by global cyber … [More]
Securing Mobile Financial Access
Working with financial institutions to provide risk management solutions against the constant evolution of threats, Early Warning is building an ecosystem that will continue to match up with the threat over time. With no direct link itself to the end user, Early Warning’s strategy is collaboration among companies with their own expertise and a consortium model in sharing data … [More]
Communication Control
Consumers “have little control over their messages thanks to autocorrecting tools and the lack of ability to easily fix errors leading to miscommunication,” says Kevin Wooten, reTXT Labs co-founder and CEO. His Tempe-based company’s recently launched app (patent pending) puts users in control of their text conversations by enabling them to edit previously sent messages and to … [More]
IT Staff in Demand
The unemployment rate in Phoenix for IT professionals is half the general unemployment rate. That shortage of talent makes for a very competitive market, and therefore, observes Allan Dunn, managing director of the Phoenix office of IT staffing agency MDI Group, “Businesses must be willing to pay above the median rate based on a skill set.” There is non-salary compensation … [More]
The Wrike Place
Project management has a new friend. The Wrike app is an all-encompassing way to organize in one spot everything needed to complete a project. Break large goals into manageable pieces, attach files and set due dates. Easily track overall progress and individual contribution. Wrike lets users communicate with teammates to share tasks — even with people outside the company. … [More]
