Web chat, social media channels and mobile communications are quickly taking over the role of traditional telephone contact in the field of customer service. In order to enable organizations to provide the best possible services for their customers via all channels of communication, European market leader Workstreampeople is launching a new version of Anywhere365. This platform … [More]
Global Opportunities Measured
Exporting represents a $928-billion opportunity for U.S. midsized companies over the next 10 years, yet only 17 percent of middle market firms currently trade internationally. What if exporting wasn’t as risky as rumored? Or as difficult to get started? What if a business knew it could sell profitably and get paid? American Express Grow Global is a new program that provides … [More]
Global Opportunities Seen
Videos made available through the Global Chamber are helping businesspeople understand and become more informed on areas of global opportunity. Through a series of videos — including those by Alisa Jost, chairperson for Arizona Consular Corps and Honorary Consul from Switzerland for Arizona — the chamber offers what are being dubbed “must-see” videos on manufacturing, retail, … [More]
Chandler Vision
International real estate firm Hines is developing Chandler Viridian to include a central plaza with 240,000 square feet of Class A office space, a luxury multifamily complex, retail options and a pedestrian promenade to the Chandler Fashion Center. Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company of Raleigh, North Carolina, recently purchased the hotel pad to develop a Cambria Hotels … [More]
New Airpark Office
Scottsdale-based developer SAXA, Inc. and Caliber Companies recently broke ground on the new Bahia 101 Class-A Building, the first commercial Class-A building to be developed in North Scottsdale in more than five years. Planned for 40,000 square feet of space, the new three-story commercial office building at Loop 101 near Bell Road is the only Class-A office scheduled for … [More]
Real Estate Record
Phoenix-based ViaWest Group recently purchased the Biltmore Financial Center, three Class A office buildings totaling approximately 635,000 square feet at the northwest corner of 24th Street and Camelback in Phoenix, for $163.1 million. The transaction is the largest multi-tenant office sale in the Phoenix area since 2007 and third-largest sale ever in the metropolitan area, … [More]
Amazon Develops Onsite Career Classroom
Amazon has augmented its employee perquisite Career Choice Program with an onsite classroom at one of its Phoenix fulfillment centers. The program, launched in 2012, enables full-time, hourly employees to pursue their interest in furthering their career. It is designed to provide resources for building skills needed for today’s most in-demand and well-paying careers, per … [More]
A/C Efficiency: Winds of Change
Effects of the new seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) for air conditioning implemented last January by the U.S. Department of Energy are being felt all along the channel, from manufacturer to distributor to contractor to purchaser. Noting that the previous change, in January 2006, had met with considerable resistance in the industry, Dan Burke, chairman of Goettl Good Guys … [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]
Eating Spaces
A 12,000-square-foot, $5-million development will bring three or four restaurants to ASU’s SkySong, including a 4,500-square-foot farm-to-table restaurant. A unique feature to the development will be a 3,000-square-foot garden that will be professionally installed and curated. Partnering on the project are Wetta Ventures; Arizona State University Foundation; and SkySong, the … [More]
Grow and Own
LGE Design Build completed a 15,000-square-foot aerospace manufacturing machine shop last month for J.B.’s Precision Industries, a certified woman-owned, small manufacturing business. J.B.’s Precision Industries constructed the building, located at 2320 W. Parkside Lane in Phoenix, to grow its business after leasing for 21 years. The family-owned aerospace and defense … [More]
On the Corridor
A prime piece of Camelback Corridor commercial space will soon have a new look as Wetta Ventures redevelops an existing 12,130-square-foot, two-story building on the northwest corner of Camelback Road and 20th Street in Phoenix into retail and creative office space. Renovation is slated to begin in early September, with completion and tenant move-in by January 2016. The … [More]
For-Profit Partner for Special Education
Public schools regularly contract with for-profit companies for supplies and services, from text books to trash collection. Mark Claypool, president and CEO of Educational Services of America, which is currently expanding the capacity of its four Ombudsman charter schools in Arizona, believes for-profit companies also have a place in schools’ basic purpose: educating students. … [More]
Uber-Local: ‘Vicinity Magazine’ Launches
Knowing what is happening, what restaurants are offering, where live music is being performed and what deals are available in “my” vicinity is the concept of the new uber-local, uber-hip Vicinity magazines. The publications, website and mobile app are designed to inform readers and users as to all that is going on in their immediate area in the categories of dining, events, … [More]
High-Performance Building Is New Home for Manufacturer
At 163,420 square feet, CornellCookson’s new facility in Goodyear does more than just double the space the company has been operating out of in Phoenix for 25 years. Among its advantages, it streamlines the work flow for the company’s manufacture of custom closure solutions — such as the rolling doors and grilles used at stadiums, hospitals and other secure facilities — and … [More]
