Central Desktop Expands Business with New Office in India - Business Wire

New Branch Marks Extensive Growth and International Presence for Cloud-Based Collaboration Platform Provider

LOS ANGELES--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Central Desktop, a leading cloud-based collaboration platform company, today announced the opening of its new office in Pune, India. The news comes on the heels of significant employee growth, increased revenue, key customer wins and industry successes in 2011. The new office represents an important international expansion, which gives the company a competitive edge in responding to market demands.

“The office addition in India is an integral part of our growth strategy”

"The office addition in India is an integral part of our growth strategy,” said Isaac Garcia, CEO and co-founder of Central Desktop. “We are confident this expansion will provide Central Desktop a larger footprint to meet increased demands and new business opportunities. We will continue to focus our efforts on key areas of the company that will drive momentum forward and ensure that we remain industry leaders.”

The new office has 20 full-time employees in product management, engineering, web operations, IT and accounting. The company’s goal is to triple its existing engineering velocity by the end of the year. Dhruba Kalita, vice president of engineering and managing director of Central Desktop India, will help scale operations using his more than 20 years of experience and extensive knowledge of technology and engineering management. According to Kalita, who has successfully managed international expansions prior to Central Desktop, “The most critical element to success is creating a unified culture across offices and encouraging strong interaction on a daily basis. Through use of our own collaboration tools, we intend to promote one company, one team and one culture with diverse groups in multiple locations.”

Teams across Central Desktop’s three office locations in Pasadena and Anaheim, California and Pune, India will be tightly integrated and work together on cross-office project teams. None of the company’s U.S. jobs will be transitioned to India; Central Desktop is still actively hiring in virtually all departments in the U.S., including engineering, web operations/IT, product management, customer experience, sales, marketing and business development.

About Central Desktop
Central Desktop is a cloud-based collaboration platform that centralizes the way people work, teams collaborate and managers lead. The company’s comprehensive online collaboration solution centralizes social and workflow tools into one access point in the cloud, streamlining processes and bringing people together to collaborate and engage. Central Desktop customers include CBS, Netflix, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the Humane Society of the United States, Workday, Harvard University and over 500,000 users. Founded in 2005, Central Desktop is a privately-held company with headquarters in Pasadena, California. For more information about the company, visit http://www.centraldesktop.com.

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The Marque Group expands to a new office location in the heart of a urban community in the Northwest - PRLog (free press release)

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr 02, 2012 -
The west coast based branding and public relations group announced its expansion today into a new office space in the heart of a bustling urban community in Portland, Oregon. The Marque Group LLC; specializes in national brand marketing and public relations initiatives in both private and public industries.

The Marque Group’s distinctive brand marketing, public relations and advertising services cater to some of the most elite private and public organizations. President and CEO, Monique T. Norington says, “Our services work because we’ve developed an innovative cross platform model that will turn any business adversity into opportunity. When our clients work with us, we assist them pursuing current demands, spotting early trends and predicting emerging developments. The result: Innovation and Inspiration.”  

The Marque Groups creative brand marketing techniques will take any business vitality to a new level. With the expansion of the new office they hope to continue to provide excellent service for their current client base and growth opportunities.

Location Address:
4839  NE MLK BLVD, Suite 204
Portland, OR 97211
Office: 503-374-0675
Fax: 503-374-0674

For more information, please visit the website www.themarquegroupllc.com or contact info@themarquegroupllc.com or follow on twitter.com/themarquegroup

About the Marque Group

The Marque Group LLC provides distinctive brand marketing, public relations and advertising services to private and public industries. Our concept is simple: Corporations need to distinguish their brand from the competition and become invaluable to the consumer. The best way to accomplish this is through our cross-platform brand marketing, public relations and communications model.

The Marque Group LLC., is a exclusive brand management and public relations firm. We focus in urban, lifestyle and pop culture specializing and covering corporations, entertainment and nonprofit industries.

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NH Sex Toy Party Company Expands on Home Business Opportunity - YAHOO!

Intimate Details begins looking to the future with new marketing initiatives to expand home business opportunity. The NH-based company begins aggressive campaign to acquire consultants in new territories and grow their customer base.

Raymond, NH (PRWEB) April 02, 2012

Intimate Details, a New Hampshire-based home party company that offers adult toys, lingerie and novelties, is looking for new consultants as it nears its third year in business. The new home party company continues to grow rapidly, expanding into new areas while supporting more and more clients in their existing territory. The need for new consultants interested in this ground-floor home business opportunity has never been greater for Intimate Details.

“Every week, we have more party requests and we are keeping up with the demand but in order to grow, we need to have more consultants,” says Angela Desrochers, founder of Intimate Details. “We are ready to expand rapidly, and we have introduced new plans for consultants who want to get in on this ground floor opportunity.”

Intimate Details has plans to expand their online advertising base, strategically targeting ads to emerging territories. The company is offering to freely give party leads to new consultants in the territories they expand into. “If there is no one else in your territory, and you’re in good standing, the party is yours,” says Desrochers. “We want you to succeed right away.”

In addition to targeting marketing done for the consultants, Intimate Details also offers new consultants the following:

?    Get paid the night of the party – consultants carry their own inventory. With greater ability to control their own business, there is more flexibility for each consultant to offer free gifts, incentives and discounts to help grow their customer base at a speed that’s comfortable for them.

?    Ground floor incentives – right now, new consultants can take advantage of various programs intended to ‘fast track’ them through the first few months of their business. From increased buying discounts to additional free product, each consultant has the opportunity to jump-start their new business.

?    Free training - if Intimate Details has a consultant in your area, you can participate in one-on-one and “tag-along” party training. In addition, you will receive product and party education directly from Angela Desrochers, founder of Intimate Details, via online video, webinars and video-conferences.

“We’re continuing our focus on providing a classy, comfortable and educational experience,” said Desrochers. “The previous taboo subject of sex toys is becoming a more acceptable one, and it’s our mission to introduce woman and men to the ways our product lines can enhance their relationships and their sex lives. We do it in a fun, relaxing and discreet atmosphere where everyone is comfortable.”

For more information about becoming a consultant or hosting a party, contact Intimate Details at 347-878-0273 or careers(at)intimatedetailsparties(dot)com.

Intimate Details is a home party company that offers adult toys and novelties as well as a fun and fulfilling business opportunity. Angela Desrochers founded Intimate Details in 2008 with a mission to offer quality adult products and education through in-home parties that provide a fun and relaxing atmosphere for women. http://www.intimatedetailsparties.com

Angela Desrochers
Intimate Details
347-878-0273
Email Information

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Digital Emporium Ltd Expands Online Business Opportunities - YAHOO!

Digital Emporium Ltd, the world’s leading provider of online business opportunities to individuals, is pleased to announce an expanded range of online businesses for its clients to profit from in this gloomy economic environment.

(PRWEB UK) 17 March 2012

Wimbledon, London (PRWeb), March 17, 2012 – Digital Emporium Ltd’s online businesses have allowed hundreds of people to reach financial freedom and now the natural progression of providing more online business opportunities is set to help more people reach financial freedom.

“The expansion of our service to provide profitable online businesses was a result of consumer feedback. They demanded more online business opportunities, and we provided them” stated Jason Campbell, senior sales director at Digital Emporium Ltd. “Digital Emporium Ltd is excited to have launched another set of online businesses”.

“I was working a low paid job at a supermarket 6 days a week before a friend introduced me to Digital Emporium Ltd. Now I run two online businesses which are fully automatic and require less than 2 hours work a week to maintain. I now have a lot more time to see my family. Thank you for providing me with an online business opportunity – I am truly grateful” Terrence Steel, Surrey UK home-owner.

Individuals and businesses interested in investing or learning more about Digital Emporium Ltd’s online business opportunities can visit http://www.demporium.co.uk/ or http://www.demporium.co.uk/OnlineBusinesses Individuals and businesses serious about creating financial abundance online should contact Jason Campbell at 0208 166 4496.

Jason Campbell
sales@demporium.co.uk
02081664496
Email Information

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Digital Emporium Ltd Expands Online Business Opportunities

Digital Emporium Ltd, the world’s leading provider of online business opportunities to individuals, is pleased to announce an expanded range of online businesses for its clients to profit from in this gloomy economic environment.

(PRWEB UK) 17 March 2012

Wimbledon, London (PRWeb), March 17, 2012 – Digital Emporium Ltd’s online businesses have allowed hundreds of people to reach financial freedom and now the natural progression of providing more online business opportunities is set to help more people reach financial freedom.

“The expansion of our service to provide profitable online businesses was a result of consumer feedback. They demanded more online business opportunities, and we provided them” stated Jason Campbell, senior sales director at Digital Emporium Ltd. “Digital Emporium Ltd is excited to have launched another set of online businesses”.

“I was working a low paid job at a supermarket 6 days a week before a friend introduced me to Digital Emporium Ltd. Now I run two online businesses which are fully automatic and require less than 2 hours work a week to maintain. I now have a lot more time to see my family. Thank you for providing me with an online business opportunity – I am truly grateful” Terrence Steel, Surrey UK home-owner.

Individuals and businesses interested in investing or learning more about Digital Emporium Ltd’s online business opportunities can visit http://www.demporium.co.uk/ or http://www.demporium.co.uk/OnlineBusinesses Individuals and businesses serious about creating financial abundance online should contact Jason Campbell at 0208 166 4496.

Jason Campbell
sales@demporium.co.uk
02081664496
Email Information

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DataCore Software Expands Channel Partner Ecosystem to Capitalize on Fast Growing Storage Hypervisor and Virtualization Market Opportunity - Business Wire

Makes it Easier to Sell and Deploy Profitable Software and Appliance-like Solutions; Targets New Microsoft Resellers and Builds Upon Growing Base of VMware, Citrix and Storage VARS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, DataCore Software, the storage hypervisor leader and premier provider of storage virtualization software, is simplifying the process of selling and implementing its SANsymphony-V storage hypervisor by announcing significant new tools and enhancements to its Partner Program. Demonstrating its unrivaled commitment to the channel, DataCore’s Partner Program helps create new revenue streams and provides enhanced tools to global channel partners.

“Our partners are the key to success and our growth is tied directly to their accomplishments”

DataCore has both realigned the Partner Program and introduced a host of new benefits and rewards. New features include “door opener” starter systems, configuration tools, and virtualization sales playbooks, all making it simple and rewarding for partners to begin selling profitable storage virtualization and SAN management software solutions. Additionally, a new Business Solution Partner level has been added to the existing premier Silver and Gold Partner tiers, enabling organizations to select the program that best suits its individual needs. Some of the highlights include:

Business Solution Partners: At this level, partners are eligible to sell DataCore software licenses, maintenance, and renewals; qualify for lead registration discounts; and have the ability to access the DataCore Partner Portal and live-trial demo site. Business partners now have the opportunity to quickly get started selling entry level SANsymphony™-V solutions with only a minimum set of on-line training needed in order to install and support these storage hypervisor systems. Silver and Gold Solution Partners: Silver and Gold partners benefit from marketing programs and special promotions, greater presence on the DataCore website, eligibility to earn training vouchers for qualifying sales and more. Gold partners also have dedicated account managers to assist in developing business and quarterly sales plans, and can earn quarter-end channel rewards on all eligible product sales.

“DataCore is truly dedicated to the channel community and making it easier for partners like us to profit from growing storage and virtualization opportunities,” said John Wood, vice president, Derive Technologies. “As large-scale IT projects can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement, including countless man hours, organizations want to make the right decisions about their storage needs before heading down a wrong and costly path. Storage and virtualization are incredibly hot sectors, and DataCore has made it easier for us to successfully win new customers and deliver an infrastructure platform that allows for more upsells and services. All while making customers happy and putting money in our pocket.”

Making it Simple to Configure, Install, and Deploy ‘Appliance-like’ Solutions

In addition to a wealth of sales, marketing, and training tools available via the DataCore Partner Portal, all three levels of DataCore™ partners will now have access to the new SANsymphony-V Rapid Configuration Wizard and step-by-step guides which can help them quickly install and implement the most popular SANsymphony-V configurations for their SMB customers. For those partners who already sell and package Dell, HP, and IBM-based server platforms to support virtualization and cloud projects, it is now easier to add DataCore software to the mix and profit from delivering and installing powerful SAN appliances and storage management platforms as part of an overall virtual infrastructure solution.

Expanding Market Opportunity with the Right Focus: Partner Quality versus Quantity

Having deployed more than 20,000 software licenses, DataCore is committed to its channel model and expanding the base of authorized partners who are well trained and qualified to install its solutions to maximize customer satisfaction.

To fulfill the growing demand, DataCore is actively recruiting new Microsoft virtualization partners who are focused on Hyper-V, virtual desktop, and private cloud projects, as well as the base of VMware and Citrix partners in need of virtual storage infrastructure and SAN management solutions. DataCore has a strong history with Microsoft, having recently joined the Microsoft System Center Alliance and Microsoft Partner Solutions Center. It is also working closely with Microsoft resellers globally to deploy joint solutions combining Microsoft System Center and SANsymphony-V.

New Sales Playbooks, Marketing Tools and Training

DataCore has implemented critical new messaging, programs, and marketing tools to ensure consistency and better communication with its partners and their prospects. Essential to making their business a success, these tools include a partner starter package with key information including “DataCore Workshop” seminar in a box, ‘white boarding’ for business executives, virtualization playbooks, storage hypervisor webinars, and access to partner webcasts and newsletters.

Additionally, DataCore offers a full range of training classes to ensure that partners are well equipped to position, scope, implement, and upgrade solutions for the SANsymphony-V storage hypervisor. Classes are available in both traditional instructor-led and online formats. All DataCore partners also have the opportunity to participate in DataCore’s SANcollegeSM online training program and instructor-led classroom training sessions.

Compelling Sales Value Proposition

DataCore’s SANsymphony-V storage hypervisor enables partners to build on their virtualization, cloud, and storage practices. Partners can grow sales by offering a compelling business value proposition with a solution that virtualizes existing and new storage devices and works across both physical and virtual worlds, making it easy to penetrate new accounts, enhance existing storage investments, and provide an enduring infrastructure platform to deliver future services and add-on sales.

“Our partners are the key to success and our growth is tied directly to their accomplishments,” said Linda Haury, vice president of worldwide marketing, DataCore Software. “We’ve listened closely to our channel partners and their feedback has guided us in developing this new structure. As a result, we have built a five-star, award winning channel program that brings partners the tools and resources they need most to expand their business.”

About DataCore Software

DataCore Software develops storage virtualization software leveraged in virtual and physical IT environments to obtain high availability, fast performance and maximum utilization from storage. DataCore's SANsymphony-V storage hypervisor is a comprehensive, yet hardware-independent solution which fundamentally changes the economics of provisioning, replicating and protecting storage for large enterprises and small to midsize businesses. For additional information, visit the DataCore website at www.datacore.com or call (877) 780-5111.

DataCore, the DataCore logo, SANsymphony, and SANcollege are trademarks or registered trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. Other DataCore product or service names or logos referenced herein are trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. All other products, services and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Video Guidance Expands into North Dakota

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Twin Cities-based Video Guidance, a leading visual communications company in the Upper Midwest, is expanding its operations into North Dakota. To manage the growing business in the state, the company is adding staff in Fargo and has named industry veterans Kathy Skramstad as senior account manager and Jon Brademeyer as senior sales engineer.

Video Guidance, which provides video conferencing, telepresence and audio visual technologies and services, is seeing a surge in business opportunities in North Dakota. The company holds the contract for the State of North Dakota’s video conferencing equipment, which includes services with state and local government, K-12 schools, universities and colleges, and public libraries.

In addition to more state government and education opportunities, Video Guidance expects further expansion in the commercial and nonprofit sectors by helping them discover the unlimited applications to visual communications. The firm believes North Dakota is an underserved market.

“From large campuses to rural communities, our customers are very strategic about how they communicate and how they use video,” said Mike Werch, president and CEO of Video Guidance. “Video conferencing, distance learning and telemedicine are just a few of the creative ways our customers are using visual communications to meet their mission-critical business objectives.”

Video Guidance will also open a demo facility in Fargo to showcase the latest visual communication strategies, featuring VG Connect™, a cloud-based, industry-unique integration of video conferencing tools.

Video Guidance hires industry veterans in Fargo
Kathy Skramstad comes to Video Guidance with 18 years of experience in the technology and telecommunications industries. She previously served as a strategic account manager in Fargo for CenturyLink, overseeing clients in the state and local government sectors. She also was an account manager for Cisco, managing telephone clients in North Dakota and Minnesota. Skramstad graduated from Minnesota State University - Moorhead with B.S. degrees in both Marketing and Business Administration. She is a member of the Fargo West Rotary Club. Skramstad lives in South Fargo.

Jon Brademeyer has more than 23 years of experience in the technology and communications industries. Prior to joining Video Guidance, he was a senior sales engineer and senior account manager for CenturyLink in Fargo. He was also the IT and telecommunications manager for Great Plains Software in Fargo. Brademeyer graduated from North Dakota State University with a B.S. degree in Business Administration and holds numerous technical certifications from Cisco, Juniper, Avaya, Adtran, Nortel and ShoreTel. He resides in Kindred, N.D., where he serves as team leader for the City of Kindred’s marketing group.

As an independent provider of visual communications, Video Guidance partners with the world's leading audio/visual equipment manufacturers to implement customized strategic communications. The customer-focused company differentiates itself by providing “best of breed” technologies and unlimited applications to help its customers to communicate more effectively.

Founded in 1999, Video Guidance (www.VideoGuidance.com) is privately held and headquartered in Bloomington, Minn. Video Guidance is an independent partner of Cisco, Polycom and LifeSize, and maintains strategic alliances with Conference Plus, On Stream Media Corporation, VQ Communications, VBrick, and Accordent. For five consecutive years, Video Guidance has been named to the "Inc. 5,000" list of the nation's fastest growing private companies, and is one of the top privately held companies in Minnesota and one of the top 150 telecommunications companies in the nation. In addition, Video Guidance has been named by The Business Journal as one of the "50 Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies" in the Twin Cities.

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State expands opportunities for minority, women-owned businesses - LoHud.com

ALBANY — State officials announced a plan on Tuesday to provide financial assistance to minority- and women-owned businesses, expanding on successful initiatives enacted in recent years.

The new program, called the New York State Surety Bond Assistance Program, helps minority- and women-owned businesses ? called MWBEs ? to secure bonds and state contracts. The program will provide credit to businesses through a revolving loan fund.

The fund will provide lines of credit up to 30 percent of the contract amount to companies for each project. The program would provide $200 million in bonds over the next five years, officials said.

?This is a significant advancement,? said Alfonso David, the state?s deputy secretary for civil rights. ?Minority-and-women-owned businesses have had significant challenges obtaining credit, so we?re very proud of this program.?

David said the program would help create 2,200 direct and indirect jobs in the state and add $328 million in revenue from goods and services purchased by the companies.

The program comes on the heels of laws passed in recent years under the Cuomo and Paterson administrations. In 2010, Gov. David Paterson signed into law four bills that encouraged growth of MWBEs and allowed for better state financial support.

In recent years, the number of MWBEs has grown in New York. For example, the firms that are involved with investment banking and the issuance of debt went from 4.2 percent MWBE in 2007 to 23.9 percent in 2010.

Last July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created the Bonding Guarantee Assistance Program, which provided $10 million to help MWBEs secure credit.

As part of Cuomo?s 2012-2013 budget, the governor included $1.6 million in additional funding for MWBE operating funds. The budget is required to be approved by lawmakers by April 1.

Yrthya Dinzey-Flores, the state?s chief diversity officer, said the program will initially aim to offer bond assistance to 90 companies.

Kenneth Adams, the president of the Empire State Development Corp., said the new program was important to help MWBEs grow .

?These are small firms by definition. They don?t have a long track record ? within the state, so it?s very, very difficult for them to get that bond,? Adams said.

Other initiatives announced Tuesday are designed to help MWBEs expand in New York.

MWBEs participation will now be reported through a new electronic compliance database, the officials said. In the past, there was no standard method of reporting within New York?s contract procurement process.

The state will be better equipped to monitor whether or not state agencies are hiring MWBEs in line with the governor?s desire for improved participation, state officials said.

Officials said MWBE firms will now be able to be certified by municipalities and the federal government faster through agreements reached with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Transportation and other government agencies.

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CouponPages Expands Into New Markets By Seeking Business Opportunities Seekers - YAHOO!

Much of the recent growth of CouponPages.Com is directly related to a new initiative to reach out to business opportunity seekers, who are the foundation of their success.

Staten Island, NY (PRWEB) January 31, 2012

CouponPages.Com has generated a lot of buzz these days and you can attribute most of it to a new initiative to recruit strategic partners who are seeking unique business opportunities.

"Nearly 99% of our listings were sold by independent reps" says Joe Crescenzi, founder of CouponPages.Com, a web site where people print their own coupons. "Even though we are building a national site, there is no substitute for having a local representative right in town. This is why we make an effort to recruit quality people who work directly with our merchants to insure they get the kind of service they deserve"

The new "Partner Program" was launched a few months ago as a pilot program in a handful of cities spearheaded by CouponPages.Com's new Vice President, Brian Walsh.

"I try to do everything I can to make sure our new representatives have everything they need to run their own coupon business. Every day is a new challenge. Some of the people who come to us to start their business have no sales background whatsoever, so it's my job to not only give them basic product training, but coach them on the art of sales.", added Mr. Walsh.

"We're building a great network of enthusiastic people who want to partner with us to build the worlds greatest printable coupon site."

CouponPages sells advertising to local merchants who pay a small annual fee to place their coupons online. Each merchant gets their own printable coupon page, where they can post up to 6 coupons, links to their web site and/or Facebook & Twitter Pages. Most of their ads are sold by independent reps who service merchants in their area.

"Right now, there are no franchise fees, so this is a great time for people to consider starting their own local coupon business with us," add Walsh. "I know it's a cliche... but this is a chance to get in on the ground floor of a 14 year old company. This is big."

CouponPages.Com is one of the oldest and largest printable coupon sites that features printable coupons from local merchants. 100% of the coupons on CouponPages.Com are printable. The site does not feature "Coupon Codes" that are used to buy things online. "Every coupon on the site is a printable offer you can use in your own backyard" says Joe Crescenzi.

For more information about the CouponPages Partner Program, contact Brian Walsh at 732-637-8300 or at Brian(at)CouponPages(dot)Com.

###

Joe Crescenzi
CouponPages.Com
212-537-6263
Email Information

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Africa: Progress in Regulatory Reform Expands Business Opportunities Across Ohada Member States - AllAfrica.com

World Bank (Washington, DC)

25 January 2012

press release

Mali — A new report from IFC and the World Bank finds that member states of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) have increased the pace of reform in making it easier for local firms to do business.

The report, Doing Business in the OHADA Member States 2012, draws on data from the annual global Doing Business study and takes a detailed look at business regulations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. The report states that the 16 OHADA member states could benefit from sharing good practices in business regulation as measured by Doing Business.

Founded in Mauritius in 1993, OHADA is a system of business laws and implementing institutions adopted by 16 West and Central African nations. OHADA is the French acronym for "Organisation pour l'Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires."

The average ranking of the OHADA member states is 166 out of the 183 economies measured in the global Doing Business 2012 report. Mali, with a global rank of 146, is the easiest place among OHADA member states for an entrepreneur to do business, followed by Burkina Faso (150) and Senegal (154). In the past six years, all 16 OHADA member states made it easier to do business. Across the region, the average cost of starting a business decreased from 338 percent to 110 percent of the average per capita income. The average time required to register property also decreased by 28 percent.

No single economy outperformed the others across the board. But in some of the categories that were measured, the region's economies are comparable to the world's best performers. Senegal, for example, has reduced the time needed to set up a business to only five days through its "one-stop shop" system - the same amount of time as in Canada. After four years of successive reforms, dealing with construction permits in Burkina Faso takes only 98 days - three months faster than the European Union average.

"Competitive economies cannot ignore what their neighbors are doing", said Dorothé Sossa, Permanent Secretary of OHADA. "Pooling, as is the case with OHADA, and sharing reform experiences is an opportunity to improve national and regional competitiveness."

One of OHADA's priorities is to establish a uniform legal framework to govern business activities in the region's economies. This year, the first revision of the body of commercial laws in the region simplified business entry in eight member states and strengthened secured transaction laws in all 16 member states.

"The overhaul of the common business legislation addressed two of the top constraints to enterprise development and investment in Africa: access to finance and the quality of the legal framework," said Pierre Guislain, Director of Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group.

Doing Business in OHADA Member States 2012 was prepared as part of the OHADA Business Law Reform Program of the Investment Climate Advisory Services of the World Bank Group. The program includes support to the OHADA member states and the OHADA Permanent Secretariat in reforming and implementing the common set of laws.

About the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), which together form the World Bank; the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world. For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org, www.miga.org, and www.ifc.org.

About the Doing Business report series

Doing Business analyzes regulations that apply to an economy's businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 183 economies. Previous year's rankings are back-calculated to account for the addition of new indicator(s), data corrections, and methodology changes in existing indicators so as to provide a meaningful comparison with the new rankings. Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, the level of skills, or the strength of financial systems. Its findings have stimulated policy debates in more than 80 economies and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies. For more information about the Doing Business report series, please visit www.doingbusiness.org. Join us on Facebook.

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IBM Expands Social Business Effort With New Services - eWeek

IBM Expands Social Business Effort With New Services
( Page 1 of 2 )

Ahead of its Lotusphere 2012 conference, IBM announced a series of new programs, services and partnerships to continue to push forward the company's social business strategy.

IBM launched its social business play in a big way at Lotusphere 2011, delivering new software and services to lay the foundation for its enterprise customers to take advantage of social networking and media to become truly social businesses. Now, with a Jan. 11 announcement, IBM has introduced a set of new efforts?including consulting opportunities, educational programs and workshops?to expand on its social business initiative.

"The opportunity to transform into a social business can be stunted without a focus on engagement, culture change and policy," said Alistair Rennie, general manager of Social Business at IBM, in a statement. "Social technologies, when combined with the right skills and culture, can truly unlock the potential of people within the organization to collaborate, innovate, make smarter business decisions and ultimately drive their bottom line."

With its Lotus software, IBM has a legacy of social software products and is poised to tap further into the lucrative market for social business software and services. According to Forrester Research, the market opportunity for social business software is expected to grow at a rate of 61 percent through 2016, reaching $6.4 billion, compared with $600 million last year.

Indeed, in June 2011, market research firm IDC ranked IBM No. 1 in worldwide market share for social platform software for 2009 and 2010. Also according to IDC, the worldwide revenue for the social platforms software market was more than $500 million in 2010, representing growth of 31.9 percent. The market opportunity for social platforms is expected to grow by a factor of nearly 2 billion worldwide by 2014, IDC said.

With this latest move, IBM is investing in its clients and business partners to develop the skills, technical support and industry resources that will allow them to effectively adopt social networking capabilities to transform their business operations, the company said. This includes introducing new technical workshops designed to improve skills and consulting offerings to help develop a business culture that fosters open collaboration and sharing among employees, clients and business partners.

The new IBM social business initiatives include:

Strategic consulting from IBM Global Business Services to help organizations better understand their current adoption of social business tools for both internal and external purposes and to help articulate how social business accelerates and alleviates business challenges. Global educational and mentorship programs for clients and business partners on how to become effective community managers, the fastest growing job in social, while increasing employee engagement over top, line-of-business communities on the social software platform. Technical certification programs that help customers and business partners validate and demonstrate their skills through assessment exams and training resources so they can plan for and perform the installation, configuration and day-to-day tasks associated with ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of social software solutions. Social Business Agenda workshops at IBM's Virtual Innovation Center providing immediate access to discussion forums focused on the benefits of becoming a social business, providing clients and business partners with case study examples of successful social businesses, and helping them to develop an agenda for driving social adoption. 

IBM also announced a partnership with The Dachis Group, a large social business consultancy, to help organizations quickly drive adoption success through a social business adoption quick start workshop. The workshop combines IBM services for the implementation of social business solutions for enterprises with additional services from The Dachis Group and focuses on the use of social business technology while fostering cultural skills and engagement, IBM said.

"You can really see a growth of maturity in the marketplace that IBM helped create," said Sandy Carter, vice president of Social Business Evangelism and Sales at IBM, in an interview with eWEEK's sister publication ChannelInsider. Carter was referring to IBM's major push into the space at Lotusphere 2011.

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IBM Expands Social Business Initiative To Help Organizations Develop Skills and Seize New Market Opportunity - Yahoo Finance

ARMONK, N.Y. , Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) is introducing new programs, services and partnerships to help organizations develop and deepen skills to accelerate business opportunities being driven by the rapid adoption of social networking in the enterprise. According to Forrester Research, the market opportunity for social enterprise apps is expected to grow at a rate of 61 percent through 2016, reaching $6.4 billion , compared with $600 million last year.*

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

With today's news, IBM is investing in its clients and business partners to develop the skills, technical support and industry resources that will allow them to effectively adopt social networking capabilities to transform their business operations.

This includes introducing new technical workshops designed to improve skills and consulting offerings to help develop a business culture that fosters open collaboration and sharing among employees, clients, and business partners. Through the use of interactive online courses, live support and one-on-one guidance with IBM Social Business experts, IBM is working with organizations across the globe to educate them on the benefits of applying social networking technology to their organizations, while at the same time helping to assess the barriers of social business for faster adoption.

As the industry leader in social business, among the first to embrace social internally and to develop social computing policy and guidelines, IBM is poised to help organizations exploit the transformation into a social business, helping them to build stronger relationships among their employees, customers and business partners and make better decisions, faster. A successful social business must combine the use of social technologies with a business culture that promotes transparency, trust and information sharing among the workforce. Quite often, organizations need guidance around developing social policy, governance, the skills needed for compliance and connecting social technologies to business processes.

Through the new social business initiatives, IBM is delivering the right set of skills, technical support, development resources, and industry expertise that will allow clients and business partners to expand their social business capabilities effectively and accelerate adoption. This includes:

Strategic consulting from IBM Global Business Services to help organizations better understand their current adoption of social business tools for both internal and external purposes and helps to articulate how social business accelerates and alleviates business challenges. Global educational and mentorship programs for clients and business partners on how to become effective community managers, the fastest growing job in social, while increasing employee engagement over top, line-of-business communities on the social software platform. Technical certification programs that help customers and business partners validate and demonstrate their skills through assessment exams and training resources so that they can plan for and perform the installation, configuration and day-to-day tasks associated with ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of social software solutions. Social Business Agenda workshops on IBM PartnerWorld providing immediate access to discussions forums focused on the benefits of becoming a social business, providing clients and business partners with case study examples of successful social businesses, and helping them to develop an agenda for driving social adoption.

IBM is also announcing a partnership with The Dachis Group, the world's leader in powering the design, development, management, and measurement of Social Business performance, to help organizations quickly drive adoption success through a social business adoption quickstart workshop. The workshop combines IBM services for the implementation of Social Business solutions for enterprises with additional services from The Dachis Group and focuses on the use of social business technology while fostering cultural skills and engagement.

IBM is also collaborating with Group Business System, an IBM Business Partner, to help IBM clients convert IBM Lotus Notes applications into applications accessible on the Web or via mobile devices. The new IBM services offering using Group Business System's Transformer product will help clients retain the value of their significant investments made over the years in the Lotus Notes and Domino platform while enabling them to take full advantage of the latest web technology to support their business.

According to a 2011 AIIM survey, over 50 percent of user organisations now consider becoming a Social Business to be imperative or significant to their business goals. However, many organizations use social technologies only to find them fall flat. This is often the case because of a failure to align their Social Business strategy to their unique, organizational culture. According to the 2011 State of Community Management Report from The Community Roundtable, culture is the hardest thing to change in an organization. According to a survey from the report, 28 percent of respondents said that their organizational culture was either resistant to sharing, controlling, or paranoid.

"The opportunity to transform into a social business can be stunted without a focus on engagement, culture change, and policy," said Alistair Rennie , General Manager, Social Business, IBM. "Social technologies, when combined with the right skills and culture, can truly unlock the potential of people within the organization to collaborate, innovate, make smarter business decisions and ultimately drive their bottom line."

For more information about IBM's social business initiative, please visit http://www.ibm.com/press/socialbusiness or follow #IBMSocialBiz on Twitter.

*"Social Enterprise Apps Redefine Collaboration," Forrester Research, Inc., November 30, 2011 .

Media Contact: Dana Carr
dcarr@us.ibm.com
617-693-5881

View the original article here

IBM Expands Social Business Initiative To Help Organizations Develop Skills and Seize New Market Opportunity

ARMONK, N.Y. , Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) is introducing new programs, services and partnerships to help organizations develop and deepen skills to accelerate business opportunities being driven by the rapid adoption of social networking in the enterprise. According to Forrester Research, the market opportunity for social enterprise apps is expected to grow at a rate of 61 percent through 2016, reaching $6.4 billion , compared with $600 million last year.*

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

With today's news, IBM is investing in its clients and business partners to develop the skills, technical support and industry resources that will allow them to effectively adopt social networking capabilities to transform their business operations.

This includes introducing new technical workshops designed to improve skills and consulting offerings to help develop a business culture that fosters open collaboration and sharing among employees, clients, and business partners. Through the use of interactive online courses, live support and one-on-one guidance with IBM Social Business experts, IBM is working with organizations across the globe to educate them on the benefits of applying social networking technology to their organizations, while at the same time helping to assess the barriers of social business for faster adoption.

As the industry leader in social business, among the first to embrace social internally and to develop social computing policy and guidelines, IBM is poised to help organizations exploit the transformation into a social business, helping them to build stronger relationships among their employees, customers and business partners and make better decisions, faster. A successful social business must combine the use of social technologies with a business culture that promotes transparency, trust and information sharing among the workforce. Quite often, organizations need guidance around developing social policy, governance, the skills needed for compliance and connecting social technologies to business processes.

Through the new social business initiatives, IBM is delivering the right set of skills, technical support, development resources, and industry expertise that will allow clients and business partners to expand their social business capabilities effectively and accelerate adoption. This includes:

Strategic consulting from IBM Global Business Services to help organizations better understand their current adoption of social business tools for both internal and external purposes and helps to articulate how social business accelerates and alleviates business challenges. Global educational and mentorship programs for clients and business partners on how to become effective community managers, the fastest growing job in social, while increasing employee engagement over top, line-of-business communities on the social software platform. Technical certification programs that help customers and business partners validate and demonstrate their skills through assessment exams and training resources so that they can plan for and perform the installation, configuration and day-to-day tasks associated with ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of social software solutions. Social Business Agenda workshops on IBM PartnerWorld providing immediate access to discussions forums focused on the benefits of becoming a social business, providing clients and business partners with case study examples of successful social businesses, and helping them to develop an agenda for driving social adoption.

IBM is also announcing a partnership with The Dachis Group, the world's leader in powering the design, development, management, and measurement of Social Business performance, to help organizations quickly drive adoption success through a social business adoption quickstart workshop. The workshop combines IBM services for the implementation of Social Business solutions for enterprises with additional services from The Dachis Group and focuses on the use of social business technology while fostering cultural skills and engagement.

IBM is also collaborating with Group Business System, an IBM Business Partner, to help IBM clients convert IBM Lotus Notes applications into applications accessible on the Web or via mobile devices. The new IBM services offering using Group Business System's Transformer product will help clients retain the value of their significant investments made over the years in the Lotus Notes and Domino platform while enabling them to take full advantage of the latest web technology to support their business.

According to a 2011 AIIM survey, over 50 percent of user organisations now consider becoming a Social Business to be imperative or significant to their business goals. However, many organizations use social technologies only to find them fall flat. This is often the case because of a failure to align their Social Business strategy to their unique, organizational culture. According to the 2011 State of Community Management Report from The Community Roundtable, culture is the hardest thing to change in an organization. According to a survey from the report, 28 percent of respondents said that their organizational culture was either resistant to sharing, controlling, or paranoid.

"The opportunity to transform into a social business can be stunted without a focus on engagement, culture change, and policy," said Alistair Rennie , General Manager, Social Business, IBM. "Social technologies, when combined with the right skills and culture, can truly unlock the potential of people within the organization to collaborate, innovate, make smarter business decisions and ultimately drive their bottom line."

For more information about IBM's social business initiative, please visit http://www.ibm.com/press/socialbusiness or follow #IBMSocialBiz on Twitter.

*"Social Enterprise Apps Redefine Collaboration," Forrester Research, Inc., November 30, 2011 .

Media Contact: Dana Carr
dcarr@us.ibm.com
617-693-5881

View the original article here