Landing page of a website should be eye catching. An ideal Landing page must have a specific goal, and should be designed to meet that goal as effectively as possible. The page should be optimized for mobile viewing. If the content doesn’t fit on a mobile phone screen, then you might lose out are valuable opportunities. Louis Foong (founder and CEO of the ALEA Group Inc.), writes in his article about some ways to improve landing page conversions. They are - Have a clear call to action, less text is more, keep the page clean, pick the right images, bullet points work, use contrasting colors, create a sense of urgency, and remove distractions and navigation. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/infographics/8-ways-improve-landing-page-optimization-infographic-01384123#OE2dqdfypFwMlYwC.97

Collaboration can take many forms and the same can be said about UC and the degree to which it makes collaboration easier.  Jon Arnold (Principal of J Arnold & Associates), writes in his article about the reasons that can make collaboration easier. They are - More ways to stay in touch, Video helps to overcome distance, Employees are more tech-savvy. Read more at - http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/more-reasons-why-collaboration-should-be-easier-with-uc-70517

In today’s organization, one can customize and optimize enterprise applications by utilizing private cloud technologies. One can also host and manage technology providers which help customer applications, without forcing them to take on the complexity of deploying the application in-house which leads to simple and fast implementation of the applications that they need. To know more about the benefits of private cloud technologies at- http://www.business2community.com/cloud-computing/private-cloud-enables-a-simpler-life-for-enterprise-applications-01379733#CpYII7dUMJD1066J.97

In today’s business world, marketing organization needs to be agile. This means that the CMO also needs a vastly broader skill set. In addition to sound marketing skills, team management, deep knowledge, market research, strategic planning, branding, and creativity — today’s digital marketing CMO needs skills in - Agile development,  Big data, Programmatic buying, Branded content, Marketing analytics, Innovation, Agency management. To know more, follow - http://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/7-skills-a-cmo-needs-in-the-digital-marketing-era-01384263#qgZZemBuKemTEUsm.97

Security is important for any business. In a research, it was found that 75% of businesses plan to invest more into improving their IT systems security in 2016. Matthew Warren (valued contributor to Business 2 Community), writes about some ways that your organization can improve their business IT security. They are - Better firewall and firewall setup, Managed Antivirus, Managed Patching, and User education. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/4-ways-your-company-can-improve-business-it-security-01378569#5MEc78gJEJfKVRJ9.97

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has completely revolutionized the way that employees are conducting business and can save organizations money. It was found that a BYOD campaign can save an organization up to $1,300 per user per year. It is providing flexibility to employees by allowing them to work on a device that they’re familiar with in order to make them more productive. But, organizations should think about the data security.  Remote Wipe is a BYOD service element that should be implemented for every worst-case scenario involving your employee’s device. David Spire (a valued contributor to Business 2 Community), writes in his article about three BYOD scenarios that require Remote Wipe. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/tech-gadgets/three-byod-scenarios-that-require-remote-wipe-01381297#Bky7jIHg3LAGRS1M.97

ERP software and databases are not always geared toward presenting management-level views of operations. That’s where the customer relationship management system comes in. One issue companies may face is the quality of CRM data. Author David Gillman (Analyst with Studio B), is assuming that the CRM system hold the detailed sales records along with the history of customer contact. Based on that he writes in his article about some ways in which CRM-based analytics can improve distributor operations. They are - Management-Level Dashboards, Predictive Order Analytics, Trend Analysis, and Marketing Improvement. Read more at - http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/4-ways-crm-analytics-makes-distribution-more-effective-70451

A business can have numerous customers. Any organization needs to segment their customers. While segmenting the customer list can be done by ranking customers by order size. The analytical tools in the CRM package let you go far beyond a simple ranking. You can get a 360 degree view of your customers. You can increase business with these high-value customers by meeting their needs more effectively. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/your-best-customers-your-worst-customers-and-crm-70477

David Gillman (Analyst with Studio B), writes in his article, about five cost points most SMBs evaluate when looking at CRM systems and also companies need their own numbers in the return-on-investment equations. They are – Lost Sales, More Accounts per Salesperson, Reduction in Marketing Time, and Faster and More Accurate Reporting and Forecasting, and Reduced Salesperson On-Boarding Time. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-cost-justifications-for-crm-in-small-and-mediumsized-businesses-70452

Many companies are moving to the cloud for the technological benefits of scalability and elasticity, while others are deciding that the cloud is the best option because its costs outweigh maintaining an on-premises data center. Companies who are moving their IT infrastructure to the cloud should carefully consider the cost–benefit ratio before making the decision. They should categorize the information collected according to the expense categories. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/the-costbenefit-analysis-for-moving-crm-to-the-cloud-70454

Businesses are becoming more dependent on cloud customer relationship management systems to provide timely reporting and even predictive analytics to inform future strategy. It becomes important to ensure that the data in these systems are protected against theft or loss.  Rose de Fremery (the founder of lowercase d consulting) writes in this article about some ways in which businesses can take measures to secure their CRM environments. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/4-ways-to-protect-your-crm-data-70455

Nowadays, analytics are helping to get sales insights beyond the traditional pipeline and daily call reports. With these insights, organizations are gaining visibility and organizations can improve their sales process, and also getting a data-driven check on their pipeline. Micheline Nijmeh (the CMO for LiveHive, Inc.), writes in her article about the key areas where analytics are providing new sales insights include – Messaging, Pricing, Team performance, and Hiring. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/salesforce/4-ways-analytics-provide-new-sales-insights-01378360#I8qSZ8lAuCXZU8ic.97

Companies are finding that online fraud includes a phone call by the fraudster. Fraudsters call the bank or card issuer to check the available credit on stolen cards before making fraudulent purchases online. Banks are building a database of known fraudster voice prints in the call center with a new generation of voice biometrics. Passive voice biometrics can collect and examine a caller’s voice print in the background of a normal call. Banks can now detect fraudsters by voice, e.g.  They can detect calls like available credit inquiry by screening live calls against the fraudster database. When a known fraudster’s voice is detected, banks can flag the customer account as possibly compromised. Read more at: http://www.paymentssource.com/news/paythink/biometrics-in-the-call-center-can-combat-digital-fraud-3022703-1.html

Nowadays, the workplace has shifted from being telecom-centric to screen-centric, and with that comes the growing role of web-based applications. Web-based applications take us closer to the world of unified communications, where collaboration is redefined. There are two basic types. They are - Web application – VoIP service and Web application – click-to-call. Read more at:  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/how-web-applications-add-value-to-voip-70416

Earlier, advanced inventory management functionality, such as barcode scanning, mobile computing and RFID were available only to large enterprises. Now, new technologies such as qr codes, mobile technology, smart phones, NFC are available to small businesses also. It is found that Inventory Management and Asset Tracking Software Trends are moving software online, creating mobile applications to manage assets and inventory, using qr codes for labeling assets and inventory, using smartphones for scanning, replacing mobile computers with smartphones, and using NFC technology to speed up inventory and asset processing. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/enhancing-km/inventory-management-and-asset-tracking-software-types-trends-70423

ERP solution takes care of most of back office needs, but organizations still need specialized software within infrastructure for sales, marketing and other departments. Some ERP solutions offer a complete all-in-one solution and include tools like CRM and marketing automation. Integrating ERP with marketing automation and CRM tools is one way to centralize your data and streamline business operations. Another major benefit of integration is improving your customer experience. There are drawbacks of integration. One major barrier to integration is getting a legacy ERP solution to work properly with marketing automation and CRM tools. Read more benefits and drawbacks of integrating marketing automation and CRM with ERP at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/should-you-integrate-your-marketing-automation-and-crm-tools-into-your-erp-solution-70406

CRM tools are important. According to a report, this is a $23.3 billion market and is continually adapting today's sales and marketing needs. CRM companies are now focusing on four major areas as we move into 2016. They are - SaaS adoption, mobile CRM, the impact of IoT and wearable tech, and real-time data. Read more about the trends of CRM tools at - http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/whats-upcoming-for-crm-tools-in-2016-70405

It is known that ERP centralizes data assets and improve data governance. But, as companies are shifting their focus towards big-data initiatives, they are using ERP as a basis for business intelligence (BI) operations. Nowadays, Analytics is a standard feature in ERP, and using built-in tools and easy-to-integrate add-ons help organizations to make an immediate shift towards real-time measurement, increased oversight and predictive analytics. According to Tom Davenport of Harvard Business School, the three primary benefits of analytics include: cost reduction, faster decision making, and improved product development. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/erp-and-business-intelligence-or-how-your-life-will-change-forever-70407

The CRM system is central to a company's business. Anything can happen from a malicious attack to hardware failure. So, we need to back up the data. We all know that there are different kinds of backup systems and some of them take days to restore that critical data. So, a company needs a backup strategy. Your backup strategy has to reflect the needs of your business for continuity on critical systems like CRM. While planning for effective backups, organizations must take into consideration the two most important things. They are Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). RTO is how fast you need to be up and running and Recovery Time Objective is when you need to recover. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/backing-up-your-crm-70403

Marketing is always evolving. This year we dealt with Big Data, we understood the term empowered consumer, and embraced the idea of cross-channel marketing. While these will continue, marketers also want to know what next year will bring.  Larisa Bedgood (Director of Marketing for DataMentor), writes in her article about the 5 trends that we see making a big impact in 2016. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/marketing/top-5-marketing-trends-will-rule-2016-01375322#tSFR5pvWDXMkbL2v.97