Category: Analytics

Top 4 Small Business Technology Trends in 2024

Whether you’re a fast-growing start-up or a medium enterprise ready to IPO, technology represents a major opportunity for small business owners to close the gap with large corporations. As old tools become obsolete and new tools crowd the marketplace, identifying the right tech solution can be the difference between a successful expansion and a failed […]
Top Takeaways from Workday’s 2024 Innovation Summit

Top Takeaways from Workday’s 2024 Innovation Summit

Workday’s annual Innovation Summit promises to provide IT industry analysts with insights into the vendor’s achievements, current initiatives, and future directions. This year’s Summit, held again at one of my favorite spots—Cavallo Point in Sausalito—lived up to its billing. During a day and a half of sessions, Workday executives discussed why and how Workday is […]
Top Takeaways: Acumatica Summit 2024

Top Takeaways: Acumatica Summit 2024

Acumatica Summit 2024, held in Las Vegas at the end of January, focused on Acumatica’s growth in technology, community, and strategy. CEO John Case opened the event, emphasizing the company’s commitment to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The Summit covered topics including customer expansion and community, partnerships, and introduced a Professional Services Edition, offering insights […]
AI For SMBs: Interest, Exploration and Considerations

AI For SMBs: Interest, Exploration and Considerations

By SMB Group’s Kelly Teal, Contributing Analyst, and Laurie McCabe, Co-founder If you’ve watched “Mrs. Davis” or joked that the world feels a little Skynet-esque, you aren’t alone in wondering about the real-life implications and repercussions of artificial intelligence. The sudden surge of AI tools in 2023 has generated (pun intended) a lot of buzz […]
HubSpot’s AI Vision: Transforming Customer Connections

HubSpot’s AI Vision: Transforming Customer Connections

HubSpot’s Inbound 2023 conference was held last week in Boston. Like seemingly every other tech event this year, the theme of Inbound was AI — specifically, how businesses can use AI to better connect to and engage with their customers. In this blog, I delve into HubSpot’s AI strategy and offerings, as discussed in the […]
Zoho Expands Its Ambitions On Multiple Fronts

Zoho Expands Its Ambitions On Multiple Fronts

After a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Zoho’s Zoholics event was back in Austin, TX the first week of May, featuring an analyst track that I attended. The dominant takeaway is that Zoho, which already sells more than 60 business applications in 160-plus countries, is expanding on multiple fronts. The company is doubling down in […]
Zoho’s Finance Platform: Is it Right for Your Business?

Zoho’s Finance Platform: Is it Right for Your Business?

Below is a lightly edited transcript of my November 23, 2022 video interview with Siva Iswaran, Global Head of Zoho Finance and Operations Suite. LAURIE: Today we’re going to be talking about Zoho, and specifically, its Zoho Finance Plus platform. I’m excited to have Siva Iswaran joining me today. Siva is the global head of […]
SAP Anywhere – Enabling SMBs to market, sell and commerce with an integrated front office solution

SAP Anywhere – Enabling SMBs to market, sell and commerce with an integrated front office solution

The retail sector has a well-earned reputation as one of the most challenging industries for participants to navigate successfully. Retailers – be they traditional brick and mortar companies, online sellers or, often, a combination of the two – must manage complex supplier relationships and inventories while also catering to the sometimes mercurial wants and needs of their end customers. For re...

SMB Spotlight: IBM’s Midmarket GM On New Partner Strategy and Programs for SMB and Midmarket Companies (Part 2)

Sanjeev: Hi, this Sanjeev Aggarwal from the SMB Group, and in today’s SMB Spotlight I’m speaking with John Mason, who is IBM’s General Manager for Midmarket. Hi John. Thanks for joining me in this two-part discussion about new IBM developments and solutions that are relevant for the