Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
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Sunday, September 28th, 2008What is SaaS (Software as a Service) ?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGUPSvswmY0
SaaS was born a while ago in early 2000, when a venture fund started funding startups in an area called ‘ASP ‘ (not Microsoft’s cheap answer to php – asp), but Application Service Provider. Unfortunately, the ASP industry did not get accepted widely and slowly it fizzled away. The last few months have seen a re-emergence of this in a new avatar – SaaS – Software as a Service . All sorts of names are being thrown around for the same thing. Yes, it is an old wine in new bottle but that is what we like sometimes.
Today, there are N names for SaaS that you might have heard thrown around as buzzwords at conferences, seminars, corporate meetings, IT discussions, so on and so forth. Some of them are as follows:
- Software as a Service
- SaaS Software
- Hosted AM
- SaaS on demand
- Software on tap
- On demand computing
- Hosted Application Management
- Software distribution model
- Service provider
- Software as a Product
Basically, there have been some changes and advancements in the technology arena that has made SaaS Model happening and reverse of which were the reasons why ASP became passe. To name a few:
- Whole world being inter-connected at all times
- Broadband internet access globally
- Web services
- Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Benefits to vendors / suppliers of software:
- Single copy management
- Easier delivery
- Sell worldwide
- Patches, Updates and Service Packs are not required
Advantages to users / customers
- Lower IT costs
- Easy to use
- No information technology related hassles
- Anywhere access
- Work from home (distributed work environment, no commute becomes reality)
Some of the leading SaaS providers today are as follows:
- Easy SOHO Solutions (Creators of EasyStoreHosting , EasyHelpDeskHosting and more)
- ZOHO
- Remember the Milk
- 37 Signals
- Google Docs
- Saas Technologies Ltd
- Blist
Small Business Ideas
Monday, September 22nd, 2008Top Business Ideas you need to know to succeed online
Internet is booming right now. According to a private study, there are more than a billion people online at a given time. Since Internet never sleeps, it has become a viable business opportunity for small businesses and corporations alike. During the year of 2008, a combined amount of $40 billion was spent and as time passes, it is becoming a well-structured, economy boosting phenomenon.
Small businesses are booming on Internet right now. People have made millions of dollars online selling all kind of products. In fact, more and more people in U.S, U.K, Australia and India are going online to buy all type of products ranging from, needles to cars.
The Web is becoming deeply collaborative, allowing people to work simultaneously on the same tasks at the same time (example is project collaboration application such as BaseCamp). Many of the new success stories are riding on the powers of social networking (think the very popular MySpace.com); while others rely on user-driven content to create useful resources (great example is Wikipedia). The New Web has turned instant messaging into a crude application with the more powerful instant-voice-messaging and instant-video-messaging applications (Skype is a perfect example). It also allows for getting content here and there and mixing-and-matching them into unique content (Technorati puts together blogs and feeds in one easy to search site).
Experts are all abuzz in defining this next stage of the Internet, calling it anywhere from Web 2.0 to Live Web to Next Net. Whatever name this new Web is called, it is important for small online entrepreneurs to catch on and learn how to spot opportunities with the changes. The new Web is full of new business models, and what Business 2.0 magazine calls, “oceans of new opportunity”. All it takes is the ability to see a new way of using the Net to enhance every day living.
Consider the following online business ideas and put on your thinking cap. You might never know which service business ideas would click and make bunch of money for you:
Indian Real Estate Property Portal | Makaan.com
Sunday, September 7th, 2008
Makaan.com is an online real-estate portal, committed to helping users make wise and profitable decisions related to buying, selling, renting and leasing of properties, in India.
How comprehensive is your site when compared to other Real Estate Property Sites of India as shown below?
- www.realestateonline.in/
- www.99Acres.com
- www.realestateindia.com/
- www.propertywala.com/
- www.ibef.org/industry/realestate.aspx
- www.indiaproperties.com/
- www.indiahousing.com/
- www.indiaproperty.com/
- www.indianground.com/
Makaan.com provides users with a superior experience by making the entire process of finding properties easier, faster, secure and more accurate. For buyers, Makaan.com offers a large number of property options, while for the sellers; it provides better reach than ever before, ensuring an advanced user experience for both types of audiences.
Makaan.com has recently introduced an Advisory Services for its users. The service includes real estate trend reports christened “MakaanIQ” aimed to be the real estate guide in India. Starting with Delhi/NCR, MakaanIQ will be a series of comprehensive property trend reports. A regular feature, the report would highlight all the major trends on the real estate activities in major Indian cities.
What makes your site special or apart (how different) from other sites already existing?
Makaan.com’s USP is our consumer focus. All our products and services are made keeping consumer needs in mind. Sounds clichéd but we actually practice it.
To start with, an important differentiator is the name “Makaan.com”. Makaan is the most commonly used word among Indian real-estate fraternity (property seekers and property sellers). The name Makaan has a very high recall and is referred by most Indians for a Dream House.
We believe that the needs and concerns of Individuals, Brokers, and Builders are different and provide them a common platform for realizing maximum benefits from real-estate. Our product offerings for the three consumers are different. Please check http://www.makaan.com/property/advertising-solutions.php for more details.
Makaan.com gives customers complete control through easy to use interfaces & web 2.0 features that can help them identify, filter and contact potential buyers and sellers for properties in the shortest possible time. We have launched several innovative products like:
- Property rating system http://www.makaan.com/makaanrating : First of its kind in the Indian online real estate industry, this unique feature allows property seekers to rate the properties on the basis of usefulness of the listings. This system, apart from helping users select most accurate property listings in the shortest possible time, also discourages advertisers to display incorrect information. Property seekers are immensely benefiting from the Makaan Rating System. A regular property search normally results into hundreds of matching properties and seekers may not have the time to go through all of them. This is where Makaan Rating helps; it puts them in touch with advertisers who have displayed correct information, which is determined by the higher number of stars on the listings. As a result, the chances of property seekers interacting with sellers displaying correct information increases dramatically, which is a step in the right direction for the entire online realty marketplace
- Makaan Mobile application http://www.makaan.com/mobile : Makaan mobile application is India’s 1st pure SMS-based Real Estate Mobile Application. Makaan Mobile provides an attractive alternative to property sellers who currently need to log on to the Internet either to list their property or to view responses from interested buyers. Harnessing the power of SMS, the Makaan Mobile application is compatible with almost all GSM models, and will cater to a subscriber base close to 200 million in India alone, which is almost 4 times the size of the Internet consumer base. With this application, Makaan.com becomes the first online property site to have launched a pure SMS based product. The website aims at making property buying and selling effortless and non-technical for the user. Ease of use, and mobile convenience are the cornerstones of success for Makaan Mobile.
- Click Pay Banner http://www.makaan.com/clickpay : This unique creative allows the property seller to list multiple properties at one go. This creative can be targeted to a particular city / locality where the property is located. The seller is charged only when the property seeker clicks on the advertisement making it a complete ROI driven product. Currently no other online real estate company in India offers this product.
- Smart Broker Banner http://www.makaan.com/smartbroker : This unique banner allows the property agent to brand himself or his company among property seekers. This banner can be targeted to a particular city / locality where the agent is operating. The agent can advertise by putting his photograph or the logo of his company in the banner. This is an important branding tool to establish identity; which is so very essential in the broking business.
How much does it cost to Post a Listing on Makaan.com?
Posting a listing on Makaan.com is similar to placing a classified ad in a newspaper. Like newspapers, Individuals, Agents and Builders purchase these listings. Property agents & builders typically buy multiple listing packs, and the rates vary depending on how many listings have been bought. We have two types of listings i.e., basic listing & fast response listing. The fast response is richer in feature and gets approximately 7 times more responses compared to basic listings. Please check http://www.makaan.com/property/choose-listing.php for details. For individuals the basic listing is priced at Rs.250 per listing and the fast response listing is priced at Rs.900 per listing. For agents and builders we have special packs, check http://www.makaan.com/listing for detailed costing.
The property seekers can give their property requirements to us, or set alerts on the search string that matches their requirements. Makaan.com sends weekly updates through E-mail and SMS to the seekers so that they are made aware of the new properties made live on the site matching their requirements. For property sellers, Makaan.com is a convenient real estate advertising option, as they get instant updates when buyers want to contact them either through SMS or E-mail, which is a free service. The advertisers can also choose from a variety of advertising options, which can be purchased online or through the extensive sales structure of Makaan.com.
Aditya Verma
Business Head Makaan.com
Get Best Coupons – Best Deals and Discounts
Friday, August 22nd, 2008Everything you need to know about Coupons
Most people who love shopping (and includes almost all of us!) would love to save an extra buck here and there. While bargain deals and discount schemes maybe great to an extent they may not always be where the best prices lie. The best way to grab a good deal is by opting for Discount Coupons. Coupons can be availed for almost all the major stores and save you lots of money in the process.
What are Coupons?
A coupon is something that carries a certain value on it and which can be redeemed at a particular store. When you buy something from this store you can show the savings coupon to get a good discount on whatever you have bought. The value of the discount and the type of coupon will depend on which kind of discount scheme you are opting for. There are many kinds of coupons available ranging from paper coupons, to rebates, printable coupons, online coupons, online gift certificates, cash off on the total buy, free shipping, percentage rebate on total purchase, grocery coupons and rewards points. Sometimes, you may receive a promotional code for a product which is a way for you to get a discount on the product. Once you enter this code into your purchase product you get a rebate on the price quoted.
How do you find Coupons?
You can get access to coupons either online or offline. When seeking Internet coupons and rebates you need to start purchasing items online. Once you become a regular online shopper you will automatically start receiving offers on discount schemes and coupons. In fact, sites such as http://www.getbestcoupons.com/ offer you variety of coupons where you can select based on your city, seasonal coupons and even popular coupons! If you are more interested in the paper coupons then you can check around in some of the magazines and newspapers. Usually the Sunday edition of the newspaper is the best place to get hold of your paper coupons.
How to extract the best deals from your Coupons?
Once you get hold of either online or paper coupons or rebates it is essential to know how to extract the best discount or bargain deal out of them. For this,
- You need to ensure that you utilize your coupons for all of your shopping items.
- You should also check before you purchase something if you can use your coupon on it to get a rebate or discount.
- You must also make it a habit to read the fine print mentioned on your coupons. This will enable you to get a fair idea on what are the terms and conditions applicable in order to claim a discount.
Many shoppers also make the mistake of redeeming on the very first coupon they can get their hands on. It is a huge blunder. Instead you need to do a bit of research and get hold of more coupons before you start using them. You may end up getting a better deal once you start collecting more coupons. Make sure to collect more coupons and use all of them to get the best savings for yourself.
Freelancing Job Sites
Thursday, August 14th, 2008The biggest challenge for a freelancer is finding work. Even the most successful and talented of the freelancers can stand to experience a lean month. Therefore, it always makes sense to have sources of potential work. The freelancing job sites can provide it as much as possible. They are known as freelancing, contracting or consulting sites. Each site is characterized by specific resources.
Freelancing and contracting sites – Here the individual or the company, usually referred as the ‘client’ seeks to hire a contractor in lieu of fees for the matching service. The payment for the matching service, known as the ‘commission’ is paid by the ‘consultant’. Sometimes the matching services might be free while the associated services might be charged. The sites are actually supported by the fees paid by either the employer or the freelancer. So the legal notices of the website must be carefully saved and site’s privacy policies and the relevant documents referring to their responsibilities must be cautiously checked.
Temping – These are Web versions of ‘real’ employment agencies with generation old familiar names. The workers are temporarily hired and their services sold to the employer. The ‘temporary’ worker receives his paycheck from the respective agency. A temporary worker may graduate into a permanent one according to terms and conditions and with a payment of an additional fee. These sites provide the employer and the employee the option of ‘try before you buy’.
Networking and support – These sites help the freelancers to avoid probable and prospective pitfalls in the field. They also aid in establishing networking connections which will help one to succeed. Their information and services are for sale
Dropshipper Companies Faq
Saturday, August 9th, 20081. As a retailer, if I put a dropship wholesaler’s item on my site, and it sits there for a few months until it sells, how do I know that the wholesaler will still have it in stock? Couldn’t I potentially be stuck with a sale on my ecommerce site, while the dropshipper doesn’t have the product?
Yes, you should check with your wholesaler often for current inventory levels and update your site accordingly. Some may have a mechanism of downloading the current inventory levels info, which you could use to update your website automatically.
2. When people purchase a dropshipped item from the website.
a) Do they use the following traditional flow?
Shopping cart => check out => pay credit
OR
Shopping cart (my website) => DropShipper’s Website => Check out => pay credit
You can take the payments on your website and then you have to either enter the order on the dropshipper’s site or have your software setup to send the order electronically.
Either way, you process the payments yourself and then pay the dropshipper.
Dropshipping Business
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008Who is a DropShipper ?
DropShipper is one who stocks and ships products on your behalf to your customers and manages products related customer service.
A low-cost and easy way to setup your online business is to start off with a pre-populated online store where shipping and products related customer service is handled by the drop shipper. No hassles for you.
Step 1: Purchase drop shipping stores such as www.bandegifts.com (custom screen savers) or www.enginepartsrus.com (car and auto parts) or www.hsshopping.com (DVD, Watches & Jewelery, Shoes, Clothing, Luxury Bag, Health & Beauty, Toys & Hobbies, Home & Garden).
Step 2: Market and promote your internet store through search engine optimisation (seo), e-mail marketing, off-line marketing.
Step 3: Receive orders and place orders with drop shipper.
Step 4: Drop shipper ships and customers receives the products.
Step 5: You earn upto 50% commissions on each sale.
If you are interested in starting a drop ship online shop of your own, contact us at sales@easystorehosting.com, +1-201-984-7465, +91-11-40533711, 42143982.
The Indian Companies in Fortune 500
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008The Fortune 500, the Global list of the Companies with the highest turnover is out. Walmart (378 Billion USD) followed by Exxon Mobil(372 Billion USD) and Royal Dutch Shell (355 Billion USD) topped the list this year (2007-08).
Where do the Indian companies figure ?, the high growth of the GDP combined by the M&A activity of many Indian companies means that India has started adding more and more companies into the Top 500. We currently have 7 of them and many more like Hindalco, ADAG, Airtel etc waiting in the wings to join the big League.
The 7 Indian Fortune 500 Companies are :-
| Name | Rank | Turn Over(Billion USD) |
| Indian Oil Corp | 116 | 57.5 |
| Reliance Industries | 206 | 36 |
| Bharat Petroleum | 287 | 27.8 |
| Hindustan Petroleum | 290 | 27.7 |
| Tata Steel | 315 | 25.7 |
| Oil & Natural Gas Corp | 335 | 24 |
| State Bank of India | 380 | 22.4 |
Other Facts
- The United States heads the list of Total number of Companies in the 500 with 153 companies. Japan comes second with 64 companies. China has 29 companies in the list.
- Tokyo has the largest number of Fortune 500 companies (47) followed by Paris (25) and London(22). Our Mumbai is in 11th Place with 5 companies. ( IOC has its head quarters in New Delhi and ONGC in Dehradun )
- Arcelor Mittal Owned by Lakshmi Mittal is in 39th position with 105.2 Billion USD.
- Tata Steel is the new Indian entry compared to last years list. Its Acquisition of Corus has put it in the big league. It’s the fastest growing fortune 500 company with a revenue increase of 353% in 2007-08.
- The most profitable company in the world is Exxon Mobil(40.6 Billion USD) followed by Royal Dutch Shell(31.3 Billion USD) and General Electric(22.2 Billion USD).
- The most profitable Indian Company is ONGC (4.9 Billion USD) just ahead of Reliance Industries(4.8 Billion USD).
- Saudi Arabia’s petroleum giant Aramco is not present in Fortune 500 as its not a publicly listed company. If listed it may turn out to be the Largest and most profitable company in the world.
SEO Freelancer
Friday, July 11th, 2008SEO or Search Engine Optimization is extremely important these days not just to attract the attention of search engine spiders and get ranked higher but also to ensure more traffic and sales. I have been in the SEO industry for many years now and believe I have what it takes to provide individual attention, customized SEO projects that truly provide value for money. In this article I talk about some of the most common SEO mistakes most people make.
Using untargeted keywords
Many websites make the mistake of using irrelevant keywords simply because the rest of the world is using them! This is a big mistake. You need to look at keywords that will enhance and position your website and domain better. It is always best to invest sufficient time in performing keyword research so you know which popular keywords will work best for your brand and image online.
Not optimizing Title Tag
The Title Tag is probably one of the very first things any search engine spider is going to see. Hence it makes perfect sense to optimize this vital part of your website. Make sure to use strategic keywords here as the text in your Title tag will also get displayed on search engine results.
Not HTMLizing your Flash pages
You may love Flash on your website but alarmingly search engines don’t! Spiders are meant to skim through text and if you have only Flash on your site you miss out on featuring on search engines! So what’s the alternative so you don’t have to do away with Flash? Provide an HTML version for every page that has Flash. This way you get indexed and hold on to your favorite Flash pages too!
Not providing a sitemap
If your site has a lot of JavaScript menus which all of us love, then you must be aware that spiders do not recognize them! So the best course of action to get indexed and still have your JavaScript menus intact is to have a comprehensive site map inclusive of these script links.
Thinking that SEO is static
Many websites seem to believe that once they have invested in an SEO assignment the job is done for good! Contrary to that, SEO is highly dynamic, in fact one of the most dynamic aspects of the web. Search engines constantly change their algorithms and search mechanisms. So, if you want to be indexed high and stay on top of results you need to keep an eye out for changes in SEO trends.
Link farm backlinking
This one’s a strict no-no. While backlink density is critical to ensuring your website remains high on page rankings you cannot and should not get your back links from link farms or forums etc. This will mark your site as being banned from search engines. Ethical measures are necessary to ensure quality, relevant backlinks to your site.
Contact me today to see how I can transform your website to infuse it with high visibility and good quality traffic online!
Webuns – An Online Internet Marketing Marketplace for Freelancers
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
Online marketplaces have been a great resource for professionals and employers alike. It has been observed that marketplaces like elance.com and guru.com are frequented by 1/3 of the professionals looking for outsourced projects online. Outsourcing is financially the most feasible way to get a job done without spending thousands of dollars.
There are many online marketplaces on the web. Apart from elance.com, guru.com, rentacoder.com and freelancer.com, there are literally hundreds of online marketplaces which get the piece of a million dollar pie.
But since then there was not a single marketplace that serves a specific niche. Webuns.com has introduced a unique marketplace that serves only the internet marketing community. Launching on 20th of July, webuns.com will be an internet marketing marketplace where employers can hire marketing professionals for the online and offline businesses.
Webuns.com offers a unique platform for marketing professionals who want to get a word out in the market about their new or established businesses. As with every aspect of an online business, marketing is the single most important thing that really earns you money online. If you don’t have traffic, you don’t have a voice. If you are planning to monetize your online business, you better get ready to spend some hefty amount and lots of time and resources to manage the marketing campaign for your online business.
Webuns.com has provided a unique solution to overcome the problem of marketing your website or a brick and mortar business. You can hire seasoned professionals who can effectively market your business to the masses while charging a feasible amount of money.
The benefit of a marketing marketplace is numerous, but here are some of the points to consider:
- Seasoned marketing professionals for hire
- Escrow payments that secures you as an employer
- Easy to manage and a user-friendly interface
- Free to use. At the beginning there are no charges to use your account on webuns.com
- Effectively market your website without spending countless hours in front of the computer
- No need to buy expensive marketing courses
- No inventory needed.
- Internet marketers has video and audio options to impress the employers
- Easy to understand the while process
- You don’t need to understand internet marketing. You can hire a professional and see the traffic on your site.
- Only seasoned professionals with credible experience and case studies can enter Webuns.com marketplace.
There are 11 good reasons to visit and start searching for an internet marketer.
On 20th of July, you will be invited to join webuns.com for free!
