Torii CEO reflects on the changing relationships between SaaS users and IT teams

Businesses continue to embrace cloud computing, which has altered enterprise IT as we know it. The benefits for businesses are obvious. Companies can now use powerful solutions at more accessible rates and without the lengthy deployment times of conventional enterprise software. Four out of five enterprises have already moved at least a quarter of their […]

Box CIO Paul Chapman

Box CIO Paul Chapman opens up about the evolution of IT, working with line of business execs and more

By all means, you can try cold-calling Box CIO Paul Chapman or sending him a hopeful e-mail. You can invite him to your event, webinar or roundtable. You could reach out on social media or other channels and see if he’ll download your white paper. None of these standard marketing tactics, however, will work as […]

B2B SaaS VCs

B2B SaaS VCs identify the traits that define successful startups at Collision 2019

The variety of startups attending and exhibiting at Collision 2019 in Toronto this week might be dizzying for marketing, IT professionals and other potential buyers, but top venture capitalists said the B2B vendors with staying power will be vertically focused and architect their products in a very specific way. A panel discussion at the event’s […]

Pendo acquires Receptive

Pendo buys Receptive.io to further help SaaS product teams determine their next big feature update

A firm called Pendo that helps companies determine which product features to deploy and assess how well they’re being adopted will announce its acquisition of Receptive.io on Tuesday, adding more qualitative capabilities for its customers. Based in Raleigh, N.C., Pendo was founded in 2013 and has approximately 340 employees and more than 1,000 customers, including […]

DiscoverOrg buys ZoomInfo

DiscoverOrg president discusses ZoomInfo acquisition and the quest to corner the B2B contacts market

B2B contact and lead generation provider DiscoverOrg on Monday said it would acquire its competitor ZoomInfo and create a combined platform serving marketing and sales professionals over the next year. Financial terms of the deal between DiscoverOrg, which is based in Vancouver, Wash. and Waltham, Mass.-based ZoomInfo were not disclosed. The two firms said ZoomInfo […]

NewtonX B2B influencers

NewtonX offers AI-based service to source B2B influencers faster and better than expert networks

A pair of former management consultants have created a company and service, NewtonX, that aims to address a problem they experienced first-hand: finding qualified B2B influencers to participate in market research projects. Based in New York, NewtonX was launched quietly in 2016 but is beginning to market itself more aggressively following a $3 million round […]

Hitachi Vantara Avant Rakuten Kobo

Hitachi Vantara, Rakuten Kobo and Avant dispense some wisdom on surviving disruption

When technological disruption puts you at risk of going out of business, the solution for companies like Hitachi Vantara, Rakuten Kobo and Avant is surprisingly similar: reposition yourselves as brand-new businesses. In a panel discussion at the Toronto Global Forum this week, both large enterprise firms and emerging startups suggested that despite the hype, disruption […]

Smartsheet TV commercial

Smartsheet TV ad depicts a hellish existence for the few firms that don’t use its software

Most B2B TV commercials tend to focus on the amazing things customers are doing with the advertiser’s product, but a recent spot from Smartsheet puts the spotlight on the holdouts instead. In “Work Different,” the SaaS-based provider of project management and collaboration tools boasts that 96 per cent of the Fortune 500 use its product. […]

Crowdy.ai Deal Maker

Crowdy.ai launches ‘social proof engine’ to show when site visitors convert into customers or leads

A startup called Crowdy.ai has created a widget it describes as a “social proof engine” that it hopes will change the way B2B companies sell online by providing visual evidence of prospects during into customers. Deal-Maker is a web site integration that provides real-time updates on how web site visitors are taking action on a […]

digital trends

Digital Trends and Business Implications for 2018

The digital transformation has demanded a lot from businesses during recent decades. In many cases, companies have been forced to adapt to evolving technologies at rapid and often uncomfortable speeds. Early adopters of emerging technologies can gain a significant competitive advantage in this data-fuelled digital landscape. Luckily, my peers and I at G2 Crowd have […]

SDRs

Sales development research: SDRs using 4.9 tools but struggle to reach enterprise buyers

Companies are spending nearly $4,000 on each of their sales development reps (SDRs) every year to give them CRM, social prospecting and other tools — even though they still spend nearly 40 per cent of their time working the phones, according to a study released Wednesday. The State Of Sales Development was launched in tandem […]

SaaS

Sales and marketing tools dominate the $1.02B being invested in ‘SaaS North’

The needs of senior executives in marketing and sales roles are driving investments of more than $1.02 billion in software-as-a-service startups across Canada, according to a study conducted by B2B accelerator L-Spark. “State of SaaS 2017” will be formally presented as part of SaaS North, the second annual event of its kind organized by L-Spark […]

J.B. Wood

Inside The Mind Of . . . J.B. Wood

J.B. Wood is president and CEO of Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA). He is a frequent industry speaker, and author of the popular books, Complexity Avalanche (2009), Consumption Economics (2011), B4B (2013), and Technology-as-a-Service Playbook: How to Grow a Profitable Subscription Business (2016), and has appeared in leading publications, such as Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He works with the […]

skuid

Skuid CMO makes the case for personalizing SaaS tools to maximize investment value

A company called Skuid has brought on a new CMO with deep Silicon Valley experience to help market the notion of personalizing line of business applications across disparate enterprise professionals. Skuid, which is based in Chattanooga, Tenn., announced the hiring of Tara Ryan, formerly the CMO of spend management software firm Coupa, earlier this week. […]

L-Spark

L-Spark looks for next-gen SaaS startups with more than ‘vanity metrics’

The next generation of software-as-a-service startups need to go beyond “vanity metrics” and demonstrate plans for sustainable growth if they want to gain the trust of B2B customers, according to the managing director of an accelerator whose application process closes Friday. L-Spark, which has launched 29 startups since 2015 and is about to select 10 […]