Oracle acquires utility-industry software developer

November 3, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Oracle acquires utility-industry software developer | CNET News.com

Oracle announced Friday it has acquired SPL WorldGroup, which will serve as a keystone to launch a global unit focused on utility companies.

SPL, based in San Francisco, develops software for the electric, gas and water industries to handles customer service and billing, mobile workforce needs, and the management of assets, distribution and outages.

“With the addition of SPL, Oracle plans to deliver the first end-to-end packaged revenue and operations management solution for investor-owned and public-sector utilities,” Charles Phillips, Oracle’s president, said in a statement. …read more at CNET.

Filed Under: Oracle

Oracles Snares Stellent for Content Management

November 3, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Oracle today announced its intent to acquire Stellent in a $440 million deal. Stellent is a global provider of enterprise content management (ECM) solutions.

Oracle (Quote) said the acquisition will complement and extend its existing content management solution portfolio, which includes Oracle Content Database to store and centrally manage unstructured content in Oracle databases.

Stellent’s Universal Content Management solution works with Oracle Content Database and offers a variety of solutions for Document Management, Web Content Management, Information Rights Management, Digital Asset Management, Records and Retention Management, Imaging, and Governance, Risk, and Compliance.

Stellent, based in Eden Prairie, MN., has more than 4,700 customers worldwide, including such blue chip companies as Procter & Gamble, Merrill Lynch, The Home Depot, ING, and Vodafone.

Filed Under: Oracle

Read and reply to emails on the go.

November 2, 2006 By Leave a Comment

Google Finally, a way to view your Gmail that the average cell phone can handle!

“Read and reply to emails – fast — Get your Gmail messages anytime, anywhere. Once installed on your mobile device, Gmail is only a click or two away. Your messages open nearly instantaneously.”
Google Mobile 

Filed Under: Tips

A Better Search Tool for Finding Needles in Haystacks

November 2, 2006 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been using NeedleSearch for quite a while and want to share this great Firefox extension:

A Better Search Tool for Finding Needles in Haystacks

The NeedleSearch toolbar lets you capture the basic search functionality from any search engine, site search tool, or specialized database and put it at your command with a single click.

In a nutshell, NeedleSearch operates like other toolbars — with one very big, important difference. NeedleSearch allows you to easily (and I do mean easily) harness the search functionality of any search engine directly into the NeedleSearch toolbar. No need to wait for a developer — you can do it yourself!

Once you’ve downloaded the toolbar, NeedleSearch installs quickly and easily. When installed, you’ll see that a few search engines have been “pre-programmed” for you. You can edit them, remove them, or add new ones. Editing or removing these choices is easily accomplished by selecting the “edit” button (second to last button on the toolbar).

Click here to go to the extension homepage

Filed Under: Tips

Customer Service and Point of View

November 1, 2006 By Leave a Comment

This morning I had the opportunity to attend a global workshop given by Dr. Anand Kasturi, in which he discussed the importance of customer service and the reasons why poor customer service happens. One of the reasons Dr. Kasturi mentioned for poor customer service is that the Point of View is often centered on the Organization instead of the Customer. This brought to mind the following illustration of the difference that Point of View can make in our jobs:

“A man came upon a construction site where three people were working. He asked the first, What are you doing? and the man answered, I am laying bricks. He asked the second, What are you doing? and the man answered, I am building a wall. He walked up to the third man, who was humming a tune as he worked and asked, What are you doing? and the man stood up and smiled and said, I am building a cathedral.“

If we are willing to examine our point of view and then have the courage to make changes based on what we find, what great things could we accomplish, for both ourselves and those that we serve? Thomas Crum sums this up as follows:

“The most dependable quality in the universe is that of change. A willingness to change eliminates the word failure from our vocabulary. To change our perspective in a conflict is to move from a point of view to a viewing point. Embracing change is consciously choosing our future.”

Filed Under: Inspiration
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