David Needle

“Who is doing what and when?” It’s a question asked constantly during many ad hoc projects in departments across the enterprise that typically don’t rely on standard tools or systems to make sure they’re managed effectively. Box aims to change that. At its annual BoxWorks conference, which kicks off Sept. 6, Box is slated to […]

Hospitals are sometimes viewed as cold or impersonal by patients facing long wait times on the phone and doctors too busy with administrative tasks to always give a caring focus to patient’s needs. Salesforce.com hasn’t solved these problems, but the latest release of its Health Cloud platform aims to make the patient experience more personal. […]

Salesforce.com announced a significant new feature to its Inbox email, adding a Calendar feature that integrates with the company’s CRM platform. The idea is to make sales reps more efficient, particularly on mobile devices, by giving them information on clients and prospects without having to launch a separate program. The news comes after an earlier […]

Manufacturers and other companies that use Autodesk’s product lifecycle management application, called Fusion Lifecycle, will now find it easier to integrate certain cloud-based apps. The July 28 announcement that Jitterbit will be embedded in Fusion Lifecycle means customers can simplify the process of integrating third-party apps, such as a cloud messaging app, ERP or customer […]

PointDrive, a company that provides a presentation application to help sales professionals enhance their email pitches, has been acquired by LinkedIn. Financial terms of the deal, announced July 26, weren’t released. The deal comes on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement in June that it plans to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. While Microsoft itself offers […]

Gamers have long enjoyed virtual worlds, but that same kind of simulated view now is being made more broadly available to architects and designers. The Autodesk Live online design application service gives architects the ability to create simulated views of houses or buildings that customers can interact with virtually, such as walking through hallways, checking […]

Business social network LinkedIn announced improvements to Sales Navigator, its “system of engagement” for salespeople launched in 2014. The update covers three key areas, but the most significant for salespeople is the improved integration with Salesforce.com’s cloud customer relationship management platform. Instead of having to manually add leads and accounts to Sales Navigator, the update […]

Cloud computing services for consumer and business have grown immensely, but there are still concerns about security, particularly in highly regulated industries such as health care and finance. These industries also are bound by strict compliance regulations that can limit how practical it is to adopt so-called off-premise, cloud computing alternatives. Salesforce.com aims to address […]

A joint agreement by rivals Microsoft and Salesforce shows the two companies clearly believe in the old adage, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Two years ago the software giants agreed to a strategic partnership to develop compatibility and integration features between their respective platforms, and Microsoft Office in particular. The latest announcement on […]

Salesforce.com is releasing an update to its Pardot marketing automation software, which is designed to give marketers a more detailed yet easier visual view of how various aspects of a campaign are performing. Salesforce describes the new Engagement Studio feature, available June 21, as an online command center where B2B marketers can see and manage […]

Computer-aided-design has come a long way since the days when high-powered workstations were required to run and develop such sophisticated applications. Today, it’s more about the cloud and, in the case of Autodesk, its Forge platform. At a two-day developer conference in San Francisco that kicks off June 15, Autodesk will show off the latest […]

Aiming to grow developer interest in the Lightning platform of tools and technologies that power its Salesforce1 Platform, Salesforce is hosting its TrailheaDX developer conference in San Francisco June 7-8. Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff, Salesforce co-founder Parker Harris and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak all are scheduled to present keynotes at the two-day event, […]