Michael Caton

Companies that need a way to manage in-person seminars, training and Web-based conferences will find a good set of tools in ViewCentral Inc.s hosted Collaboration Management Solutions. Updated to Version 4.6 last month, Collaboration Management Solutions gives companies a way to manage seminars and conferences, from allocating resources to collecting payments. Prices start at $30,000 […]

Although it is easy to get data into Microsoft Excel, making the data presentable is more of a challenge. FormatX, from Cherniak Software, solves that problem by automatically formatting CSV data in Excel. I like the $50 software for a few reasons but mainly because it eliminates the need to manually adjust column widths. FormatX […]

WiredRed Software has created an alternative to expensive, unpredictable Web conferencing services with its more predictable E/pop Web Conferencing software. Its just that the price for E/pop Web Conferencing is too high for small companies. Web conferencing services such as WebExs Meeting Center and Microsofts Live Meeting can become costly when companies exceed their allotted […]

CoCreate Software Inc.s OneSpace.net collaboration work space does a good job of integrating messaging and collaboration with presence awareness to help engineers collaborate on designs. eWEEK Labs tests showed OneSpace.nets collaboration features are done well, but the administration could use improvement. Available now, OneSpace.net can be purchased as a hosted service or licensed software, priced […]

In IMlogic Inc.s IM Manager 5.1, administrators will find a good tool for designing and enforcing policies for instant messaging traffic. Released last month, IM Manager 5.1 gains support for Microsoft Corp.s Live Communications Server 2003 and MSN Messenger Connect for Enterprises. IM Manager pricing includes a one-time server license fee of $7,000 for unlimited […]

Companies looking for a simple-to-use tool for building Web forms will find Quask FormArtist 3.0 a good choice. Available since last month, FormArtist comes in $49 Presto, $199 Standard and $899 Professional versions. FormArtist Professional did a good job of simplifying the creation and deployment of forms in my tests. The Standard version offers data […]

Building—or at least improving—the integration of collaborative tools with enterprise applications will be among the greatest challenges facing companies in the coming year. One of the biggest issues will be getting the most out of e-mail and IM (instant messaging). Both face critical shortcomings as gateways to the security threats of spam and viruses, and […]

The enterprise potential for instant messaging is certainly building as more products and services become available. However, security and interoperability issues, as well as development requirements, are still high barriers to building intercompany IM solutions. Presence awareness is one of the more significant developments of the past year. Presence awareness gives companies running enterprise IM […]

Microsoft Corp.s Office Live Communications Server 2003 delivers only the basics of instant messaging for sites that havent upgraded to the companys latest and greatest, giving IM competitors the edge for all but the most aggressively upgraded Microsoft shops. Fully leveraging Live Communications Server requires that sites run Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 or […]

Yahoo Inc.s Yahoo Business Messenger 2.0 service is a well-designed combination of service and software that minimizes some of the overhead of instant messaging. Priced at $30 per user per year, Yahoo Business Messenger delivers good value for companies that dont want to invest in an IM infrastructure. Theres a good deal to like in […]

At Carl Zeiss Inc. North America, the home-grown incentive compensation system no longer worked, creating distrust among the sales staff and administrative headaches for the IT organization. About 18 months ago, John Roulat, vice president of IS at Carl Zeiss North American headquarters, in Westchester, N.Y., undertook the task of finding a new system, ultimately […]

Effectively compensating sales staff can be a tricky proposition, particularly when managing large product sets, diverse incentives rules, and a disparate sales and distribution system. Synygy Inc.s EIM (Enterprise Incentive Management) 10 gives larger companies a way to manage compensation while giving salespeople better transparency into their incentive pay. EIM 10, which began shipping in […]