Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Security Threats No Bigger for the Cloud but Different

Alert Logic, a company that provides Security-as-a Service, has released a study they did exploring the types of security threats faced by Service providers handling outsourced systems as opposed to in-house IT operations. They found that the level of security threats is about the same, but the types of threats differ.

The difference comes from the profile of the two types of operation. Cloud providers tend to have a suite of applications along with a single or controlled number of operating systems. In house providers tend to have many different systems knit together. Also they are dealing with the many issues presented by Bring Your own Device (BYOD) trends, which mean the opening of new points of vulnerability.

For a report on the study, check out this article.
Crowdfunding - A Useful Tool for Business Startups

Check out this article.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Importance of Structured Data

The availability of structured data is increasing and is extremely important to the effectiveness and fairness of the capital markets. In this article, some current trends in the development of structured data are outlined.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Social Marketing - Attract, Interact and Transact

Marketing through social media has become an essential part of most corporate marketing strategies. But not all companies have incorporated the differences in strategy that are called for by social media. Too many of them approach social media as just another advertising channel.

That approach badly misses the point. In the attached article, the authors use the phrase "attract, interact, transact" which aptly captures the essential elements of a social marketing strategy. In particular the interact part says a lot about what is often missing in corporate strategies. The advertising must reach out to the audience and invite participation. For example, instead of saying "Acme widgets have something for everybody", ask the question "Which Acme widgets do you use the most?" or "Which Acme Widgets are most useful to you?"

When the questions and answers appear on the media, people not only feel a part of the action, they can read the answers and get some honest feedback about the product from customers which may help them in using it.  Everyone benefits.

Finding ways to initiate interaction with customers and potential customers takes a lot of creativity, but it's the only to make best use of social media in marketing

Check out this article for some good examples.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012


GETTING PERSONAL CANADA: Investors Hunt Clues in Online Corporate Reports
7 August 2012
Dow Jones News Service
(c) 2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

   By Evelyn Juan
Digging through pages of corporate financial reports can be confusing and intimidating.
But for investors looking to buy stock, there are some new ways to navigate through companies' financial reports to gain insight on trends and risks--crucial information that can make or break investment decisions.
Jerry Trites, lead judge for electronic disclosure with The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants' Corporate Reporting Awards program, said some companies have been moving away from the standard presentation of information, which is non-interactive. Instead, these companies are giving active investors a wide variety of online tools to help them construct their own analysis of the companies' metrics.
Empowering potential investors is part of an effort by some companies to be best-practice leaders. Better informed investors--knowing where a company stands, where it's going andits plan to get there--will make smarter investment choices.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT, POT.T), for instance, has a so-called DataTool program in the investors section of its website that allows users to slice and dice several types of data for their own research. Investors can cull historical data on income, cash flow, andeven compensation details of executives. The DataTool also allows users to pull out market figures and track historical data on fertilizer consumption, supply and demand, or world population trends.
Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM, AEM.T) has a similar tool called the Interactive Analyst Center that helps investors collect financial and operating data in aggregate form or in charts and ratio diagrams.
"Investors can analyze and create their own indicators out of all that," said Mr. Trites. "A lot of active investors are doing that."
Typically, a company's investor relations portal on its website serves as a database for information about quarterly financials, annual reports, regulatory filings, news and other information that would be of interest to shareholders or potential investors. However, the data are rarely interactive and investors are left on their own to connect the dots when looking for data that could help them see historic or market trends.
For the novice investor looking for clues through the financial reports, Mr. Trites said a good start would be to examine quarterly profitability trends, revenues, and current assets and liabilities.
But beyond looking at financial statistics, Mr. Trites urged investors not to overlook notes that pertain to recent events affecting the company. In assessing risks, for instance, investors should closely look at the management discussion and analysis portion of financial reports, then tie down risk discussions into the chief executive and president's report that both give highlights of the company.
Telus Corp. (TU), which won CICA's overall award for excellence in corporate reporting last year, has a separate section on its website showing how its mergers and acquisition activities affect investors' stock holdings.
Some companies, like Bank of Montreal BMO), also provide the transcript of conference calls with investorsandanalysts, where risks and other issues are more thoroughly discussed by management with analysts.
"Risk has been very difficult to predict," said Mr. Trites. "In the last few years, particularly since 2008, investors want to try to find companies that present best risk profile and still give them some kind of risk return."
(Evelyn Juan writes about financial advisers and their jobs, with a particular focus on news, trends, business strategies, organizational changes, and regulatory issues relevant to the retail brokerage sector in Canada. She also writes about wealth management practice and personal finance issues. Evelyncan be reached at 416-306-2025; evelyn.juan@dowjones.com andis on Twitter @evelynjuan.)
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Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Document DJ00000020120807e887000fq

Data Quality - It's Important to All of Us

Check out this article at this link.