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Houston Web Design Company Launches New Brand For Local Software Company

March 26th, 2012

Assemble Systems is a building information modeling (BIM) solutions provider for the design and construction industry. Their team of experienced technology and industry professionals works with experts in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction to achieve greater interoperability among design and construction systems.

Assemble has developed BIM software solutions for a variety of applications including project collaboration and coordination, cost analysis, and managing of consultants. User-friendly programs allow design and construction professionals to publish and import information, produce quantity takeoffs, compare design models and coordinate data quickly and easily.

Utilizing revolutionary technology and a team of highly-skilled industry experts, this emerging company aims to be at the forefront of the BIM field. Anticipating rapid growth and greater visibility in the next few months, the Assemble team wanted to create a brand that would help the company achieve its goals both now and into the future. They partnered with Houston web design and marketing agency Adhere Creative to make it happen.

Adhere Creative developed a full brand package for Assemble that included company naming, logo/identity design, stationary design, social media profile design and a new website. Using its expertise in inbound marketing and brand development, Adhere created a clean, streamlined web experience that will enhance Assemble’s marketability. The addition of a company blog will offer insight into topics of interest to the design and construction industry.

Leadership at Assemble feels that the new branding effort will help establish them as experts in the field of BIM. “The team at Adhere Creative is really knowledgeable about what will make your website stand out,” said Julie Oldbury, Marketing Manager for Assemble Systems. “I enjoyed working with the designers to find a balanced and effective solution to increase our company’s presence and optimize our social media marketing.”

Clint Pargmann, President of Assemble Systems, is also pleased with the solution. “I am proud of the website. It looks good, shows who we are as a company, and helps our message get through to potential customers.”

Jon Feagain, Art Director at Adhere Creative, agrees that the new brand identity will give Assemble the look it needs to succeed. “Working with an innovative technology company gave us the opportunity to exercise our creativity and develop a powerful brand identity system. The Assemble team has produced a revolutionary product and we expect their new identity to help them evolve their industry.”

Source:http://www.chron.com/business/press-releases/article/Houston-Web-Design-Company-Launches-New-Brand-For-3428406.php

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Posted in Software News

Tags: Design Software Web

Angels hone in on biotech, clean tech and web-based software

February 28th, 2012

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Australian angel investors will give preference to projects in biotechnology, clean technology and web-based software this year, according to the results of the 2011 National Angel Survey.

The survey, conducted by Bentleys for the Australian Association of Angel Investors, is based on the responses of 88 members of Australia’s angel investment community.

In the 2011 calendar year, survey participants invested $5.4 million in angel capital in more than 90 entrepreneurial businesses, Bentleys associate director Tim Bridges says.

“These same businesses attracted $57 million in total funding, which equates to an angel investment leverage ratio of approximately 10 to one,” Bridges says.

“The angel capital invested by survey participants last year included $1.23 million in clean technology, $470,000 in web-based software and $340,000 in biotechnology.”

“[These industries] are also the three most popular industries for new investments in 2012.”

In 2012, the survey reveals participants plan to allocate on average $278,571 of capital to use in angel investment, up $40,714 on planned individual investment in 2011.

“This year, for the first time in the survey’s four-year history, we were able to collate data on investment exits for the calendar year,” Bridges says.

“Data to hand shows 85.7% of investments had positive returns, with 25% returning between six and 10 times the initial investment.”

AAAI chief executive Ruth Drinkwater says the survey also provides insight into what drives investment choices, and the level of financial support and counsel to businesses.

For example, 2011 results indicate angels are targeting their investments towards the early growth phases of the business cycle.

According to the survey, 25.5% of last year’s investments were made at the seed stage, 35.3% at the start-up stage and 27.5% at the development stage.

“The contribution of intellectual capital is an essential element of the angel investment strategy and philosophy,” Drinkwater says.

“In addition to financial investment, angels contribute their time and expertise to their investments.”

“The average angel spend[s] 50 hours per month on activities like mentoring, attending pitching sessions and post-investment management.”

The survey’s full results will be released at the National Angel Conference, held from February 29 to March 2, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The conference will bring together angel investors and entrepreneurs from across the world to discuss topics such as economic stimulation, co-investment and entrepreneur identification.

Source:http://www.startupsmart.com.au/business-planning/angels-hone-in-on-biotech-clean-tech-and-web-based-software/201202275508.html

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Posted in Software News

Tags: Software Web

Oracle Broadens Reach in Web-Based Software

February 10th, 2012

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Oracle Corp. agreed to acquire online-software maker Taleo Corp. for $1.9 billion, its second such acquisition in recent months and the latest sign that the software industry’s old guard is embracing a newer model.

Taleo makes software that businesses use to recruit and track job applicants, conduct training and carry out other human-resources functions. Unlike the majority of Oracle’s software, which customers install on computer servers they own and operate, Taleo’s products are delivered online and accessed via a Web browser.

The model, known as cloud computing or software as a service, is growing quickly, with sales reaching $21.6 billion last year compared with $16.6 billion in 2010, according to research company IDC. Traditional software is a much larger market—$334.6 billion last year, according to IDC—but growing at only 6% annually.

Buying online software has become “a no-brainer,” said Jeffrey Chasney, chief information officer and executive vice president at CKE Restaurants Inc. He said CKE, which owns the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains, has favored online software over traditional software “for all of the most recent things we’ve adopted,” partly because it is usually less costly and faster to get up and running.

As a result, big software makers such as Oracle have started to develop their own online products. The Redwood Shores, Calif., company unveiled a number of online programs at its annual conference in October and later that month agreed to buy RightNow Technologies Inc., which makes online customer-management software, for $1.5 billion.

Oracle, with annual earnings exceeding $8 billion and more than $30 billion in cash, can easily afford to buy its way into the online-software market. An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment about the deal, as did a spokeswoman for Taleo.

Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison has made fun of online software in the past, saying a few years ago that companies that sell online software don’t earn any money and dismissing the term “cloud computing” as “gibberish.” But more recently he has overseen his company’s push into the area.

Online software for human-resources tasks has been a particularly successful niche. Many companies use software from Oracle and its rival SAP AG for core human-resources functions such as tracking payroll, benefits and head count, but Forrester Research analyst Paul Hamerman estimates that only 20% of Oracle’s customers have bought its recruitment and learning software. Instead, businesses have tended to buy these add-on products from online vendors such as Taleo and SuccessFactors Inc., which SAP agreed to acquire for $3.4 billion in December.

Oracle and SAP “always seemed to me to be a step behind” the online makers, said Mr. Hamerman, who added that the acquisitions give them a chance to catch up.

Other makers of online human-resources software are rising quickly. Workday Inc., a closely held online human-resources company that also makes other software, in October raised $85 million in venture financing and is widely seen as a candidate for an initial public offering of stock. Analysts said Workday is gaining traction among Oracle’s customer base, and that the Taleo acquisition gives Oracle a capability that the start-up doesn’t have.

Taleo, of Dublin, Calif., said Thursday it had revenue of $309 million last year, up 30% from a year earlier. It posted a net loss of $14 million. The company’s board has approved the sale to Oracle, which the companies expect to close later this year.

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203646004577212820539133232.html