Monthly Archives: December 2008

23/12/2008 Posted in New Zealand Leave a comment

Spotcha….

By Ben Kepes

Yeah gidday. So we’re off – a couple of days in glorious Wellington and then close to three weeks road tripping and camping in the North Island. Heading up through the Wairarapa, through Hawkes Bay and up around East Cape to the Coromandel Peninsula. Then as quickly through Auckland as

20/12/2008 Posted in Business, IT, New Zealand, SaaS, Strategy 4 Comments

Another Global SaaS Accounting Player

By Ben Kepes

Xero promised a global version in 2009. They’ve just announced that as of Monday, over a week earlier than the promised earliest date, they’ll be releasing their international version. Read the full details here. Let’s observe how this Kiwi battler takes on the world!

19/12/2008 Posted in Business, IT, SaaS, Strategy 1 Comment

SageLive – Yet Another SaaS Accounting Product

By Ben Kepes

Sage has just released the first iteration of their new on-demand accounting product. Names SageLive, the product has some really smart features, along with some glaring holes. The biggest question is whether a traditional vendor can really commit to a subscription based product on an ongoing basis – Sage are

18/12/2008 Posted in Efficiency, Governance, New Zealand, Society Leave a comment

Running a School – Who Does It Best…

By Ben Kepes

I’ve got two school-age sons and I’ve spent a fair amount of time observing the way New Zealand schools are run. By way of background, the Labour government of 1984 put in place the “Tomorrow’s Schools” ethos. Part of this new way of thinking was a move to Boards of

17/12/2008 Posted in SocialMedia, Society 5 Comments

Facebook Goes Mainstream!

By Ben Kepes

For those who believe that Facebook has no utility, here’s a story that’ll warm your heart (or chill the blood of those “ice in the veins” lawyers out there). It seems the Australian Supreme Court has decided that Facebook is a suitable medium on which to serve court papers. Yes

16/12/2008 Posted in Business, Business and the Environment, Economic Development, Efficiency, Manufacturing, My businesses, Society 2 Comments

What Part of Rampant Consumerism do People Not Get?

By Ben Kepes

Doing the rounds at the moment is a UK Sunday Star Times story about an undercover operation at an Amazon warehouse. Basically the reporter discovered terrible working conditions, very high demands on staff and not allowance for sick days off. The thing that caused the shock for people (we all

15/12/2008 Posted in New Zealand Leave a comment

Worker Available…

By Ben Kepes

I’m a firm believer in the theories espoused by Malcolm Gladwell in Blink. To paraphrase, Gladwell contends that first impressions are generally accurate and gut instinct is worth following. A chap I’ve had a little bit to do with (virtually it must be said – never me him in person)

12/12/2008 Posted in SocialMedia 9 Comments

Diary of a Site Owner – Chapter 1; Breathe deep, breathe deep

By Ben Kepes

no mucha da memory hadda to shifta da database shiftid da database, site waz not workingz coz not workingz had too doo some sugeriez on da database da surgery not soo good – database kind of dies so maybe waz no good decision too move da database in da first

12/12/2008 Posted in Business, IT 1 Comment

Take Some Leave Now Paul

By Ben Kepes

Paul Brislen, PR man for Vodafone New Zealand is a really nice guy – I sympathised with him earlier in the year when Voda released the iPhone in New Zealand – the public outcry over the pricing plans was massive – it was interesting that Paul took a weeks annual

11/12/2008 Posted in Business, Efficiency, IT, SaaS, Strategy Leave a comment

Sold – To the Company With the Biggest Chequebook

By Ben Kepes

I posted about a month ago about the suitors for accounting software company MYOB. I’ve just been told that MYOB has accepted an offer from Manhattan pending shareholder approval. Details below. As I said to another accounting software industry player, I guess the saying “a bird in the hand is

The Author

Ben Kepes is an analyst, an entrepreneur, a commentator and a business adviser. His business interests include a diverse range of industries from manufacturing to property to technology. As a technology commentator he has a broad presence both in the traditional media and extensively online. Ben covers the convergance of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users. More on Ben

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