From payroll company to cloud provider -- the morphing continues

Summary: Paychex used to take phoned or mailed-in timesheets and cut checks. Now it's a software company. So, does it compete with ADP or Oracle PeopleSoft?

It's been obvious for some time that payroll processing companies have morphed into software as a service providers. In fact, many of these providers were providing online services to customers long before the terms "cloud" and "SaaS" became part of the IT lexicon. Still, it's fascinating to watch the transformation continue to unfold at increasingly deeper levels.

Photo: Paychex media relations

Earlier in October, Paychex, Inc. announced a beefed-up version of its software-as-a-service platform, offering online tools to manage companies, people, and payroll.

The company says its new SaaS platform provides human resource administrators with an integrated approach to workforce management. Services ranging from payroll to time and attendance, HR, benefits, training, and performance management are available from Paychex's cloud. It's a human resource management system. So, does Paychex compete with ADP or Oracle PeopleSoft?

The press release reads like one any software vendor would be proud to call its own, with all the appropriate buzzwords: "intuitive user interface," "robust set of features," and "context-aware settings." In a recent audio interview with HR Executive's Bill Kutik, Paychex CIO/SVP of IT Mike Gioja sounds every bit like a vendor's chief technology officer, talking about the challenges of implementing solutions that match customer's IT preferences and infrastructures. 

As mentioned above, payroll processing isn't the only non-IT industry that is or has morphed into software providers -- it was just among the first. Aerospace companies, logistics companies, banks, and even consumer-goods retailers are becoming software or cloud providers.

It means no shortage of opportunities for IT professionals to help these companies manage their new offerings.  Despite rumors to the contrary, IT is neither withering on the vine nor being shunted to back office administration and maintenance. In companies such as Paychex, IT has become the business, and the business has become IT.

Topics: Cloud, Enterprise Software, IT Priorities

Joe McKendrick is an author, consultant and speaker specializing in trends and developments shaping the technology industry.

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Technology: iOS prevails in the company; Android has growth

Summary: Custom applications are the category's fastest growing network of technology with a growth of 52 percent sequentially in the third quarter. These custom applications mostly are iOS.

Apple's IOS still dominates the company with 72 per cent of the activations in the third quarter, but is growing at a rapid pace and has with 27 percent, according to the good technology Android mobile index.

Windows Phone activations stood at 1 percent in the company, but good technology CEO Christy Wyatt, however, said Microsoft is likely to the traction of the tablet in the coming months.

 

Good technology report revealed the following:

Custom applications are the category's fastest growing network of technology with a growth of 52 percent sequentially in the third quarter. Secure mobile application activations were up 42 percent from the second quarter until the third quarter. Apple's IOS is the ideal platform for business applications with 95 per cent of the activations of the application total. Document-editing is the largest category with 56 per cent of the activations-commercial application. Access to files and synchronization were second with almost 20 per cent of the activations. Tablets dominating use of mobile applications with 81 per cent of the activations. These activations, iOS dominates. Application activated in tablets, 91 percent were documents editing applications.

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet SmartPlanet as Editorial Director of ZDNet TechRepublic site sister.

BlackBerry co-founders mull bet by the company: presentation

Summary: A new presentation of SEC confirms interest of the former Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis, and former operations VP Doug Fregin.

Lazaridis talking in the BlackBerry World in 2011. (Photo courtesy BlackBerry)

Mike Lazaridis, co-founder and former Chief Executive of troubled BlackBerry mobile phone company, is considering an offer by his old company, according to a recent presentation by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The offer includes Douglas Fregin, who founded the company with Lazaridis in 1984 and retired in 2007 and is aligned with the previous reports that Lazaridis was interested private equity firms and reaching out for assistance.

The shares of the company based in Waterloo, Ontario (BBRY) were almost one percent, to $8.19, following the news.

The announcement comes three weeks after a $4.7 billion - is $9 per share - an offer by a consortium led by Fairfax financial. Also it comes just hours after Stephen Bates, head of software and services for companies of BlackBerry, took to the stage at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, customers still worth to convince Florida believe in the company.

Co-CEO along with Jim Balsillie, Lazaridis resigned from his post in January 2012. He left the company completely two months later. He and Fregin remain shareholders of the single largest company, each with eight percent of the company. (Balsillie sold its stake in December 2012). The property gives a pair of Foundation to launch an offer to private BlackBerry.

Previously at ZDNet:

Andrew Nusca is a contributor to CNET, ZDNet and SmartPlanet editor, ZDNet sister site on innovation. In 2013, its coverage will focus on business startups. It is based in New York.

Microsoft talks up single app store at company meeting: Sources

Microsoft officials have been cagey about exactly when and whether the company would have a single app store for its Windows and Windows Phone devices.

But it sounds like that scenario is closer than many actually believed.

As Tom Warren is reporting on The Verge, Microsoft committed to a single app store for Windows and Windows Phone during its annual company meeting in Seattle on September 26. I've heard the same from my own sources.

I've heard a few additional details about what was supposedly discussed today from my sources.

The new unified store is supposedly going to be part of the next version of Windows, which I believe could be Windows 8.1 with the Spring 2014 GDR update, according to one of my contacts. (Another contact said no timing was shared as to when this will happen.) I'm not clear if Microsoft also demonstrated or outlined a plan to make that store the same one that is featured on Xbox One, some time post launch of that console this November.

I'm also hearing Windows Azure is likely playing a role in this scenario. I'm thinking that this might have to do with cloud compilation of applications. This would involve Microsoft compiling developers' applications for them, like they did with Windows Phone during the move from Windows Phone 7 to Windows Phone 8 to help with portability and performance.

The other Azure possibility: The back-end code for certain apps runs on Windows Azure and is streamed to phones and PCs. That would give users the impression that Halo 4 really is running natively on their Windows Phone or Windows RT tablet. 

None of this is too surprising -- beyond the possible timing. Microsoft execs have been hinting, if not outright claiming, that in the future there will be "One Windows" and one Windows API (meaning WinRT, I would assume). At the company's Financial Analyst Meeting last week, Executive Vice President Terry Myerson reiterated that vision, noting "“We should have one set of developer APIs on all of our devices.  And all of the apps we bring to end users should be available on all of our devices.”

In addition to making developers happy, a single store that included both Windows 8 Metro-Style and Windows Phone 8 apps would definitely help with the never-ending complaints about shortages of Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps.

I've asked Microsoft if the company has any comment on claims they've shown off the common store today. A spokesperson said the company had no comment.

Update: I erroneously noted Microsoft demonstrated a unified app store during the company meeting today. There was no demo; just more talk (yet again) about the fact this is the goal. I updated this post to reflect those facts on the evening of September 26.

Video conferencing company Blue Jeans Network secures $50 million funding

Americans already thought Nokia was a Microsoft company

Summary: Older Americans may remember Snake on their free Nokia phone, but few ever used Symbian and can't relate to the passion and emotions being expressed on Twitter today.

(Image: Nokia)

Many Americans, likely most of them, will wake up today and wonder why there is so much news about Microsoft's Nokia purchase because they remember Nokia as the free phone with Snake on it that they picked up many years ago. They thought Nokia was already gone.

Nokia never made an impact in the US with Symbian and is just now gaining some market share in the US with Lumia Windows Phone devices.

If you check out Twitter today you will see many passionate Nokia fans who are very upset with the news. I was a Nokia fan for years and ran the Nokia Experts site, where I experienced the passion for Nokia first hand. I also gained an understanding that very few in the US cared at all about Nokia's Symbian offerings, which is one major reason I decided to stop writing for that site.

Nokia fans are blaming Mr. Elop and Microsoft for killing off the Nokia they love, but the problems with Nokia started before either of these came into the picture. Apple changed the smartphone world in 2007 and only Google was able to respond quickly enough to match the iOS experience. Nokia had the technology and ability to continue to lead the smartphone world, but focused on imaging while also enabling their Symbian followers.

Nokia is now showing some success with Windows Phone and their Lumia lineup, which I personally really enjoy using. Younger Americans only know Nokia for their Lumia line and many already think Nokia is a Microsoft company with only Windows Phone devices. Asha phones are not sold in the US and have no relevance here.

Nokia is now officially a Microsoft company -- actually, the purchase still has to be approved and get through months of discussions -- and most Americans today will go about their business with their iPhone or Android device wondering why there is such furor on Twitter.

Global coverage: Nokia Interim CEO: Microsoft deal makes us stronger | Even with Nokia devices, Microsoft wants to license Windows Phone to other makers | Does its Nokia buy thwart or fuel a possible Microsoft break-up? | Microsoft shows how to flush decades of Nokia goodwill away | Microsoft gets less than $10 per Windows Phone unit | Microsoft-Nokia deal: Reaction from the Twitter trenches | Elop drops Nokia CEO role to lead devices team under Microsoft deal | Microsoft-Nokia deal: 11 quick facts | Microsoft to buy Nokia's devices, services unit for $7.2B

Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.

Über collects former Google executives of Facebook to accelerate the growth of the company

Uber, arguably the leader in service to share trip that took the car to the masses, is completing its management team.

The start-up start-up based in San Francisco has picked up a trio of experienced executives from some of the best-known companies in Silicon Valley: Google, Facebook and Klout.

Brent Callinicos, who has been hired as first Chief Financial Officer of Uber is.

Callinicos, who recently served as vice President, Treasurer and accountant general manager at Google, will begin in über on September 9.

Callinicos hiring is also leading to more speculation that demand for cars could be directed towards an IPO, now that you have a Chief Financial Officer on board.

Callinicos is accompanied by previous Klout COO Emil Michael and Ed Baker, previously Chief of the international growth of Facebook, as well as co-founder and CEO of friend.ly.

Michael has been recruited to serve as senior Vice President of business in the Uber, while Baker has been hired as head of growth.

Both Baker and Michael begin immediately.

The moment probably couldn't have been better or more urgent.

Uber said it was worth about $3.5 billion from mid-August following investment of $88 million made by private equity giant TPG and another $250 million from Google Ventures.

Although the company has climbed to serve more than 35 cities around the world since its launch in 2009, level c-level of Uber has been very small so far, made up of a handful of people - including founder and CEO Travis Kalanick.

Image via Uber