B2B Connection

Today, driving to an office in a fancy looking suit isn’t the only way to make a stable living. The world has evolved. Freelancers in almost every industry are turning their work-from-home jobs into legitimate stacks of cash, challenging our perceptions of what a “good job” ought to be. Making money as a freelancer, however, requires that you have clients. Arguably, one of the biggest challenges facing freelancers is finding enough clients to fill their schedule so that income streams don’t dry up. Whether you are just starting out or are already a freelancing veteran, promoting your work as a freelancer is the bedrock of your business. In this post, we will look at 5 powerful online platforms that you can use to promote your work. We’ll also look at which platforms may be best suited for your needs while sharing tips on how you can stand out and compete amongst a sea of other talented freelancers. Let’s get into it. LinkedIn ProFinder LinkedIn has long been the place where professionals connect and network. So, it made sense that LinkedIn finally launched LinkedIn ProFinder in 2016 as a place to showcase your expertise as a freelancer. Even better, small businesses can also use […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for IT Service Management Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. IT Service Management (ITSM) is a process-based practice intended to align the delivery of information technology (IT) services with needs of the enterprise, emphasizing benefits to customers. The main focus is to deliver satisfactory service to the end user customer. ITSM involves a shift from managing IT as stacks of individual components to focusing on the delivery of end-to-end services using best practice process models. From a software product standpoint, ITSM tools focus on the specific area of what most users think of as service desk to streamline service delivery within the IT domain. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated ServiceNow ServiceNow is a single cloud-based platform designed to improve IT service levels by offering automated and trackable workflows for companies. IT teams can use the software to customize help desk features and track requests on the dashboard, and other departments can […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Collaboration Tools. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Collaboration software makes it easier and faster for teams to work together on professional projects. Companies use collaboration software to maintain efficient and convenient communication, manage projects and tasks, and share files. This can be especially helpful during bottleneck processes such as sending/receiving feedback and approvals. Collaboration tools work best when they are widely adopted and integrated with other channels of communication (like email) and systems of record. It is important to understand your options when selecting collaboration software, as products in this category take different functional approaches to collaboration, from coordinating projects/tasks to sharing and editing documents to UCaaS. Reviews from other users like you can help you understand which features and capabilities are in line with your needs, and how well different collaboration tools may fit into your company’s culture and tech stack. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Atlassian Confluence Confluence is […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Core HR Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Core Human Resource (HR) Software, or Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), encompasses benefits administration, personnel tracking, and payroll. These systems are also referred to as back-end HR systems since they help manage key administrative HR tasks, and are essentially the employee system of record. These core tasks are distinct from strategic HR tasks like performance management, recruiting, talent management, and learning management. Core HR Software streamlines communication between HR and employees through storage and management of crucial data such as employee personal information, payroll, assets, attendance, and reporting. HR vendors are beginning to integrate recruiting, talent and performance management capabilities into existing Core HR software, creating Human Capital Management (HCM) suites. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Workday Human Capital Management Workday Human Capital Management is a cloud-based HR and finance system that offers staffing, self-service, reporting, and analytics services for medium and large […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Corporate Learning Management Systems. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Corporate Learning software caters to internal (employee) and/or external (customer) training. Some products in this category are designed for distribution of content, engagement tracking, and reporting, while other products allow users to create or customize content. Other Corporate Learning tools provide a library of pre-made content and assessments for particular industries, technologies, or certifications. The best fit for your company will depend on factors like the size of your training department, resources available to create custom content, frequency of training, subject matter, and type of employees being trained. Reviews from business leaders, trainers/content authors, managers, and employees can provide the full range of perspectives on these products, from how easy it is to update courses and how well they track compliance, to how engaging courses are for trainees. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Articulate Storyline Articulate Storyline empowers individual managers and […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Social Media Management Tools. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Social Media Management Tools make it easier for businesses to successfully engage their audience across various social channels. These tools consolidate multiple accounts into a single dashboard, allowing brands to manage their social media presence across channels and teams, from one platform. Social media management platforms are suites that provide features for multiple use cases, including: monitoring for brand mentions or other keywords, posting to multiple channels, responding to inquiries, running marketing campaigns, managing paid advertising on social channels, and measuring the success of social media campaigns. Many platforms started out with core competencies in one of the above capabilities, and later expanded to add additional capabilities as vendors aimed to become a single platform solution. (Though many companies continue using multiple social media tools). A few key factors that differentiate social media management products include whether and how well they function for […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Marketing Automation Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Marketing Automation software allows marketers to scale inbound and outbound marketing efforts by automating their digital communication workflows, using demographic and behavioral data to personalize the audience, content, and timing of their messages. Products in this category typically have email marketing at their core, but they also include tools to manage campaigns on other channels (like social and mobile), to publish web content (blogs, landing pages, etc.), to analyze engagement with content, and to update the sales and marketing system of record–either via a built-in CRM in the case of tools for smaller businesses, or via an integration to Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SugarCRM, etc. Because Marketing Automation is a well-established category, many products tout similar features and value propositions. However, they differ greatly when it comes to campaign complexity, scalability, reporting capabilities, and ecosystem, i.e. their ability to integrate with the rest of […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Customer Relationship Management Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software supports an approach to customer interactions in which businesses record the entire customer journey from the first point of contact to after a sale. CRM products aim to optimize marketing, sales, and customer service efforts by providing a central database–or a “single source of truth”–with features to track, monitor, and analyze people, companies, and activities/communications. Since this is a very established space, vendors’ value propositions all sound pretty similar. However, CRM products tend to be geared towards companies of different sizes (with different needs for user permissions and database size), and differ vastly in terms of price, reporting capabilities, integrations, and user-friendliness. Reviews from other organizations like your own can provide helpful insight, especially since user adoption is key to reaping the benefits of a CRM system. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Salesforce With 1,776 ratings […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for A/B Testing and Personalization Tools. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. A/B testing is the process of comparing two versions of a single variable by testing the response to variable A, against variable B, to determine which is more effective. A/B testing, or split testing, divides web traffic among multiple versions of a webpage and determines which version of the page performs better at achieving desired outcomes, including signups, purchases, conversions, or increased traffic. A/B testing tools promise to allow users to create, launch and measure tests on their website more easily, and more independently of the IT department. More advanced products allow for segmentation, targeting and personalization, which involve understanding which variations or content perform best among different site visitors based on demographics or behavior, serving up optimal content for different segments, and even delivering personalized experiences. Tools differ in price, level of sophistication, and ease of use for non-technical users.   […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Data Center Backup Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. As data centers grow in complexity, data center backup software is increasingly crucial. Modern data backup solutions must be virtualization-aware, and have data protection that covers physical/virtual servers, databases, enterprise applications including SaaS products, mobile endpoints and public infrastructure platforms. Modern data center backup tools typically utilize the cloud, backing up encrypted data automatically, which is de-duped before being stored in a secure location. The following products are all broadly similar, if not identical. Beyond core backup and replication functionality, vendors sometimes create additional differentiation around factors like cost, usability, and quality of customer service and support. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Veeam Backup & Replication Veeam Backup & Replication Software is a data center backup solution providing recovery and protection of data for virtual, physical, and cloud workloads. Users praise the speed and simplicity of the backup creation process, and the […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Business Process Management Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Business process management brings together a systematic method of managing business processes. The overarching goal is to improve process efficiency to gain competitive advantage through reducing costs, reducing response times and increasing revenues. The goal is primarily about gaining business efficiencies by optimizing business processes across the organization. The search for improved efficiency is not new, but what distinguishes BPM is that the processes to be optimized are typically cross-functional and frequently cross company boundaries too. BPM products come in several different varieties from simple workflow, to full-scale BPM, to low-code app development platforms. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Pega Platform Pega Platform is a comprehensive, unified BPM suite, most suitable for larger enterprise customers. It includes case management, predictive features, and also has strong mobile capabilities. The company has also built a series of marketing applications that run on top of the […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Time Tracking Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Time tracking and scheduling apps are used to record and analyze time spent by contractors and remote workers on projects and tasks, as well as to create schedules for hourly employees and track hours worked. They allow users to monitor and optimize productivity and expenses, create reports, and generate invoices. On a basic level, they replace paper schedules and timesheets. Data collected includes employee names, dates, and times with pay rate, location, department, and project. The goal of time tracking systems is to allow companies to accurately distribute resources, calculate payroll estimates, and report how employee time is spent. Some of the products in this category are geared towards employers who need to manage employee time on projects/shifts, whereas others are geared towards freelancers and consultants who need to record time worked and expenses so that they can invoice their employers. Here are the […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Customer Experience Management Platforms. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Customer Experience Management (CXM or CEM) Platforms take a myriad of approaches to improving interactions with customers–from collecting and analyzing customer feedback, to unifying customer data across channels/touchpoints and providing personalized content–so products in this category do not have directly comparable features. Their core competencies range from surveys to help desks, A/B testing and personalization, usability testing, and user onboarding. But they all share the goal of helping you increase customer satisfaction and foster a positive relationship with your brand. Different tools may be right for you depending on whether your focus is the pre-purchase experience, the post-purchase experience, or both, and whether you plan to execute CXM initiatives that are more productized or more service-based. Reviews can help you dig in to really understand which products are being used by companies of different sizes and industries, and by different departments and roles […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Business Intelligence Tools. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Business Intelligence emerged with the development in the 1980’s and 1990’s of data warehouses and OLAP processing that enabled extraction and viewing of data from multiple points of view. Business Intelligence has developed rapidly since then, and the importance of “big data” in gaining competitive advantage in today’s economy has made the technology more critical than ever. Data discovery and visualization tools have shifted the emphasis away from centralized, legacy systems with an emphasis on data governance, towards a more agile approach providing ad-hoc data exploration and intuitive visual renderings of data. As in other technology domains, there has also been a gradual shift to the cloud, along with an emphasis on tools for the general business user, rather than IT or data modeling experts. An increased emphasis on data discovery, agility and business user self-service is evident in all of the following tools. […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Accounting, Tax and Budgeting Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Financial accounting and budgeting is a methodology for recording and classifying a firm’s financial transactions, including reporting and analysis of these transactions. Accounting transactions are encompassed by the general ledger, which is a complete record of financial transactions over the life of a company. Accounting software automates transactional record-keeping processes so that transactions can be completed and tracked more efficiently and accurately. Accounting software is primarily back-office software concerned with record maintenance and regulatory compliance. This category of software has been slower to move to the cloud than many other software categories, but SaaS is now becoming the dominant delivery model. Integration, particularly with banks and clearing houses, is increasingly important in eliminating the need for manual data entry. The following products represent a range of very different product types. Some like QuickBooks Pro are on-premise products, while others like Xero are […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Configure Price Quote Tools. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Configure Price Quote (CPQ) tools are used by sales teams to generate product quotes and manage product configuration during the proposal process. CPQ tools institutionalize sales knowledge and product constraints, and can help determine pricing in complicated negotiations.  By semi-automating quotes, they save time for salespeople, who can then get accurate quotes to their customers more quickly. Integrations (to CRM, contract management, accounting, or product information systems, for example) are an important element in achieving these benefits. Feedback from other sales organizations on how well integrations support automation can be very helpful for buyers who are evaluating whether a product will help with efficiency, productivity, and consistency at their own organization. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Apttus Configure Price Quote Apttus was designed to help sales representatives create quotations for customers based on standardized pricing and configuration rules. It also offers […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Web Conferencing Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Web conferencing software allows companies to conduct business remotely and are particularly helpful for companies that have customers and employees all around the country or globe. Web conferencing software often goes beyond video conferencing, extending into presentations, or webinars, recording, and collaboration. Audio and video quality, reliability, scalability, and ease of use–especially for participants joining a call from outside the organization–are major considerations for buyers, but they can be difficult to assess before implementing a web conferencing system. Feedback from users at other similar organizations allow buyers to get a sense of performance and usability ahead of time, so they can make a more confident decision about which product will work best for them. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Zoom Zoom allows for online meetings while simultaneously enabling collaboration and file sharing. Reviewers highlight the strong video quality for teams of all […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Construction Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Construction software helps general contractors, subcontractors, and building companies manage different phases of the construction process, including bidding, estimating/takeoff, project management, building information management (BIM), job site data collection and reporting, document management and collaboration, accounting, and client management. Some vendors in the space offer a portfolio of different tools that cover most or all phases of construction, while other vendors offer a lighter weight product focused on a specific need, like safety or collaboration on building plans. Many businesses in the construction industry are just getting started with construction software, partly due to limited IT resources and expertise. Often construction employees aren’t as comfortable implementing or using new digital solutions when they’re used to pen and paper processes, so usability and ease of adoption should be among the top considerations when evaluating construction software. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Procore Procore is […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Nonprofit Constituent Relationship Management Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Traditionally, many nonprofits have used proprietary or home-grown databases or Excel spreadsheets to manage fundraising and donor relations. Nonprofit Constituent Relationship Management Software allows nonprofit staff to view and manage all relationships affecting the mission of the organization including volunteers, members, affiliates, partner organizations, and the board, in addition to donors. These systems store constituent data in one centralized location ensuring comprehensive planning and consistent messaging across all constituents. Although the general value proposition is similar across all products in the category, products differ significantly in price point and level of complexity. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Raiser’s Edge NXT Raiser’s Edge NXT is a cloud version of Blackbaud’s well-known Raiser’s Edge fundraising platform. The platform does not yet have feature parity with the original Raiser’s Edge platform, but has advantages in terms of usability and analytics, both of which are frequently […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Remote Desktop Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Remote Desktop Software, or Remote Administration Software, allows users, usually IT professionals providing maintenance, to gain access to a computer remotely when physical access is not possible. The typical scenario is when an IT technician takes control of a remote machine to troubleshoot problems, install patches or perform other maintenance tasks. Remote access tools are also sometimes used to provide remote access to a personal computer if, for example, someone is traveling and needs to retrieve a file. Although these tools are all broadly similar, there are feature and pricing differences and some products are free. More advanced or paid products tend to have enterprise-level features like secure access, user management, broad platform support, automatic connection, file transfer, VPN connection management, session record, etc. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated TeamViewer TeamViewer offers remote support and web conferencing capabilities. It offers an array […]