How customer voice
drives business

This is last year’s news. We’ve got new research for 2021. SEE THE NEW DATA This is the second annual Women in Tech Report published by TrustRadius to celebrate International Women’s day (and women in tech every day). The report addresses critical issues for women in the technology industry in 2020, and incorporates responses from over 700 tech professionals.  Download the report Topics explored in the report include: VC funding gap Gender pay gap Confidence Opportunities for growth Mentorship Work/life balance Flexible scheduling Parental leave & benefits Visibility Leadership Recruiting Company culture Diversity/Intersectionality Unique challenges Advice The survey was open to everyone who works in the tech industry— women, men, and people of all other gender identities. TrustRadius invited its global audience and their networks to take part. We also made a  donation to nonprofit organization Girls Who Code on behalf of participants to thank them for their time. Here are some of the key findings from the TrustRadius 2020 Women in Tech Report. 2020 Women in Tech Statistics VC Funding Gap There is a serious gap in venture capital funding for women-owned startups. Women-founded companies only received 2.3% of VC investment. 58% of women in tech find the VC […]

It is easy to get lost in the abundance of information that comes with identifying and understanding the most important contact center software features. Some features may appear very similar to others, while others may appear highly complex and unclear.  Dozens of features make up a strong contact-center solution. It is important to cover all of your bases before choosing the best tool for your company; so that is why we have provided the top 15 most essential features for your contact center’s success. This post will help guide you in your call-center software selection process or help to shed light on fundamental features for new managers or agents to familiarize themselves with.    Necessary Contact Center Software Capabilities #1 Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is the most crucial tool when trying to maximize your call center operations. ACD works with Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems to allow you to easily route inbound calls to agents or the appropriate recipient. It operates as the primary terminal for many call center features, such as skills-based routing, language-based routing, call monitoring and more.  #2 Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Interactive Voice Response (IVR) interacts with inbound […]

According to Deloitte’s 2020 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook, rising operating costs and labor shortages will require construction companies to devise new partnership models and project structures to remain competitive this year. Construction-focused project management software is the simplest solution for managing multiple, complex projects while maximizing efficiency and monitoring processes to prevent conflicts. Below we’ve compiled a list of the top 3 construction software platforms with the best project management capabilities. We’ve also got some suggestions for project management software that isn’t construction-specific, but known for integrating well with existing construction management software or being easily customized to suit construction companies’ needs.   Versatile Construction Project Management Software The three tools featured in this section (Procore, Bluebeam Revu, and PlanGrid) are all construction-specific tools with great project management features. They are all on the Construction software category TrustMap, which indicates that they are some of the highest-rated and most researched construction platforms on our site. They also have over 60 reviews each on TrustRadius. Procore  Procore is an all-in-one construction management platform. It allows multiple users, with varying permission levels, to collaborate on project dashboards at any time. Procore is mobile-friendly and allows users to manage projects on or off-site, […]

According to an industry report published last year, over 35% of websites and web applications have at least one “high severity vulnerability.” This surprisingly high statistic demonstrates the necessity of appropriate firewalls to protect your digital environment.  Not all firewalls protect your systems from the same threats, in the same locations. The most common firewall products are network firewalls and web application firewalls. Understanding the differences between these two firewall types is crucial to ensuring that you have the appropriate protections in place to provide your business and clients with cutting edge online security. What are web application firewalls? Web application firewalls (WAFs) protect against vulnerabilities that are unique to public-facing web applications, like websites. Conceptually, IT security professionals divide digital security into 7 layers. Within this model, WAFs provide security at the 7th layer, known as the “application layer.”   Pragmatically speaking, WAFs protect against attacks embedded in data transmitted to your web applications. There are a wide variety of web app attacks, but the most common (and critical) include: SQL injections– These malicious SQL statements can execute inside your applications to retrieve, edit, or even delete data within your SQL database. Cross-site scripting (XSS)– This is another form of […]

TrustRadius has already done the work in compiling a list of the best project management software, according to end-users; but not all of them require the same scale of management or growth-optimization tools. The project management needs for newly started, smaller businesses are vastly different than those of enterprise-level businesses with 1000+ employees.  For those looking to scale their large company, while also maximizing their project organization, management and communication tools, the project management software in this post may be the perfect solution for you.  This article will give readers our list of the top 7 project management solutions for enterprises based on our 3 main criteria: 1) it must have the Project Management category as its primary category, 2) it must be on the Project Management enterprise TrustMap, and 3) it must have over 75 reviews on TrustRadius. Here are the products that will be included in this post: Workfront  Planview ProjectPlace Microsoft Project Smartsheet Trello  Wrike  Basecamp  It is important to note that while some products are truly designed for enterprises (e.g. Planview ProjectPlace and Workfront), others are not. Products like Trello and Basecamp may have a large percentage of small or midsize business reviewers, but they can […]

A recent TrustRadius study of HR professionals found that the most common method for addressing diversity and inclusion in the workplace is reducing bias in recruitment. Despite visible displays of D&I training from big-name companies, the not-so-secret secret is that recruiting diverse groups is how diverse workplaces emerge. There’s a big difference between advocating for diverse workplaces, setting ambitious goals, and actually achieving those visions. Execution makes all the difference. The following steps will help you execute your goals for a more diverse workforce.  6 Crucial Steps to Reduce Bias in Your Recruitment Processes The strategies listed below come directly from insights shared by HR pros, vendors, and researchers in the TrustRadius community. We surveyed over 75 HR professionals for first-hand visibility into current recruitment practices. We also met with Jack Wei, Director of Product Marketing at SmartRecruiters, to discuss how recruiting software can enable your diversity recruitment goals. Read their advice below: #1 Recognize where you’re struggling Diversity, or lack thereof, manifests itself in different ways. Start by identifying the most underrepresented groups in your existing workforce by considering race, ethnicity gender, or religion, for example. Underrepresentation can often be less visible in large or decentralized companies where you […]

Differentiating between the different types of recruitment software can be extremely difficult A crucial step in overcoming this challenge is establishing which features matter to you and which are fluff.  Here are some universally essential features you should always consider:  Candidate Relationship Management (CRM) database Integrations with your other HR software Routine task automation Customizable candidate filtering To help you determine which recruitment software features will be most valuable in your particular recruiting environment, we’ve provided the following criteria to guide the rest of your feature exploration.  CRM: One Feature to Recruit Them All Candidate Relationship Management features form the bedrock of modern recruiting practices. The core CRM capability is a database that centralizes all communications, data, and outreach to the candidate.  If you aren’t already benefiting from a CRM, odds are your competitors are. In the survey of HR pros we mentioned above, 1 in 5 respondents identified Candidate Relationship Management features as the most important feature in achieving their recruiting goals.  Recruiters value CRM functionality so highly because it serves so many objectives. CRMs enable recruiters to maintain long-term relationships with candidates, including the masses of passive candidates not currently be on the job market.   CRMs are also […]

We are no stranger to love here at TrustRadius, as we have a vibrant community of software users who are passionate about sharing their insight on the tools they use every day. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we compiled the TrustRadius Love Report. It analyzes each review we have collected to date word by word to compose a list of the most loved business software. We examined a total of 22,897,433 words written about 5,000 different products across 540 categories. Then, we identified which products were most adored by reviewers on TrustRadius by evaluating mentions of “love” in all its (grammatical) forms to the total number of reviews of each product. After putting every software product on our website to the (love) test, fifty products arose as the winners of TrustRadius’s second-ever Most Loved Awards. This top 50 consists of products with the highest ratio of “love” per review. Think of all the 😍s this band of game-changing software has accrued in the past year! This year’s winners represent a wide variety of solutions, showing that any kind of  software can inspire love. Here’s the full list of the 50 “Most Loved” Award winners for 2020, as well as some courtly […]

10 years ago the project management industry had fewer methodologies, smaller teams and projects, and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to managing projects across organizations.  The discipline has evolved quite a bit since then. Today, there are traditional and agile project management methodologies aplenty, more methodological flexibility, and different software solutions for specific use cases.  Even though the industry has come a long way, there are still new project management trends emerging that will have a tangible impact on the discipline and the project manager role. The trends highlighted below encompass the changes that are being felt in each part of the discipline:  Artificial Intelligence and Automation for PM Software  Shifting Makeup of Project Teams  Mixing Project Management Methodologies Multiple Tools for Different Projects Importance of Cultivating Emotional Intelligence 1. Artificial Intelligence and Automation for PM Software Technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are driving the fourth industrial revolution and catapulting our society into the digital age. These technologies are impacting industries across the board, and project management is no exception.  AI for project management can help teams automate things such as scheduling tasks, project reporting, and data management and visualization. One example is Microsoft’s Project […]

When was the last time you took a break from customer journeys to invest in your professional journey as a marketer? If you feel like your journey has been stunted because of the metrics, content curation and campaigns that have consumed your schedule, it’s time to make time for a marketing event this year.  Marketing events are an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest trends, technology and big ideas across industries. You will be inspired by award-winning speakers and have the chance to connect with thousands of professionals on similar tracks like you.  Whether you are interested in purchasing new technology, learning advanced skills for the tools you already use, or getting inspiration to improve your touchpoints with customers on their complex journeys, there are plenty of leaders who want to share their success stories with you. Here are 7 must-attend marketing events in 2020 that are the right fit for mid-to-senior level marketing professionals who want to improve their marketing automation strategy. These marketing events are listed in order of date. 1. Adobe Summit Date: March 29- April 2 Location: Las Vegas, NV Price: $2095, Full Conference Pass Adobe Summit is designed for the enterprise marketer who is […]

According to a survey performed by Adobe, consumers spend an average of 5 hours a day checking both work and personal email. Respondents to the survey also said that they would rather receive marketing via email than by direct mail or other channels. If you have a list of contacts and quality content, email marketing can seem as simple as clicking ‘send’. If you want to generate more click-throughs, however, here are some tips that can increase engagement. 1. Get Personal There is more to personalization than using someone’s name in an email subject line. Target their interests by considering where they live, who they work for, and their buying history.  A great way to get details about a customer is to ask the right questions in your signup form. Be sure to get their name, address, company, and any other information you may wish to use to generate custom recommendations. People are typically more interested in buying products they’ve already shown an interest in than products featured at random.  Another personal touch that can make customers feel important is signing the email with a real signature and name. A signature and friendly language make an email seem as if […]

Searching for software in a relatively new category is not the same as buying software in a cemented one. For example, there is a ton of information about what the best firewall tools are or loads of tips on how to choose the best marketing automation software. However, there isn’t much about intent data providers and their key differences. You may know that you need a solution to a particular problem, but have no idea where to begin with  actually identifying potential vendors and figuring out a game plan for implementation. The good news for you is that Alloy recently published all about this in the Tell-All Guide to Buying Software (in an emerging category). In this post, we’ll define what an emerging category is, how to choose your top picks in such a category, highlight the biggest kicker, and end with some roadblocks or gotchas to look out for on your buyer’s journey. Here’s how to buy new software. What is an emerging category? An emerging software category is one that is in its early stages of development and takeoff. Typically, these types of categories don’t even have an industry-wide agreed-upon name, so get creative with Google searches when scoping […]

This article uncovers three market technology trends likely to influence buyer behavior in the Business Intelligence domain. These include augmented analytics, and the automation of processes to simplify product usage, embedded analytics, and big data and IoT.  Augmented Analytics  The term Augmented Analytics is used to denote the use of machine learning and natural language processing to automate insights into datasets generated by analytics and BI tools. It’s helpful to clearly understand the problem that this approach is trying to solve. The scale and complexity of corporate data have become more than humans can handle.  Therefore, machine learning and AI are helping to automate data analysis. BI tools begin by gathering data from multiple different sources. The next step is to remove duplicates and bad data, normalizing the data so that it can be effectively analyzed. The result of this analysis is actionable insight into the business.  Data analysts and scientists spend a large portion of their time working on data preparation tasks, cleaning large data sets, and preparing them for analysis. Augmented analytics removes some of the dependence on data scientists by using machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to automate tasks like data preparation.  Today, many well-known BI platforms have […]

Due to ever-increasing professional specialization and historically low unemployment, the competition for top talent is fierce. To meet these challenges head-on, veteran recruiters attest to the value of an applicant tracking system (ATS)—a software solution that maximizes your talent pool and helps you attract top candidates over your competition.   What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)? An applicant tracking system is a database that manages job candidates’ application information, including resumes and demographics. There are some features that you should consider standard, if not universal, across full ATS software. These functions include:  Candidate sourcing Resume management Resume Parsing Facilitating communications with candidates Candidate Relationship Management (this capability is not quite standard, but will soon become so) Many ATS products have built on this database capability to support more aspects of recruitment, from the initial job posting to new employee onboarding. These strategic recruitment functions include: Native video interviewing Social media publishing Assessment creation and storage Interview note-taking and document management Job offer management Integration with onboarding, talent management, and HR management software EOE compliance checking Most ATS products, like the rest of the HR software space, have been expanding their offerings to support the entire recruiting process on their single […]

Choosing the right ecommerce platform for your business can be tough. Many of the products on the market today offer similar features and can be costly or challenging to use. Especially if you’re a startup or small business, an open-source solution can help keep your costs low. We gathered reviews of  the most popular open-source ecommerce products and ranked the top four by their TR scores. The products we’ve chosen have over ten reviews apiece with at least one review published in the past year. Important Features to Consider There are four main features to look for when selecting a complete ecommerce solution: Website Builder A website builder is a tool that lets you design and build your online store from scratch. Website builders range from simple, coding-free, WYSIWYG editors to fully customizable development environments.  Customizable Product Catalog A product catalog makes it easy to add, remove, and categorize items. Categorizing your products will make it easier for customers to find what they need, increasing sales and loyalty. Shopping Cart A shopping cart is a piece of software on a merchant website that allows customers to track the items they want to buy. The shopping cart may accept the customer’s […]

Today’s community contributor is Zee Gimon, Digital Operations Manager at HUSPI Software Development. She loves to learn about new technologies and advances in the sciences, cook Chinese and Mexican food, and read Harry Potter to her kids. Check out the detailed reviews she’s written on TrustRadius about tools with which she has worked throughout her career. Gartner has named Microsoft a Magic Quadrant Leader among business intelligence and analytics platforms for 12 consecutive years.  Power BI—Microsoft’s newer data visualization tool—brings value to the business owners and decision-makers thanks to the ability to combine numerous data sources into one cohesive dashboard. One of the biggest advantages of this instrument is that the desktop version of the software is free, which means even small businesses on a tight budget can benefit from the visualized data. After all, the business might be small, but there might be a lot of information to process and it’s not always easy to see the relationships between different factors. With Power BI, you can create simple-to-comprehend visual reports instead of comparing numbers side by side from several Excel sheets. I have used Power BI in one of the projects that I have worked with – an app […]

Email is a crucial channel for modern business communication. The software you use to power your email strategy makes all the difference— not only in what kinds of communication, personalization, and reporting you can set up, but also how easily you can do it. If you’re researching, evaluating, and/or implementing a new email platform, make sure you have a handle on your organization’s needs. The templates in this post will give you a head start on formulating your requirements and your questions for vendors. Whether you want an email marketing tool, or a fully-fledged marketing automation system, the TrustRadius community’s insights will help you find the right email service provider (ESP) for you. Email Platform Requirements Template Here is a sample list of requirements for an organization with 1,001-5,000 employees in the Information Services industry, which is an affiliate of a company with over 10,000 employees in the Financial Services industry. It was created by a real buyer in the TrustRadius community. Their marketing department was evaluating ESPs for their own use, as well as for use by other divisions of the parent company.  The list includes all of their must-haves and a few nice-to-haves for a new email marketing […]

What is a Bare Metal Server? The standard definition is that it is a single-tenant server. In other words, it is a physical server-a distinct physical piece of hardware that is dedicated to a single client or tenant. Before the emergence of cloud computing, these servers were run in the corporate data center but, today, they are more typically run from colocation centers or rented on a subscription basis.  Bare Metal vs. Virtualized Servers Bare metal servers are usually contrasted with virtualized servers which have become ubiquitous in recent years. Virtualized servers are machines with resources that are shared across multiple users.  The physical machine is converted into multiple virtual machines, each running their own operating system. This is done by utilizing he hypervisor, which is software installed on top of the computer hardware and which creates the virtualization layer. The hypervisor manages the sharing of physical resources into virtual ones. Virtualization has been a wildly successful technology and virtual machines are running in a majority of global 2000 enterprise data centers today. Pros and Cons The big advantage of server virtualization is efficiency and utilization. Virtualization can increase resource utilization from the standard 15% to close to 80%. Virtual […]

A recent survey of business professionals conducted by TrustRadius revealed the most annoying workplace jargon of the decade–in the tech sphere and beyond. It looked at why these buzzwords rub so many of us the wrong way and found perceptions differ along gender lines and across company sizes. The survey also showed differences between generations of business professionals. How do professionals in different age groups feel about business buzzwords?   TrustRadius compiled the top responses from each generation of survey respondents. Here are the business buzzwords Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z consider most annoying. The business jargon that annoys Baby Boomers the most Think outside the box At the end of the day Going forward (or moving forward) Cloud Euphemisms involving the word “team” (teamwork, team-building, team player, there is no “I” in “team”) On the same page Agile Ping Gen X’s least favorite business buzzwords Synergy Think outside the box Circle back At the end of the day Low-hanging fruit Leverage Cloud Agile The business buzzwords millennials can’t stand Synergy Take it offline Circle back Think outside the box Cloud Low-hanging fruit Big data Move the needle The business jargon Gen Z hates most (for now) Growth […]

The IaaS market is dominated by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure which together have over 60% market share. AWS alone has almost 50% share, although growth is beginning to slow. The extraordinary dominance and growth of AWS and Microsoft Azure is largely driven by organizations that have decided to exit private data centers, and firms looking to build competitive advantage through large-scale digital transformation. Iaas + PaaS Combinations The research firm Gartner has posited that the market for standalone IaaS platforms is shrinking and that these vendors will remain niche vendors. The market is moving in the direction of combined IaaS/PaaS offerings where both systems have been architected to work seamlessly together.  AWS, Google, and Microsoft are all examples of vendors that combine these capabilities in a single platform. AWS offers its Elastic Beanstalk PaaS which is fully integrated with its IaaS platform. Similarly, Google offers the Google Compute Engine IaaS platform alongside Google App Engine. Microsoft Azure also offers the Azure IaaS platform with the integrated PaaS called App Service for building, deploying, and scaling web apps. Pure-play IaaS Niche vendors But what of the so-called niche players in the IaaS space? Should these vendors be on […]