Microsoft and Apple Highlight Cloud’s Flexibility

NEW YORK, NY–(Sep 5, 2011) – Companies are increasingly looking to cloud computing environments in order to accelerate value in business financials and reduce costs. Cloud computing is highly appealing to today’s organizations, not only because of its projected cost savings but also because of the cloud’s flexibility. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Technology Sector and provides stock research on Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

www.bedfordreport.com/AAPL

www.bedfordreport.com/MSFT

Management Today reports that 37 percent of firms surveyed say they will transfer in excess of 60 percent of their applications to a private cloud environment in the future. While large corporations and businesses are rapidly bringing their applications to the private cloud, co-existing with a public cloud has not been appealing to these organizations. The report finds that a mere 6 percent of those surveyed intend on moving to the full public cloud, based on security concerns.

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Earlier this summer Microsoft officially launched its main entry in cloud-based services for small businesses, Office 365. The Office 365 plan for Small Businesses is optimized for organizations with 25 users or less and includes Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online at approximately $6 per user per month.

Also this summer Apple unveiled its much-anticipated iCloud software. The iCloud is a complete suite of services that automatically allows Apple product users to store and retrieve applications in the cloud.

The Bedford Report provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return.

Source: Marketwire

4 new platforms for building a business mobile app

In a world where there’s always “an app for that,” more small businesses see the value in creating their own mobile apps. The technical know-how necessary to develop an impressive app and the cost of hiring a professional developer, however, have discouraged the production of many would-be branded applications.

Affordable do-it-yourself alternatives give all companies — even those with minimal tech expertise — a way to create their own apps.

Even the code-illiterate can build passable apps using these four new platforms.

1. Bizness Apps

 

Bizness Apps focuses on industry-specific features. If you’re building an app for a restaurant, for instance, its builder might suggest that you add a menu and a specials feature. If you’re building an app for a gym, it might recommend a weekly workout planner.

It’s a difficult platform on which to customize beyond color choices, but it’s a tool that’s incredibly easy to use.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android, HTML5

Price: $39 per month for the iPhone app plus $10 per month for an iPad, Android or HTML5 app.

2. Mobiflex

MobiFlex, while not the prettiest of the app creators, will integrate with back-end data sources and incorporates functions like the phone’s camera, speech recognition and GPS into its native apps.

There’s a better chance of creating and releasing a useful app with these features, but users also have a steeper learning curve than some of its competitors.

Platforms: Android and iOS

Price: A one-time setup fee of $99 plus a monthly fee of $25 for up to 50 users and two pages.

3. AppMakr

If your main objective for creating an app is to distribute content, AppMakr might be a good choice. Publishers such as The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review have made apps using the platform.

Other than adding content through multiple RSS feeds, uploading a photo gallery and sending push notifications, its code-free apps can’t do much. One appealing aspect for content creators, however, is the option to serve ads through several networks.

iSites, Swebapps and App Co offer similar approaches for content distribution apps.

Platforms: iOS

Price: Free

4. Red Foundry

Red Foundry offers options for the intermediate coder and newbie app builder alike. More advanced users can choose to design their apps with an xml-based coding system instead of using the startup’s template.

RSS feeds are the focus of the free version of the product’s point-and-click app builder, though it’s easy to add other extras like photo galleries, maps, social feed and commerce options like a Paypal donate button.

What’s most obviously distinct about the platform is its test-as-you go app,Viz. After you load the program onto your phone, you can use it to test your app as you build it.

The platform also makes widgets that show analytics, social activity and push notifications from your app that you can add to your desktop.

Platforms: iOS products

Price: Basic apps are free; more advanced options start at $39 per month.