Spring is just around the corner… Find new energy at the 2012 Globalcon Conference & Expo, March 7-8 in Atlantic City, NJ, where you’ll learn about the latest marketplace developments, explore new technologies, compare energy supply options, and discover innovative project implementation strategies.

Visit FieldOne at Booth #453 to see a demo of our new cloud-based solution, FieldOne Sky, or contact us for free exhibit passes.

Learn more by visiting the Globalcon 2012 website.

Even if you spend most of your time on the road for a living, it’s important to remember defensive driving isn’t just about the other people around you – it’s also about the curveballs the weather is throwing at you.

So here’s a quick list, compiled from the AAA, to keep you on your toes – and your wheels on the ground:

• Wintery weather or not, always avoid driving when you’re exhausted or fatigued. We tend to underestimate how much damage those drooping eyelids can do.
• Make sure you’re properly supported: check your tires for proper inflation, and be sure the tire tread isn’t worn.
• Never use cruise control when driving on icy, wet or slick roads.
• Keep your gas tank half full as much as possible; that way you can avoid gas line freezing.
• When you can, avoid using the parking break in cold, snowy conditions.
• Don’t push too hard when going up hills, but don’t stop completely, either. You want to avoid the wheels from spinning out and you want to keep moving once you’ve already started.
• Always a good idea to warm up your car before taking off, but never a good idea to do that in a garage or other enclosed space.
• A general rule to save your drive: No matter what the weather throws at you – rain, wind, snow, sleet, hail, ice – always stay aware of what’s in front of you and who’s on the side of you.

Check out more winter driving tips. Stay safe!

Here’s a rundown of mobile and iPad app reviews for small businesses:

• 5 Timekeeping Apps for Your Small Business [Mashable]
• 5 Top iPad Apps for Small Businesses [Technically Personal]
• 50 Essential iPad Apps for Small Business [Intuit]
• Pricey Small Business iPad And iPhone Apps That Pay Off [NuWire Investor]

Do you have a favorite iPad or mobile app? Which one?

We’ve got brand new help videos and tutorials available in several categories, so it’s time to visit FieldOne’s Training Center and get familiar with these features:

• Equipment Management [4:46] — Track equipment history and availability information for future work orders.
• Pictures in Job site and Web Portal [6:24] — Adding pictures for a job site and customer portal
• Storing Files in the FieldOne Database [5:51] — Now store files within FieldOne’s database
• Geocoding [3:13] — This features gives you the ability to set map coordinates for any job site, employee, or branch

Check out the full list on the website. And if you need additional help, just contact Support!

Come by and meet the team, while learning about our latest news, software features, mobile app, and more.

Stop by our booth in the Software Center (#3129) and meet our team members on the scene: David, Jim, Matt, Dan, and Melissa.

Ask ‘em for a firsthand account of yesterday’s announcement: the launch of our new SaaS solution, FieldOne Sky.

See you there!

A word from Ilan Slasky, CEO:

FieldOne Sky reflects our desire to create versions of our products to match the needs of businesses large and small, with either the preference for a hosted Cloud solution, or a traditional software approach. We’re particularly excited to have released FieldOne Sky on the heels of our recent releases of our Mobile versions for iPhone and Android. Together, these products help us cover every aspect and work style we’ve come across in the industry.

The SaaS version will serve enterprises seeking inherent benefits of the cloud, along with the ability to dynamically customize workflow, as well as thorough integration with existing enterprise systems.

With dozens of unique features added to existing FieldOne elements, Sky includes:

• Customization of any screen in the interface, creation of unique fields and tables
• Creation of dashboards and charts easily, on the fly
• Seamless integration into Microsoft Outlook, with Office365, Microsoft Office and SharePoint
• Personalization of each User Role with distinctive screen layouts
• Updated collaboration with activity feeds, micro blogging, and detailed audit log
• Companion mobile app (iOS, Android and Windows phones). Native support will be available for Windows 8 tablets.

More from Shloma Baum, Founder, President and CTO:

The dozens of unique features available in FieldOne Sky will carry businesses forward – on the cloud, available whenever and wherever they need it. One of the most dramatic and clever features we created is a powerful, automatic resource allocation and assignment capability, based on factors like geographic location, skill set, open time windows, working hours, scheduled vacation, and more. It will prove especially beneficial to large companies, who stand to save significant time and money by replacing their manual and labor-intensive methods.

As for our tried-and-true software-based solution — the results of over a decade of development with advances and feature additions based on customer feedback — we will of course continue to offer and support it in parallel, re-branded as FieldOne Terra.

Terra was recently upgraded with new features like visual alerts for new unscheduled work orders, automatic e-mailing of invoices, and the option to include photos of jobs for viewing in the customer portal.

We’re very excited about the new addition to FieldOne’s product offering. Here’s to keeping our heads in the Cloud!

The biggest change, however, is the launch of brand pages that will include more in deoth company profiles, larger images and will give marketers control over the tweets their visitors see when they arrive on a business’ page.

The new pages will only be featured for a select number of brands to start, but will roll out to a broader audience soon.

Stop by and say hi to our team ‘on the field’ at our booth in the Software Center (BOOTH #3129) from Monday all through Wednesday.

We’ve got some great stuff to show you, so don’t miss out.

See you in Chicago!

Aside from the typical meaning of ‘asset’ in this case, have you considered the power your people have in making your company successful? The people on your staff are truly powerful – they do their core jobs – the ones written in their employee file – but they also do another job for you. And they may not even realize it.

They’re talking about your company. To each other, to customers, to friends and family. Are they saying the right things? Are they feeling positive? Are they motivated to keep aware of this – gasp! – marketing, evangelizing role they may not have asked for but are doing by default?

That’s where employee buy-in is incredibly important to running your business. If your employees aren’t on board with the company vision, or don’t fully understand the product pitch, or aren’t catching on to the latest updates to your management system, they will feel lost, resentful, and probably negative. And what business moves forward with negative spokespeople?

Here’s a few articles we’ve collected touching on the subject of Employee Buy-In, each with its own angle:

• The Most Detrimental Mistake You Can Make With Your Mobile Deployment
• “I can’t count the number of companies… that say if they could change one thing about their mobile deployment or offer one piece of advice to another company, it’d be getting user buy-in and properly preparing employees to use the mobile technology.”
• How to Earn Employee Buy-in From Your Mobile Workforce
• “Without the proper training, we find users often don’t use the technology to its maximum potential. To get the most out of your investment, we recommend choosing a day and time to roll out the solution to the entire team.”
• To Achieve Employee Buy-In You Have to Invest
• “Taking the time to communicate, educate and involve employees in your new initiative that’s poised to move the organization forward, makes people feel valuable and a part of the company’s growth… If a company wants an army of internal brand ambassadors, the company has to invest time and energy into creating those brand ambassadors.”
• Management: When employees buy in
• “Too many companies focus on the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of their businesses, and not the ‘why.’”
• Employee Buy-In Helps Ensure Success
• “In any economic climate—but particularly in this one… motivated employees produce greater profitability. “