In April , we introduced the concept of Agreement Tracking for users to automatically receive milestone notifications and agreement updates on their Mumboe Dashboard.  Phase one of this feature only allowed you to track individual agreements.  Phase two has now been released and allows users to select an entire folder for tracking.  Agreements added to a tracked folder are automatically tracked.  You can access this view by clicking Agreements on the main navigation bar (you may need to toggle to Folder View).

Track an entire Folder

You will also notice on the Agreement view (Folder or List view) we have added a checkbox column to the agreement records.  Using these checkboxes you can now select one or more agreement records and perform an action.  Our current actions include: moving to new folders, deleting, tracking and untracking.  We may expand that list in the future, but this addresses the requests that we received from multiple users. Please keep the input coming!

Select Multiple Agreements to Move, Track or Delete

To see the full list of features and fixes included in this upgrade click Support in the upper-right corner of the Mumboe application and visit our Customer Forum.

• “Of those who had looked at SaaS products but chose not to deploy them, 42 percent said cost had been the barrier…”  Does this mean they chose competing, on-premise software that had a lower cost instead?  Or does it mean something more like we chose not to implement a solution due to budgetary reasons?
• The above quote went on to say, “…while 38 percent cited integration issues.”  Since when did integration issues become tied to SaaS only?  Isn’t this a major factor in many enterprise software solution decisions?
• “Thirty-three percent said the SaaS solution they looked at failed to meet technical requirements.”  Again, isn’t this a problem that could pop-up when evaluating any software solution?  Do all non-SaaS products meet technical requirements?

Don’t get me wrong…I get that SaaS is not a silver bullet.  And we agree that decision makers need to evaluate their options when looking for solutions.  I’m just thinking that most of the issues discussed in this article apply to most software solutions.

Our most heard excuse is #1 on the list and is “If we need to, we can usually find it …” Often times the main reason a prospect has started looking for a product like Mumboe is because they want to find a centralized repository where they can store all of their agreements and allow controlled access to their co-workers in an effort to save time.  However, that reason is not always translated well to those in management that do not deal with the day-to-day requests/fire-drills looking for the executed version of an agreement.

My personal favorite is # 9 about change being expensive.  Too often we see a small team or department trying to implement a solution to relieve some daily headaches and make a process more efficient.  Then IT and/or management get involved and decide that the best course of action is to implement a fully integrated solution across an enterprise.  That sounds great, but what typically ends up happening is the organization falls into a case of analysis paralysis due to the daunting task/cost associated with planning/changing businesses processes that will work with the new ‘solution’.  In the end the project runs significantly over budget or sometimes is never completed.  Meanwhile, the department that was trying to solve one major problem is still stuck without a solution.

Of course the above example is not always the case, but I’m sure you can tell us about a similar story in your organization.

Mumboe’s unlimited storage offer is included in Mumboe Pro at the existing price of $24/User/Month. Read-Only Users can also be added for $6/User/Month.

There were a group of local entrepreneurs with a wide variety of questions concerning the details of raising capital including the appropriate time, source and amount. There are no easy answers to these questions, since most scenarios have to be analyzed on a case by case basis. Some common concerns that were discussed were current low valuations amid the turbulent economic conditions. The consensus was that start ups must not lose focus on their product or services during their efforts to get capital. A strong product or service, including revenues and enthusiastic customers, will only help a company’s position when trying to raise capital.

Ultimately it would be optimum if a company does not need capital and can fund growth organically, but this is not the usual scenario. A lot of these decisions are dictated by the business model, the market conditions, and the effective implementation of the desired capital. Obviously there is a tremendous amount of market research and planning required to closely estimate your burn rate, runway and needed capital. Even if you decide not to raise capital, that’s a worthwhile exercise. And lastly, partnering with the right investors, whether angels or VC’s, can be a make or break decision, so choose wisely.

We undertook this update with two goals in mind:

1. Make the the web site’s design more in line with the application for a more seamless experience;
2. Add more interactive features and content to help potential customers, press and other visitors to the site quickly understand what we do and how they can benefit.

As part of the design, we also created a new About Mumboe video. It’s not your usual “corporate video,” so be sure to check it out!

Kudos to the Mumboe design team for keeping the emphasis on clarity and usability, while giving the site a fresh look and feel. Check out the new design, and tell us what you think!

But what happens to a contract after it is executed?

For most businesses, once the contract is signed it gets filed away, either electronically or literally in a filing cabinet. And there it stays, soon forgotten in the more pressing day-to-day activities of finding new business and serving customers. Yet inside the pages of those contracts are important milestones that can have a significant impact on your company’s financial picture. For example:

A sales contract might include a requirement to hit key performance milestones by a certain date in order for you to continue to collect revenue payments.

A services contract might include an automatic renewal date, with a 30-day written notice required prior to that date to terminate the agreement.

A non-disclosure agreement might expire before you’ve finished doing business with the company or person that signed it.

Missing these critical milestones can not only cost you money, it can put your business at risk. For example, one of our recent posts found that inaccurate contract management recently cost the state of Maryland more than $10 million in potential overpayments and undisclosed rebates. 

Yet with up to 80% of all business transactions governed by contracts, those milestones can quickly multiply, overwhelming your staff’s attempts to keep track. Many businesses use a combination of spreadsheets and calendar applications to track contract details, including milestones. However, keeping these documents updated as the business grows and relationships change can be challenging, especially during difficult economic times when companies are trimming resources and employees are taking on more work.

That’s why Mumboe’s contract management application allows you to set automatic alerts and reminders for agreement milestones. Every time you upload an agreement into Mumboe (or at anytime afterward), you can automatically extract the milestones you want to track, and create reminders for yourself and other users. So not only can the legal department see when a milestone is coming due, you can make sure that sales or service staff, or the HR department, are alerted when an agreement needs to be renewed, terminated or  renegotiated.

Create automatic milestone alerts in Mumboe.

It’s just one example of a simple but powerful feature that can save your company time (no more updating complicated spreadsheets) and money (no more missed deadlines).

To see a video demonstration of Mumboe milestones, click here.

The report found that “growth remains most significant in areas characterized by horizontal applications with common processes, among distributed virtual workforce teams, and within Web 2.0 initiatives.” The largest markets for enterprise SaaS applications identified in the report, in terms of revenue, are content, communications and collaboration applications; and customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Worldwide Software Revenue for SaaS Delivery Within the Enterprise Application Software Markets (Millions of Dollars)

Source: Gartner (May 2009)

For details and to download the entire report, click here.

According to the report, the spending will be focused on regulatory compliance, employment, securities and bankruptcy/corporate restructuring law.

Corporate legal spending priorities for 2009.

While the survey did not include an outlook for technology spending, the overall trend is a positive sign that organizations are renewing their commitment to tackling the challenges of business accountability.

For clients interested in the full details of the report, BTI will discuss its findings in a webinar on May 28th at 12:00 EST. Cost is $300 per connection, sign up here.

However, we still often field questions from prospective customers about the security of SaaS versus inhouse or on-premise systems. These customers are rightly concerned about the safety of their sensitive business documents, and protecting those documents and the data they contain from theft or loss is still a high priority.

An article in the May issue of Inside Counsel magazine that outlines the most common security breaches companies face might surprise those who automatically think “in-house is safer.” According to the article, a study released in March analyzing breaches by industry sector found the following causes top the list:

Stolen hardware: Data compromises occur most often through lost or stolen hardware such as laptop computers or PDAs. The health care industry has the highest percentage of breaches from lost hardware. The costs can be high: a laptop stolen from an employee of the Department of Verterans Affairs resulted in a $20 million settlement in just one of several class action lawsuits filed as a result of the theft.

Employee theft: One of the most common types of theft, this can also be one of the hardest to prevent, say the article’s authors. Incidents involving employees form the largest percentage of breaches in the financial sector. 

Peeping: A growing area of concern is casual theft, referred to by the article as “peeping”. These incidents occur when people are able to access files they don’t really have permission to view. Peter Swire, a law professor at The Ohio State University and senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, recommends implementing an audit system that provides a history of anyone who has accessed a file.

In addition to providing a full audit trail, Mumboe provides industry-leading security measures to protect the security and privacy of our customers’ data.

You can limit user access to specific folders in Mumboe.

These include:

256-byt encryption: We utilize 256-bit Equifax SSL Certification and 1024-bit RSA public keys to ensure security of data during transmission.

Password protection: Only users with a valid user name and password can access Mumboe.

Permission-based access: Mumboe account admins control what these users can see and do in Mumboe, including which folders and documents they can access.

Web site security: The Mumboe web site has been certified by GeoTrust for SSL certification, McAfee for website security certification, and carries the TRUSTe privacy seal.

For more details on Mumboe security click here.