• 硅谷
    VR 和 AR 拯救美国劳工:培训新技能,对抗机器人带来的失业 编者按:本文编译自Fast Company名为Virtual And Augmented Reality Can Protect The American Workforce的文章。 在硅谷的任何一条街上散步,处处可见就业困难的美国劳工,他们被就业压力压的喘不过来气。当然,前提是你首先遇到的不是无人机。 在街道上奔驰而过自驾车,让乔治·杰森都自惭形秽的机器人,可以取代整个部门的计算机算法,即将代替配送员和狗仔队的无人机。因此,不难解释为什么一些专家预测,未来将是反乌托邦的世界 ,大部门人都将面临失业。 如今,美国的劳动力不仅老龄化,而且还得与全球各地的劳动力竞争。世界各地的廉价劳动力挡住了美国人的就业之路,自动化和大数据也取代了大部分工作。 幸运的是,未来并不像这些专家们所预测的那样暗淡。任何历史或经济专业的学生都知道,新兴技术会取代一部分工作,但也可以创造就业机会。就像汽车的出现取代了马车,但是汽车修理工,卡车司机应运而生。 如今,我们面临着类似的技术变革。许多行业和职业面临着生存危机。但与此同时,企业可以利用新的技术创造价值,从而创造新的就业机会。 因此,问题不仅仅是缺乏就业机会这么简单,而是大部分劳动力没有习得适合他们的的技能。 现在,不仅高新技术产业有很多职位空缺,传统行业也是如此。德勤2015年的一项研究估计,未来十年,美国将会出现350万个制造业就业岗位,而其中200万个将一直处于空缺状态。 为了应对这一挑战,各行各业的企业必须大量投资员工的培训和再培训,这就是所谓的员工“技能提升”。为了保持竞争优势,员工必须跟上时代的脚步,掌握迅速获得信息的方法,提高工作和沟通的效率。 那么,企业应该如何培训员工才能更经济,更高效呢? 办法倒是有一个。硅谷提出来可以使用AR和VR培训员工。 全球最大的企业已经开始利用AR和VR来培训员工。原因是,这项技术可以使培训更佳安全和高效。同时,这项技术在培训员工软技能(如换位思考和团队合作)方面也潜力惊人。 虚拟化,企业的新宠儿 人只要戴上VR头显,立即可以沉浸在数字世界中。虚拟现实技术融合了先进的计算机图形学和一系列技术。在工作的时候,虚拟现实会诱使大脑相信,自己处于一个完全不同的位置,甚至是一个新的世界。 虚拟现实是一个强大的培训工具。通过这项技术,我们几乎能够重新创建任何场景。同时,成本和风险相对较低,培训时间也较好掌控。例如,飞行员必须在飞行模拟器上进行上千小时的训练,锻炼如何应对各种突发事件,例如飞机失速和机身震动。 有了VR技术,我们可以无限地创建各类逼真的场景。 德国著名的铁路公司Deutsche Bahn通过VR让求职者体验一天工作生活。在这个过程中,求职者可以通过VR检查最新Intercity Express列车的底部。这吸引了大量求职者也提高了劳动力的保留率。在如今竞争激烈的劳动力市场,这无疑是一项至关重要的竞争优势。 UPS是世界上最大的派送服务机构。每时每刻,公司都有10万辆卡车奔波在路上。如今,为了提高效率,UPS也将VR引入了培训中心。在VR技术的帮助下,新员工模拟驾驶运送车辆来学习如何检测和避免一般的道路危险。 试验表明,这种培训方式更高效,更有吸引力,因而更成功。毕竟,游戏化,逼真的模拟场景非常受年轻游戏玩家的欢迎。 零售巨头沃尔玛已经部署将近200个虚拟现实培训中心。其目的是为每年黑色星期五做准备。 通过VR设备,受训的员工可以体验一年中最忙碌的一天,并学会如何解决可能出现的问题,例如库存短缺,流量控制和客户冲突等。 VR让培训变得更加生动有趣,这是在现实世界无法实现的。 与直觉相反,虚拟现实甚至可以用于软技能的训练。对于企业来说,考核和训练软实力非常难,例如同理心,敏锐度和团队合作精神,然而这些因素往往决定着个人能否成功。 VR可以将使用者置身于另一个人所处的境地之中,并且帮助使用者进行换位思考。 医生使用基于视角的虚拟现实技术来获取病人的就医体验,以此来改善他们对待病人的方式。 NFL(一个致力于保留妇女和少数名族领导职务的组织)也在使用VR技术提高受训者的技能。此外,NFL还希望通过让受训者体验受害者的经历,提高所有雇员对于偏见和骚扰的敏感度。 意料之中,比起客户的口述,让受训者亲身体验更加有效。 AR,高效的学习工具 VR只能掌控你的视野,AR却可以掌控你所有的感官。AR会尝试了解你的世界,在你眼前呈现有用的视觉图像。 AR可以运用于耳机,智能眼镜甚至手机之中,实时提供上下文信息和工具,就好像它们是物理环境的一部分。 世界上最大的电梯公司ThyssenKrupp拥有14,000名服务工程师,该公司已经将AR技术应用于提升员工技能。 该公司已经部署了Microsoft Hololens设备,一个可穿戴的AR耳机,并通过这个耳机培训和帮助24,000名服务工程师。技术人员无需亲赴现场,就可以通过三维投影来查看,拆卸和重新组装最新的产品模型。在AR场景中,他们可以修改原理图,体验教程,并与专家通过Skype通话。与此同时,他们还能观察产品模型的小部件。试验显示,该设备将服务效率提高了四倍。 在提升员工能力方面,AR非常强大。因为,AR可以实时提高工作人员的技能,同时还不影响员工完成手头的工作。这样在不影响员工的生产力的同时又能提高他们的技能。在GE风能部门,技术人员在工作中利用AR显示“瞄准线”原理图。与之前相比,这种做法将风力发电机的服务速度提高了46%。 这些案例才是VR和AR应用于培训的第一波尝试。现在几乎所有的iPhone都支持ARKit,而且大多数Android手机也都支持ARCore,VR头显的质量也会更高,价格也会更便宜。早晚,人们可以把AR装进口袋,在家里使用VR。 基于这样一个庞大的用户群,企业不仅能够利用VR培训在职的员工,还能考察求职者,服务客户。在这过程中,企业无需像传统培训方式一样耗费大量人力,物力。 试想一下,员工上班第一天,不仅心情喜悦,而且已经体验过了他们未来要做的工作。 自动化,人工智能和其他技术进步使毫无准备的工人们心生担忧。 工作虽然不会轻易消失或被机器人霸占,但其性质将会改变。同时,除了企业对员工的培训,企业和员工之间的技能匹配也至关重要。 沉浸式VR为企业解决这些问题提供了一个更安全,更快速,更有效的途径。企业和员工也可以更好的合作。 原文作者: WILL BYRNE AND DALE KNAUSS 原文链接:https://www.fastcompany.com/40484853/virtual-and-augmented-reality-can-protect-the-american-workforce
    硅谷
    2017年11月07日
  • 硅谷
    为中小型服务提供商与大型跨国集团建立合作,Globality获3500万美元C轮融资 小企业一直以来都是全球经济的关键推动力量,但这些企业往往无法为大型跨国企业提供服务。 为改变这一状况,一家名叫Globality的创企日前完成3500万美元融资。该创企由前低价律师事务所Hyatt Legal Services创始人Joel Hyatt成立。 未来,Globality将向《财富》1000企业发起冲击,并在伦敦成立欧洲办公室,希望可以更好地利用和小公司合作带来的经验和机会。 此轮融资的投资方有个人投资者组成的国际财团和美国商界及政治界的知名机构投资人,包括前副总统戈尔,前IBM首席财务官John Joyce,国际商会主席John Danilovich及普华永道前全球主席Dennis Nally,Raine Ventures以及THK Equities。 麦肯锡前任合伙人Yuval Atsmon将启动该公司全新的咨询业务。对于Hyatt来说,Globality给大型公司和小型服务提供商建设了沟通的桥梁,以往小型服务提供商经常会失去和跨国企业签下大额合同的机会。 Hyatt在声明中表示:“我们最新的融资轮显示了投资人对Globality使命的信心,那就是让全球化给世界经济带来更多利好,使中小型服务提供商能和大型跨国集团建立合作。” 目前,Globality服务于全球70多个国家的1000多家中小型企业。 潜在服务提供商可以在Globality上注册、提交自己的资料,竞争网站上的项目。 Globality会派自己的员工对这些服务提供商进行审核,目的在于确保服务提供商在竞标项目时,既拥有专业背景,有合乎法律法规。 竞争项目的企业必须保证财务稳定,员工人数500人以下,并能满足国际相关行业标准的报告和审计要求。 一家公司通过审核后,只需填写一份项目简明介绍,回答Globality设置的一系列问题即可。之后,Globality会使用机器学习工具来处理申请,匹配潜在服务提供商工行。 在筛选数千家服务提供商之后,Globality的员工会最终决定3-5家。这一过程一般需要2天时间,相比于传统的2个月缩短了不少。 【猎云网(微信号:ilieyun)】11月5日报道 (编译:可芮ccino)
    硅谷
    2017年11月06日
  • 硅谷
    提高员工留职率,企业服务平台Rallyteam完成860万美元A轮融资 企业如何留住优秀员工的心?高薪是一个办法,而卓越的企业文化就是另一个办法。然而,许多人对自己所处岗位所能学习到的技能感到非常不满意。 Rallyteam发现,有才干的员工经常因为工作挑战不够,或不符合自己的职业生涯规划而离职。这家创企正在和eBay等公司合作,提高员工留职率。 近日,Rallyteam完成860万美元融资,Norwest Venture Partners领投。Storm Ventres、Cornerstone OnDemand和Wilson Sonsini跟投。 Rallyteam联合创始人兼CEO David Somers表示,他们所合作的都是员工人数超过5000的企业。 该公司拥有一套软件,能够利用公共数据来为内部员工建立档案,然后办起“媒人”的角色,帮员工寻找工作机会和特殊项目。 Somers说,他们希望“找到拥有相应技能,并正在寻求新挑战的人”。 eBay的人才与职业发展高级主管Christine Landon表示,“和Rallyteam的合作让我们在全球创建了一个内部人才市场。我们的‘体验市场’让项目主管能够找到自己所需的人才,员工也能更好地发挥和提升自己的技能,这是一种双赢的局面。” Norwest Venture Partners的合伙人Sean Jacobsohn透露,他之所以参与投资,是因为“Rallyteam解决了当下机遇有限的情况下,企业最大的痛点之一”。 Rallyteam总部位于旧金山,在温哥华、科罗拉多州博尔德市均设有分处。 【猎云网(微信号:ilieyun)】11月3日报道 (编译:可芮ccino)
    硅谷
    2017年11月06日
  • 硅谷
    DataFox获得近500万美金新一轮融资   旧金山创业公司 Fox Intelligence, Inc. (San Francisco, CA, 94103) 完成新一轮融资 $4,960,232 美元,利用机器学习分析成千上万数据源的公司信息变化,帮助销售代表开拓新业务。投资者包括 高盛,Green Visor和Google Ventures,客户有UPS,Box和Toyota等。 来源: #美国融资快讯#(新闻机器人@编形金刚)
    硅谷
    2017年11月06日
  • 硅谷
    LinkedIn通过大数据选出美国最具人才吸引力的50个创业公司 LinkedIn Top Companies | Startups: The 50 industry disruptors you need to know now 作者:Daniel Rot   Editor in Chief, LinkedIn 所有估值和资金数据来自CB Insights。除非由公司直接提供,否则任职,员工增长和全球员工数据均来自LinkedIn Premium Insights。 全文是英文,我们简单列出前十名: 1、UBER 2、AIRBNB 3、WEWORK 4、LYFT( 跟UBER一样的打车软件) 5、Slack  (HR项目) 6、NIO 7、Rubrik 8、Dropbox 9、Houzz 10、Convoy ········ 16、Pinterest 19、Udacity 22、Opendoor 31、Coursera 46、Glint (HR项目) 详细的大家可以看这些项目和公司福利。   Some of the most fascinating businesses today are startups. Sensing a chance to transform (or take over) a market, founders are channeling their seemingly endless flow of venture funds into new ideas — and top talent. We wanted to see which startups were winning the talent game. Who are the 50 most in-demand upstarts in the U.S. today? The all-new LinkedIn “Top Companies | Startups” list is the answer. To surface the companies, we looked at the billions of actions of LinkedIn’s more than 500 million members to determine employee growth, job seeker interest via views and applications, member engagement with the company and its employees — and how well these startups pulled talent from our flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list. (You can learn more about our methodology here.) To be eligible for Top Companies | Startups, companies must be 10 years old or younger, have at least 100 employees, remain independent and privately held and have at least one round of venture-backed funding. LinkedIn worked with CB Insights to pull a global list of nearly 25,000 eligible venture-backed companies. Share the list and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopCompanies. Here are this year’s top 50 startups in the U.S. All valuation and funding data come from CB Insights. Tenure, employee growth and global headcount data are from LinkedIn Premium Insights unless provided directly by the company. Follow Driving forward: Uber has been in the public eye this year for all the wrong reasons: sexual harassment claims, regulatory issues, a new CEO and loads of boardroom drama. That hasn’t kept the ride-sharing giant from growing fast or attracting top talent. Of all the companies on our list, Uber has the most workers who have joined from other LinkedIn Top Companies; employees have left the likes of Google, JPMorgan and Facebook to work at the super-unicorn. Global headcount: 16,000 Global headquarters: San Francisco Catch a ride: Worldwide employees get free monthly Uber credits to use on personal rides or UberEATS, the company’s online meal ordering and delivery platform. Valuation: $68 billion Explore jobs at Uber Follow Yurt, treehouse, castle: Airbnb has had 200 million guest arrivals since the company launched. Taking on the $550 billion hotel industry is no small feat. To go head-to-head, the company has expanded its instant booking listings and even announced plans to open its first co-branded apartments (which residents will be able to share on Airbnb). Global headcount: 3,000 Global headquarters: San Francisco Royal lodgings: Employees receive an annual $2,000 (£1,516) stipend to stay in Airbnb locales around the world, including one of nearly 3,000 listed castles. Valuation: $29.25 billion Explore jobs at Airbnb Follow Creating communities: WeWork has nearly doubled its membership this year to over 150,000 users, expanded to some 170 locations (including its first India location) and purchased private coding academy Flatiron School in a recent acquisition. While the startup has been growing rapidly, a highly competitive office-leasing market recently raised doubts around the company’s rich valuation. Global headcount: 3,000 Global headquarters: New York City TGIM: New hires join WeWork every Monday for orientation at the company’s headquarters. The day includes a citywide scavenger hunt where employees get a glimpse of the company’s nearly 40 buildings across New York and ends with the weekly “Thank God it’s Monday” dinner for the entire staff. Valuation: $20 billion Explore jobs at WeWork Follow Driving across America: Lyft has been rapidly expanding across the U.S. It now covers 95 percent of the population across all 50 states, more than any other rideshare platform, and provides over 1 million rides every day. In mid-October, it raised $1 billion in a new funding round led by the venture arm of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. Global headcount: 2,000 Global headquarters: San Francisco Expanding accessibility: Lyft introduced new features to make the app more accessible to deaf or hard-of-hearing drivers, including visual notifications and a message telling passengers to contact the driver via text. Passengers can also get a quick tutorial on how to say “Hello” and “Thank You” in sign language. Valuation: $11 billion Explore jobs at Lyft Follow Revolutionizing productivity: Known as a dead-simple collaboration tool, Slack is going head-to-head with the likes of LinkedIn parent Microsoft and Atlassian to own workplace productivity. Its platform allows workers to message each other in real time, while connected apps add context or automate mundane tasks to help get the job done. Global headcount: 890 Global headquarters: San Francisco Corporate scale: Slack bills itself as the fastest-growing business application in history, serving some 9 million weekly active users and 43 companies from the Fortune 100 list. It’s been hiring rapidly to keep up with that scale: growing 32 percent over the past year.   Valuation: $5.1 billion Explore jobs at Slack Follow Speeding into the future: Shanghai-based NIO develops smart, electric and autonomous vehicles. The startup, which expanded to the U.S. two years ago, built the world’s fastest electric car, manned or unmanned, able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.7 seconds. CEO Padmasree Warrior, formerly of Cisco, says NIO cars will be available in the U.S. as soon as 2020. Global headcount: 3,000 Global headquarters: Shanghai (San Jose, Calif. in the U.S.) Welcome to the team: NIO has more than quadrupled its staff since June 2016. Amid such rapid growth, NIO shepherds its culture through bimonthly “team time,” where all employees welcome new hires and get to know each other outside of work through activities like trivia and scavenger hunts. Valuation: $2.89 billion Explore jobs at NIO Follow Cloud’s the limit: Rubrik helps companies organize their data in the cloud, ensuring instant access for recovery, analytics and application development. It counts corporate giant JLL, non-profit World Vision and the Tampa Bay Rays among its customers, but CEO Bipul Sinha has even bigger ambitions. “In the future, data will be like money,” he said in a May interview. “Rubrik can be like the Visa for enterprise.” Global headcount: 600 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. Big-name investors: The company counts NBA MVP Kevin Durant as one of its investors and board advisors alongside iconic firms like IVP and Lightspeed Ventures. It’s also notably transparent: all 600 employees can attend board meetings and see the company’s financials. Valuation: $1.3 billion Explore jobs at Rubrik Follow Refreshing storage: Dropbox has a new look these days. The online storage company went through its biggest-ever rebrand this year, repositioning itself as the tool to enable and inspire creativity in the workplace. The new branding also comes with a major milestone: Dropbox reached a $1 billion revenue run rate in February, the company told LinkedIn. Global headcount: 1,900 Global headquarters: San Francisco Giving back: Every Dropbox employee is given 32 hours of annual volunteer time off to participate in a cause about which they are passionate. The company will also match up to $1,000 for all donations made by Dropboxers to charitable organizations. Valuation: $9.38 billion Explore jobs at Dropbox Follow Bringing tech home: Houzz, the online platform for remodeling and decorating, is transforming the way people design and shop for their homes. Beyond sketching ideas or hiring the right contractor, users can experience their designs through Houzz’s augmented reality tool. The company says that shoppers who engage with the tool are 11 times more likely to purchase. Global headcount: 1,600 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. More than an office: On their first day, every new employee gets a pair of Houzz slippers to wear around the office so they can feel at home. It’s not much of a stretch: Houzz’s meeting rooms are inspired by household spaces around the world, including the British Tea Room, German Backyard and Italian Closet. Valuation: $3.84 billion Explore jobs at Houzz Follow Trucking on demand: Convoy believes the world moves on reliable trucks, and it is in the business of building innovative services to match shipments with reliable carriers. The company works with a network of independent trucking companies and uses technology to match the right truck to the right load, helping optimize supply chain performance. Global headcount: 170 Global headquarters: Seattle Staffing up: The company has been scaling rapidly since its founding in 2015. In the past six months, Convoy’s headcount has grown 37 percent — and it’s hiring for another 28 jobs currently, according to LinkedIn data. Its recent $62 million funding round, led by Y Combinator, will help rev up that growth. Total funding: $80 million Explore jobs at Convoy Follow Closing the skills gap: General Assembly is creating a new way to educate today’s workforce. The company, which started as a single co-working space in 2011, now has campuses in 20 cities. GA has served over 40,000 students through its full- and part-time programs, and it says it works with a third of the Fortune 100 to develop proprietary, sustainable talent pipelines in fields like data science and web development. Global headcount: 580 Global headquarters: New York City Moving up: While GA has some great perks (like 16 weeks of parental leave for a primary caregiver), the biggest benefit may be the upward mobility within the company. In the first half of 2017, GA had 136 promotions, the company told LinkedIn. That’s a quarter of all employees. Valuation: $452 million Explore jobs at General Assembly Follow Moving the money: Bought something online at Target recently? Or Under Armour? Then you’ve likely used Stripe’s products without even realizing it. The company builds the tools businesses need to instantly accept and manage online payments, helping buyers pay seamlessly and providing sellers real-time analytics. Global headcount: 810 Global headquarters: San Francisco Worldwide access: Stripe powers businesses in 25 countries and accepts 135 different currencies (plus Bitcoin). It enables Apple Pay across the internet and in iOS apps, and Stripe even helped launch a new cryptocurrency: Stellar. Valuation: $9.2 billion Explore jobs at Stripe Follow The birth of an empire: Before starting her direct-to-consumer skincare and makeup company, Glossier CEO Emily Weiss ran the popular blog Into the Gloss. The industry expertise and cult following she gained was a recipe for Glossier success. Her social media-savvy brand became such a hit after launching in 2014 that its products quickly sold out and garnered waitlists 10,000 people long. Global headcount: 130 Global headquarters: New York City Growth in all directions: At an annual employee growth rate of 257 percent, Glossier was the fastest-growing company on this list over the past 12 months, according to our data. The company also made strides to meet growing demand abroad with plans to ship to Canada, the UK and France. Total funding: $34.4 million Explore jobs at Glossier Follow Connecting the dots: Early in his career, Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen worked in logistics importing lawnmowers and jacuzzis from China. Now he’s on a mission to ensure any two businesses can trade regardless of distance or regulatory hurdles. His freight forwarding and customs brokerage company is growing at a rapid clip, with its base of clients up 315 percent over the past year, the company says. Global headcount: 500 Global headquarters: San Francisco Branch out: The company does a regular “lunch roulette” where you go out to lunch with coworkers you don’t see on a daily basis. Valuation: $910 million Explore jobs at Flexport Making the connection: Organizations often spend a fortune investing in telecommunications infrastructure from the likes of AT&T and Verizon. Aryaka Networks, a SD-WAN provider, is disrupting those telecom giants by providing a networking option that eliminates hardware and helps control costs with a pay-as-you-use model. The end result is seamless connectivity that’s optimized for cloud-based applications and global access. Global headcount: More than 300 Global headquarters: San Mateo, Calif. Loyal employees: The average employee tenure at Aryaka Networks is 2.7 years, the longest of all the companies on the list, according to LinkedIn data. Total funding: $120 million Explore jobs at Aryaka Networks The visual search engine: Seven years after the company’s debut, it’s still hard to nail down exactly what Pinterest is: it’s part social network, part scrapbook, part catalog of ideas. But, increasingly, it’s defining itself as a search company — one that hopes to offer marketers an alternative to ad behemoths like Google. The company is expected to generate $500 million in ad revenue this year, up from $300 million in 2016. Global headcount: 1,200 Global headquarters: San Francisco Just getting started: Pinterest believes most of its site “hasn’t been built yet,” so this year it launched Pinterest Labs, a collaboration with researchers, scientists, engineers and universities to take on the biggest problems in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Valuation: $12.3 billion Explore jobs at Pinterest Follow Working to save lives: Since launching a year ago, GRAIL has attracted a whopping $1 billion in funding from Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and some of the biggest companies in healthcare. The company's goal is to detect cancer early, when it's possible to cure. To do that, it’s attracted world-class geneticists and biostatisticians, and launched one of the largest clinical research programs in genomic health, with studies enrolling more than 130,000 people. Global headcount: 250 Global headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif. Expert leader: CEO Bill Rastetter co-invented one of the world’s most valuable cancer therapies, and has won praise for his work in academia. He held multiple faculty positions at MIT and won the award for “Excellence in the Teaching of Chemistry” at Harvard. Total funding: $1 billion Explore jobs at GRAIL Follow Growth hackers: Duo Security, the first of five cybersecurity companies on the list, provides features like two-factor authentication and secure single sign-on to clients as diverse as Facebook, Toyota and Zillow. The 8-year-old company has been on a tear: In the last year, Duo quadrupled its user base, doubled its headcount and became cash-flow positive, it says. Global headcount: 500 Global headquarters: Ann Arbor, Mich. Local flavor: The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company embraces its Midwestern roots by enforcing a “no jerks” policy and gives each employee a personal candy pack from Zingerman’s, the famous local deli, on the first day. Valuation: $1.17 billion Explore jobs at Duo Security The Silicon Valley university: On a mission to democratize education, Udacity offers courses designed by companies like Google and Salesforce that teach professionals the foundational skills needed to land jobs as web developers, mobile developers or data scientists — all at a fraction of the cost of normal universities. Global headcount: 500 Global headquarters: Mountain View, Calif. Driving diversity: If you thought you couldn’t get a degree in self-driving cars, think again. Udacity recently created a scholarship with Lyft for its new Intro to Self-Driving Cars program to help make the field more accessible. Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Udacity The Yelp for enterprise software: With nearly 250,000 verified user reviews for software and services, G2 Crowd is making it simple to find the best business technology based on people’s real experience, acting as a Yelp for enterprise software. There’s one big difference from the consumer-focused review site: G2 Crowd doesn’t sell any ads. Instead, it uses its data to provide for-purchase research reports. Global headcount: 120 Global headquarters: Chicago Personalized welcome: If you land one of G2 Crowd’s 130 forecasted job openings over the next year, expect to see your personal Bitmoji hanging at the entrance to the office on your first day. Valuation: $300 million Explore jobs at G2 Crowd Modern mortgage making: Blend provides mortgage lenders the digital tools they need to make home loan applications faster, smarter and more secure. The company, which says its clients control about 25 percent of the $10 trillion mortgage lending industry, has helped process $57 billion in applications so far this year. Global headcount: 200 Global headquarters: San Francisco Humble beginnings: Blend CEO and founder Nima Ghamsari attributes his foray into entrepreneurship to his first job at McDonald’s. “The one thing it teaches everyone is that most jobs are not glamorous, and you have to do whatever it takes to get by,” he told LinkedIn. Valuation: $500 million Explore jobs at Blend Moving on: Opendoor wants to cure your real estate woes by making it possible to sell your home online quickly — no real estate listing necessary. The company, which also operates its own mortgage business, buys your home directly then resells it. Opendoor is active in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas and Atlanta with plans to expand to two new markets before year end, it says. Global headcount: 415 Global headquarters: San Francisco Undercover employee: All new hires act as Opendoor secret shoppers in order to experience the service first-hand, using the app to enter a home and explore as if they were potential buyers. Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Opendoor Follow Military grade security: Fighting hackers is no easy task, but Boston-based Cybereason is equipped for the challenge. Many of its employees served in the Israel Defense Forces’ cybersecurity unit and now use similar tactics to protect its clients. The company’s endpoint detection platform finds attackers’ vulnerabilities after they’ve infiltrated an organization, letting companies know if they are under attack and how to quickly stop the threat. Global headcount: 325 Global headquarters: Boston Perk alert: Cybereason offers employees unlimited vacation, reimbursement for commuting expenses, free lunch and an employee referral bonus of up to $5,000. Valuation: $999 million Explore jobs at Cybereason Follow Protection on all fronts: Cylance is one of the world’s first companies to provide an antivirus platform built on machine learning and artificial intelligence. It uses its next-generation technology to proactively protect companies like Panasonic and Gap Inc., as well as the U.S. government and even consumer home devices, from malware attacks. Global headcount: 805 Global headquarters: Irvine, Calif. The motive: On a flight to Australia in 1989, Founder & CEO Stuart McClure faced a near-death experience when the flight incurred devastating damage en route that cost eight other passengers their lives. Since that day, McClure told LinkedIn, his life’s passion has been “to find and fix the problems introduced by technology to prevent bad stuff from happening to innocent people.” Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Cylance Follow Making headlines: Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike was the first to point a finger at Russia after its investigation of the Democratic National Committee email hack prior to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Since then, it’s capitalized on the surging interest in online security to raise new funding (another $100 million in May) and to sign on ever-more clients. CrowdStrike tells LinkedIn that more than 10 percent of the Fortune 1000 now leverage its tech and services. Global headcount: 760 Global headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif. In-person intro: The company flies all new hires in from around the world to meet with execs and learn about company's strategic direction in person. Valuation: $1.01 billion Explore jobs at CrowdStrike Increasing efficiency: Chicago-based predictive analytics firm Uptake added more than 300 jobs this year. The company’s software analyzes sensor data to improve productivity and decrease failures across a host of industries, from aviation to energy. One example: wind farms. Uptake’s software can predict when parts on a turbine may soon need to be replaced, preventing costly outages. Global headcount: 800 Global headquarters: Chicago Your name here: Employees who submit patentable ideas for company review can be awarded up to $2,000 and named inventors if the patent is granted. Valuation: $2 billion Explore jobs at Uptake Cash, credit, or a loan: Third-party lender Affirm aims to offer shoppers an alternative at the register by providing quick and easy personal loans with fixed monthly payments. The company recently announced it’s available at checkout with more than 1,000 merchants, up from 100 a year ago, often for higher-priced merchandise like furniture and electronics. Global headcount: 280 Global headquarters: San Francisco Origin story: Despite just having sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2012, Max Levchin couldn’t get approved for a car loan. He was haunted by minor credit issues racked up in college. The experience proved to him that FICO scores weren’t useful for determining credit worthiness and helped birth the idea for Affirm, where he’s co-founder and CEO. Valuation: $781 million Explore jobs at Affirm New foundation: Construction projects rarely finish early or under budget. Katerra wants to streamline the process — by owning all of it. With its model, developers don’t parcel out work to contractors who in turn subcontract again, which inflates costs. Katerra oversees everything, from design to materials sourcing and assembly. Its Phoenix, Ariz., manufacturing facility can build a 24-unit apartment building every two weeks. Global headcount: 850 Global headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif. Who it’s hiring: The company writes that it looks for employees who can “think big, and lead from any seat.” Another core corporate value: frugality. As the company looks to trim costs from the construction process, one cultural principle is working “in the most cost-efficient manner possible.” Valuation: $1 billion Explore jobs at Katerra Ding-dong: Video doorbell company Ring turns your smartphone into a surveillance hub, sending you a live feed of your front door. The company, rejected by judges on “Shark Tank” in 2013, went on to generate an estimated $160 million in sales last year. It recently expanded into other user-friendly home security products like floodlight cameras. Global headcount: 1,500 Global headquarters: Santa Monica, Calif. Doing battle: In his quest to stay ahead of competitors, CEO Jamie Siminoff treats employees as “confidants in war,” the LA Times reported, “bestowing them with dog-tag-style security badges inscribed with name, start date and title.” Another corporate rarity: Ring’s dozens of team leaders have nearly full autonomy — no mandatory management meetings or even budgets — to encourage speed and innovation. Valuation: $431 million Explore jobs at Ring Rethinking real estate: Convene designs and operates corporate meeting spaces, and sees its business model as much more, calling it “workplace as a service.” The company amps up the cool factor of average office buildings by adding high-end touches more common in luxury hotels like microbrew coffee shops and farm-to-table meals. It brought in $40.7 million in revenue in 2016, up from $28.9 million the prior year. Global headcount: 320 Global headquarters: New York City Coffee talk: Within a month of starting at Convene, every new hire meets with one or both of the company’s co-founders to chat over coffee. They also receive a giant chocolate business card with their name on it. Total funding: $113.5 million Explore jobs at Convene Follow Open classroom: Online education giant Coursera offers a multitude of digital courses on topics from cryptocurrency to game theory. It has grown to over 28 million users globally and is adding nearly a half million new users every month, the company told LinkedIn. Coursera is committed to amping up the technical skills of underemployed people worldwide, often partnering directly with governments to close the skills gap. Global headcount: 300 Global headquarters: Mountain View, Calif. Hit the books: Employees enjoy free Coursera courses as well as time during working hours to meet with colleagues in study groups. Valuation: $800 million Explore jobs at Coursera Follow Customized: Online styling service Stitch Fix pairs customers with its more than 3,000 personal stylists to gauge wardrobe needs and dispatch regular boxes stuffed with clothes, shoes, and accessories. There is a strict separation between the company’s merchandising and data teams to ensure its recommendation algorithms get just the right products into customers’ hands. Global headcount: 5,800 Global headquarters: San Francisco On the market: The company recently filed for its much-anticipated IPO; it reported$977 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal year and lost $594,000, although it was profitable in previous years. Valuation: $314 million Explore jobs at Stitch Fix Follow Alibaba of the West: Wish, a mobile commerce app, connects shoppers directly with the suppliers of everything from down jackets to wireless chargers. This direct access to manufacturers, many of which are in China, means cheaper prices and a huge selection: the site has tens of millions of listed products. Global headcount: 310 Global headquarters: San Francisco Making money: The 7-year-old startup has raised over $1 billion in funding from the likes of Founders Fund and GGV Capital. That bet may pay off. Wish has an annual run rate in the “middle single billions” and is profitable, according to Joe Lonsdale, an investor in the company. Valuation: $3 billion Explore jobs at Wish Follow Wooing millennials: Online brokerage Robinhood lets members make trades without paying any fees, an appealing proposition for many first-time traders. "Free is pretty difficult,” says co-founder Baiju Bhatt, noting that most of the company’s employees are software engineers focused on building automation into the system to ensure customers can easily trade without human guidance or intervention. Global headcount: 100 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. On the rise: Robinhood doubled its base to 2 million users in the past year, and Bhatt estimates that 90 percent are under age 40. The company expects to double its headcount next year to keep up with the growth. Valuation: $1.3 billion Explore jobs at Robinhood Follow Threats thwarted: Cybersecurity company Darktrace uses AI and machine learning to defend enterprise networks. Rather than building perimeters to keep hackers out, it looks at what normal behavior is in a system and raises alarms when something deviates. The company was founded by mathematicians from the University of Cambridge. Global headcount: 600 Global headquarters: Cambridge, UK Unsolved problem: Darktrace has raised $180.5 million in total, including a new $75 million funding round earlier this year, putting its valuation near unicorn territory. Its more than 3,500 customers include even water-supply systems, eager for help. “The problem of cybersecurity is still unsolved,” CEO Nicole Eagan told Bloomberg TV. Valuation: $825 million Follow Get connected: Sprout Social is an enterprise social media management platform that helps companies with the often chaotic task of tending to their presence across multiple social networks. More than 19,000 brands currently use Sprout, and the company has been expanding both its workforce and its capabilities to meet demand. Sprout grew its headcount by 80 percent since September 2016 and added features like Instagram scheduling and a built-in image editor. Global headcount: 400 Global headquarters: Chicago Access to the top: All new employees meet with Sprout CEO Justyn Howard shortly after starting. They can ask questions and hear straight from the top boss about the company’s values and vision. Valuation: $500 million, according to the company. Explore jobs at Sprout Social Follow Powerhouse partnership: Hyperloop One recently announced an investment from and partnership with Virgin Group that gives Richard Branson a board seat and rebrands the startup: Meet Virgin Hyperloop One. The company, which remains independent, will be able to tap into Virgin’s expertise in operations, safety and passenger experience as it looks to commercialize its first hyperloop systems as early as 2021. Global headcount: 300 Global headquarters: Los Angeles Farther and faster: Virgin Hyperloop One’s autonomous system uses electric propulsion through a low-pressure tube, which could reach airplane-equivalent speeds once fully developed. In a second phase of testing in July, its XP-1 pod reached 190 mph and a maximum distance of 1,433 feet, going farther and faster than its initial runs in May. Valuation: $700 million Explore jobs at Virgin Hyperloop One Follow Data driven: Snowflake Computing is a pay-as-you-go data warehouse for the cloud. The 5-year-old company boasts clients like Adobe, Capital One and Sony Pictures and says its sales have increased 300 percent in the past year while its workforce roughly doubled. It raised $105 million earlier this year, bringing its total funding to $210 million, in part to open more sales offices worldwide. It tells LinkedIn it expects to add another 300 jobs next year, a move that would again double the size of the company. Global headcount: 280 Global headquarters: San Mateo, Calif. Warm welcome: In a personal touch at the weekly all-hands meeting, CEO Bob Muglia introduces each new employee, asking them to stand as their colleagues provide thunderous applause and cheers. Valuation: $500 million Explore jobs at Snowflake Computing Follow AI to the rescue: ThoughtSpot is an analytics platform that aims to take the pain out of using business intelligence tools. Its AI-powered software lets users ask questions in everyday language, similar to a Google search. Customers include Chevron, Capital One and OpenTable, with the company aiming for 20 million users by 2020. Global headcount: 220 Global headquarters: Palo Alto, Calif. In it together: Co-founder and CEO Ajeet Singh describes himself as “Chief Coffee Maker” and sees his job as being there to help others, even if it's just brewing another pot. ThoughtSpot’s commitment to “selfless excellence” extends into a Slack channel where employees can applaud each other for good deeds. Valuation: $417 million Explore jobs at ThoughtSpot Follow Offline marketing magic: Zenreach has transformed free wifi from a service into a tool: brick-and-mortar businesses can collect the email, demographic information and visit behavior of customers just by inviting them to log onto in-store wifi. Companies can then use that information to better target marketing campaigns to the right consumers at the right time. Global headcount: 220 Global headquarters: San Francisco Star-studded cast: Zenreach has raised $80 million in funding and collected a star-studded list of investors, including Peter Thiel, Kevin Durant and Ashton Kutcher. Valuation: $193 million Explore jobs at Zenreach Follow Keeping data safe: Storing, protecting and analyzing data is big business, and multiple enterprise startups are competing to own the space. Cohesity has been rapidly gaining momentum with its proprietary technology that allows companies to streamline their backup and data protection while delivering real-time analytics. Its products have wooed the likes of Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which are both investors. Global headcount: 210 Global headquarters: Santa Clara, Calif. Bonding on the beach: Last December, CEO and founder Mohit Aron paid for all employees and their families to vacation in Hawaii to celebrate the 4-year-old company’s rapid growth. Valuation: $537 million Explore jobs at Cohesity Follow Customer service meets business insight: Pendo is making that ubiquitous — and loathed — emailed customer feedback survey obsolete. Its software leverages in-app surveys, polls and analytics to give product developers more detailed user feedback. Revenue is up 400 percent compared to a year ago, Pendo told LinkedIn. Global headcount: 150 Global headquarters: Raleigh, N.C. Better than Bitmoji: The Raleigh, N.C.-based startup plans to double in size this year, with an estimated 150 job openings planned for the next year. New hires can look forward to their own hand-illustrated avatar that lives on Pendo’s website and their own personal coffee mug. Total funding: $56 million, according to the company. Explore jobs at Pendo Follow Know your customer: Moda Operandi is redefining what it means to be a luxury shopper in a digital age, allowing customers to pre-order clothing, accessories and jewelry straight from the runway online. New this year is Moda Operandi Madison, a private boutique off of New York’s Madison Avenue for exclusive events and appointments. Global headcount: 200 Global headquarters: New York City Happy (furry) employees: Dogs are welcome in the office anytime, including at Moda Operandi’s weekly Friday happy hours. Biped employees also get bonus and equity at every level. Valuation: $330 million Explore jobs at Moda Operandi Follow Open-source operation: Databricks is helping companies like Salesforce, Viacom and Shell accelerate innovation by unifying analytics across engineering teams, data scientists and business partners. The company was founded by the creators of the open-source processing engine Apache Spark and is committed to continuing that open tradition. Databricks believes “that no computing platform will win in the big data space unless it is fully open.” Global headcount: 220 Global headquarters: San Francisco This is the droid you’re looking for: Databricks employees enjoy free catered lunch every day, Boba tea twice a week and the chance to spot an R2D2 model around the office daily. Valuation: $856 million Explore jobs at Databricks Follow Easier apps: Skuid is a champion of the better user experience, believing that low adoption rates of business software traces back to bad UX. Based in Chattanooga, Tenn., Skuid’s platform lets businesses build analytics apps with a drag-and-drop interface instead of coding. It scored a $25 million investment this year from Iconiq, the family wealth manager of tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg. Global headcount: 175 Global headquarters: Chattanooga, Tenn. Health, ensured: Skuid covers 100 percent of insurance premiums for its employees and their dependents. Total funding: $35.62 million Explore jobs at Skuid Following Taking the pulse: Glint attempts to go beyond the employee-happiness survey of old. One of its newest products, Narrative Intelligence, uses AI to analyze employee comments and provide a visual map of what employees care about. HR execs rejoice: No more reading through thousands of survey comments. Global headcount: 130 Global headquarters: Redwood City, Calif. Walk the talk: Based on its own employee feedback, Glint has added programs like No Meeting Wednesdays, volunteer opportunities and adjustable-height desks for all employees. Total funding: $119.17 million Explore jobs at Glint Follow Standardizing software: Docker is an open-source platform that allows developers and system administrators to build, ship and run distributed applications. Its container-as-a-service platform packages software into standardized units for easier access by teams and clients, which can speed up software shipments as much as 7x for companies, according to Docker. Global headcount: 325 Global headquarters: San Francisco Who needs groceries: Employees at Docker can help themselves to lunch, dinner, snacks, and bottomless cups of coffee at the office. Valuation: $1.3 billion Explore jobs at Docker Follow Making free services pay: Credit Karma built a profitable business providing free credit reports, credit monitoring services, and — in the wake of the Equifax breach — free ID monitoring. Its services have attracted 75 million users to date, including almost half of all American millennials, according to the company. This year the fintech startup topped $500 million in revenue and opened new offices in Charlotte and Los Angeles. Global headcount: More than 700 Global headquarters: San Francisco Recharge in the office: Perks include an on-site spa for manicures and pedicures, nap nooks and dedicated rooms for music jam sessions, art creation and retro arcade games. Valuation: $3.5 billion Explore jobs at Credit Karma Follow Better sleep, wherever: Direct-to-consumer mattress maker Casper has gone beyond its flagship single product. It introduced products like a humidity fighting duvet, an adjustable bed frame and a dog bed. Casper has also gone offline in a big way this year, launching a roving “bedmobile,” retail pop-ups and a Target partnership that puts its products in stores across the U.S. Global headcount: 350 Global headquarters: New York City Sleeping on the job: New employees receive a full suite of Casper sleep products, from the mattress to pillows to sheets, to ensure they are well-rested. If mid-afternoon sleepiness hits, they also have access to office nap pods for a quick snooze. Valuation: $920 million Explore jobs at Casper Follow Making search flexible: Elastic believes that good things come from connecting the dots — lots and lots of them. The company builds open-source data software for easier search, logging, security and analytics in real-time. Elastic’s products have been downloaded more than 150 million times and its community has grown to more than 100,000 developers across 100 countries. Global headcount: 600 Global headquarters: Mountain View, Calif. Distributed talent: Elastic searches far and wide for the best tech talent regardless of location — and embraces a distributed workforce model. The company started with employees in places like Amsterdam, London, Prague and Barcelona. Valuation: $700 million Explore jobs at Elastic Reported by: Chip Cutter, Susan Jackson, Laura Lorenzetti and Ashley Peterson Corrections: Valuations and funding for Sprout Social, Udacity, Aryaka Networks, Convoy, Pinterest and Cylance have been updated with information directly from the company. Global headcounts for Ring, Darktrace, Pinterest and Airbnb have been updated. WeWork recently acquired Flatiron School; it was incorrectly stated as the company's first acquisition.
    硅谷
    2017年11月05日
  • 硅谷
    利用机器学习帮助企业提高员工留职率,Glint获2000万美元D轮融资 Glint是一家帮助企业提高员工留职率的公司。日前,这家创企宣布完成2000万美元D轮融资,参投的有原投资人Bessemer Venture Partners、Meritech Capital Partners、Norwest Venture Partners和Shasta Ventures,此轮融资后,该公司的融资总额达8000万美元。 Glint成立于2013年,其平台能够进行员工调查,然后利用机器学习、自然语言处理和预测分析技术对结果进行分析,最后生成的报告可用来解读员工对公司管理、心水和企业文化的感受,并为企业提出提高各项得分的建议。 这样不仅能够减少招聘和培训新员工的成本,也能让员工、股东更开心。Glint成,一年四次征求员工意见的公司,他们的股价一般会上涨40%,相比之下一年只征求一次意见的公司,股价只会上涨4%。 其他用数据分析来了解员工感受的公司还包括CultureAmp,共融资3630万美元,包括今年6月的2000万美元C轮融资;以及TinyPulse,共获得950万美元融资。 Bessemer Venture Partners的合伙人Byron Deeter说,“早目前的企业环境下,企业必须倾听员工的心声和担忧,了解他们的需求。我们很高兴能看到越来越多的跨国公司使用Glint来改变其商业成功的方式,挖掘员工的集体力量。” Glint的新一轮融资将用于强化运营,向欧洲扩张。目前,该公司客户包括Sky Media、United Technologies、Pure Storage、Intuit、LinkedIn和Rio Tinto等。 【猎云网(微信号:ilieyun)】11月3日报道 (编译:可芮ccino)
    硅谷
    2017年11月03日
  • 硅谷
    微软说 MR 重新定义了“工作”,HoloLens 也将进入29个新欧洲市场 本文作者:田苗 来源:雷锋网 11 月 1 日,记者了解,微软 HoloLens 和 Windows Experiences 总经理 Lorraine Bardeen 在官网上发表博文,他讲到混合现实 MR 在现代工作场景中更多应用的可能性,同时,随着市场对 MR 的需求增加,微软 HoloLens 也将进入 29 个新的欧洲市场。 他表示,微软曾推出不少技术,如 Microsoft 365、Microsoft HoloLens、Windows Mixed Reality 等,来帮助公司,一线工作者工作,让现代工作向数字化转变。 他特别谈到,微软对混合现实在现代工作场景中的应用,十分看好。 微软想做的是,让地球上的每个人和机构能完成更多的事情。MR 便有这样的潜能,帮助消费者和企业去完成一些不可能的事情。MR 让企业员工更快、更安全、更有效地完成关键工作,并且创建与消费者和合作伙伴联系的新方式。 记者在他的博文中读到,如同农业革命加速了农业生产,工业革命产生了新的生产方式,而数字革命已经重新定义了工作的含义。人们的智慧,富有创造性的问题解决方式,以及合作的技能正在重新定义何为“工作”。这也就产生了对可支持新的工作方式的技术需求。 对于一线工作者来说,他们经常直接接触到消费者,是第一个展示公司品牌的人,也是第一个向外界展示产品和服务的人。他们是企业的支柱,但是很大程度上却被技术低估了价值所在。而混合显示将帮助他们同新技术一起工作,解决问题,以及交流。 对于信息工作者,混合现实将帮助他们更好的合作和远程工作,他们可以更自然地与数字世界交互。有了混合现实,工作者们可在几秒内改变内容,改变人们,甚至是变换会议场景。混合现实呈现的界面可帮助工作者直接在仪表盘或信息设备生成的数据上工作,并且与真实世界中的其他事物无缝连接。 博文中 Lorraine Bardeen 正式宣布 HoloLens 将进入 29 个新的欧洲市场,至此 HoloLesn 上市的市场达到 39 个。目前,一些企业已经使用了混合现实工作,如福特汽车,全球著名的医疗公司史塞克(Stryker),钢铁公司 thyssenkrupp。 那么具体的工作场景中,混合现实能实现的功能有哪些呢? 远程助手,与远程专家合作,实时在真实的空间中完成任务; 训练,创建定制化第一人称视角的训练手册,以及对新产品、流程和设备的分步指南; 设计,计划和布置空间,与他人协作,无需真实的模型进行设计; 3D 办公,3D 内容制作,将电脑屏幕的内容与混合现实体验对接; MR 数据&分析。 国内微软 HoloLens 的销售价格 HoloLens 已通过北美和欧洲防护眼镜标准,并且遵循 ANSI Z87.1、CSA Z94.3 和 EN 166 最常规防护眼镜证书标准。同时,防尘防水级别达到 IP50。为了工作人员的安全,明年初微软还将推出一款 HoloLens 安全帽。 此外, Lorraine Bardeen 还提到微软在软件层面对 HoloLens 的支持。例如 Windows 10 支持 3D 内容创建,而 Windows 10 秋季创新者版本也提供了更完善的 3D 制作工具和资源。 记者了解到,目前商业版套装和开发者版本的 HoloLens 已经可通过微软商店购买。微软也为开发者和寻求 MR 解决方案的合作伙伴提供了专门的渠道(可查看微软官方网站)。
    硅谷
    2017年11月02日
  • 硅谷
    提升会计和审计工作效率,企业费用报告分析初创公司AppZen获1300万美元A轮融资 据外媒消息,总部位于美国加州圣克拉拉市的企业费用报告分析初创公司AppZen宣布获得了一笔1300万美元的A轮融资,领投方为Redpoint Ventures,参投方为Resolute Ventures。截至目前,该公司的融资总金额已经超过了1750万美元。 记者还了解到,AppZen公司是知名创业孵化器500 Startups毕业创企,他们开发了世界上第一个用于企业后台自动化的人工智能解决方案,可以自动执行企业费用报告的创建、合规性检查、以及审计工作。另一方面,该公司还正在对其基于数据科学的自动意外和故意欺诈行为检测技术申请专利。AppZen的解决方案能够对企业每笔费用自动进行审计和匹配风险系数,以确保企业避免费用滥用和监管不合规的现象。此外,该公司的早期投资方还包括硅谷银行,万事达卡和彭博社等知名企业。   本文作者:Tino 来源:鸵鸟创投媒体(微信:wechuangye)
    硅谷
    2017年11月02日
  • 硅谷
    AI与云端HR的强强结合能颠覆整个人才管理系统? 随着越来越多的公司将其人力资本管理(HCM)系统与数据迁移到云中,他们不再只是满足于获得经济效益,并实现实时的数据访问。如今,他们希望自身的云端HCM可以与AI进行结合,以实现实时决策、提升客户服务和改善员工体验。 收益?那些能够有效结合AI和云端HCM的人可能会发现自己将具有明显的竞争优势。 在最近Oracle于旧金山召开的OpenWorld的大会上,IBM全球人才与参与业务服务伙伴Duke Daehling告诉与会者,大部分的未来公司将以人才为中心,并以AI为动力。Daehling强调,如果公司想要跟上业务、技术以及工作模式的发展,那么这是他们的唯一选择。 “我们正在进入一个新时代,”Daehling说道。“事物的变化从来未向如今这样快,而且还会更快。” AI驱动的人才管理的四大优势   Daehling表示,未来以人才为中心并通过AI赋能的公司将在四个关键领域享受优势: 1、公司将能够对员工工作内容与方式进行重新成像,以便解决相应的时间管理,据Daehling所述,管理者所花费的时间中有大约60%都浪费在了与他们无关的任务上; 2、公司可以通过使用实时数据以实现员工和业务表现的预测,并将由此生成的洞察与见解交与决策者,从而实现客观的决策; 3、公司可以用数据来对他们的人才战略进行验证,以对招聘工作进行更好的定位,从而可以引进最优秀的员工; 4、借助云端HCM和AI赋能,公司能够为员工带来更多“以人为本”的体验。比如,如果公司了解到消费者在学习中更有可能进行产品消费,那么为什么他们不把同样的想法带入招聘过程中? Daehling曾参与到Hilton集团与陆路货运公司YRC Worldwide的高管会议中。 IBM与这两家公司均分享了他们利用AI与云端HCM系统组合的方法以及期望的目标。 例如,Hilton集团正在开发一套全球人力资源和人才获取系统,该系统运行于Oracle的HCM Cloud,并将于今年晚些时候为Hilton在美国、英国和爱尔兰的1000多处酒店招聘到8万名员工。Hilton数字人力资源与战略规划副总裁Kellie Romack说道,这套全新的系统正在取代公司长期依赖的PeopleSoft本地部署系统。新系统将通过AI功能帮助公司对每年超过7万个职位的申请人建立进行整理与归档。 实际上,这会对员工造成大量的困扰,招聘人员往往需要花费大量时间来寻找与筛查出候选人,比如一份调查所示,52%的受访者认为招聘工作中最难的部分就是从大量的申请人中选出一份候选人名单。此外,Hilton还希望AI能够解放其呼叫中心的员工,让他们不必再去回答客户重复性的问题,从而他们可以专注于进行更复杂的查询支持服务。 同样,全球货运服务公司YRC也打算将AI的元素带入自己的云中。公司CIO Jason Ringgenberg说道,该公司将于今年上线Oracle的HCM和ERP系统,并计划于2018年增加工资和人才管理系统。 对于YRC来说,做出IT资源上云的决定是必要的,因为YRC自身的数据中心已经严重老化,而且为了实现链接前端应用和后端PeopleSoft系统,其IT人员在页面编写时花费了过多的时间。 而之后,当YRC完成了云部署后,公司还希望AI能够帮其实现两个人力资源相关的目标:员工留存和驾驶员安全。对于前者,Ringgenberg表示,YRC的管理层希望其云HCM系统能够降低员工流失。“你可以使用HCM云中的数据来预测司机会长时间留在这里的可能性吗?”Ringgenberg说道,这是公司希望AI可以帮助其HCM系统解决的一个问题。 同时,Ringgenberg还提到,利用AI数据分析可以帮助公司确定评估道路状况以确定是否需要更改运输时间表,从而保护驾驶员的安全。通过分析这些状况与条件,公司可以实时决定是否需要让卡车驶离道路或是让终端管理程序与驾驶员进行安全协议。这样公司可以减少与避免事故的发生,而更少的事故意味更好的潜在风险与问题。 一个内部的使用案例:IBM Watson 鉴于Hilton和YRC均希望建立其以人才为中心并通过AI赋能的HCM的系统以希望在未来的市场中继续成为行业主导,他们可以以IBM Watson作为系统内部使用的参照。 作为一家在172个国家拥有380000名员工的IT服务和软硬件供应商,IBM一直致力于在内部进行AI技术的使用。对此Daehling提到了几个例子,比如Watson中的IBM Job Finder,其旨在帮助求职者找到合适的职位;而IBM Watson Recruitment会帮助公司找出空缺的职位会对那些员工造成更大的影响;此外还有Myca(My Career Advisor,“我的职业顾问”),该应用将帮助员工在内部进行工作的切换。 Daehling认为在商业世界中,用AI来改善工作体验可以有效缓解那些将AI视为纯粹邪恶的人的担忧。他说道,“我们不想把人变成机器人或去除人性。”“我们只想去预测员工与业务的表现,并希望在这个过程中获得竞争优势”。 当然,玩家不只是巨头公司 在AI与人力系统结合中,还有一个值得一提的公司,它便是“HR2.0”时代的佼佼者之一的SmartRecruiters。 2017年四月,SmartRecruiters在其人才获取套件中新加入了招聘AI功能。招聘AI使用人工智能技术来处理大量的招聘信息及数据,并对这些数据和信息进行解释以便招聘人员作出更好的决策。传统的ATS(申请人跟踪系统)用户体验感低并缺乏营销功能,这样使得公司的招聘效率严重低下,招聘人员往往需要花费大量时间来寻找与筛查出候选人。 而通过AI与机器学习的技术,招聘人员可以重新做回自己的“员工”的角色,因为系统可以自动的完成发现、筛选与候选人评分的工作。当招聘的过程不再费时费力时,招聘人员便可以回归他们的最本职的工作“为公司延揽最出色的人才。”这将极大地提升公司内部的多样性,并让公司和候选人都能找到心仪的对方。 同时,招聘AI还有望解决雇主的偏见问题。尽管通常是无意的,但是招聘人员总会具有一些偏见,而人工智能不会这样。招聘AI可以通过预测分析为特定工作的候选人提供公正的评估。 思考:未来属于巨头还是创业公司? 众所周知,由于数据与资金等原因的限制,对于AI的开发与应用通常还是集中于大型公司。如前文所述的Oracle与IBM这样的大体量的厂商以及Hilton和YRC这样大型的用户。但是相较于大型公司,小型的创业公司却往往具有较强的创新力与开拓力,而中小型的HCM系统用户同样也渴求着合适的人才。 在AI赋能上,很难说到底是大型公司还是中小型公司会带来更多的价值。二者各自具有自己的特点,但也有自己的缺陷。当然在这个有“一千种死法”的商业时代里,若想继续存活,在AI这种新技术领域中发力始终是一条不变的真理。
    硅谷
    2017年11月01日
  • 硅谷
    百亿帝国崛起史:从CRM工具裂变为SaaS巨头,独角兽Salesforce做到了   2000年,Salesforce的联合创始人创始人Marc Benioff上演了一场在硅谷难得一见的戏剧性抗议活动。 这个在当时名不见经传的CEO花钱请来了一群演员,带上“反软件”的标志聚在Siebel Systems用户会议的会场前。Siebel Systems是一家客户应用解决方案提供商,主要销售客户关系管理软件。 此举得到了关注,但当时并没有人相信Salesforce能够成为软件公司中的巨头。Business Insider曾针对抗议活动撰写过一篇报道,并讽刺Salesforce不过是蚍蜉撼树 然而,就是这样的一只“蚍蜉”帮助创造了2500亿美元的全球市场。Benioff建立企业的主旨就是软件应该通过云端全天候提供服务。Salesforce是第一个落实这一思想的企业。20世纪90年代后期,像甲骨文和SAP这样的公司还在向企业销售需要安装和升级的企业预置型软件。而现在,这些公司正在不断开发云端产品,试图赶上Salesforce的脚步。 Salesforce开发了首个云端产品——一款CRM工具,同时积极地传播公司的愿景。他们通过一个相对简单的产品向用户灌输云端的概念。然后他们开始开发其他产品,并试图建立一个可持续发展的生态系统,在理想状态下将收益重新带回Salesforce。现在,他们通过建立更多的使用案例、改进自身产品来直接回应竞争对手,捍卫他们作为在任者的地位。 这一独特的方式引发了软件行业的一系列疑问: 1.Salesforce如何通过一个不为人知的模式成功地破坏了现有的企业预置型软件提供商的市场? 2.在激烈的市场竞争中,Salesforce如何还能如此成功,并在持续创收的同时持续创新? 3.Salesforce又是如何在发展和创新的同时维持品牌的连续性? 让我们来深入了解这只SaaS巨兽的崛起之路。 1999-2004年:让软件更易使用 Salesforce要将所有软件带到云端的愿景是革命性的。但完成这样的愿景绝不是一蹴而就的,在过去的18年里Salesforce一直致力于实现它。一开始,云的概念是抽象且笨拙的,因此Salesforce选择从一款产品开始做起。 在20世纪90年代后期,客户关系管理软件行业的活动很多。像甲骨文和SAP这样的大企业相互竞争,促使企业为其产品添加越来越多的功能,因而其产品变得庞大而复杂。相反的是,公司更需要一个集中的系统来跟踪销售情况和客户数据。 Salesforce的联合创始人都曾从事CRM和销售自动化的相关工作。Salesforce最初开发的产品就比那些繁杂的产品更易使用。Salesforce的产品设置更加简便快捷,集成了现有的系统,更方便用户支付,并且总是能够快速运行。 早期的产品开发和营销活动以一个简单的想法为核心——使CRM软件更易于使用。以下是公司一步步实现这个想法的时间轴: 1999年:Salesforce的联合创始人Marc Benioff卸任甲骨文数据库公司副总裁一职,为此他曾耗费13年逐步获取客户支持并脱颖而出。那时候,他已经与甲骨文创始人拉里·埃里森(Larry Ellison)建立了密切的工作关系,并形成了关于CRM软件以及普通软件改进的初步构想:“这种云端交付模式使得软件类似于应用程序,就好比每月支付电费。那客户又怎么会拒绝每个月为一个可以随时随地提供服务的应用买单呢?” 当Benioff离开甲骨文时,他从一家他投资的创企里挖了3名顾问——Parker Harris、Dave Moellenhoff以及Frank Dominguez。他们此前就在一起工作,关系不错,有些甚至曾开发过非SaaS的CRM产品,也就是说从一开始,Salesforce团队的技术背景就非常强大。他们所开发的首个CRM版本看起来就像这样: 2000-2002年:Salesforce针对其CRM产品发起了极具侵略性的营销策略,以针对Siebel的抗议活动和“软件终结”活动为出发点展开计划。根据其“反软件”营销信息,软件或是现有的企业预置型软件使得销售人员在客户关系管理方面变得更加困难。当时在Salesforce网站上的一则信息表明更好的产品、更快的设置和更高的可访问性对一个团队来说是多么重要。 2003年:Salesforce表示他们愿意通过极具争议的举动来传播他们的产品并发展社区。他们利用达赖喇嘛引起了巨大的舆论关注且受到强烈批评,最终Benioff被迫道歉。 同年,公司还举办了第一届年度Dreamforce用户大会。此后,他们每年都会在该会议上为新产品和新创意造势。这正是Salesforce成功建立社区并激起用户对云端的热情之后的下一步动作。 2004年:Salesforce宣布IPO。在交易的第一天,公司就上了头条,因为他们的股票涨幅超过55%。成功的IPO证明Salesforce确实开发了一款人见人爱的产品,幸免于互联网泡沫的破灭,持续发展,并成功地开始让消费者为云计算买单。 在这几年里,Salesforce通过使产品、市场营销和销售策略保持一致而获得了成长。虽然云端应用的概念对用户来说是全新的,但其价值主张——更好的CRM——轻易地替Salesforce拿下了目标客户,也就是众多的销售人员。 这样的主张也正是Salesforce一直倡导的。虽然团队认为他们早期的产品是“错误梗概”,但与Siebel和SAP复杂的CRM系统相比,Salesforce的工具用起来显然更加地流畅、简单。 Salesforce的早期用户大多是销售人员,这也是公司营销策略的关键部分。对于大多数公司来说,销售就是一个赢利渠道,如果能更有效地完成KPI,那么销售团队通常乐于为新技术买单。而Salesforce直截了当地秀出其产品将如何帮助公司赚更多的钱。 Salesforce基本上已经构建了免费试用和软件销售的新模式。其产品就是通过云端交付的SaaS产品,并在早期用户中创造了强大的病毒式传播渠道。Salesforce对外宣称任何公司的前五名用户都可以免费使用该CRM工具。 一旦团队成员试用了产品并对其产生好感,根据Salesforce明确的定价计划,扩展用户就变得相当简单了。公司可以花钱让更多员工使用这一工具,也可以购买附加的功能。为客户提供的两种扩展方案也促使Salesforce的收入呈几何式增长。 通过病毒式的销售模式将易于使用的产品销售给试用市场,帮助Salesforce提高资本效率。这使得公司能够继续投资其增长引擎。 这些销售和营销实践也促进了公司收入的高速增长。公司在2001-2003年的年度复合增长率超过100%。 通过用户友好型产品和病毒性分销渠道的结合,公司的收益从2001年的590万美元增长到2003年的5900万美元。在2004年IPO期间,该公司的估值达到11亿美元。 当时,Salesforce作为CRM的颠覆者,其产品主要还是依靠CRM,但是Benioff看的更远,他的野心绝不仅仅停留在CRM上。 2005-2014年:平台即服务 当Salesforce开始在云端销售CRM时,他们是第一家也是唯一一家SaaS公司。他们的竞争对手是现有的企业预置型CRM软件。但随着公司的发展,情况也有所变化。 Salesforce早期的成功预示着市场上云服务的兴起。越来越多的公司发现这种交付模式使得他们能够更快地开发产品并销售给更多的用户。 对于那些新兴的SaaS公司,Salesforce并没有采取敌对态度,相反的他们构建了一个平台,开发人员可以在上面定制开发应用程序。另外Salesforce还建立了一个社区,其用户可以开发并销售应用程序。他们还通过收购其他SaaS公司并将其添加到自己的产品套件中,从而将其核心产品扩展到CRM之外。 通过为用户提供更多的云端产品,如支持和协作工具,他们吸引了越来越多的用户。因而Salesforce构建的生态系统对开发人员产生了越来越大的吸引力,Salesforce的产品价值也得到了提升。而云服务越完善,Salesforce的成长就越快。 2005年:Salesforce开发了AppExchange功能。在这里,第三方开发人员可以创建自己的应用程序并将其销售给Salesforce用户。 这是培养不断增长的云计算行业的下一个合乎逻辑的步骤,因为它为开发人员提供了一个支持性的社区和一批受众。 2006年:Salesforce团队发布了更多的模块,这是一种按需编程语言,允许第三方程序员在Salesforce的多用户共享体系中编写和运行代码。Parker Harris还开发了Visualforce,它允许用户创建用户界面,构建表单、按钮、链接,并嵌入任何他们想要的功能。 2008年:Salesforce发布了官方平台Force.com,这是世界上首个平台即服务平台。它允许第三方在Salesforce架构上开发应用程序。同时,它也为Salesforce增加了新的收入来源,因为第三方在每次登录平台时都需要支付费用。 2011年:Salesforce将收购的众包数据公司Jigsaw更名为Data.com,类似这样的收购帮助Salesforce扩大了SaaS行业中的业务范畴,并增加了赢利点。 2012年:Salesforce将收购的社会客户服务工具Assistly更名为Desk.com。Salesforce在Assistly创业的初期就已经投资了一部分资金,最终在2011年以8000万美元完成了收购。此次收购帮助Salesforce将Desk.com成功转型为社会服务平台。该工具可以利用Salesforce的CRM数据为用户实现更加集成的用户体验。该工具同时为公司扩大了产品用例和赢利点。 2013年:Salesforce将收购的社交媒体监控平台Radian 6更名为Social.com,以便用户整合社交媒体数据和CRM数据。 同年,Salesforce在AppExchange上实现了200万次的App下载和安装。这证明公司作为一个平台提供商的成功和成长,而不仅仅是一家CEM提供商。 这些年来,当人们终于对CRM的云服务产生兴奋时,Salesforce又开始开发其他产品了。现在,他们不只是通过CRM服务传播其愿景,他们还开始通过其PaaS平台向其他开发人员传达愿景。同时,他们开始大量投资收购其他SaaS公司。这让更多的人有机会接触到Salesforce。 Salesforce的新平台在SaaS领域也属首创。它提供了恰当的功能和支持,让新的云项目滚滚而来。通过平台,Salesforce将外部开发人员的SaaS合法化,并鼓励人们进行开发。Digital Clarity Group的Alan Pelz-Sharpe说:“按需服务和ASP(应用程序服务提供商)都没有成功地推动我们现在所说的云计算模型。但是将一个开放的B2B交换平台提供给开发者就意味着可用的应用程序数量将呈爆炸式增长。” 由此,Salesforce的价值再次得到了提升——除了通过云端为用户提供优质产品外,Salesforce还帮助用户开发和运行自己的优质云端产品。以下是Salesforce的网站介绍: Salesforce.com不仅提供强大的、易于使用的CRM产品。我们还提供了一个完整的结构体系,帮助企业在整个组织中体验灵活的服务。 这一价值主张彰显了Salesforce在SaaS行业中的领先地位,以及他们将继续致力研发更加易于使用的软件。 与他们的第一款产品一样,Force.com友好的定价方式带动了购买和分销。每次登录只收取99美分,这个价格标签提升了企业在Force.com上进行研发工作的意愿。按次收费的方式意味着用户开发的应用越成功,Salesforce也能获得越多的利益。 Salesforce通过其CRM产品、Force.com、Data.com、Desk.com、以及Social.com构建了许多的赢利点。在此期间,他们的收入增长比公共SaaS中位数高出了数亿美元。 现在,Salesforce还在拓展CRM以外的产品,为用户提供了许多跨越式服务。而CRM则成为Benioff和Salesforce对未来设想的起点——一个不需要软件的世界,一个仅依靠云端便能顺利运转的世界。 2015年至今:不断创新 在Salesforce成立的第15个年头,它已成为业内的领头羊。当它向前迈进时,它发现市场上出现了更小更灵活的创企,它也发现了来自其他大企业如微软和甲骨文的竞争,这些公司也逐渐将产品转移到云端。 对了应对微软和甲骨文等公司的竞争威胁,Salesforce适时地改变了策略。他们与那些威胁到Salesforce发展的企业进行了激烈的竞争。他们将重心逐渐从开发工具、资源和社区,这些任何人都能办到的事情上转移至利用最新技术将竞争对手的举措直接反映在自己的产品中,从而改善自己的产品。 这引起了公司横向和纵向的扩张。他们专注于通过快速利用和整合最新技术并将其提供给不同规模的客户来改善他们的CRM。同时,他们需要不断添加新的云服务来扩展用例,并与微软和甲骨文等企业提供商竞争。 2015年:Salesforce发布了SalesforceIQ,这是一个面向小型企业的CRM。随着Salesforce成为企业解决方案提供商,他们为其他公司进入SMB市场留出了空间。为了解决这一问题,Salesforce在2014年收购了RelateIQ的关系情报平台,并将其更名为SalesforceIQ。其价值取向与Salesforce在1999年的初代CRM十分相似:一个易于使用且开箱即用的解决方案,用户还享有几分钟的免费试用期。 2016年:Salesforce收购了Quip,一家生产率软件公司,允许用户创建文档和电子表格。这一工具得到广泛的应用,并与Microsoft Office和Google Docs产生了直接的竞争。 同年,Salesforce收购了电商平台Demandware,这有助于他们建立Commerce Cloud,并开始在Salesforce Suite中提供电商服务。 在2016年,Salesforce还发布了Salesforce Einstein。这使AI技术在其产品中得到了广泛应用,并且允许Force.com的用户开发基于AI的应用。Salesforce发布该产品的同时,甲骨文也通过自适应智能应用程序发布了他们的AI计划。几个月后,微软通过Microsoft Dynamics 365发布了AI开发进展。 由于Salesforce面临来自其他CRM系统和其他商业软件的竞争,他们需要不断开发更多的云服务产品,来获取用户。一旦用户开始使用某一种产品,那么针对其他产品的交叉销售就能水到渠成了。产品扩展也是与其他大型的云端CRM供应商竞争的必要条件。 利用AI等新技术完善现有产品,并为开发人员提供用于开发基于AI的应用程序的工具,Salesforce让人们更加轻松地享受到高科技带来的福利。 但这并不意味着像AI这样的新技术足以使Salesforce具有竞争力,特别是在其他公司也强力推出了AI服务时。但是,通过收购其他的云计算产品,为用户提供更多的功能和产品,Salesforce可以进一步扩充平台和套件,并远远超出了CRM的范畴。 Salesforce确实面临着来着多方面的威胁,但依然向前推进着。 Salesforce路在何方? 现在Salesforce已经是一个首屈一指的SaaS公司。这也意味着他们需要做很多的取舍。他们在其SaaS生态系统中投入了大量资金,在很多方面帮助了其他公司的发展,同时也为许多公司将其传统产品转移到运动创造了空间,并为小而精的解决方案提供商提供了客户群。 由于Salesforce已经发展成为多用途的云服务提供商,而不仅仅提供个企业CRM,他们仍然有很大的扩展空间。例如: 1.在其云产品套件中提供网络服务。一次次的收购已经帮助Salesforce进入许多新的领域,但是Salesforce尚未大幅度扩展到网络服务中。在去年与微软竞标领英时,Salesforce失败了。通过Dreamforce会议、AppExchange和Force.com平台,Salesforce事实上已经为拥有强大的社区网络奠定了基础。创建内部网络有利于获取销售、营销和协作云的数据和网络层。 2.为用户带来更好的AI效用。Salesforce已经将AI整合进许多产品中。一部分原因是在2017年与IBM的合作将Einstein与Watson合并,以便用户扩充数据。但是随着数据越来越复杂,很多人都认为Salesforce过于繁杂。同时许多同类产品都开始关注易用性。Salesforce可以利用AI来让用户更轻松地获取他们所需的信息,特别是Salesforce还提供了一款名为Optimus Prime的内部工具用以组织和清理数据。通过分析用户在Salesforce上已有的数据来添加服务对Salesforce来说是一个很大的机遇。 3.关注国际市场。Salesforce的发展基于对美国市场的关注,而现在他们有机会通过扩展海外业务进一步发展。就在去年,他们与AWS达成协议,扩大合作关系,因而Salesforce不必在数据主权法律国家建立数据中心。即便如此,他们仍然在建立自己的数据中心,今年早些时候他们就在日本建立了第二个数据中心,以应对亚太地区的使用量增长。在持续发展的国家和地区建立自己的数据中学可以使Salesforce更具优势,使他们能够更好地服务更多的区域而不依赖亚马逊和微软等公司的租赁资源。 Salesforce对云端SaaS的统治将取决于他们能否不断创新,并提供更多的云端解决方案。这似乎已经成了Salesforce的准则,这也在过去的18年里为用户带来了最大的收益和成功。 从Salesforce中学到的3个关键点 Salesforce将整个软件行业完全迁移到云端的方式是革命性的。一旦用户购买了一个拙劣的产品,那么他就不会对云计算产生任何兴趣。 因此,Salesforce开发了一款CRM并将其植入云端,以便让用户对云产品产生。然后,他们将自己定位为云端领导者来构建更多用户想要的产品,促进自身发展。 1.如何完善当前的工具或程序? Salesforce的云端CRM和他们的“无软件”活动完全基于企业预置型软件难以安装升级的弊端。而想要开发引人注目的产品,你必须要优化当前的解决方案。以下是找到减少产品摩擦的方法: 逐步细分你的客户体验。亚马逊音乐部主管Kintan Brahbhatt认为,产品的摩擦点要比开发人员想象的要多得多。他建议产品经理列出客户需要做的所有决定,并逐一询问。 通过评估其与产品的相关程度进行删减。你会发现有些功能可能并没有达到你的预期或并没那么受欢迎。评估和删除那些影响用户体验的功能非常之重要。 2.你公司的品牌是什么,它对你的产品有何影响? Salesforce强调要让产品更易使用,他们被视为创新者,随着他们的成长,他们的产品决策也得到了充分的理解。一个定义明确的品牌可以帮你保持产品开发的重心,也有助于你在众多企业中脱颖而出,告诉用户他们可以对你的公司抱以怎样的期望。以下是认识和进一步定义品牌的方法: 发送NPS调查,并专注于定性答案。除了要求用户打分之外,你还需要给他们留一些开放式的区域,供用户留下关于对你的品牌的用户反馈。然后你可以使用单词云生成器来组织调查这些回答。 创建一个电子表格对这些数值进行分类。在表格中,将产品与用户价值、品牌价值一一对应,这样可视化的方式能让你了解你的产品营销是否有效。 3.随着竞争的加剧,怎样让自己更具价值? 正如Tom Tunguz所说,SaaS公司的三个持续竞争优势是网络效应、数据网络效应和生态系统的构建。Salesforce创建了一个生态系统,因为在当时新兴的SaaS市场中,这一举措是最明智的。 根据公司的具体情况,你可以通过许多方式产生竞争优势。以下是评估方法: 了解用户选择竞品的原因。选择一个对你的产品来说极具竞争力的产品,在论坛上发布问题,向真实用户询问“为什么有人使用这一产品?”提出这一问题也能让你了解到竞品的一些缺点,取长补短。 发布免费工具让用户认识到你的价值。在一个竞争如此激烈的环境中,仅仅是让人们尝试你的产品就已经很困难了,更不用说获取大量用户或是让他们立即了解产品的价值所在。免费的工具,或是像Salesforce的免费试用期,可以让更多人接触到你的产品,让他们自己去探索产品的价值。 贝尼奥夫在他的书背后写道: Benioff在Behind the Cloud一书中写到: “一个想法解决一个问题,那它仅是个策略,但当它成为万金油时,它将成为一个伟大的策略。” 世上无捷径。你需要的是一个梦想,并一往无前地为其奋斗。 如果Salesforce只停留在销售CRM,那么他们觉不会有今日的辉煌。CRM对他们来说是一个闯入云端市场的撬棍,最终使他们成功的是他们一直以来不断寻求创新并传播他们的愿景。 Salesforce作为一家SaaS公司身居高位,从1999年开始成长并从未减缓脚步。现在他们必须不断向前才不会被超越。 【猎云网(微信号:ilieyun)】10月31日报道 (编译:王潇宵)
    硅谷
    2017年10月31日