Internet Trend Watching With Mary Meeker

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Technology trend watchers have some new data thanks to noted internet analyst Mary Meeker.

Her latest presentation at the annual Web 2.0 Summit (below) in San Francisco covered everything from the rise of mobile and local ecommerce, to the the evolution of computing interfaces.

A few things jumped out, particularly the stats on China’s internet growth. Clearly, we’re deep into the “it’s a global economy” mantra, especially for web businesses.

The other notable elements underscore how computing interfaces are being rewritten and the emergence of online audio, or sound, as some describe it in the context of internet apps. Both are already disrupting businesses models in every sector, from media and publishing to music and eCommerce — and fast. If you’ve picked up a new iPhone, you’ve already experienced the power of newer interfaces and the impact of audio on the user experience, thanks to the addition of Siri.

And if you want to compare Meeker’s internet data with a more traditional analyst firm, pull up some of Gartner’s strategic technology trends for 2012. As you’d expect, there’s more on the cloud and big data in their portfolio, but much of the trends they think will steal headlines mirror Meeker’s — mobile, the “internet of everything,” and of course, post-PC era computing.

Even in a tough economic environment, internet-driven businesses are showing real signs of strength. Some of the companies won’t endure, but the way they’re using the internet is arguably more important. It paints the picture of a market still rife with innovation, the lifeblood of startups everywhere.

KPCB Internet Trends (2011)

This is not a smart-phone and I don’t care

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(c) BroadBrush Ventures LLC 2011mobileTech Tuesday, by Steve Guengerich

I attended Dell World 2011 last week and it was pretty remarkable on a number of levels. On one level, I reflected on Dell’s maturation as an enterprise.

While the majority of what we write about in AustinStartup.com are new hardware and software ideas being brought to market, it’s easy to forget a couple of things. One, that Dell itself – presently 41st on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies – was once an Austin startup, way back in 1984. Two, that the majority of startups would like nothing better than (a) to be acquired by a big company like Dell or (b) to become a big company like Dell.

On another level, it was interesting to observe the evolution of Dell’s position. For those unfamiliar with the classic description of company position by Geoff Moore in Crossing the Chasm, note that position is a noun, not a verb. A position is something a company has, not something it does.

So, it was very interesting to see the lengths that Dell speakers and workers on the exhibit floor went to reinforce the merging position of Dell as the “new HP” (my words).

Gone are the days of Dell consumer devices dominating the spotlight – the MP3 players, bargain-priced plasma TVs, and Dell Streaks of the world. Sure, they are still there, but now mainly referred to as “end points” or “nodes.” (By the way, did I forget to say this was an IT-centric crowd?)

In their place are two big messages, at least that I took away from Dell World 2011:

First message: that Dell is emerging as the pre-eminent end-to-end computing solutions company on the planet – more than IBM, more than Cisco, and definitely more than anything you will ever see from Apple!

One of the many examples of this IT-centric, end-to-end, “big iron” preeminence was the demonstration modular data center that Dell showed on the exhibit floor.

Some facts about the modular data center (shown in the photo above): contains 1,920 servers, 138 terabytes of RAM, multiple petabytes of storage, and is 100% free air cooled. Stick that in your iPhone 4S pipe and smoke it!

Second message: that when it comes to “end points,” Dell loves PCs. No, you don’t understand: I mean Dell LOOVVVVEEESSSSSS PCs!

Over and over you heard this phrase – “We love PCs” – during the two days of guest keynote and Dell corporate speakers. Michael said it. Steve Ballmer of Microsoft said it. Paul Ottelini of Intel said it, although he also liked referring to Intel’s reference platform of the future, which Intel calls “the Ultrabook.”

In fact, Intel believes there is still so much room remaining for next generation PCs, that it has opened a $300 million fund to spur innovation with the “suppliers to the suppliers” of ultrabook devices. In other words, the fund isn’t meant for the Dells or even the next hot tablet start-up. Instead, it’s for the companies creating the power supplies, graphics controllers, and wireless adapters for those future devices.

The beauty of these kinds of investments, for those of us focused on the mobile and app world, like I am at Appconomy, is that such innovations will only serve to benefit the larger industry as a whole.

And, that’s a big reason why I enjoyed being at Dell World, seeing the energy and enthusiasm up close of companies like Intel, Microsoft, and especially Dell, working hard every day to stay on top of the tech mountain.

If you were at Dell World 2011 or attended any of the events & activities, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Interview with BetterWorks

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I had coffee this morning with two of the earliest employees of BetterWorks, a Los Angeles based tech startup. They incorporated on Halloween last year, had $1.2M in seed investment in December (from such high profile investors as Ron Conway), and landed an $8M round about six months ago.

They were in town ramping up a few of their Austin-based customers, which you will hear about in the video.

BetterWorks Interview from Bryan Menell on Vimeo.

Innotech Beta Summit 2011

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If you’re attending the Innotech Beta Summit on Thursday, here’s a rundown on the companies that you will see present. Is it a coincidence that half of the companies presenting are “Big Data” plays? You decide.

If you want to register for the conference (so you can attend the beta summit), you can register here and use the special discount code for AustinStartup readers that will you 25% off. That code is SML25.

I’ve got a special deal for you, dear blog readers. For the first 20 people, you can register for Innotech and get a ticket to Austin Tech Happy Hour (5:30pm at Molotov) both totally free. Use discount code BETA888 to claim it.

SubjectLines maximizes email marketing effectiveness by helping you create subject lines that get your emails opened. Discover what your competitors are sending out, and how effective they are. The analytics are driven by the behavior of more than 500,000 anonymous consumer mailboxes, updated daily. Come see how awesome your emails can be.

Social media is hot. Among all that social data is a ton of insight just waiting to be harvested. Polygraph Media is a social media data mining company that gathers intelligence from billions of daily social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.  Marketers receive actionable reports on social media activity for their own pages and their competitors.  Enterprises use our platform for ongoing monitoring, comment moderation, and custom projects.

At Loku, we make it easy to tap into the local scene.  We use our proprietary Big Data for Local software to uncover the real character of a place, be it a nearby coffee shop or a city far away. On Loku.com you can find the latest news and stories, discover new things to do, and get the inside tips on food and drink around town.

Everyone loves to take pictures of their favorite bands when they’re at a concert, but wouldn’t it be great to see a bunch of fan photos of your favorite band? Vivogig is a mobile app and website that lets fans capture and tag live music photos and compete to earn the top spot on the photo charts while supporting their favorite bands.

Forecast is a fun and simple way to share where you’re going. It’s like Foursquare for the future. Instead of telling your friends where you are now with a check in, you create a forecast to tell your friends where you’ll be later. This simple change from present tense to future tense helps you connect with your real friends out in the real world. Forecast is social networking that’s actually social.

HelpJuice is THE auto-updating help page for businesses. We make sure your customers find the answer to their questions – and from your end, we watch the emails your support team sends out, and keep your Help/FAQ page up to date.

 

Start-up SpareFoot Modernizes $22B Self-Storage Industry

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SpareFoot, the free online self-storage marketplace (like Hotels.com for finding storage), announced it is expanding to offer a suite of marketing tools for storage facilities. From humble beginnings as a person-to-person storage website slinging extra space in private residences, the Austin start-up has raised $4.5 million and is now a disruptive force in the notoriously low-tech $22 billion self-storage industry. SpareFoot’s new marketing products help facility operators nationwide reach a crucial audience of increasingly web-dependent consumers searching for local storage online.

SiteBuilder provides a facility with its own customizable, easy-to-update website that converts visitors into tenants. The product works to simplify everything about creating and maintaining a website. For facilities who already have a site, GeoPages works as the ideal supplement to dominate in local search. In this solution, SpareFoot optimizes a facility’s listing on directories like Google Places, then points visitors to a landing page that drives unlimited online reservations.

SiteBuilder and GeoPages join the company’s flagship AdNetwork product, which grants facilities highly visible, search-able listings on SpareFoot.com, SelfStorage.com and over 50 other high-traffic partner sites that serve storage and moving needs.

“We’re excited about all the ways SpareFoot tools empower storage operators to utilize new technologies and connect with online customers,” SpareFoot CEO and Co-founder Chuck Gordon said. “SiteBuilder and GeoPages really level the playing field by making it easy for smaller, local storage companies to compete with the big guys online.”

All SpareFoot products integrate seamlessly with storage facilities’ existing management software to keep unit pricing and available inventory up-to-date. With complete performance analytics, facilities can track page views, phone calls and online reservations. Every GeoPages and SiteBuilder page is conversion-optimized, featuring all the details consumers are looking for when they search for storage on their computers and smart phones.

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9th Annual Texas Wireless Summit

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The 9th annual Texas Wireless Summit (TWS), co-hosted by The University of Texas at Austin’s Wireless Networking and Communications Group (WNCG) and Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), continues its tradition again this year as an interactive event for leaders in the wireless industry to discuss emerging technologies and new business models, changing the industry over the next few years.

Register to attend the event on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center at The University of Texas at Austin at www.twsummit.com. The early bird special ends October 7, 2011. TWS 2011 is also still in need of sponsors. Review our sponsor program on our site and then contact ATI-Wireless and ATI-U Director Kyle Cox at kcox@ati.utexas.eduto start process.

Leading business and wireless technology execs, research academics, venture capitalists, corporate investors and high-potential startups will inform and engage attendees on disruptive innovations and trends in the wireless industry. TWS 2011 will also include the MobileMonday Austinshowcase, an interactive showcase of innovative mobile applications. Additionally, WNCG will host two break-out poster sessions to show their latest research in wireless innovation and answer audience questions.

“Austin is at the nexus of wireless: research and commerce, and so we are excited to once again co-host the 9th annual Texas Wireless Summit, bringing together the latest from industry and academia to explore and discuss trends affecting the industry,” said Kyle Cox, Director of ATI’s Wireless and University incubators.

The TWS 2011 keynote speaker is Roberto Padovani, Executive Vice President, Qualcomm, Inc. Others speakers include Dr. Jim Truchard, Co-Founder & CEO, National Instruments, Jerry Pi, Director, Samsung Telecommunications, Brian Modoff, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Tom Crowe, CEO, Virginia Diodes, Ted Rappaport, WNCG, Founding Director, NSF WICAT Center at UT Austin, Dr. Mike Knox, NYU Polytechnic, and Dr. Fa Foster Dai, Professor, IEEE Fellow, Assoc. Dir. of AMSTC, Auburn University. Topics to be discussed include, “Terahertz Wireless Devices”, “The Data Explosion Continues” and much more.

Dr. Bob Metcalfe, Professor of Innovation at UT Austin, will moderate the Venture Capital Panel. Panelists include Eric Zimits, Granite Ventures, Ned Hill, DFJ Mercury, Al Schuele, Sevin Rosen, and KP Wilska, BRV Ventures. Jeff Andrews, Director of WNCG, NSF WICAT Center at UT Austin, will moderate “The Rapid Evolution of Cellular Networks: Femto, Pico and all that” panel discussion. Panelists include David R. Wolter, AT&T, Amitava Ghosh, Nokia Siemens Network, Tingfang Ji, Qualcomm, and Phil Kelley, Crown Castle.

Jeff Andrews, WNCG Director said, “We are happy to continue to co-host the Texas Wireless Summit. The quality of the TWS 2011speakers, WNCG academic poster sessions, and the panel discussions forecasting the upcoming trends in the wireless industry and the challenges of today and tomorrow will make this year our strongest event yet.”

Rallyhood Launches iOS and Android Versions

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Rallyhood, a group coordination app, announced the launch of the first consumer-focused online and mobile app that provide all the social and productivity tools needed to allow groups of any size or type to easily stay organized and rally around a common cause (video here). Instead of logging into to multiple sites and using email to organize a group effort, Rallyhood delivers all the tools needed in one easy-to-use app. The free mobile app is available for Apple iOS and Android devices, allowing users to communicate, coordinate and share life’s activities on-the-go with ease.

“Our end goal is to make it easier for people to get involved, stay connected and share in the moments that bring us together by eliminating the noise and confusion that comes along with organizing everyday group activities,” said Patti Rogers, CEO and founder of Rallyhood. “With the launch of our new mobile app, groups now have easy access to everything they need to stay in the know and on top of things right at their fingertips.”

Daily life activities and group efforts coordinated with the traditional email, phone, text and clipboard often result in confusion (trying to manage calendars and schedules), chaos (multiple logins, too many emails, lost files and attachments) and disappointment (missing out on the real moments in life). Rallyhood is designed to work for individuals and groups – such as teams, clubs, committees, schools /classes, organizations, friends and family members – to make sure information is centralized and filtered so nothing is missed, especially the experiences themselves.

“We have been using Rallyhood to better coordinate school activities – classrooms, fieldtrips, student clubs, team sports, PTA committees and school-wide events like our carnival. It’s easier for our parents, eliminates confusion and helps build the overall experience of being in this community. I like it so much that I have also been using it at home to help with my own parenting and volunteer activities,” said Angela Glode, Marketing and Development Director at St. Gabriel’s Gabriel’s Catholic School.

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StreamStep Acquired by BMC Software

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BMC Software, the leader in IT management, today announced the acquisition of Austin-based StreamStep, a business software provider focused on accelerating enterprise application delivery and improving release quality.

The integration of StreamStep’s process management capabilities into BMC’s Application Release Automation (ARA) solution expands BMC’s ongoing efforts to support seamless application management from development to production.

Development and operations must collaborate closely to manage application changes successfully into production – a cultural shift in IT that is commonly referred to as DevOps.

“For over five years HomeAway has scaled its product development and hosting operations leveraging a DevOps framework at the core,” said Steve Davis, senior vice president of Operations, HomeAway.  “As an early adopter of StreamStep, HomeAway utilizes this agile platform tool to enable rapid release and process change to collaboratively support hundreds of releases per month.”

Business agility demands applications to change faster than ever, but commonplace disjointed manual and scripted application release processes cannot keep pace with business demands. Improving and accelerating the overall process of releasing and updating business applications has the potential to increase business agility while also reducing outages, development and support requirements for IT departments and creating significant savings.

“With the move to more cloud computing, development is producing business application changes at breakneck speed.  This magnifies the challenges with current, often manual scripted processes,” said Scott Fulton, vice president and general manager of Cloud and Service Operations, BMC.  “Without a shift to an automated release process, the result is costly bottlenecks in deploying new and updated applications while also increasing the frequency of unexpected outages.  With StreamStep, BMC is the only company that can provide complete end-to-end application release capabilities, without changing current processes, and enables IT organizations to provide an end user experience that delights their customers.”

Austin Tech Happy Hour Oct 20th

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The next Austin Tech Happy Hour is coming up on Thursday, October 20th sponsored by Turnstone. Early Bird tickets will be on sale till Thursday, so get yours today! With this awesome weather, the upstairs balcony at Molotov will be a great place to relax and unwind after hitting the Innotech conference earlier in the day.

If you’re attending Innotech, we have a discount code for readers of AustinStartup. For the conference use SML25, and for the eMarketing Summit use code EM95.

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SXSW Eco, ArtPrize and GigaOM: 7 Days, 3 Events Apps

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mobileTech Tuesday, by Steve Guengerich

The past week has been a whirlwind of travel and events: from San Francisco to Grand Rapids to Austin.

Along the way, I’ve had a chance to try out apps for each event, using my trusty iPhone 3GS – yes, I’m one of those who skipped 1st gen iPhone 4 and am likely to be a 4S purchaser!

Here are some impressions of the event apps, working backwards, with a few screen shots from each.

Running today through Thursday is SXSW Eco. The Eco app is pretty much a copy of the core scheduling functions that you last saw in the SXSW 2011 app, so it should be very familiar to you.

Once the database loads, navigation is pretty swift, although I did encounter a point where the database refresh hung (see screen 4). It would be nice if the target area for indicating favorites – that little gray star at the right of every row – was a wee bit bigger.

I also would have liked to see some transactional capability in the app, like if the authors had wanted to make a coupon available for their book signings, etc. But, overall, the app is clean, easy-to-use, and works. Thanks Southby guys and @Xomo.

This past weekend, I spent an awesome time in Grand Rapids on the pivot weekend of the 3rd annual ArtPrize. Look for more about ArtPrize on my personal blog – in a word, it was ridiculouslyawesomeandinspiring!

The app for ArtPrize, developed by @AtomicObject, is very nifty. ArtPrize is less of a schedule-driven conference and more of an experience. So, the app still has to provide many event-like functions – venue locations, bios of participants (in this case, artists instead of speakers), and maps.

But, it also has to provide more unique functions, like voting and background information on the competition. Because, at the end of the 3 week festival, the top vote getter of ArtPrize receives a $250,000 award!

I liked the choice the developers made to get you into the app right away, saving wait times for when you choose to loading larger data, like images of the art work. In general, I found the app UI very attractive and intuitive, with super-fast response time.

If I had any critique, it would be to also provide a transactional capability to the app, by enabling artists to offer their work for sale through the app. In fact, speaking with the organizers, the prospect of providing artists more opportunities to promote their involvement is a big topic on the list as they compile their debrief list for next year.

Finally, a little over a week ago, my team and I from Appconomy participated at GigaOM’s Mobilize conference. GigaOM doesn’t have an event app (at least, not one that I could find), instead relying on the primary app for the organization, which has an event section.

In prior conversations with the GigaOM team, I already knew they weren’t thrilled with their own app – it’s in need of a serious upgrade and they know that. But, it would have been nice to have at least been able to get to a mobilized web version of the 2011 schedule for the conference.

Instead, I couldn’t even *find* the conference when I searched for it – obviously a search feature glitch of some kind. In general, the app UI is solid and easy to navigate around. But, I’ve never been able to get it to save my Login credentials as a GigaOM Pro subscriber, which is something it appears to offer.

So, definitely more work to do at the home office for this one – especially since the conference itself is one of the premier thought leadership events in the mobile space! I expect to be “wowed” in 2012 guys!

So, that’s my 3 events apps in 7 days. Have you had a favorite or most dreadful event app experience to share? Please leave a Reply or add your thoughts in the Comments section, below.

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