#Salesforce Developers Atlanta

[atlantachallenge]

Debunking Myths About Team Building Workshops: Unleashing the True Potential of Your Team

Team building workshops often get a bad rap. Critics argue that they are boring, ineffective, and a waste of time. However, these myths couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is that well-designed team building workshops can have a transformative impact on your organization, fostering collaboration, enhancing communication, and boosting overall productivity. At Atlanta Challenge, our diverse range of workshops demonstrates just how engaging and beneficial these experiences can be. Let’s debunk some common myths and highlight the real benefits of team building workshops.

Myth 1: Team Building Workshops Are Boring

One of the most pervasive myths is that team building workshops are tedious and dull. This misconception often stems from outdated notions of what team building entails. Modern workshops are far from boring; they are dynamic, interactive, and tailored to meet the needs of today’s workforce.

Atlanta Challenge’s Programs:

DiSC Workshop: This workshop uses the DiSC personality assessment to help team members understand their own and each other’s work styles. It’s interactive and insightful, making self-discovery and team understanding engaging and fun.

Problem Solving Teamwork: This workshop involves a series of challenges that require creative thinking and collaboration. Participants are constantly engaged as they work together to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

Real-World Example: Companies like Google and Facebook are renowned for their innovative and engaging team building activities. These organizations understand that when employees are engaged and having fun, they are more likely to be productive and creative.

Myth 2: Team Building Workshops Don’t Work

Another common myth is that team building workshops are ineffective and don’t lead to any tangible benefits. In reality, when properly executed, these workshops can significantly enhance team dynamics and overall performance.

Atlanta Challenge’s Programs:

Emotional Intelligence: This workshop helps team members develop their emotional intelligence, which is crucial for effective communication and leadership. By understanding and managing emotions, teams can improve their interactions and work more harmoniously.

Leadership Development: This program focuses on developing key leadership skills such as decision-making, conflict resolution, and strategic thinking. It empowers team members to take on leadership roles and drive the organization forward.

Real-World Example: Salesforce, a global leader in CRM, invests heavily in team building and leadership development. Their commitment to fostering a collaborative and supportive work environment has been a key factor in their success and rapid growth.

Myth 3: Team Building Workshops Are a Waste of Time

Some believe that team building workshops are a distraction from “real work” and do not contribute to the organization’s goals. However, investing time in team development can lead to substantial long-term benefits.

Atlanta Challenge’s Programs:

Building Resilience: This workshop equips teams with the skills to handle stress and bounce back from setbacks. Resilient teams are more adaptable and better prepared to face challenges head-on, leading to improved performance.

Strategic Planning: This program helps teams develop and execute strategic plans. It aligns team efforts with organizational goals, ensuring that everyone is working towards the same objectives.

Real-World Example: Microsoft’s commitment to continuous learning and development is evident in their success. By providing employees with opportunities to enhance their skills and collaborate effectively, Microsoft has maintained its position as a leader in the tech industry.

The Real Benefits of Team Building Workshops

Now that we’ve debunked the myths, let’s focus on the tangible benefits of team building workshops:

Enhanced Collaboration: Workshops foster a collaborative environment where team members learn to work together towards common goals.

Improved Communication: Effective communication is crucial for any team. Workshops help break down communication barriers and promote open dialogue.

Increased Morale: Engaging and interactive workshops can boost employee morale, making them feel valued and appreciated.

Stronger Leadership: Leadership development workshops equip team members with the skills needed to lead effectively and drive the organization forward.

Better Problem-Solving: Team building activities encourage creative thinking and problem-solving, skills that are essential in today’s fast-paced business world.

Don’t let misconceptions hold your team back. Discover the true potential of team building workshops with Atlanta Challenge. Visit Atlanta Challenge Workshops to learn more about our engaging and impactful programs and book your next team-building event today.

By investing in team building workshops, organizations can create a more cohesive, productive, and motivated workforce. It’s time to move past the myths and unlock the true benefits of team development with Team Building Atlanta.

[jcmarchi]

Anand Sahay, CEO & Executive Director, Xebia – Interview Series

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/anand-sahay-ceo-executive-director-xebia-interview-series/

Anand Sahay, CEO & Executive Director, Xebia – Interview Series

Anand Sahay is the CEO & Executive Director at Xebia, prior to joining Xebia, Sahay was a vice president at Interglobe and a general manager at HCL Technologies. He began his career as a software programmer at Tata Consultancy Services.

Xebia is a pioneering and proven authority in the digital transformation arena, partnering with many of the world’s leading companies to help them become digital leaders and build resilient organizations at any scale.

Whether it’s harnessing the potential of data and AI, leveraging the flexibility of cloud computing, modern software development, or embracing the efficiency of low code, Xebia provides comprehensive services that address every aspect of the digital landscape.

Since its founding in 2001, Xebia has grown to more than 5,000 people across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific – including over 3,000 employees in five delivery centers in India.

Xebia started in the Netherlands in 2001, and has since expanded internationally, and most recently has opened its headquarters in Atlanta, GA. Could you discuss some of the challenges of expanding to the USA, and why Atlanta was chosen?

As an IT consultancy and software engineering company with an established presence in EMEA and APAC, we are navigating challenges that come with scaling operations in the U.S. – from building and managing a fast-growing global team to honing our value proposition in a hyper-competitive market. However, there is significant upside for our expansion and we have plans to grow revenue 4x and create 1,000+ jobs in the Americas over the next several years.

Selecting Atlanta was a decision that cut across several strategic areas. It puts us close to a handful of our current customers, as well as a large roster of prospects. The Atlanta metro area is a thriving hub for digital innovation and home to startups, as well as Fortune 500 brands that are transforming their businesses and reshaping their industries with AI and intelligent automation.

Atlanta also enables us to continue our legacy of industry partnerships with a regional presence of Microsoft, Google, AWS, and Salesforce. As the world is in a new phase of digital transformation, solving business problems requires leveraging a partner ecosystem and a set of capabilities that enable the best possible solutions and outcomes for customers.

Finally, Atlanta is a great place for us to scale up our team. The city has a robust talent pool based on the proximity to top-tier universities like Georgia Tech, The University of Georgia, Moorhouse University, and Emory University.

How does Xebia attract and retain top talent in the highly competitive field of AI?

Demand for AI talent, specifically software engineers and data scientists is only increasing. Continued layoffs in certain tech sectors only tell a partial story. The reality is that companies across banking, insurance, retail, travel, pharma and other industries are all becoming digital-first and need tech talent that specializes in data and AI.

There’s a long-standing myth of the lone wolf software engineer or data scientist but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While it’s true that everyone has their own working style and preferences, at Xebia, we believe that the way to attract and retain top tech talent is to create a company culture that prioritizes community and continuous learning.

We take extreme pride in all 5,500+ Xebians. In a world where AI is rapidly becoming a commodity, it’s easy to also think about the people building AI solutions as a commodity. Our approach is people first and our top priority is to support the passion of exceptionally smart people from the recruiting process all the way through to ongoing professional development.

How does Xebia measure the success and effectiveness of its AI initiatives, both internally and for its clients?

At Xebia, we firmly believe that for AI, and specifically GenAI, to transcend the hype, there needs to be a true system and strategy in place to operationalize the AI to make it scalable across the enterprise and have those initiatives be aimed at achieving some kind of tangible business objectives.

For clients, Xebia measures the success of its AI initiatives through a multifaceted approach that aligns closely with our clients’ strategic goals and operational benchmarks. KPIs include the acceleration of digital transformation, enhancement of customer experiences, improvement in operational efficiency, and the achievement of competitive advantages in the market. Ultimately, effectiveness is gauged by tangible outcomes such as revenue growth, cost reductions, and enhanced decision-making processes, supported by data-driven insights​​.

Internally, we assess the impact of our AI initiatives on improving our methodologies, innovation rates, and employee skill advancements.

With increasing concerns about ethical AI and data governance, how does Xebia ensure the responsible use of AI in its projects and solutions?

AI has been an integral part of Xebia’s offerings for years, so Responsible AI (RAI) is deeply ingrained in our culture and standards. Our commitment to using AI and GenAI responsibly manifests through our principles of fairness, consistency, explainability, data privacy, robustness, and accountability of our training data and algorithms.

We have found success in upskilling our teams through organizational initiatives on the potential impact that AI can have both positively and negatively. Coupled with a data governance model that emphasizes data privacy, security, and integrity, we have found that on an individual level, our team takes a conscientious approach to practice Xebia’s commitment to ethical AI adoption.

Xebia is known for its focus on Cloud Services, AI, and Machine Learning. Can you elaborate on how Xebia is integrating these technologies into its consulting services and the impact this is having on your clients?

This is a great question. So much of what was considered “digital transformation” two or three years ago is now table stakes. Today we’re at an inflection point of Industry Digitalization, which is a culmination of the digital transformation journey. Organizations today need to harness the collective power of cloud services, AI/ML (as well as low code, agile and devops) to fundamentally reshape their companies and industries.

Integrating these core technologies into our consulting services is not one-size-fits-all. We look to build a customizable foundation with varying projects and customer needs. By focusing on four areas of digital convergence – intelligent automation, applied and GenAI, cloud & data modernization, and digital products/platforms, we help organizations chart a course for long-term success. By advising and supporting our customers on strategy, we’ve helped customers across industries drive significant efficiency gains and competitive advantage.

Xebia places a strong emphasis on knowledge sharing and innovation. How does this focus contribute to Xebia’s success and its ability to stay at the forefront of technological advancement?

Our focus on knowledge sharing is a key pillar of Xebia’s success. Initiatives like knowledge exchanges, Innovation Days, and tech rallies ensure that our current and prospective team members have the resources and environment to explore and achieve their full potential and drive innovation and expertise in AI and other technologies. We also support ongoing learning with our Xebia Academy which provides our team members with training courses and upskilling opportunities to ensure they remain as competitive as possible.

Given Xebia’s expertise in AI, how do you envision AI transforming business operations and client services in the next five years?

Since the early 2000s, Xebia has been at the forefront of data and AI and this has provided us with an ongoing competitive edge. We’ve watched the various AI trends emerge and have continuously stayed ahead of the curve. While applied AI (using ML and other AI techniques to solve specific business problems) will continue to transform businesses and client services, GenAI will rapidly accelerate the creation of entirely new solutions. Over the next five years, the convergence of AI capabilities will empower companies to garner new insights, innovate at scale globally and deliver customers unprecedented personalized experiences.

Generative AI is taking the world by storm, what are your views on it and how is Xebia staying at the forefront of this groundbreaking technology?

The opportunities and advantages presented by GenAI are multifaceted and entirely real. At the same time, so are the challenges. We see three in particular: businesses need to capture the value of AI, manage AI responsibly and in a cost-efficient manner, and master the skills necessary to thrive in the new Hybrid Workforce.

Education will remain a key part of how Xebia stays at the forefront of GenAI. We are committed to helping guide and assist customers through their journey with a full range of AI Workshops and Training Programs, including GenAI Use Case Discovery, GenAI “How To”, and AI-Assisted Software Development Enablement. In addition, Xebia provides Certified Pods/Consultants for implementation, and we can help set up an AI Center of Excellence for businesses to drive the adoption of AI across the organization.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Xebia. 

[jumboking-burger]

Loyalty, the way forward for QSRs in 2024

Loyalty is what keeps the bottom-line healthy. Starbucks has always known it. In 2021, Bank of America acknowledged the power of its loyalty program by saying that the Starbucks stock, “could surge 21% as its loyalty rewards program helps defend it against growing competition.”

The world has woken up to Starbucks’ competitive moat; its loyalty rewards app, which has helped drive growth and fend off competition. Starbucks Rewards members drove a record 53% of U.S. company-operated revenue in 2022. Indian QSRs are embracing loyalty too. Brands like Jumboking, India’s largest homegrown burger company are stepping the gas on loyalty, with almost a million sign ups within just 8 months of rolling out.

Dheeraj Gupta, Founder of Jumboking says, ” When I attended the 2023 QSR Evolution Conference in Atlanta, loyalty was one of the important discussion topics. In developed markets, 75% of consumers belong to at least one loyalty program. This isn’t the case in India so far. That’s because we are yet to imbibe that the most important factor determining the success of any loyalty program is ‘making your internal and external customers feel acknowledged’. The staff at the store has to feel empowered. It’s only then that they will communicate loyalty program benefits to the customers.`

Gupta is known to undertake daily listening tours across his stores (he spends 6-8 hours a day at different Jumboking stores every week. Jumboking’s loyalty program called JK Burger Rewards is an extension of his direct interactions with his customers and frontline staff.

Interestingly, a 2023 survey conducted by Salesforce, reveals that 84% of customers say that ‘being treated like a person, not a number.’ This is very important to winning their business. Additionally, 73% of customers are willing to switch brands if they don’t feel respected by a company. This echoes with Gupta’s point about ‘acknowledgement.’ Gupta’s Jumboking is India’s largest vegetarian burger brand with over 165 stores across Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

Clearly, loyalty is the way forward in 2024. Businesses that invest and value the internal and external elements are more likely to create a loyal customer base and increase repeat business.

Source:

[caddcentrenagpur]

ATLANTA COMPUTER INSTITUTE in Nagpur is Central India's Leading and Best Computer Education Institute in Nagpur. Atlanta Computer Institute Nagpur Centers has been conducting IT Training Classes from last 27 years. Atlanta Computer Institute Nagpur is An ISO 9001 : 2015 Certified Company. The Computer and IT courses taught are Basic Courses, MS-Office , C , C++, Java , Advance Java , Python, SQL, Web Page Designing , PHP, MySQL, AutoCAD , 3d Studio Max , Revit , Staad Pro , Pro-e , Creo, CATIA , Ansys , Unigraphics NX , CAD CAM, Solidworks, ArchiCAD, Hardware , Networking , Photoshop , Coreldraw , Graphic Design, Web Site Development, Oracle , Animation Courses, Visual Basic, VB.Net , ASP.Net , C#.Net , Joomla, Wordpress, Revit MEP, Ansys CFD, PHP Framework, Search Engine Optimization, Animation Courses, MS Excel Course, Software Testing, Primavera, MS Project, Embedded Systems, Matlab, Programming Courses, Coding Classes, Dot Net Courses, Advance Dot Net LINQ, AJAX, MVC, Android, Multimedia, Illustrator, Google, Sketchup, Lumion, Rhino, V-Ray, Video Editing, Maya, ISTQB Software Testing, CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, MCSE, MCITP, MCP, MCTS, MCDBA, MCPD, MCTP, Red Hat Linux, Angular Js, HTML5 CSS3, Magento, Codeigniter, Cake PHP, Full Stack Web Development, Full Stack Developer Course, UI UX Design Course, Laravel, Bootstrap, Vmware, Data Analytics, Business Analytics, Power BI, Tableau, Data Science, Machine Learning, Big Data, R Programming, Python, Django, IT Training, Ecommerce, Matlab, Android, Robotics, Arduino, IoT - Internet of Things, Ethical Hacking, Java Hibernate, Java Spring, Data Mining, Java EJB, Java UML, Share Market Training, Ruby on Rails, DTP, Inventor, VBA, Cloud Computing, Data Mining, R Programming, Machine Learning, Big Data, Hadoop, Amazon Web Services AWS, ETABS, Revit MEP, HVAC, PCB Design, VLSI, VHDL, Adobe After Effects, VFx, Windows Azure, SalesForce, SAS, Game Programming , Unity, CCC, Computer Typing, GCC TBC, SPSS, ChatGPT, QuarkXpress, Foreign Language Classes of German Language, French Language, Spanish Language, Business Analyst Course, PLC SCADA, Flash , University Syllabus of BE, Poly, BCCA, BCA, MCA, MCM, BCom, BSc, MSc, 12th Std State CBSE and Live Projects. Project Guidance is provided for Final Year students. Crash and Fast Track and Regular Batches for every course is available. Atlanta Computer Institute conducts classroom and online courses with certificates for students all over the world.

[cloudstewards-blog]

Utilize Salesforce cloud solutions for your business in Altanta

CRM also known as 'Customer Relationship Management' has become very important in the day to day company. It uses Reasoning processing technology for efficient details control and thereby offering companies with improved immediate access towards their companies regardless of the location they are in. Sales force CRM execution is likely to offer frustrating results for the customers even though its execution can be complicated, highly expensive and takes a lot of your energy and effort.

Salesforce database integration has some similarities with social media systems since it makes use of a single cloud centered system which helps customers to effectively manage and remain linked with their business-related customers. There is an increased competitor in the number of CRM software techniques that are designed to fit your company requirements. But Salesforce Einstein CRM continues to be to be the most popular CRM system among spending budget across the world due to its user-friendliness and improved benefits offered by it.

The details and relationships can be handled from all parts of the world using Sales force CRM techniques. Most of the small and mid-sized companies that are willing to improve the development leads through the efficient execution of cloud-based details control techniques capable of offering real-time details for the suitable devices consider Salesforce Admin Atlanta execution solutions and Sales force development solutions as their ultimate choice.

Sales force development also develops as spending budget grow and it also functions improved versatility with which more solutions boasting can be included based on the development of the company. In general is that the benefits of Salesforce for your company vary along with the type and reach of your organization.

If you are searching for a well known agency in Atlanta that can offer effective Salesforce Developers Atlanta services for your business, then the leading agency is the ideal destination for you to visit once. In order to know more about them and their services, go through their online portal.

[wsitho]

What Strategies Do You Use To Generate Leads? Lead Generation Strategies

Communicator, author, and pastor, Andy Stanley based Atlanta-based North Point Ministries in 1995. Today, NPM is comprised of six churches within the Atlanta space and a network of ninety church buildings across the globe collectively serving nearly 185,000 individuals weekly. As host of Your Move with Andy Stanley, with over seven million messages co...

In any online advertising campaign, there are additional components that support the adverts. He designed an uncomplicated, easy-to-navigate web site that our prospects rave about. We have been working with Vic to revamp and streamline our e-commerce site for the final several weeks. His consideration to element and timeliness has made what is usually a daunting task truly fairly pleasant. This is the primary redesign (and we’ve been by way of a number of over the years) that wasn’t stress-inducing! In fact, I was immediately confident that he would cowl each detail, and have been in a place to focus extra energy towards different aspects of the enterprise.

Once you give people VALUE, they're much more willing to do business with you. When launching a digital adverts marketing campaign, having a dedicated landing page The Essentials of Lead Generation on your particular offer is essential to success. Your landing page doesn’t distract your audience from what you need them to do.

In this weblog, I’ll show you the way to generate gross sales leads out of your web site better and sooner, step by step. If there aren't enough people or leads in your gross sales funnel, you’re going to have a problem. Check out these free resources and tools to study extra about how finest to develop your small enterprise with Salesforce. From regular buyer care calls to changing into a trusted source of knowledge, here are 9 ideas that can help you hit your lead gen targets.

Resulted in adjustments and augmentation of the original plan based mostly on stakeholder feedback. A pattern script you will use to clarify to individuals that their participation is entirely voluntary and that they'll withdraw at any time, with out clarification or penalties. Figure 5.3.2 Refining your project scope utilizing a problem-based approach to idea mapping. You wish to be rigorous in your selection of proof, because once you employ it in your paper, it's going to either bolster your personal credibility or undermine it. Straw Man Argument Making a “straw man” argument means restating the opposing thought in an inaccurately absurd or simplistic manner to more easily refute or undermine it.

If you allow the ball of their court to write one thing, you must anticipate that the content material will be delivered late. Instead, I set a while with them and interview them in particular The Essentials of Lead Generation person. This way, I get all the content material extracted from them in a matter of 30 minutes or much less. Afterwards, I’m the one who has to commit to my very own timeline to show these nuggets into crunchy goodness.

Especially when your begin audience isn't to key on reading lengthy white papers. Outgrow has been a superb device to create content that get's folks fascinated within the content material after which take part in their unique end result and relative to others. There are a multitude of designs and codecs that will let you create nearly any type of survey, quiz or calculator. web optimization The Essentials of Lead Generation drives organic visitors to web sites through the use of key phrases and phrases to maximize the chance of content exhibiting up within the top spot of the search engine outcome page . Online tools likeGoogle My Businessare a wonderful place to start establishing native web optimization for your corporation.

[purnima123]

Essential Tips for Choosing the Online Courses for You

Professional degrees alone do not meet companies' requirements, and for getting jobs in top organizations, some additional courses are required. These requirements are the changes in the market trend, and many digital platforms have offered many courses. There are no restrictions and limitations to learning any courses, which may be professional or non-professional online and anyone can learn courses online. But people have to think well before starting work, and when they decide to learn certification courses online, they need to follow some tips. Some essential tips for choosing online courses are listed below.

Essential tips to choose

·        Decide your criteria: 

It is a great choice for choosing an online course that provides the convenience of place and time for learning. But you have to clear a thing which is the first and basic tip, and that is deciding your criteria. There are various reasons to learn an online course like acquiring deep knowledge or learning something new or career growth purpose or course for a different career, which means as an alternative career option. And you have to decide your purpose of learning which is primary.

·        Recognize missing skills if you are a professional already: 

When you are already in a job, but you need some training to develop your skill, then choose the online course, but before that, recognize which skill you want to develop. If you are a Salesforce admin and identified that you need to develop sales and data management skills, and then go for Salesforce administrator certification training in Atlanta which is easy and convenient. When you fail to update yourself in your profession, there is no guarantee for your job since most companies are firing employees who are not updated. Taking online courses is the most useful way to make you stronger by updating skills, but before that, take the necessary time and analyze yourself and find the missing skill.

·        Find the right course provider:

People can study all online courses at home, but you cannot choose a course provider. Because the features of each provider may change a lot and somebody may be a scammer. It is ideal for researching each provider online and doing the research carefully. Check all their features like training, online sessions, and affordable cost. Some organizations will accept certain online course provider certifications since they hold a high reputation in this field. Always prefer the provider with a high credential of certifications and be aware of scams.

·        Consider the course: 

When you are done with previous tips, it is time to consider the course description, which may meet your requirements, and most importantly, consider the length of the course. Some courses will get completed in short periods within a few weeks, and some other courses will take a long period to complete and choose the one that is convenient for you. The cost of the course also must be considered since sometimes it is unable to afford the high cost.

Bottom line: 

Never forget to check the reviews and testimonials of the provider's past students before signing up for the course for you. Finally, the details explained earlier are the essential tips that will help you choose the online course for you. Make use of these tips and learn various courses.

[leojowindmm]

CloudQ is the leading Salesforce development company

CloudQ is the leading Salesforce development company, awarded TiE Atlanta Growth and Impact Award CloudQ has been awarded the Tie Atlanta Growth & Impact Award. Formerly known as the Top Entrepreneur Awards, it aims to recognize and honor entrepreneurs in the Southeast who are scaling, growing, and impacting their industry and communities. Growth, profitability, and sustainability through applied strategies for success, management style, innovation, and culture of the company were evaluated. Moreover, In India CloudQ is the leading Zoho Partner serving clients the seamless services

[mtamar2020]

Senior Salesforce Commerce Cloud Developer

Senior Salesforce Commerce Cloud Developer

Job title: Senior Salesforce Commerce Cloud Developer Company: Publicis Groupe Job description: , Checkout flow, import and export feeds. Qualifications Certified in Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2C is preferred…, but not required Knowledge of Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2C (Demandware) is required. Knowledge of digital commerce components such as users… Expected salary: Location: Atlanta, GA Job…

[cloudstewards-blog]

Salesforce Developers Atlanta

Cloud Stewards is a Salesforce Partner which allows implementing this solution under the best practices. We also provide the best service through our Salesforce Developers Atlanta. We are a multidisciplinary team that works from understanding the patterns of use and consumption of customers to the conceptualization and implementation of the designed solutions.

[orbemnews]

Remote Work Is Here to Stay. Manhattan May Never Be the Same. Spotify’s headquarters in the United States fills 16 floors of 4 World Trade Center, a towering office building in Lower Manhattan that was the first to rise on the site of the 2001 terror attacks. Its offices will probably never be full again: Spotify has told employees they can work anywhere, even in another state. A few floors down, MediaMath, an advertising tech company, is planning to abandon its space, a decision fueled by its new remote-work arrangements during the pandemic. In Midtown Manhattan, Salesforce, whose name adorns a 630-foot building overlooking Bryant Park, expects workers to be in the office just one to three days a week. A nearby law firm, Lowenstein Sandler, is weighing whether to renew its lease on its Avenue of the Americas office, where 140 lawyers used to work five days a week. “I could find few people, including myself, who think we are going to go back to the way it was,” said Joseph J. Palermo, the firm’s chief operating officer. A year after the coronavirus sparked an extraordinary exodus of workers from office buildings, what had seemed like a short-term inconvenience is now clearly becoming a permanent and tectonic shift in how and where people work. Employers and employees have both embraced the advantages of remote work, including lower office costs and greater flexibility for employees, especially those with families. Beyond New York, some of the country’s largest cities have yet to see a substantial return of employees, even where there have been less stringent government-imposed lockdowns, and some companies have announced that they are not going to have all workers come back all the time. In recent weeks, major corporations, including Ford in Michigan and Target in Minnesota, have said they are giving up significant office space because of their changing workplace practices, while Salesforce, whose headquarters occupies the tallest building in San Francisco, said only a small fraction of its employees will be in the office full time. But no city in the United States, and perhaps the world, must reckon with this transformation more than New York, and in particular Manhattan, an island whose economy has been sustained, from the corner hot dog vendor to Broadway theaters, by more than 1.6 million commuters every day. Commercial landlords in Manhattan entered 2020 with optimism, riding a steady demand for office space, record asking prices in some neighborhoods and the largest construction boom since the 1980s. But that collapsed overnight. Property owners suddenly found themselves chasing after unpaid rent, negotiating repayment plans with tenants and offering deep discounts to fill empty space. Mayor Bill de Blasio is requiring the city’s own roughly 80,000 municipal office employees to return in early May, in part as a signal to other employers that filling New York’s buildings is a key to its recovery. “This is an important step for the city, and it’s another important step on the way to the full recovery of New York City,” Mr. de Blasio said. Still, about 90 percent of Manhattan office workers are working remotely, a rate that has remained unchanged for months, according to a recent survey of major employers by the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group, which estimated that less than half of office workers would return by September. Across Midtown and Lower Manhattan, the country’s two largest central business districts, there has never been more office space — 16.4 percent — for lease, much higher than in past crises, including after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001 and the Great Recession in 2008. As more companies push back dates for returning to offices and make at least some remote work a permanent policy, the consequences for New York could be far-reaching, not just for the city’s restaurants, coffee shops and other small businesses, but for municipal finances, which depend heavily on commercial real estate. Sarah Patellos, who is on Spotify’s music team, has been working from a dining room table in Truckee, Calif., a mountain town near Lake Tahoe where she has spent most of the past year after flying there for a weekend trip in March 2020 and getting stuck because of government-imposed lockdowns. “I love being in the city, but you think about your life, the life experiences you want or the different chapters you might want, it’s totally different now,” said Ms. Patellos, who had been living in Brooklyn. “It’s totally life-changing.” The towering office buildings that line Manhattan’s avenues have long made New York a global powerhouse and the capital of numerous industries, from advertising to finance. Now even some of the largest and most enduring companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., which has more than 20,000 office employees in the city, have told their work forces that the five-day office workweek is a relic. The bank, which declined to comment for this article, is considering a rotational work model, meaning employees would rotate between working remotely and in the office. “Going back to the office with 100 percent of the people 100 percent of the time, I think there is zero chance of that,” Daniel Pinto, JPMorgan’s co-president and chief operating officer, said in an interview in February on CNBC. “As for everyone working from home all the time, there is also zero chance of that.’’ Other large businesses, including the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the marketing group Omnicom Group and the advertising giant WPP, have searched for subtenants to take over significant chunks of their Manhattan offices. The loss of workers has caused the market value of commercial properties that include office buildings to plunge nearly 16 percent during the pandemic, triggering a sharp decline in tax revenue that pays for essential city services, from schools to sanitation. Real estate and commercial buildings contribute almost half of the city’s property tax revenues. For the first time in more than two decades, New York expects property tax receipts to decline, by an estimated $2.5 billion in the next fiscal year. Still, New York is set to receive significant federal assistance from the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package: $5.95 billion in direct aid and another $4 billion for schools, a City Hall spokeswoman said. While that addresses immediate needs, the city still faces an estimated $5 billion budget deficit next year and similar deficits in the following years, and a changing work culture could hobble New York’s recovery. The amount of office space in Manhattan on the market has risen in recent months to 101 million square feet, roughly 37 percent higher than a year ago and more than all the combined downtown office space in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas. “This trend has shown little signs of slowing down,” said Victor Rodriguez, director of analytics at CoStar, a real estate company. At least one industry, however, is charging in the opposite direction. Led by some of the world’s largest companies, the technology sector has expanded its footprint in New York during the pandemic. Facebook has added 1 million square feet of Manhattan office space, and Apple added two floors in a Midtown Manhattan building. And the surge in available commercial real estate has actually been a boon for some new businesses that have been able to find spaces at rents that are lower than they were before the pandemic. “I’ve seen the obituary for New York City many times,” said Brian S. Waterman, the executive vice chairman of Newmark, a commercial real estate services firm. “The office reboarding will start to occur in May, June and July, and you are going to have a much fuller occupancy once we hit September.” But for now, few workers are at their desks. Only 15 percent of workers have returned to offices in New York City and the surrounding suburbs, up slightly from 10 percent last summer, according to Kastle Systems, a security company that analyzes employee access-card swipes in more than 2,500 office buildings nationwide. Only San Francisco has a lower rate. The lack of workers has pummeled some of the city’s biggest real estate companies. SL Green Realty and Vornado Realty Trust, two of New York’s largest owners of office space, and Empire State Realty Trust, which owns the Empire State Building, have lost a total of $6.5 billion in market value. The sharp declines have prompted developers to rally behind an idea that seemed unthinkable before the pandemic: converting distressed office buildings in Manhattan into low-income housing. The record vacancy rate has been driven by companies across almost all industries, from media to fashion, that have discovered the advantages of remote work. Beside the cost savings of operating a scaled-down office or no office at all, modern technology and communications have allowed workers to stay connected, collaborate from afar and be more productive without lengthy commutes. Parents are also clamoring for more flexibility to care for their children. “We believe that we’re on top of the next change, which is the Distributed Age, where people can be more valuable in how they work, which doesn’t really matter where you spend your time,” said Alexander Westerdahl, the vice president of human resources at Spotify, the Stockholm-based streaming music giant that has 6,500 employees worldwide. For now, Spotify does not plan to reduce its New York footprint, but as of February, the company told its United States employees — 2,100 of whom had worked at the Manhattan office — that they could work from pretty much anywhere. “The change is mainly driven by globalization and digitalization, and our tools are much, much better at allowing for people to work from anywhere,” Mr. Westerdahl said. Remote work, of course, is not without significant downsides. The blurry lines that already existed between work and personal life have been all but obliterated during the pandemic. Without the time spent commuting in the morning and at night, people are logging on to work earlier in the day and staying connected later into the night. And despite modern technology and video conferencing capabilities, companies are struggling to foster workplace cultures and make employees, especially new hires, feel welcome and part of a team. Those concerns have weighed heavily on executives at Kelley Drye, a law firm founded in 1836 in New York, which is moving from Park Avenue near Grand Central Terminal to 3 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. “Zoom and Teams are great,” said Andrea L. Calvaruso, a lawyer who is the chair of the firm’s trademark and copyright group, but she added that “there’s no substitute for sitting down in a beautiful new collaborative and working together without distractions.” But Ms. Patellos, despite being unprepared after being stuck in California — she had to buy a keyboard and monitor — soon found herself connecting with colleagues all over the world just as she had in her New York office. “I fell into a rhythm,” said Ms. Patellos, who is still deciding where to eventually move. “I maintained a bit of East Coast hours, starting my days a little earlier and ending a bit earlier. Before I knew it, it became the norm and a routine.” Source link Orbem News #Manhattan #Remote #Stay #Work

[un-enfant-immature]

Sequoia Capital India’s Surge invests $2M in sales engagement platform Outplay

Outplay’s team members on a video call

Sales engagement platforms (SEP) help sales teams automate and track the large number of tasks they need to do each day as they contact leads and hone in on potential deals. Focused on small-to-medium-sized companies, SEP startup Outplay announced today it has raised $2 million from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge program for early-stage startups.

Outplay was founded in January 2020 by brothers Ram and Laxman Papineni and now counts more than 300 clients. Before launching Outplay, the Papineni brothers built AppVirality, a referall marketing tool for app developers.

Laxman told TechCrunch that Outplay’s customers come from sectors like IT, computer software, marketing and advertising and recruiting, and most are based in North America and Europe.

Outplay is designed for teams that use multiple channels to reach potential customers, including phone calls, text messages, email, live chats on websites, and social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter. It integrates with customer relationship management platforms like Salesforce and Pipedrive, giving sales people a new interface that includes productivity and automation tools to cut the time they spend on administrative tasks.

Outplay’s platform

For example, Outplay can be used create sequences that send initial messages through different platforms, and then automatically follows up with new messages if there isn’t a reply within a pre-set time frame. Outplay also provides analytics to help sales people track how well sales campaigns are working.

Two of Outplay’s biggest competitors are Outreach and SalesLoft, both of which hit unicorn status in recent funding rounds. Laxman said Outplay is focused on ease of use, with other differentiators including more integrations with CRMs and other software, and a strong customer support team.

Outreach nabs $50M at a $1.33B valuation for software that helps with sales engagement

Atlanta’s SalesLoft raises $100M for its digital sales platform, now valued at $1.1B

[mtamar2020]

Salesforce developer

Job title: Salesforce developer Company: Enterprise Solutions Job description: Job Title: Sr. Salesforce Developer Location: Atlanta, GA Employee Type: Full time with Benefits… Job description: Overall 3 years of Salesforce Service Cloud administration configuration and customization experience 2 years of Salesforce… Expected salary: Location: Atlanta, GA Job date: Tue, 20 Jul 2021 22:54:41…

[cloudstewards-blog]

Salesforce Developers Atlanta

Cloud Stewards is one of the Salesforce Global Strategic Partners in the world. We provide very powerful range of capabilities to accompany our clients from all sectors, in their digital transformation in all their geographies. Our Salesforce Developers Atlanta experience gained in the transformation processes of our clients allows us to provide knowledge that goes beyond making a correct design, implementation or maintenance of solutions with Salesforce.

[ericvick]

CNBC's Michael Farr Believes Tesla Stock Is 'Stupidly Expensive'

TipRanks

3 Monster Growth Stocks That Can Charge Forward in 2021

With 2020 winding down, there’s a growing belief that 2021 is going to be a growth year for the stock markets. The US elections have returned a divided government, one unlikely to have the broad majorities – or the broad support – needed to enact wide-ranging reform legislation from either the right or left, and that bodes well for the economy generally.The COVID vaccines are entering distribution, and while new anti-virus lockdowns are also getting set in place, there’s a feeling that the end of the pandemic may be near. According to the analyst community, a few names reflect serious growth plays. These are stocks that have already notched impressive gains year-to-date, and are poised to see the growth keep on coming even after 2020 wraps up.   Bearing this in mind, we used TipRanks’ database to scan the Street for tickers that fall into this category. Locking in on three in particular, the analysts believe that each name, which also happen to boast a “Strong Buy” consensus rating, can keep the rally alive in 2021.  SunOpta (STKL)The first stock on this growth list is a health snack company, SunOpta. The company’s line of products includes plant-based beverages, fruit-based snacks, broth and stocks, teas, and sunflower and roasted snacks. The company markets through private label and co-manufacturing distribution, as well as through food service institutions.SunOpta boasts a market cap of $962 million, after a year of stunning share price growth. The stock is up an impressive 328% this year, far outpacing the general markets. The company’s Q3 revenues came in at $314.9 million, a 6.4% year-over-year gain. EPS, at a net loss of 1 cent, was better than the 2-cent loss expected – and far better than the 11-cent loss reported in the year-ago quarter.The company’s solid performance has attracted the attention of Craig-Hallum analyst Alex Fuhrman. The analyst rates STKL a Buy along with a $15 price target. This figure implies a one-year upside of 40% from current levels. (To watch Fuhrman’s track record, click here)Backing his stance, Fuhrman wrote, “We believe the company’s focus on high value plant-based foods and beverages should command a premium valuation with opportunities for upside to estimates as the economy recovers from COVID.”In large part, Fuhrman’s optimism is based on SunOpta’s niche. The analyst noted, “We expect plant-based food stocks to command a premium valuation to other food companies for the foreseeable future given faster growth trends and compelling environmental benefits. At just $4.5B in sales today, plant-based products are less than 1% of the $695B grocery market, but it is easy to envision it representing a double-digit share of grocery sales over time.” Wall Street doesn’t always come together in unanimity, but in this case, it does. SunOpta’s Strong Buy analyst consensus rating is unanimous, based on 3 Buy reviews. The stock is selling for $10.70, and with an average price target of $15, SunOpta has a forward growth potential of 40%. (See STKL stock analysis on TipRanks)Green Brick Partners (GRBK)One bright spot in the economy this past year has been the home construction industry. As people moved out of the cities to avoid COVID, they headed for the suburbs and exurbs – and that boosted the demand for single-family homes. Green Brick is a land development and home acquisition company, based in Texas. The company invests in real estate, primarily land, and then provides plots and construction financing for the development projects.The spread of the suburbs – not just in this COVID year, but as a general trend, has been good to Green Brick. The company’s Q3 revenue was $275.8 million, the best in more than year, beating the forecast by 20% and growing 31% year-over-year. EPS was also strong; the Q3 value, 68 cents, was 54% above expectations, and more than double the year-ago value.Green Brick’s share price has been rising along with the company’s financial outlook. For the year, GRBK has gained 111%.In his coverage of this stock, JMP analyst Aaron Hecht noted, “[We] expect GRBK to capitalize on the trend of apartment renters shifting to single-family homes for safety and changing dynamics brought on by more workers telecommuting. The most important cohort shift within the buyer pool is millennials who have come off the sidelines to buy homes, a trend which we believe has multiple years of runway. The millennial demand trend is magnified in GRBK’s case given its outsized exposure to markets, such as Texas & Atlanta, which are the net beneficiaries of migration out of high-priced coastal geographies.”To this end, Hecht rates GRBK an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his price target of $30 implies an upside of ~23% for the next 12 months. (To watch Hecht’s track record, click here)While not unanimous, the Strong Buy consensus rating on Green Brick is decisive, with a 3 to 1 breakdown of Buys versus Hold. The average price target of $27.5 gives a 12.5% upside potential from the current share price of $24.45. (See GRBK stock analysis on TipRanks)Brightcove, Inc. (BCOV)Shifting gears to the software industry, we come to Brightcove, a Boston-based software company. Brightcove offers a range of video platform products, including cloud-based hosting and social and interactive add-ons. The company is a leader in the delivery and monetization of cloud-based online video solutions.The strength of such a business model, during these pandemic days with their massive shift of white-collar workers toward remote offices, telecommuting, and video conferencing, is obvious. Brightcove’s earnings hit 11 cents per share in Q3, nearly double the year-ago quarter. At the top line, revenues have been stable, holding between $46 million and $48 million per quarter in 2020, with no discernable COVID impact.Shares in Brightcove have been going up in steps all year, after a minor blip last winter. The pace has accelerated since the end of July, after the Q2 results were released, and the stock is now up 103% for 2020. The general macro headwinds are turning into video niche tailwinds, as noted by Northland Capital analyst Michael Latimore. “We believe a market tailwind, BCOV’s leading tech platform, and strong sales execution are driving strong bookings. We believe the salesforce is at full productivity. BCOV will add more channel managers this year. Management is focused on process improvements to achieve consistency in revenue retention rates,” the 5-star analyst noted.Latimore rates the stock as Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $24 price target indicates confidence in a 36% upside for the year ahead. (To watch Latimore’s track record, click here)Over the past 3 months, two other analysts have thrown the hat in with a view on the video tech company. The two additional Buy ratings provide Brightcove with a Strong Buy consensus rating. With an average price target of $20.17, investors stand to take home 14% gain, should the target be met over the next months. (See BCOV stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for growth stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.