GoodTogether has realized its great promise. But we’re not stopping.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (PRWEB)
November 17, 2020

Five years after launching its GoodTogether® program, Sage Sustainable Electronics celebrates a milestone in its mission to connect community-focused organizations with the technology necessary to do their work.

Through the generous support of corporate donors, Sage has redirected more than $1 million in certified refurbished electronics to nonprofits and other groups.

This marks a significant step for GoodTogether, a grass-roots program aimed at closing the digital divide between those who have access to reliable information technology and those who don’t — an inequality made even more glaring by the communication challenges resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.

“GoodTogether has always been a passion program,” said Lisa Gunsauley, Senior Director of Client Engagement at Sage. “We do it because we know the value of technology for organizations and communities, and because we want to help them thrive. The fact that we have reached this incredible goal is just a testament to the good we can do – together!”

Corporate support from our customers has been remarkable, said Lila Appaya, who managed many of the nonprofit relationships in the program as Sage hit this milestone. “Without them, there is no GoodTogether.”

Charles Schwab, Huntington Bank, NetJets, Thryv, SAIC, Chick-fil-A, and many other companies in Central Ohio and across the nation have contributed devices to the program. Sage sanitizes and refurbishes them and prepares them for the recipient.

Sage President Jill Vaské called the $1 million mark a watershed moment. “GoodTogether has realized its great promise,” she said. “It’s not a fledgling program anymore, but an impactful and valued contributor to our local and national communities. But we’re not stopping. We’re going to keep pushing hard for people to realize that their used-but-still-useful technology has the value that can change lives.”

Some of the community and nonprofit organizations helped by the GoodTogether program include the following:

Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm, Santa Rosa, Calif.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Summerfield Waldorf was forced to transition from an organization that actively tried to teach without technology to solely relying on it. “We were in a complete panic and really scrambling, as some teachers and many of the students did not have laptops at home,” said Development Director Caryn Shapiro. The organization quickly received 25 laptops through GoodTogether. “On some level, I feel like this donation saved the high school,” she said. “It showed the parents that we are adaptable and flexible, and it saved us a lot of enrollment costs. You can’t measure in a pure dollar amount what it did for our school, but it really raised morale for our students, parents, and teachers.”

Laptops 4 Learning, Phoenix, Ariz.

“A lot of the students in this program are in the foster care system,” Executive Director Brenda Powell said. “We focus on this population because they usually do not have a support system and have the lowest rate of graduation of any group of students. We also work a lot with veterans.” Program participants typically have to work or partially pay for laptops donated by corporate sponsors, she said. But with the help provided by GoodTogether, Laptops 4 Learning provided computers free to individual students in need. “A young woman in our program had aged out of foster care and was not able to keep the laptop she was previously using at her foster home,” Powell said. “She was panicked because she needed that laptop for school. She was so thankful when we were able to give her a laptop free of charge.”

Legacies of War, Washington, D.C.

As an organization focused on raising awareness and increasing financial support to clear unexploded bombs in Laos leftover from the Vietnam War, Legacies of War is extremely conservative about office equipment spending. As a result, their technology was weak and outdated. “It is costly to remove bombs in a foreign country,” said Executive Director Sera Koulabdara. Thanks to a donation by Charles Schwab and the GoodTogether program’s help, Legacies of War received five iPads, a projector, and a color printer. “We only had a black and white printer, so we had to make excuses about the poor quality of our materials to high-level politicians,” she said. The upgraded technology allows the organization to show the effects of bombing with far more impact. “We are grateful that big organizations like Charles Schwab see the value of these assets for small nonprofits that don’t need the newest models but still rely on technology to get their message out.”

Recreation Unlimited, Ashley, Ohio

Recreation Unlimited provides year-round programs in sports, recreation, and education for individuals with disabilities and health concerns. A donation of laptops and tablets by Huntington Bank “was a lifesaver and really couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Executive Director and CEO Paul Huttlin. “A lot of our expenses are for camper care, so if we don’t have to spend money on technology, that’s fantastic.”

Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona

Twenty laptops donated by Charles Schwab were given to families who had recently gone through the program and did not have access to a computer at home or needed another computer. “One family with eight children only had one laptop to share among all of them,” said Maribel Saucedo, Director of Family Services. “They received a computer and gave it to their daughter, who had recently graduated high school and was going on to college. It just so happened that it was her birthday the next day, so they wrapped it up and put a bow on it and gave it to her as a birthday present!”

Every Woman Works, Atlanta, Ga.

“The GoodTogether program has literally saved lives,” said Executive Director Stacey Howell. Her organization empowers women dealing with life challenges by providing them with the tools necessary to achieve financial independence, personal growth, family leadership, and a spiritual foundation through a curriculum of continuous education. “Our goal is to take women from dependency and make them self-sufficient,” Howell said. A donation of 20 laptops from Chick-fil-A allowed the organization to contact the women they serve during the COVID-19 pandemic. “So many of the women are at risk, and the technology allowed them to stay in the program and stay on track.”

About Sage Sustainable Electronics

Sage’s mission is to make the world more sustainable by extending the life of electronics. Sage provides IT lifecycle services to businesses large and small, reducing data security risks and operational costs and increasing asset value. Through strategic asset management programs for technology donation, resale, redeployment, lease return, employee purchase, and recycling, Sage creates organization-wide benefits to businesses nationwide.

The Sage GoodTogether Program supports corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts by redirecting a portion of enterprise and community surplus to benefit various social services and reduce digital exclusion among low-income Americans. Sage TechBank is a community donations initiative under Sage’s GoodTogether®️ program, providing essential data privacy services to donors and community-sourced devices to people in need. For more information, call 844-4SAGESE or visit http://www.sageSE.com.

SEATTLE (PRWEB)
November 16, 2020

Digital.com, a leading independent review website for small business online tools, products, and services, has announced the best search engine marketing agencies of 2020. The top firms were evaluated based on size, industry focus, and multiple service lines.

Digital.com’s research team conducted a 40-hour assessment of over 105 agencies. Each company was required to provide a broad range of services that can help clients as they expand or shift goals. The guide also examined firms that cater to clients across various industries. Another major factor was agency size since some companies prefer large agencies with more resources while others opt for small teams that offer more creativity and collaboration.

“Search engine marketing can generate fast results with more quality leads,” says Josephine Miller, PR Manager of Digital.com. “This online guide can help businesses narrow the search for a reputable firm with expert reviews and feedback from other customers.”

To access the complete list of best search engine marketing agencies, please visit https://digital.com/sem-agencies/.

Best SEM Marketing Companies of 2020

–3 Media Web

–Avalaunch Media

–Coalition Technologies

–Direct Online Marketing

–Directive

–Ignite Visibility

–Online Marketing Standard

–OuterBox

–Over the Top SEO

–PBJ Marketing

–Rocket Clicks

–SEO Brand

–SmartSites

–Thrive Internet Marketing Agency

–WebFX

ABOUT DIGITAL.COM

Digital.com reviews and compares the best products, services, and software for running or growing a small business website or online shop. The platform collects twitter comments and uses sentiment analysis to score companies and their products. Digital.com was founded in 2015 and formerly known as Review Squirrel. To learn more, visit https://digital.com/.

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SEATTLE (PRWEB)
November 16, 2020

Digital.com, a leading independent review website for small business online tools, products, and services, has announced the best banks for small businesses in 2020. The top financial institutions were evaluated based on key service offerings and customer feedback.

Each bank was required to maintain fee transparency by informing customers about costs associated with transactions such as withdrawals, cash deposits fees, and overdrawn accounts. The guide also examined minimum balance requirements, which means customers might be charged a fee or higher fee if the monthly account balance is below a specific amount. The final list ranked institutions that offer unlimited monthly transactions or relatively low fees for additional transactions per month.

“A bank account is essential for day to day business financial transactions, and it’s also a smart way to gain access to loans and credit lines,” says Josephine Miller, PR Manager of Digital.com. “This guide will help small business owners determine the best banking options for their organization.”

Digital.com’s research team conducted a 40-hour assessment of over 35 banks from across the web. To access the complete list of best banks, please visit https://digital.com/small-business-banking/.

Best Banks for Small Businesses in 2020

–Axos Bank

–Bank of America

–BBVA

–Capital One

–Citizens

–Consumers Credit Union

–KeyBank National Association

–Live Oak Bank

–M&T Bank

–Navy Federal Credit Union

–TD Bank

–Huntington National Bank

–US Bank

–Wells Fargo

ABOUT DIGITAL.COM

Digital.com reviews and compares the best products, services, and software for running or growing a small business website or online shop. The platform collects twitter comments and uses sentiment analysis to score companies and their products. Digital.com was founded in 2015 and formerly known as Review Squirrel. To learn more, visit https://digital.com/.

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Ultimus embraced the prescriptive low-code philosophy for process-automation apps before the approach had a name.

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
November 12, 2020

Ultimus announced today that Forrester Research, in their recent report Prescriptive Low-Code: The New Quest To Marry the Best of Packaged And Custom Apps, outlined the next advance in low-code software development – Prescriptive Low-Code Platforms – and described how “Ultimus embraced the prescriptive low-code philosophy for process-automation apps before the approach had a name”.

According to Forrester, this new type of development platform “seeks to combine the best of packaged applications – pre-built and pre-architected solutions to specific business problems – with the best of development platforms – tools to create solutions that reflect what makes an enterprise unique”. Forrester calls this new concept’s advantages – speed of delivery, application integrity, performance, and flexibility – “irresistible” and forecasts it to catch on in some form.

Leigh Michl, Ultimus Chairman & CEO, stated “We are pleased that Forrester recognizes the value of this approach to software development, one that we’ve long been committed to. Ultimus is the only established player in the category and we’ve proven to our global customer base that it’s the way to deliver complex, highly tailored apps faster, with higher quality, and, of course, cheaper. Our innovation is the application of modern domain-engineering principles to “industrialize” the production of software. It’s not only faster and cheaper, it ensures that business processes are digitized in a way that keeps them aligned with the goals of digital transformation.”

Read the Forrester Prescriptive Low-Code Report.

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SEATTLE (PRWEB)
November 10, 2020

Digital.com, a leading independent review website for small business online tools, products, and services, has announced the best Mac antivirus software of 2020. The top solutions were selected based on standard features and customer feedback.

Each company was required to offer strong firewalls, anti-theft, and anti-spam protection. The guide also examined additional features that increase productivity like hardware backups, content filtering, and screen time limits. The final list ranked solutions that can operate across multiple macOS systems and devices at the same time.

“Every small business or startup using Mac systems should invest in antivirus software that can effectively protect confidential customer and financial data,” says Christelle Feniza, Communications Manager of Digital.com. “This accessible guide will help narrow the search and provide insight from other users.”

Digital.com’s research team conducted a 40-hour assessment of over 125 software companies from across the web. To access the complete list of best Mac antivirus software, please visit https://digital.com/antivirus-software/mac/.

Best Mac Antivirus Software of 2020

ABOUT DIGITAL.COM

Digital.com reviews and compares the best products, services, and software for running or growing a small business website or online shop. The platform collects twitter comments and uses sentiment analysis to score companies and their products. Digital.com was founded in 2015 and formerly known as Review Squirrel. To learn more, visit https://digital.com/.

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High-growth SaaS businesses that need to be agile but can’t exponentially grow their internal Salesforce team would be wise to consider OpFocus.

BURLINGTON, Mass. (PRWEB)
November 10, 2020

OpFocus, a leading implementation consultancy for SaaS companies, today announced Seismic engaged it to transform the company’s Salesforce system into an efficient and trusted source, and implement Configure Price Quote (CPQ). As a result of the engagement, Seismic can more effectively support the company’s rapid growth and acquisitions, accelerate compliant quoting, and provide a streamlined, holistic customer experience.

“OpFocus’ Salesforce/CPQ expertise, strategic advice, and willingness to turn on a dime have made them a great partner for Seismic,” said Toby Carrington, VP of Revenue Operations, Seismic. “I instantly get the OpFocus resources I need, and am confident each and every OpFocus team member will add value. High-growth SaaS businesses that need to be agile but can’t exponentially grow their internal Salesforce team would be wise to consider OpFocus.”

Seismic has realized business-critical benefits from its OpFocus engagement, including:

Customer Experience

With all contract information in one place and readily accessible, Seismic’s sales and customer success teams can work hand-in-hand to enhance the customer experience. “Our customer success team now has direct visibility into what’s happening with customers. This makes it much easier for them to prepare and provide an organized hand-off from sales, which is very important for our customers,” said Carrington.

Business Funding and Acquisitions

Seismic has acquired several companies since its OpFocus engagement began in 2017. By merging Salesforce instances, OpFocus has helped Seismic be operationally successful with acquisitions and has reinforced investor confidence in Seismic’s ability to scale.

Bottom-Line Growth

New sales staff can onboard faster and hundreds of people can accurately quote deals. Seismic also benefits from more rigorous controls around discount rates. According to Carrington, “From a growth perspective, we have to focus on margins. Having visibility into those deals enables us to determine what levers we can pull to get the kind of deals we want.”

Continuous Salesforce Improvement

Seismic’s Salesforce implementation is now robust and suitable for the company’s size, scale, and growth plans. In addition, OpFocus’ managed services frees Seismic’s sales operations team to think more strategically about Salesforce and focus on ways to optimize it further, helping sales and customer success teams do their jobs even better.

“It’s been very exciting and rewarding to partner with Seismic. We’re honored that Seismic has trusted OpFocus to play such an integral role in maturing their Salesforce system and turning it into a reliable engine for supporting their rapid growth,” said David Carnes, Founder and CEO of OpFocus.

For more information, read this OpFocus and Seismic case study.

About OpFocus

Since 2006, OpFocus has helped 500+ clients in over 2000 projects to increase revenue, reduce costs, automate processes, and operate more efficiently than ever. Working with marketing, sales, support, and operations teams, OpFocus is the leading strategic Salesforce consultant for SaaS companies. OpFocus is headquartered in Burlington, MA. Visit http://www.opfocus.com and follow on Twitter @OpFocusInc

About Seismic

Seismic is the industry-leading sales enablement and marketing orchestration solution, aligning go-to-market teams while empowering them to deliver engaging buyer experiences that drive growth. Seismic’s Storytelling Platform™ delivers innovative capabilities for marketers to orchestrate content delivery across all channels, and for sellers to engage with prospective buyers in a compelling, resonant manner at every step of the buyer journey. More than 600 enterprises including IBM and American Express have made Seismic their sales enablement platform of choice. The Seismic Storytelling Platform™ integrates with business-critical platforms including Microsoft, Salesforce, Google and Adobe. Seismic is headquartered in San Diego, with offices across North America, Europe, and Australia. Visit http://www.seismic.com

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