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Software as a service (SaaS) is a high-growth software segment, where an application is hosted as a service provided to customers across the Internet. Web-based applications from major enterprises enable an efficient "one-to-many" distribution model for software-based solutions.

Known as the oldest university in the English-speaking world, the University of Oxford has garnered a reputation for its internationally focused MBA program that has proved a particular hit with students looking for careers in the financial-services sector. Established in 1996, the Saïd Business School, named after Saudi businessman Wafic Saïd, boasts a smaller class size (220 for 2007) than most of its U.S. counterparts and draws applicants from more than 40 countries.

Sales 2.0 refers to a new set of business practices that are slowly but steadily starting to creep into the way companies sell their wares to customers. It’s a simple, yet appropriate moniker that takes much of its tools and approach from the web 2.0 movement. This topic covers the latest news on sales 2.0, including information on how companies are developing these new sales strategies.

The key to accelerating revenues and enabling sales, is presenting sales people with qualified accounts that are ready to buy. Sales enablement discusses strategies, tactics, and programs that motivate prospects to move through the buying process -- without sales intervention. Examples of sales enablement include pinpointing the most promising clients, developing personalized solutions, raising awareness of a company and its solutions, and staying top of mind until prospects are ready to buy.

Sales performance management (SPM) is an integrated framework that enables organizations to plan and model sales strategies and ensure timely execution of sales initiatives. Sales performance management provides executives and sales management with a clear view of critical sales data that allows them to make quick and informed decisions to ensure the alignment of sales strategies with the desired business outcome.

A sales tax is a consumption tax charged at the point of purchase for certain goods and services. The tax is usually set as a percentage by the government charging the tax, with a list of exemptions. The tax can be included in the price (tax-inclusive) or added at the point of sale (tax-exclusive). This topic covers all the news on sales tax, including possible increases and its effect on businesses.

Salesforce.com, inc. provides on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) services to businesses and industries worldwide. Its services enable customers and subscribers to systematically record, store, analyze, and act upon business data, as well as help businesses manage customer accounts, track sales leads, evaluate marketing campaigns, and provide post-sales service. The company was founded in 1999 and is based in San Francisco, California.

The Sandler Foundation pursues a philanthropic mission established by Herbert Sandler and his wife, Marion, who founded Golden West Financial Corporation in 1963. They served as Golden West’s Chief Executive Officers and Chairmen of the Board from 1963 until 2006, when the company was sold to Wachovia Corporation. Herbert and Marion Sandler were named to BusinessWeek's 2008 list of the 50 Top American Givers, which recognizes the most generous U.S. philanthropists.

Sara Lee Corporation is a global consumer goods company with operations in over 40 countries and sells its products in over 180 nations. Sara Lee’s food and beverage group is a major U.S. packaged meat maker, with brands like Ball Park and Jimmy Dean, and a leading provider of fresh slices bread. Other popular brands include Bryan Foods, Colonial Bread, Hillshire Farm, and Sara Lee. The household and body care group touts brands like Brylcreem, Kiwi (shoe polish), and Endust, among others.

Satellite imaging business includes remote sensing companies that aquire and deliver high-quality, map-accurate, high-resolution satellite imagery using state-of-the-art Earth-imaging technology. The main players in this business are Google Earth, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, and Terraserver. This topic covers the latest on the satellite imaging business.

Satellite television’s introduction in the 1990s was the start of the declining cable TV. Satellite TV providers made an aggressive assault on the industry and continue to own a large piece of the pie. This topic covers satellite TV, including the technology improvements being made for the new digital transition due to happen in June of 2009.

Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest nations on earth, with control of billions of gallons of oils, and one of the United States' strongest allies. As such, reverberations from Saudi businesses spread out and affect most of the Middle East and the West. Saudi Arabia's billionaires provide huge influxes of capital to places such as Wall Street, and Saudi Arabia's new industrial cities under construction for the post-oil era are massive undertakings worth billions.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia, is the largest oil corporation in the world with the largest proven crude oil reserves and production. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco also operates the world's largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas System. This topic covers the latest news and information on Saudi Aramco.

Say on Pay is the movement providing shareholders a say on executive compensation. In the field of corporate governance, this issue has become increasingly political due to the incessant upward trend of director remuneration. Say on pay is especially relevant given the outcry for greater accountability in the midst of the current financial crisis.

Search advertising represents 40% of overall online ads spend. But there is debate over whether or not they are effective at selling a product. Search advertising also faces some scrutiny in from the public. This topic discusses the ins and outs of search advertising and how well it really works.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making Web sites more search engine friendly. The goal is the increased quantity and quality of Web site visitors. SEO focuses on various factors that are considered in search engines' algorithmic (or "organic" and "natural") search result rankings: the Web site's code, navigation structure, content on the page, incoming and outgoing links, etc.

Sears Holdings Corporation is the entity created by the acquisition of the trouble department store operator Sears, Roebuck and Co. by Kmart Holding Corp. in 2005, which created one of the nation’s largest retailers. It is a holding company for the varied retail operations of Sears (about 2,110 department stores) and Kmart (about 1,380 discount outlets), which continue to operate separately.

Securities lending (or stock lending) refers to the practice of lending and borrowing of securities between financial institutions. Securities lending is an over-the-counter market. This topic covers the latest news and information on securities lending.

Many business owners are thinking about the possible transition out of their middle market companies these days. Now might be a good time think about selling a business, as it often takes a year or more to find the right buyer. Selling a business is thought by many to be an "event" that happens similar to the sale of a house and then we move on. However the best way to sell is to think of selling as process. This topic tracks the latest information on selling a business.

SemGroup, a midstream service company, provides the energy industry means to move products from the wellhead to the wholesale marketplace. In July 2008, the company filed for Chapter 11 following large margin calls on its trading portfolio. This topic tracks the latest news on SemGroup and its investors.

The senior care industry continues to grow as the population lives longer. With the Baby Boomers entering retirement age, the senior population will become a huge market for products and service-oriented companies. This topic covers the senior care industry as it evolves with a savvier bunch of retirees.

Services are the new frontier of business, as executives extend and expand their core propositions to embrace and explore new opportunities. The implementation of new service strategies requires a blend of creativity and discipline. This topic tracks the most interesting developments in service innovation.

Shared services is basically the centralization of back end/administrative functions and tasks, such as accounts payable, travel expense payments, invoicing, etc., which can be internal within an organization, outsourced to a service provider, or a mix of the two. The shared service center views the parent organization as a client within itself. The goals of a shared service can be to reduce costs, leverage global resources (human, capital, technology, economies of scale), and efficiency.

Sharp Corporation is one of the leading electronics companies in the world, manufacturing electronic components and computer hardware and peripherals. As a semiconductor maker, Sharp Corporation is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders and among the Top 100 R&D; Spenders in a list published by IEEE Spectrum magazine. Sharp Corporation was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.

The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) is the largest paint manufacturer in the U.S. and the second-largest worldwide. Its products include a variety of paints, finishes, coatings, applicators, and varnishes sold under the Dutch Boy, Krylon, Martin-Senour, Red Devil, Sherwin-Williams, Thompson’s, and Minwax brands. Sherwin-Williams operates some 3,300 paint stores throughout North America. The company operates in four segments: paint stores, consumer, automotive finishes, and international coatings.

Shopping Malls are big business in the U.S. From strip malls to large complexes, people flock to these locations for than shopping. Shopping mall operators takes a look at the business behind the stores. This topic tracks news about shopping malls, including the health of such operators as General Growth Properties, Simon Property Group and Westfield Group.

Short selling, or shorting, is the sale of a security that the seller doesn't own, in anticipation that the price will fall and the seller can then repurchase the stock at a lower price and sell at in the future at a higher rate. Wall Street has come under fire of late for use of this betting practice. This topic will cover the latest on short and naked short selling.

The stretch of land between San Francisco and San Jose has long been the heart of America's tech industry. This topic is designed to cover the Valley in all of its many forms, the companies, the culture, and the future.

The Simons Foundation is a charitable organization devoted to scientific research started by renowned mathematician and hedge fund manager Dr. James Simons. In 2008 he gave $60 million to create the Simons Center for Geometry & Physics at State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he had previously taught. Simons was named to BusinessWeek's 2008 list of the 50 Top American Givers, which recognizes the most generous U.S. philanthropists.

Skatepark development is about current skateparks and the planning, design, and process of building more quality places to skate for both public and private facilities. There needs to be skateparks in every community. Knowledge on the size of a skatepark needed based on community population, design resources, grants, and bids are valuable as skateboarding continues to grow at a rapid rate worldwide.

Skype is one off the first online applications to allow user to make voice calls over the Internet. In 2005, the company was purchased by eBay for $2.6 billion. On September 1, 2009, eBay announced that it was trading control of the company for $2 billion. This topic covers the latest news and information on Skype and its voice over internet protocol technology.

Small Business Accounting covers issues and tools relating to accounting and bookkeeping for a small business. Small Business accounting includes accounting news; cash flow and related finance issues; tax record keeping; accounting software; billing and invoicing applications.

In the uncertain economy, small business owners are wondering if there is any advantage for them. The business climate has to change and perhaps larger companies will go back to using smaller vendors. This topic covers how small businesses can make the most of the economy, and how the economy in general affects small business growth.

Small businesses are being touted as the engines that will help drive our economy forward. The reality, though, is that many are facing new issues as they encounter lower revenues. Small business debt covers how small businesses are dealing with reducing debt as overall cost reductions. Small business debt will also include best practices on what some have found to be successful solutions to the debt problems unique to small businesses.

A common concern for those starting or working for a small business is the health care. With fewer employees, health care fees can really add up. This topic will explore the health care options for small businesses in the U.S.

Small Business Operations covers the core activities of operating a small business, including production, systems, and processes. Items covered in small business operations include: productivity; management issues; and efficiencies in a small business.

As the traditional enterprise user segments are showing signs of sluggishness, tech marketers are actively eyeing potential small and medium businesses (SMBs). They’re offering tailor-made solutions to woo these buyers. Small business technology will carry information on market offerings and technology adoption issues in the SMB segment.

This topic is dedicated to the industry of building small homes. This can include small prefabricated homes, 'kit' homes, designer 'kit' homes, log homes and other economical homes often used as second or 'getaway' homes. This topic in inspired by the desire to have a second home, but one that doesn't become a second headache! It also delves into building materials, methods and economics of micro-living and micro-habitats.

Smart infrastructure emphasizes the important role infrastructure plays in sustainable development. This topic on smart infrastructure covers the rising trend of using technology in the construction of highways, bridges, and other types of infrastructure.

The Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Instructors include leading faculty, academic and career advisers and alumni mentors from some of the world's top companies. Smeal is among the ten largest business schools in the United States, while its 210,000 square foot building is the largest academic facility at Penn State.

Founded in 1920, the SMU Cox School of Business is located in Dallas. Cox touts its strategic location, small, private-school environment, strong professional network, and innovative spirit. The Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education programs, including BBA, full-time MBA, Professional MBA, Executive MBA, Master of Science in Management, and Executive Education.

Social commerce is the use of social media within social networks for an e-commerce purpose. The social aspect is to socialize (with live chat) with the customer from start to finish. With social networks today, businesses can have a viral and interactive application for marketing purposes to build relationships with consumers.

Neither government, nor charity, nor traditional capitalism has been able to solve the world's hardest social problems -- poverty, hunger, ignorance, and environmental degradation. But a new approach has arisen that gives hope that there are new ways to deal with old problems. It's social entrepreneurship--using business methods to solve social problems. Social Entrepreneurship is still in its infancy and has a lot of growing up to do before it will have major impacts.

Social marketing uses general marketing principles and techniques to create, communicate, and deliver social messages to consumers. With a rich 30-year history, social marketing seeks to positively influence consumer behavior, not to benefit the marketer. These programs have worked to improve social issues such as education, health, poverty, environment, etc.

Social media branding is a place to start the chatter about social media and branding. How does the use of social media impact corporate and product branding? What online tools really add value in capturing mind share?

All this social media stuff brings new dynamics into the traditional business processes of marketing, promotion, and sales. Learn which companies get it right and why. Learn from the "social media experts" and their opinions on what works for businesses. Social media in of itself doesn't create revenue -- it's what you do with it that does.

Social media is a buzz word and everyone seems to want to get into the social media marketing game. But can social media really help companies innovate? What are companies learning through these social media outlets that helps them innovate? Social media innovation covers the unique ways companies are utilizing the “wisdom of the crowds” and social media to create new and exciting products and business plans.

Social media’s rise in popularity brings concerns about privacy. Does the lack of privacy controls on social networking sites prevent many more users from signing up? This topic covers the latest trends in social media privacy as it continues to evolve.

Many believe newspapers and magazines are going the way of the dinosaurs. News out of old media camps of late include numerous shut downs, layoffs, and some are even switching to an all digital format. Some fault social media as the cause of old media’s decline. This topic tracks the debate of old media versus social media in an ever-evolving landscape.

A topic designed to inspire a robust discussion of the current state of Social Security and can it (should it) be saved. What will next president's approach be and can anyone truly reverse the death spiral that Social Security now faces?

Socialized medicine refers to certain types of publicly funded healthcare systems. Since President Obama has placed healthcare reform in U.S. among his top agenda items and included a public option in his outline, the debate about the pros and cons of socialized medicine is heating up. This topic covers the latest news on socialized medicine, including what a public option would mean for the majority of U.S. citizens.

Software asset management (SAM) is a business practice that involves managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications within an organization. With enterprise software licenses and maintenance representing a third of a typical IT budget, preventing under or over spending on these assets have become a critical business objective.

Software piracy is a global problem. Simply put, software piracy is the illegal distribution and/or reproduction of any software application for business or personal use. The consequences include a loss of software developer income, possible legal and financial penalties, and corrupted data integrity. This topic tracks the latest information on software piracy, including measures taken by software developers to stop its growth.

It seems like a new company starts up every day -- maybe even a few each day. This topic will bring together all of the news and information available on software startups.

Solar energy is energy directly from the Sun. This energy drives the climate and weather and supports virtually all life on Earth. Heat and light from the sun, along with solar-based resources, such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available flow of renewable energy. Solar energy technologies harness the sun's energy for practical ends. These technologies date from the time of the early Greeks, Native Americans, and Chinese.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company is the premier energy company serving the Southeast. One of the largest electricity distributors in the U.S., Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for good customer service, high reliability, and low retail electric prices.

A discussion site on sovereign wealth funds -- their investments, their influence, and their relations with the West.

Spain Business is a topic that covers all matters relevant for those interested in doing business in Spain or who are already engaged in business activities in that country. Among other things, Spain Business covers matters such as the business and legal environment, macroeconomic developments, economic reform, important transaction, and investment opportunities.

Sports marketing refers to the marketing of sports products or the marketing of non-sport products through associations with sports. Many companies use sports marketing to attach certain attributes -- like success, performance, and passion -- with their brands. This topic gives insight, news and information about the impact of marketing through athletes, teams, and sport events and how they can affect your brand's performance.

Stagflation is an economic situation in which inflation and economic stagnation occur simultaneously and remain unchecked for a period of time. This is significant because, in postwar macroeconomic theory, inflation and recession were regarded as mutually exclusive, and also because stagflation has generally proven to be difficult and costly to eradicate once it gets started. For example, in 2008, the Federal Reserve made rate cuts to fight the credit crisis, causing commodity prices to soar.

Houston-based Stanford Financial, an investment firm run by R. Allen Stanford that claims to have more than $50 billion in assets, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators. They're taking a hard look at the CDs sold by Stanford Financial, which boast interest rates double the market average. This topic covers the latest.

Staples, Inc., is the world’s largest office supply retail chain. Its retail products include office supplies and services, business machines, computers and related products, and office furniture. Staples also provides high-speed, color, and self-service copying, other printing services, faxing, and pack and ship services. Based in Framingham, Massachusetts, Staples operates more than 2,000 stores worldwide in 27 countries.

How do you start -- and sustain -- a bakery? From business plans and expert advice to success stories and pitfalls to avoid, we’ll look at how to succeed in the business of baking.

Getting funding for any startup venture is a challenge – even with a clear business plan. Startup funding covers all of the news and trends in financing a startup business. In addition, this topic features advice for startups seeking funding during these challenging economic times and those seeking to invest in startups.

State attorneys general are the main legal advisors to state governments in the U.S. This topic covers lawsuits, investigations, and regulatory actions initiated by state attorneys general that pertain to business, employees, and the workplace.

State Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies. State Farm has remained the largest automobile insurer in the U.S. continuously since 1942 and insures more cars and homes in the United States than any other insurer. The company is also the leading home insurer and offers non-medical health and life insurance through its subsidiary companies.

Steel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.14% by weight (C:110–10Fe), depending on grade. The main steel products are as follows: Hot rolled coil, rebar, scrap, billet, and plate. This topic covers steel prices and news that affects the price of steel.

Stimulus construction refers to the design and construction of the projects funded under the federal recovery legislation. This topic will cover the latest news on the stimulus construction, including the wisdom of the projects, the efficiency of the construction process, and the fulfillment of the legislation's goal of re-invigorating the economy.

Stock options are mostly offered to management as part of their executive compensation package. They are also offered to lower-level managers and employees, especially by businesses that are not yet profitable. They can also be offered to non-employees: suppliers, consultants, lawyers and promoters, and to members of the company's board of directors for services rendered.

Storage area network (SAN) is an architecture that attaches remote computer storage devices to servers so that the devices appear locally attached to the operating system. This topic covers the latest news and trends in storage area networking, include SAN virtualization, SAN optimization, and SAN data migration.

Strategic leadership is an approach to leadership that takes into account not just organizational capabilities or the top team, but also the strategy and purpose of the firm, agency, or country. Strategic leadership provides the vision, direction, purpose, and context for a corporation’s success.

Strategic marketing considers the customer’s point of view when planning a marketing campaign. It combines customer situations (why they want/use a product or service) with the company’s overall direction. This topic will discuss current trends in strategic marketing, including how to implement new strategies, tactics, and more.

Structured finance is a broad term used to describe a sector of finance that was created to help transfer risk using complex legal and corporate entities. Structured finance includes topics such as MBS, ABS, CDO, CLO, RMBS, CMBS, credit derivatives, and others.

Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. It develops a range of products in divisions such as the Automobile Division, the Aerospace Division, the Bus Manufacturing & House Prefabricating Division, the Industrial Products Division and the Transportation & Ecology Systems Division. Subaru is internationally known for their use of boxer engines in most of their use of boxer engines in most of their vehicles.

Succession planning is what companies and boards of directors do to ensure smooth transitions for top management. Succession planning, especially for CEOs, is a key aspect of corporate governance and one of the most important function of the board.

Sunoco, Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of petroleum and petrochemical products. The company operated five refineries, which have a combined processing capacity of 910,000 barrels of crude oil a day, and it has 5,450 mikes of oil and refined products pipelines and 38 product terminals. Sunoco markets its gasoline through nearly 4,700 retail outlets. It also operates a chemicals business.

Super Micro Computer Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells application-optimized server systems and components based on a modular and open-standard architecture. The company specializes in mid-range to high-end computer equipment and is known for the high quality of its products. Super Micro also resells third-party cables, cooling fans, RAID port cards, and other computer accessories. President and CEO Charles Liang and his wife own abouy 30% of the company.

SuperValu Inc., an Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based grocery retailer and distributor, is the third-largest food retailing company in the U.S. It runs a network of more than 2,500 stores and serves more than 5,000 retail end points via its supply chain and support services. SuperValu also runs the Albertsons chain of stores, after purchasing the company in 2006.

Supply management is the identification, acquisition, access, positioning and management of resources and related capabilities the organization needs or potentially needs in the attainment of its strategic objectives, as defined by the Institute of Supply Management. This topic covers the latest trends and news on supply management.

Sustainable design, also referred to as green design, eco-design, or design for the environment, is the art of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. It ranges from the microcosm of designing small objects for everyday use, to designing buildings, cities, and the earth's physical surface. It is a growing trend within the fields of architecture, construction, and landscape design.

Knowledge and innovation will be the key drivers of social and corporate sustainability in the years ahead. Sustainable innovation requires management to nurture an innovative culture of inspiration to allow employees the freedom to develop ideas, then grow and maintain them. This topic covers the latest on what companies are doing to promote sustainable innovation from within.

Suzuki Motor Corporation is Japan’s No. 1 minicar producer and its No. 3 motorcycle manufacturer (behind Honda and Yamaha). Suzuki is the 12th-largest automobile manufacturer in the world but production volume. It offers passenger cars, commercial vehicles, all terrain vehicles, and outboard motors for boats. The car company’s U.S. brands include Forenza, Reno, XL7, SX4 Crossover, and the Grand Vitara. Suzuki operates in Japan, North America, Europe, and Asia.

Swiss banking is known for its stability, privacy, and protection of clients’ assets and information. Switzerland’s neutrality and national sovereignty, long recognized by foreign nations, have created a stable environment in which the banking sector has been able to develop and thrive. Recently, though, its biggest bank, UBS, is staggering under a tax scandal that may undermine the Swiss banking industry’s secrecy and stability.

Sysco Corporation is the largest foodservice distributor in North America, serving some 400,000 customers through its 180 distribution centers in the U.S. and Canada. It supplies food and non-food products to restaurants, schools, hotels, healthcare institutions, and more. Sysco’s SYGMA Network supplies chain restaurants with specialty produce and meat products and distributes kitchen equipment and supplies for the hospitality industry.