James Simmonds

I recently posted about Brands and API's and in it I mentioned the rise of Android and this new article on mashable confirms things.... Some great stats in the article if you are interested in the smartphone market. Ok, - it is from a single company but I think it shows the general trend - Android is big and getting bigger, fast....now, how's that app coming on? ;-)

This is a great article by Adam Kleinberg on how a brand and enabling third parties to write exciting applications and mashups targeting new channels via your Api is so important . The resources required to produce a website and accompanying iPhone app can be significant - what if you invested in your business/eCommerce API and a referral/developer programme instead? The world becomes your development partner and ANYONE can start creating applications backed by YOUR business. Take Android as an example - it's gaining market share at such a rapid pace that you will need an Android App soon to stay in the game as it's not a sector you can afford to ignore. Pouring all your money into a specific vendor channel (say iPhone) could mean you are left out in the cold when other technologies/forms/channels become viable. With an API in place it would be a simple, cheaper exercise in creating an Android application on top of the API calls - and the API gives you options in how you...

About 6 months ago I swapped accountants - I had a pretty good, fully online accountant but was introduced to FreeAgent - did the free 30 day trial and was hooked - it did everything my accountants system did but better, much better....oh and soooo much cheaper, £100 a month cheaper! It handles Payroll, Salary, VAT, NIC, Invoicing, Expenses, Bank Account...the lot (my personal fav is the Out-of-Pocket iPhone app that lets you submit expense claims direct to your FreeAgent account!) Of course I immediately used this saving to justify an iPad purchase, but that aside and six months on I can totally recommend FreeAgent. I still have an accountant, a new one, KPF Accountants - these guys are FreeAgent experts - and are really just there to get your Company Year End accounts in order...which they have just done...which makes me happy! So to celebrate and spread the FreeAgent & KPF love for a great cost effective accounting solution (& referral discounts all round!) I thought ...