How Smaller Businesses Are Taking Over Boston’s Biotech Scene

Posted on June 26, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

Small Business Saturday was created to recognize the impact that local small businesses have on the economy. With the overwhelming number of franchises, major corporations and conglomerates that inhibit the world today, small businesses can sometimes be overlooked. However, when these small (and mighty) companies are beginning to change and shape our attitudes on the way we think, buy and invest, we begin to take notice. Especially when 15,000 professionals and businesses from across the world come together to showcase what their field means to them. Welcome to the biotech industry, where small businesses have started to boom and show no signs of slowing down.

The Bio International Convention in Boston, MA was held last week from June 18-21 and attracted companies from countries around the world including Germany, Russia, Italy, France, representatives from most US states, and so many more. Boston’s local newspaper reports that in the past two quarters, Boston’s life sciences industry attracted approximately $300 million in venture capital. Of these life science and biotech companies, it’s the smaller businesses that are making this impact. Yes, major game players like Genzyme and Pfizer were present at the conference, and are crucial corporations to the industry, but working together with small businesses has helped to revolutionize the industry.

Biotech is just one example of a booming field driven by small businesses. Small businesses should be recognized every day, not just on Saturday’s! TRA360 was fortunate enough to have representatives attend BIO 2012 (stay tuned for an “impressions” blog post to come later!) Are you in the biotech field and were able to attend BIO 2012, too? Let us know and comment below!

Study Shows Online Training More Effective for Regulatory Compliance

Posted on May 29, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

Online training is taking over the Regulatory Affairs industry

A recent study from Enhanced Online News (EON) shows that in comparison to other techniques, regulatory affairs online training is the most efficient and effective method. Today, online training helps build clearer accountability and shows measurable return-on-investment metrics.

Why online training?

In contrast to traditional regulatory affairs training, online technology allows regulatory teams to “easily monitor which employees have completed all necessary compliance training”. For instance, digital tools test employees on their knowledge of SOPs, policies and new processes. In general, those who have undergone digital regulatory compliance training have reduced their compliance problems in recent years. On the other hand, companies requiring traditional training have had more difficulties overall overcoming various compliance issues.

The modern world of technology is ever-changing and constantly developing. With this change in technology comes the evolution of digital training for industries around the world.

Do you think online training for regulatory affairs is the most effective training method? Comment below and let us know!

Microsoft Office For the iPad: Yay or Nay?

Posted on March 3, 2012June 10, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

Will you be using Microsoft Office for the iPad?

Do you dream of being able to use your iPad for not just personal use but for business use too? I’m not talking about sending e-mails or Skyping your business partner on vacation. If so, listen up, Team Microsoft! The rumors are true; in a statement released by The Daily, Microsoft is expected to launch Office for the iPad in the next month.

Technology makes our lives easier. The portable iPad allows us to bring our work with us wherever we want, access our favorite TV show on our morning commute, and even lets us FaceTime with our colleagues or friends. However, the release of Microsoft Office for the iPad will allow users to view documents on their portable tablet. An article from Mashable states that currently iPad users are using Google Docs to open files, a major competitor of Microsoft Office. Also in the works is Office 15, a version of Windows for ARM devices that integrates Office functionality.

What do you think? Will you continue to use Google Docs on your iPad or will you hold out for the new and improved Office for the iPad? For Office 15? Let us know, techies!

Creating eBooks and eBooks 101

Posted on December 9, 2011May 20, 2013 by Valentina Rosa

Like a lot of people, I’ve been hearing and reading about ebooks for quite a while. As the owner of a communications business, I never find a shortage of new technologies to learn about, track, and try out. Some days I wish I could just spend getting new stuff, playing with it, figuring out how it works, and then writing about it. A close friend of mine does this for road bikes (a passion of mine) and I think that’s way cool. He doesn’t get paid much for doing it but has a great time.

Back to the topic at hand…eBooks. Everyone’s heard of them, millions of people use eBook devices of all flavors—iPads, Kindles, Nooks—and tens of millions of eBooks have been sold. Consumers and students are on top of the wave. But this wave hasn’t really caught hold big-time in publishing technical content yet…but it will.

I got my feet wet (pardon the bad pun) today. I attended a webinar entitled “Creating eBooks: Understanding the Opportunities, Challenges, Devices, and Standards” sponsored by The Content Wrangler. The hour-long discussion was a primer and featured good speakers including:

eBooks 101: Ann Rockley and Charles Coooper

Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, Ann Rockley and Charles Cooper, authors of the soon-to-be-released, “eBooks 101: The Digital Content Strategy for Reaching Customers Anywhere, Anytime on Any Device,” and publishing production guru, Eric Freese of digital publishing software and services provider, Aptara.

The speakers made a good case for thinking about eBook content in a whole new way, not just throwing existing content onto an eReader device and calling it an eBook. In certain ways many of the topics they discussed reminded me of the early days of online doc and help. Save As PDF or Save As HTML don’t make for optimal user experiences. They talked about the different types of eBooks and the capabilities of different eBook devices. The speakers knew their stuff and tried to cram as much as they could into 60 minutes.

What to do next? If you’re like me, you’ve gotten the wake-up call. Get a copy of eBooks 101 and continue learning!