People and cultures are connected through rapid communication and the exchange of seemingly endless information, all through new platforms and tools.

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The office suite includes Exchange, Microsoft Office, SharePoint and Lync Server, among other web-based productivity tools.

CNN: Microsoft's Office 365 available for public testing

Axioma, a firm that provides risk models and portfolio-construction tools for stock investors, uses 10 factors for U.S. stocks, including exchange-rate sensitivity, debt load and momentum, or the tendency of a rallying stock to keep rallying.

WSJ: Supercharging Your Investment Portfolio

CareFamily, which prescreens in-home caregivers and matches them to customers over the Internet, has online tools that let a family remotely monitor a caregiver's attendance, provide reminders about medications and appointments, and exchange care plans and notes via email, texting or phone.

WSJ: Beleaguered caregivers getting help from apps