Tecman Blog

Paperless office a step closer?

Over the past thirty years, many people have proclaimed the imminent arrival of the paperless office. Yet even the World Wide Web, which allows almost any computer to read and display another computer's documents, has increased the amount of printing done.

It seems we just can’t get enough of paper.

This is an unsustainable trend that businesses are finally waking up to. While ‘going green’ is probably not the main driving force for change in most SMEs, the growing cost of document storage and retrieval is.

Even if your business is super efficient and paper free, many of the organisations you do business with aren’t. And this is where managing their paperwork becomes a headache.

At last, affordable technologies are allowing smaller businesses to manage the onslaught of invoices, delivery notes and other correspondence from suppliers, customers, employees and government; turning the cumbersome pulp into manageable bits.

Small business software specialists, Pegasus, recently announced the powerful new Document Management module for their Pegasus Opera II software. The software captures and stores documents electronically, and has a powerful archiving, indexing and retrieval engine to ensure you never lose paperwork again. Security is integral to the system, ensuring prying eyes can’t access information beyond their user rights. The next version - coming soon - will be able to read the text of scanned documents for even more powerful indexing and retrieval.

Microsoft SharePoint users now have their own document management add-on from US software company, KnowledgeLake. Designed for more demanding business uses, KnowledgeLake Capture can handle the scanning, search and retrieval of large volumes of paper documents – with the added bonus of being tightly integrated into Microsoft’s SharePoint portal technology.

If your organisation doesn’t require the full scanning and indexing power of KnowledgeLake Capture, KnowledgeLake Connect is a good alternative. This electronic document management software allows any desktop authoring software to tightly integrate with Microsoft SharePoint, and it also gives remote offices the tools for everyday low-volume scanning.

KnowledgeLake Connect is a small desktop application that lets you save documents to SharePoint in a single step. What’s more, KnowledgeLake Connect increases the usability of SharePoint through features like Send To integration, a single login across pre-defined sites and prompts for document meta-data. KnowledgeLake Connect also monitors the files you retrieve from SharePoint and updates SharePoint as you save changes to your documents.

Going Mobile in Your Business

I have a confession to make before starting: I’m an Apple iPhone user. So when I was asked to write about how great Microsoft Windows Mobile is, I thought there’d be a conflict of interests. But it turns out there’s no clash here because, for all the great things about iPhone as a consumer mobile device, it has a long way to go before it can sip champagne in business class. For a start I doubt iPhone’s generously sized glass touch screen will ever contend with the rough and tumble of the business world. Take it from me - the clumsy consumer who managed to crack the screen just eight weeks into owning the first generation iPhone. Ouch! A quick check on eBay will tell you I’m not alone either.

In the business world the smartphone many business users have heard of is Blackberry. My fiancée got really excited recently when her organisation told her she’d be issued with a Blackberry. Excited about a phone for business? This is the allure of Blackberry, the brand from Canadian firm, Research in Motion (RIM) that established itself early on as an expert in delivering email and other data to mobile devices. In more recent times Blackberry has shifted focus onto the lucrative consumer sector. It’s no coincidence that Hollywood stars have been spotted using their Blackberries by Heat magazine.

So while Blackberry now tries to woo the consumer and Apple eats away at the same market (while dabbling in the business market), what about the discerning business user? I don’t know about you, but all this talk of fruit is giving me indigestion.

Microsoft Windows Mobile goes beyond satisfying the simple demands of the consumer sector. Unlike Blackberry and iPhone, Windows Mobile software isn’t tied to proprietary hardware. So while Blackberry insists on a physical keypad and iPhone seduces you with touch, Windows Mobile is available on a variety of devices to suit you. Most of us at Technology Management now use the HTC Touch, which incorporates a touch screen with a keypad. Freedom of choice means a large range of competitively priced handsets, available from a number of network carriers.

Microsoft Exchange Integration

Windows Mobile, as you’d expect, works seamlessly with Microsoft Exchange 2003 or later releases. The only additional cost is a security certificate to ensure that data can be synchronised securely to and from your smartphone. The certificate costs about £150 a year (or less if you commit to more than a year).

Getting your smartphone working alongside Exchange is a cinch, with users typically up-and-running within hours. From there they can be writing and responding to emails, checking their calendar, calling their contacts and completing their tasks. Oh...and making calls.

On Windows Mobile, push email, (where email is ‘pushed’ to your phone as soon as it arrives on the Exchange server, rather than your phone periodically checking for new messages and draining battery) your calendar, contacts and tasks synchronise with your desktop version of Outlook. Blackberry users have to buy an additional Blackberry server to enjoy the same benefits. Admittedly there are some technical work-arounds to avoid buying the expensive Blackberry server, but at the cost of questionable performance.

Microsoft Office Mobile

While iPhone and Blackberry try to plug into the workings of Outlook, nothing comes close to the familiarity and functionality of Microsoft Outlook Mobile, which is part of the Microsoft Office Mobile suite and comes free with Windows Mobile. With Mobile Office, not only can you open Word or Excel documents a colleague might email, you can edit them. This luxury isn’t available with iPhone and will cost you extra on Blackberry.

If you suffer from a bout of absent mindedness, don’t worry, because with Windows Mobile all your data can be wiped remotely if you lose your smartphone.

Application Availability

Where Windows Mobile wins hands down is the availability of third-party applications. From TomTom’s satellite navigation through to integration with customer relationship management software like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the choice is enormous. It’s no surprise, considering the huge Windows developer community.

While Apple and Blackberry restrict how and where their limited choice of applications can be purchased, Windows Mobile users have the freedom to select and buy from many sources. Ironic, considering the criticism Microsoft attracts regarding its so-called stranglehold on the software market.

Looking beyond integration with Outlook, Windows Mobile is a truly powerful business tool, only limited by your imagination. Consider this: access to key performance indicator dashboards, customer signed-for deliveries, live stock information and customer order history....the list of uses goes on and all of this is not only ‘possible’ but actually available now using Windows Mobile.

Flexibility or Rigidity

Of course, a device may not always be used by sales people or other executives. Collecting and exchanging data in a warehouse is another way that Windows Mobile is helping businesses. Earlier I mentioned the choice of devices that Windows Mobile works on; well, this includes a number of rugged devices suited to the rigours of a warehouse or factory environment. I doubt the iPhone would last five minutes here. Technology Management recommends Symbol, a company with a good track record and an affordable range that run Windows Mobile, including ones that incorporate barcode scanning technology.

Next time you go to the supermarket and you see someone stacking shelves, chances are they’ll be using a Symbol handheld scanner. Until recently, these devices were exclusive to big companies, but now the price to develop the software and buy the hardware is within reach of many smaller businesses. Heck, I went to a restaurant recently and the waiter was using one to take my order!

There’s an old adage in sales and marketing circles that says buyers buy with emotion and then try to justify with logic. While in the business arena this is sometimes less true, when it comes to the choice of phone for business it might be right. I find it surprising how mobile phones can ignite an emotional, irrational response in some people that can spill over into the business world. And to date, this has been a big reason for Blackberry’s success.

It’s fair to say that Windows Mobile isn’t as sexy as Blackberry or iPhone, despite the fantastic array of handsets now available. So, setting irrational emotions aside, logic says to me that Windows Mobile is the better choice for business. I can wait until the weekend before I buy the new iPhone 3GS.

If you’re interested in introducing Windows Mobile to your business, contact the team at Technology Management today on 01902 578300.

Free Training and more!

As part of being enrolled on a maintenance plan for your Dynamics NAV software you are given access to a Microsoft portal called CustomerSource. This portal provides you with a wealth of free information about Dynamics NAV.

The site includes the following:

·         FREE online training

·         Training manuals that can be downloaded

·         Newsgroups

·         Subscriptions to news emails

·         A Knowledgebase

·         User guides & white papers

·         Product announcements

·         Access to On–line seminars and webcasts

·         And more....

If you don’t have access to this and would like access please email Matt Woodhouse (matthew.woodhouse@tecman.co.uk) who can set this up for you. You will need just one administrator who once set up can then add as many individuals from your company as you like.

For a demonstration go to

http://www.microsoft.com/Dynamics/demos/customersource/index.html

Are SMEs less competitive than their larger counterparts?

Fifty two per cent of private sector businesses believe that SME suppliers are less competitive than their larger counterparts, according to new research from BT Business and Cisco. The research, developed to explore the factors influencing large businesses in choosing suppliers, shows that the same proportion of large businesses are more demanding of suppliers than they were a year ago.

On a positive note, procurement managers are aware of the benefits of working with a smaller business. The vast majority (72 per cent) believe small businesses are well placed to offer a more personalised service than their larger competitor, with customer service and responsiveness cited in the top five reasons to award contracts.

Although 87 per cent say small businesses are more likely to have the personal chemistry conducive to a smooth supplier relationship, 57 per cent say they do not believe SMEs are as able to provide around the clock support, and 52 per cent say they are less able to offer competitive rates.

The bias for larger, established businesses is illustrated by 40 per cent saying they are less likely to choose a small business supplier when times are tough. And 42 per cent would select a larger supplier over a smaller one, believing that big enterprises are a safer option in the long run. It also emerged that 41 per cent think that small firms are less creative.

Procurement managers allocate on average £28 million each year to suppliers, with a sizeable 23 per cent (£6.6 million) spent with small businesses.  Whilst these figures point to a healthy market opportunity for SMEs in the UK, almost half (48 per cent) have increased their payment periods or would consider doing so as a result of the credit crunch. This is despite nearly a quarter (24 per cent) acknowledging that larger companies have a responsibility to consider the impact these terms would have on firms who may struggle to cover their initial costs.

John Dunsmure, managing director, British Chambers of Commerce, said: "These findings are extremely worrying for UK businesses and especially start ups. As such I would urge businesses to outsource anything that is secondary to their core business competence and invest their precious resources in what will help set them apart from the competition."

Bernadette Wightman, director, SMB, Cisco UK & Ireland: "Given the pressure to do more with less, small businesses are being squeezed by the demanding tendering process. Intelligent use of IT alongside wider organisational processes can help SMEs to address these challenges."

Forty per cent of those questioned admitted that what a supplier chooses to outsource is a key factor in their decision making. Just over a quarter (26 per cent) claimed they would prefer to work with a company that does everything in-house, while one in four said they would be concerned if a supplier outsourced its customer service.

Bill Murphy, managing director, BT Business, said: "Good customer service is obviously essential for any business. Having fewer people can mean that it's much more difficult to respond to customer queries and concerns. But there are ways to overcome this; unified IT and communication systems are now affordable for all, and can provide the tools to help enable SMEs to compete with even the biggest suppliers."

Last year Technology Management launched a range of hosted business systems designed to deliver complete business systems directly over the web. The choice includes Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Pegasus Opera II. Instead of having to worry about maintaining the infrastructure to run the software, Technology Management can host the software in their dedicated data centre. Choosing an expert to host applications takes advantage of economies of expertise as well as scale, in a flexible environment where usage may be charged per user, per month.

Technology versus Process.

Has the increasing sophistication of technology helped to evolve business processes or have evolving business processes driven the pace of technology change?  Robert Epstein, business lead, small medium business, Microsoft UK examines the way that technology and business process have changed and ask whether IT should fit your existing processes or whether your processes should fit with new technology.  Is there a right or wrong way and what are the options for a SME?

Whilst most advisors would argue that it’s important to map any technology solution onto your existing business processes rather than mapping new processes to a particular technology, it would be naive to believe that business processes have not evolved alongside these technology solutions. Indeed, evolving technology has helped shape new ways of work emerging in enterprises of all sizes so SMEs shouldn’t be afraid to adopt new ways of working made possible by technology that can deliver value to the business.

SMEs need to seize any benefit they can and technology can be a real source of competitive advantage; often though improving processes both within the organisation and with its customers. Take for example Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS), a package of products that allows business the freedom to collaborate much more effectively and share information across the business whilst keeping it in a central location accessible by all employees. A customer that comes to mind is The Professional Finance Centre; by adopting SBS, they are now able to work at home, to pick up their email, diary and business contacts both from their home PC and their mobiles – it has totally changed the way they run their business, but in a way that makes it easier, not more complex.

For me, however, the most exciting development in business process management from a technology perspective has to be Web 2.0 which offers a vast potential for change, delivering entirely new ways to find, use and share information. We’re no longer tied to searching through regimented file structures mimicking a physical filing cabinet but have now been freed to organise our information by keyword, topic, or even by the specific expertise of the author.

Another great step forward we have to thank Web 2.0 for is new ways to collaborate online. Gone are the days when a face to face meeting was the only way to get your business done. Thanks to software such as Microsoft SharePoint Server, Groove and in the cloud offerings such as Microsoft Office Live Workspaces we can now edit, store and share documents online. No matter where you are, as long as you have access to the internet you can access the latest versions of important documents, share your updates and even discuss them as you work. Businesses can also meet virtually thanks to technology such as Microsoft Live Meeting which allows you to collaborate online in real-time, delivering presentations and sharing information during teleconferences.

The difference now is that intelligent business processes are developed alongside evolutions in IT. IT gives us a toolkit that allows us to develop new processes hand in hand with the needs of people, delivering increasingly efficient processes tailored to the needs of the business’ users. Don’t leap to buy technology for technology’s sake; think first about whether the solutions you’re looking at will fit with what you need from them.

My advice to businesses is to look at the way you currently run your business and where you think it might be improved. Speak to an expert, such as a Microsoft Small Business Specialist, who will have experience of addressing the business issues of SMEs through technology. It could be that technology is the answer to improving a process – or it could even be that your current technology is hindering your process. Whatever the solution, you must make sure it is focused around people and that you have buy in from your people because without them you cannot succeed.

25 % off additional Modules/Components – Pegasus News

During June 2009, existing Opera II users can benefit from a 25 % reduction when purchasing additional components/modules.

0% Finance !!! – Pegasus News

Pegasus are re-launching the 0% finance promotion this quarter and are also adding a new finance option: “A Payment Holiday”. 0% finance is available on software deals of £5k or more.

Microsoft CRM App for the iPhone

iPhone users seeking access to their Microsoft Dynamics CRM software via their phone now have the iDcrm app available for free on Apple’s App Store.

According to the makers you can manage, display and schedule your activities and those of your colleagues. You can access data related to each entity e.g. on an account you have access to related contacts, opportunities, activities and more.

The application works on- and offline.

Details about the app can be found here.

CopyCompany takes pain out of Year End

Pegasus Opera II users seeking a better way of copying and archiving their Pegasus data now have a fast new tool, thanks to CopyCompany, a new Opera II add-on developed by Technology Management.

CopyCompany is ideal for keeping a back up of payroll and financial data at year end, archiving data or testing new processes outside of the live system environment.

Many customers find that copying and moving system data around Opera II is a real chore so the team at Technology Management decided to make Opera users’ lives easier with the CopyCompany extension.

CopyCompany is available exclusively from Technology Management this August, priced at £199. For more details contact Mike Williams at Technology Management.

July NAV Workshop: How to Reduce Your Debtor Days by Using Reminders and Late Payment Charges

During this morning event Lynn Wellings at Technology Management will share with you how to set up Microsoft Dynamics NAV to automate some of the billing and debtor chasing that has already helped one customer reduce average debtor days by 10 days!

Lynn will be showing NAV users how to:

• Create statement and reminder templates – for letters, emails or faxes
• Automate activities to chase late payments
• Set up and automate late payment charges
• Set up and automate early invoice settlement incentives
• Set up filters to include/exclude customers from all of the above activities

This special NAV workshop is running on Thursday 23 July at Technology Management’s offices in Wolverhampton – 9.30 – 12.30. To reserve your place email mark.britton@tecman.co.uk  

We expect this customer-only event to be a sell out, so email me today to discover some quick ways to reduce your debtor days.