Back to blogging!

I must apologise for the lack of blogs over the last few months. The reason for this is that I have been busy in my other role as administrator for the family farm as we have been setting up a new dairy.

For those of you that don't know I live on the family dairy farm in North Devon and we have been setting up a new dairy with facilities for robotic milking, this means that I have been busy with my other role and also helping out on the farm so haven't made time to blog.

It's very interesting what we have done, our milking is now controlled by technology so in some respects there is a crossover between the computing business and the farm as computers are involved for both businesses! It's fascinating to watch the cows go in and out of the robot and be milked automatically. You can also look at the computer and see when a cow has been milked plus how much they are giving. There is also a multitude of other data that can be found, but to be honest I don't understand it all!

The picture above shows the robot just after it had arrived here on the farm, it's now in use 24 hours a day.

Online Training

A while ago I found a great online learning tool called Futurelearn. Futurelearn offers a wide range of courses or MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) and I am currently taking part in one on Digital Marketing.

These courses offer courses that could be useful in the workplace, like the one I am taking at the moment, plus some that learners may take as a recreational course. They are run by various universities and looking a the learner map for my current course there are people from all over the world taking part.

I decided to take part in the Digital Marketing course as this is an area that I am particularly interested in and I run the social media accounts for my business Convallis Software and the local sports centre, Chulmleigh Sports Centre, where I am a trustee and volunteer.

I am currently part way through the first week and have already learnt about storytelling and how it can be used in your marketing plus the range of social media options that are available. You work your way through the course at your own pace offering comments on each module if you wish to. This course also has a Facebook group and a Google + group to enable me to link up with other members of the course if I wish to.

I really enjoy working at my own pace and increasing my knowledge and I've already discovered through the comments section that a friend of mine is doing the same course!

If you are looking at training that is free why not consider a MOOC, and some courses also offer the opportunity to purchase a statement of participation at the end.

5 Quick Tips to help get Website Traffic

Your website is one of the most important aspects of your business.  It is normally one of the first places a potential customer will go to find out about your business, you products and services and you! It is also where many potential customers will find out how to contact you, usually via a contact page but also your other means of communication, for example a phone number or social media links.

The more visitors you have to your website the better your sales and profits (one would hope!). These tips presume you know your niche and your keywords. I also presume that you conduct regular keyword research to stay on top of what's popular within your niche.

1. Make sure you are actually tagging your keywords.
   
   Online, one of the most significant keys to success is getting website traffic.  The more visitors you have, the better your sales and profits.  Presumably you have a niche and you know your keywords, and regularly conduct keyword research to stay on top of what’s popular.  Based on those assumptions here are five quick and easy tips to get website traffic fast!
   
   
   Do you spend a lot of time optimizing your content and then neglect to tag them on your webpage?  Tags are where search engines look and if there are no tags they’ll pass right by your web pages.  Here’s a quick brief on tags.
   
   There are a number of tag types including,
   
   * Title tags.  Title tags are quite possibly the most important place to situate your keywords.  Here’s what they look like - <title>Primary keyword phrase here. </title>
   
   Your title tag is where you place your primary keyword or keyword phrase.  The sentence will describe your business in less than 90 characters. 
   
   * Header Tags.  Header tags are next in order of importance to search engines.  They’re ranked in order of importance and look like this - <h1>Primary and/or Secondary keywords here</h1>
   
         The “1” designates this header as the most important header on the page.
   
   * Meta Tags. Meta tags provide the small descriptive text found underneath the title tag on the search engine results page.  Like title tags these should be kept brief, informative and up to date.
   
   * Alt Tags.  Alt tags are used to provide a text description of a graphic.  Each graphic on your site should have a description and an alt tag. 
    
2. Add content to your site regularly.
   
   Content is essential for traffic and a top search engine ranking.  Content is what search engine spiders look for and index - without it there’s nothing to index or rank.  Give visitors and search engines a reason to visit and index your site. Make a commitment to provide regular, optimized content and your traffic should increase.
    
3.  Procure valuable and relevant incoming links
   
   The more websites which link to your webpages the more valuable search engines perceive you to be, though not all links are created equal.  Search engines give more leverage to links from sites which are popular and credible and from sites which are relevant to your website topic. 
   
   There are different types of links.
   
   - A direct link looks like a basic website address, for example, www.yourwebsite.com
   
   - A text link occurs when the webpage address is embedded in the text.  Readers simply click on the link and are redirected to a new website page. 
   
   - If the link is to an internal web page, for example an article published on a website, rather than the home page, it is called a “deep link.”
   
   
   You can encourage linking to your website by:
   
   * Adding content to your site. 
   * Submitting to article directories. 
   * Publishing press releases. 
   * Blogging and participating in social networking forums, chat rooms and social networking sites. 
    
4. Be Social!
   
   Now more than ever before, internet marketing is about building a community.  Whether you offer a forum on your website or you participate in social networking sites, social networking is a valuable traffic generating tactic.  Sites like Facebook and Twitter can be powerful tools for generating links and traffic to your site – create a profile and then post comments, links to your site and ideas which generate conversation. 
   
   Get involved - many chat rooms and forums are industry specific, find those which cater to your industry, and begin participating.  Speak to and connect with a highly targeted audience. 
    
5.  Advertise for more exposure and traffic
   
   Advertising, when handled strategically, can be used to promote your content and products or services.  PPC advertising is often the tool of choice because you control the advertising budget on a daily basis and have the tools to test and track your advertising efforts.  Once you’ve honed your PPC ads the return on investment can be phenomenal in terms of traffic and purchases.   
   
   I hope that in this blog there are some tips that you can take back to your own business to help gain more traffic to your website. Although no expert, these are some of the things that I have learnt over the years and have helped me with my business.

Why use Cloud Technology?

'Why use cloud technology?'

This is a question I get asked quite often now in these evolving days of technology. I hope to give my personal opinion in this blog whether you agree with it or not.

Cloud technology allows you to work more flexibly, whether you are out and about or sat in your office you can have access to all your documents, files, work etc. Rather than have an existing (possibly expensive) server sat in the corner of an office or a dedicated room a lot of the cloud technology is purchased on a subscription basis, based on the number of users. This means that as things change in a business (staff numbers etc) you will only be paying for what you use.

An example of a popular cloud technology is Office365 from Microsoft that we use here at Convallis Software. As the name suggests this is the familiar Office suite of applications but in a cloud environment using secure servers. Another example is our own product, ConvallisCRM, a customer relationship management solution that has a desktop or cloud based option. Most of our customers are now subscribing to the monthly cloud option which allows the flexibility of usage.

In my personal opinion cloud technology is certainly the way to go for a modern business. If you want to find out more how this works please take a look at the following video from Microsoft showing an example of how it works for a small business in the UK.

What does Database mean to you?

The word database can mean different things to different people. To some a database is their collection of names, addresses and telephone numbers of contacts for their business be it either on a spreadsheet, an address book, entered in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution or as a batch of business cards in a box somewhere.

For others a database is a list of stock available for sale or any list to do with their business.

According to Wikipedia, a database is an organised collection of data. The data is typically organized to model aspects of reality in a way that supports processes requiring information.

If you have multiple databases you sometimes find that information is duplicated or you cannot find the data you are looking for. Here at Convallis Software we are specialists in the development of bespoke databases and can help you get your business databases organised.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you, we offer a free initial one hour consultation (depending on location) to discuss your personal requirements.

Windows 10 launch date - when can you get it?

It has been announced that the launch date for Windows 10 (there will not be a Windows 9) will be Wednesday 29th July 2015.

Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for current users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and you will have a year from the launch date to upgrade for free.

Why upgrade?

Well for a start if you are running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 as I said before the upgrade will be free. You will have the most up to date and secure version of Windows and don't forget that eventually support will end for earlier versions just like it did for Windows XP in April 2014.

I for one am looking forward to this new version of Windows, as much as I like Windows 8.1 it's always interesting to get the new versions and to learn how to adapt to use them. 

No Windows 9 - Windows 10 to be launched later this year

Microsoft have announced that their latest operating system, Windows 10 will be launched 'later this year'.

It's interesting that they have decided to skip straight to version 10 omitting version 9, may Windows 10 rolls off the tongue better! I will certainly be interested to see the changes when I update my laptop to the new OS.

Microsoft say there has been a low uptake of Windows 8, but I personally think it's like anything new, don't knock it until you've tried it. I have used it for quite a while now and introduced a couple of clients to it and they said after the initial few days of getting used to the controls it's not too bad to use at all.

One thing we must remember if you are using an old operating system the support for these do eventually come to a natural end, I think that it's fair to say that no one should be expected to support something that is out of date and many years old.

What else do we know about Windows 10? This is an example of the few things happening, to find out more read the complete article that I used for reference.

• For Windows 8 and 8.1 users the upgrade will be free for the first year
• For Windows 7 or users of other operating systems there is currently no word on pricing
• Cortana, Microsoft's voice recognition software will be incorporated into the operating system
• Windows 10 will be unified across all Windows devices including phones and tablets
• The 'Start' menu will be returning

I'm certainly looking forward to seeing and using the new operating system and will let you know how my experience goes. 

Microsoft's OneDrive to become simpler in the future.

Reading some of the recent technology news, I came across an article regarding Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage system and how they are going to be changing it to make life simpler for users. This prompted me to think about my use of OneDrive here at Convallis.

I actually use OneDrive more than I thought, backing up things like photos, saving documents such as my car insurance documents that I may need elsewhere. I also use it to for business to back up certain documents or photos, plus I share files/documents with one of my customers as they allow me access to share certain files.

The article mentioned that some people have had a problem with reliability with OneDrive, well for me I have never had an issue, but the great thing about what Microsoft are doing is that there will be a single sync engine for both business and consumer use, this will certainly make life a lot easier.

Whatever cloud storage system you use, be it OneDrive, Dropbox or any of the others available I'm sure you will agree that the more user-friendly it is the better it will be for us all and there will be less complaints!

UK Broadband still patchy - of course it is!

I've just been reading this article on the BBC news website outlining the gap between the fastest and slowest broadband speeds in the UK.

The results come as no surprise to me, as having a business based in rural North Devon our office is at the end of the line and doesn't have the best speed, but I do know that it is faster than some neighbouring villages/properties. As broadband speed is so bad here I know of many people that have gone down the satellite broadband route just to get any form of decent bandwidth.

I don't expect that if/when we get fibre broadband to our exchange that it will make much difference, we are probably still too far from the exchange to make any difference.

Here's a speed test that I have done this morning - 9th December 2014

As you can see from the results, the download speed is is certainly a lot less than the average reported of 23 Mbps (Mega bits per second), and even for a business it is less than an average typical household requirement of 10 Mbps. With more and more official documentation having to be logged online nowadays it is imperative that all should have access to a decent broadband service.

Even though things are supposed to be improving there will always be some of us that will not get as good as service as others, just because we choose to live and work in a rural location we should not have to miss out on better broadband speeds or have to pay an additional cost to a satellite provider if we don't want to.

Windows Server 2003 - End of support July 2015

Are you currently using Windows Server 2003? It has been announced that support and upgrades will end on 14th July 2015 - this might seem like a long time away but it isn't. Start thinking about what you would like to do in your business NOW!

The following video will explain more:

If you're unsure of how you would like to go forward we offer consultancy services to help you make the right decision for your business.

Celebrity Leaks from iCloud - is the cloud secure?

Further to recent reports in the press of the leaking of personal photos and videos from the iCloud service this has prompted me to think of a few things regarding security and the type of information that was leaked.

First though, I have just seen a news article stating that Apple will be tightening security after the recent leaks, but is this too little too late?

I don't personally use iCloud, the cloud services I use are Microsoft services which includes the OneDrive cloud storage solution so I am writing from the perspective of a non-user of the service that was affected and these opinions are all my own. I use my OneDrive as a back up of my photos and documents, but after reading about the content of some of the pictures etc that were leaked I don't feel that is the appropriate type of material to be storing in a cloud environment.

Reading the article it wasn't the security that was breached but passwords were guessed or the accounts were hacked into via phishing. This is an ideal time to remind you to ensure your passwords are very strong, don't use things like your date/place of birth or your name and don't click on any suspicious attachments in any emails you receive.

Cloud services are secure I've been using them for a while now personally and for work, it's down to users to ensure that they do the best they can to protect their accounts.

Do you have negative perceptions of Internet Explorer? Microsoft considered changing its name.

I've recently read an article on the Forbes website explaining that Microsoft considered changing the name of its Internet Explorer (IE) browser due to negative perceptions of it.

Although it has 58% of the web browser market share there have been some issues with it having a bad reputation in the past due to issues with security in previous versions.

Personally, I don't think a re-brand would have made much difference, if you have a perception of something and don't like it a new name wouldn't make any difference and you probably still wouldn't use it. Another point is that you would also know that it's still developed by Microsoft.

I think most users of the Internet have their own favourite browsers be it Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox or another altenative, therefore why change from what you like to something else? As for me I need to use all of these browsers, mainly for testing that any websites that we develop work well in all, but in some cases certain sites will run better on one browser over another.

What do you think? Do you have a favourite browser that you use? Should Microsoft have changed the name of Internet Explorer to something else? I look forward to receiving your comments.

Cloud Technology - The Future?

I have recently been reading this article on the Future of Cloud Computing that was written in 2010 discussing how we would be working by 2020 and thought I would look at how the technology has developed in just 4 years not the 10 years as predicted by the article. I have selected just a few points from the article and the comments I am writing are my personal opinion.

Quote: "A solid majority of technology experts and stakeholders participating in the fourth Future of the Internet survey expect that by 2020 most people will access software applications online and share and access information through the use of remote server networks, rather than depending primarily on tools and information housed on their individual, personal computers. They say that cloud computing will become more dominant than the desktop in the next decade. In other words, most users will perform most computing and communicating activities through connections to servers operated by outside firms."

I agree that a lot of software applications are now online, but from experience some firms are still skeptical about using cloud technology and like to have information held on their own devices. Using cloud technology firms are able to allow their employees to work from various devices, mobiles, tablets etc. This allows a more flexible way of working as employees are able to access documents etc not just when sat at their desk but when away for work or if they work from home. In this respect cloud computing is starting to become more dominant for those firms that operate flexible working policies.

Quote: "The highly engaged, diverse set of respondents to an online, opt-in survey included 895 technology stakeholders and critics. The study was fielded by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center.  Some 71% agreed with the statement:

By 2020, most people won’t do their work with software running on a general-purpose PC. Instead, they will work in Internet-based applications such as Google Docs, and in applications run from smartphones. Aspiring application developers will develop for smartphone vendors and companies that provide Internet-based applications, because most innovative work will be done in that domain, instead of designing applications that run on a PC operating system.”

Rather than using Google Docs, in my business we access documents etc using Microsoft's Office 365 but there are certainly many ways in which to access your documents using cloud technology. Documents can also be saved and/or shared using OneDrive or a similar document storage application. These applications can be used from a range of devices, including a smartphone or tablet device. There are now many more developers that specialise in the development of Apps for these devices, but I feel that there is still a place for software that is developed specifically for PC's, especially if it specific for a business and they have no need to access their applications via cloud technology.

Quote: " A number of people said cloud computing presents difficult security problems and further exposes private information to governments, corporations, thieves, opportunists, and human and machine error."

When selecting a cloud computing provider, it's imperative that you check that you will be using a provider that offers security protection for you and secure servers your data. You must also ensure that the servers which hold your data are located in a country that will conform with any local data protection laws. Yes, human error can occur, but this can happen even when you are using a network server or local PC.

Why not take a look at the full report and form your own opinion? I strongly believe that cloud technology is the way forward and we have been using it and offering cloud solutions to our customers for quite a while now.

Planning is the Key

A question that is quite common is -  “How do I design a successful Web site?”

As you might suspect, the answer is, “Lack of proper planning beforehand.”

Let’s put it another way, in programming, there’s an old saying, which states: “The sooner you start your coding the longer it takes to finish.”

Planning out your website before you build it is essential. To borrow a technique from the film industry, I recommend that you create a storyboard or mind map, which is a type of a flow chart of your new website design. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist to draw out your idea, but it’s essential to create it on paper or using a mind map first.

On each piece of paper if creating the storyboard, the goal is to have room for an image at the top, plus space underneath for writing down information. As you might suspect, the first page to start with is your home (or welcome) page, which will typically have the most information as it will contain the page the people visit before they enter your site and as people go through your site, the will encounter more information (in tiers) as they go down.

Typically, the home page links to 5-15 pages below that, which we could refer to as Tier 2. Each of those pages links to another 5-15 pages, which you could call Tier 3.

If you use all of these pages, you’ll wind up with an extensive Web site design, of at least 226 pages (including the home page).

If you are using a mind map, you will go through a similar process to above, but on one piece of paper as a type of flow chart. A basic example is shown below:

It’s during this process that all sorts of problems will crop up. But it’s much easier to solve them on paper than in the middle of building the site rather than when you are finished, although if you are developing a content managed website such as our ConvallisCMS sites the content can easily be changed, but it's a bit more difficult to change the template design.

Working things out on paper or a mind map will give you a much better idea of how things will work and how to fix problems. And, if you have knowledgeable friends, get a second opinion. Once you’ve completed the on-paper/mind map process, and you and your web designer are satisfied with the results, you’re ready to translate it into code.

Thinking of investing in a CRM? Some things to consider.

Putting the customer right at the centre of the organization is the be-all and end-all of successful Customer Relationship Management (CRM). To do that you have to know what your customers really want and really think about your business and then use that to deliver better products and services, improve customer service and increase sales opportunities yes CRM has a purpose it is not just a concept!

Companies that invest in CRM systems can learn even more about their customers and offer more personalized products and services because they receive relevant information daily in a way that allows them to spot trends.

Implementing new business strategies always includes an element of risk but proper change management practices can reduce this dramatically. The reason many projects fail lies with poor project execution. Many companies have made the mistake of rushing headlong into CRM without a well thought out plan. So when investing in CRM:

1. Have a CRM strategy because CRM initiatives launched without a strategy invariably cause pain. Do not think of CRM as a project separate from your overall business plan. That way madness lies. CRM only works when there is clear understanding of why the organisation is doing it and how it will improve service and loyalty, cut costs or increase revenue.

2. Understand the technology. Far too often CRM is considered an IT project not a business initiative and it should not be thought of like this; but this means that the business has to understand the technology and what and how it can do for them and what it cannot do for them. The greatest success will come from the coordinated efforts business users, IT and supplier.

3. Focus more on business processes than technology. CRM is about an organizations internal and external business processes becoming more customer-centric. Understand your “customer flow”. The systems are merely the enablers, not an end in themselves.

4. Don't try and design the perfect CRM system that will meet 100% of each and every persons wish list and do not expect the new CRM solution to just mirror current business processes. Instead, accept that not everyone can have everything they say they want and use the new system as an opportunity to invent and use new processes that improve customer service, reduce costs and provide better customer service.

5. Do not try to change the whole organization overnight. Go for the highest priority and highest return areas first. Take small, manageable steps not giant leaps and bring the whole organization along with you.

6. Think about the user interface and plan it carefully. For people to use the system, it must be useful to them and easy to use. Every extra field you ask the people to complete, especially mandatory ones, the greater the chance that they will enter garbage or only use the system under duress.

7. Especially if you haven't implemented a CRM system before get help and expect to pay for it even if it is just a day of a suppliers time to go through the issues. They'll see the pitfalls that you can't and you will not waste time and money on trying to do things that can't be done, expecting them to happen in a certain way and then be disappointed or miss out on crucial issues that are essential to successful implementation.

8. Make it somebody's responsibility to own the data, and to make sure that it is correct and complete. Sounds obvious but so many projects just ignore this central detail and CRM systems stand or fall by their data integrity and data quality.

9. User acceptance is the single most important success factor for a CRM system so invest in training. Training is essential to ensuring user acceptance. Never let an untrained employee have customer contact.

What businesses can use a CRM?

When I go out networking and to other businesses about what we do, when I mention CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions I often get asked 'Well what kind of businesses use that?' and 'Why have a CRM?'

We have many different business sectors using our ConvallisCRM product. These include sports clubs, retailers, cleaning companies, a pyrotechnic company and holiday cottages. These businesses have a varying number of employees and users of the system.

If you are just starting out in business you may think that you do not need a formalised system of recording your contacts, maybe you keep a box of business cards, a record in a notebook or a spreadsheet. Over time this will become uncontrollable and you could potentially lose some essential information. Getting a CRM system in place early on allows you to keep control of your records from the start in one central location and reduces the need to do something later on when your data may be starting to become out of control.

As your business grows you might end up taking on more staff. A CRM allows you to add additional users (you may have to pay for additional user licenses) to enable everyone in your business access to important client data. This reduces the need for multiple contact spreadsheets - sometimes duplicating data more than once - not very efficient I hope you agree.

Going back to the original question, 'What businesses can use a CRM?' personally I think any size business would find a use for a CRM to help keep accurate records and to have a central database for all their contact data, I say this as we have businesses from one single user to 50 users using our CRM.

Ensure your website looks professional.

A professionally presented business website is a powerful and essential marketing tool: it’s the first thing prospective customers will look at before they decide to contact you. If the copy on your website is not written to an acceptable standard, it may be losing you customers. It's not enough just to have amazing graphics and imagery: you need the words to make it complete. Is the spelling correct? Are punctuation marks in place? Does the copy make sense? These are questions that your website designer and you should be asking before a new site is uploaded.

One of the biggest flaws with website copy is inconsistency: for example the word website. Some sites spell it as one word, website, some as two words, web site; as far as I am aware both are acceptable, but not both versions on the same site! Personally I prefer website. In my opinion, a lack of consistency will deter a significant amount of would-be customers from using the services of a company that has not taken the trouble to proofread their website.

Poor spelling on a website is another costly but avoidable mistake.

The majority of visitors will leave the site very quickly if they find too many spelling errors. This again will give them the impression that the site owners don't really care; and they would be right! I am also convinced that copy that has been padded out with insignificant trivia is also a big turn-off for visitors clear, concise and informative is the order of the day.

Anything containing textual content should as a matter of course be proofread: it’s important that not only are mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar found and corrected, but that the text flows smoothly for the reader. The copy on a website should not be treated as the ‘poor relation’ of the project. You can have the most up-to-date, eye-catching graphics available but you will still need well-written copy to compliment them.

There are the odd few web design companies around that will happily inform visitors how they can supply them with a state-of-the-art website but then insert second-rate copy, which totally negates any good work they have achieved. This will reduce the initial impact of the site, and more often than not will have an adverse effect on business. Here at Convallis our customers generally provide us with content, either from themselves or a copywriter. It is difficult for us as an IT company to totally understand another business (we like to learn as much as we can about our customers and their business), but in the end it is you the business owner that knows the most about your own business.

It pays to have the copy checked professionally; it may cost a lot less than you think to have a website proofread – it could cost you considerably more if you don’t!

Remember: if visitors to your site cannot find the information they are looking for because of badly written copy they will simply leave the site. The only people to benefit will be your competitors.

Are you looking for a new website? Take a look at our website packages, a range of affordable website solutions.

Listening to your Customers

What do you do when you receive customer feedback about a product or service you supply?

Here at Convallis Software customer feedback has played an important part in the development of our ConvallisCRM product.

ConvallisCRM has been developed and improved over many years and this improvement is ongoing, quite a bit in part to feedback received from our customers. The software started out as a very simple contact management solution but over time has been developed into a far more functional customer relationship management (CRM) solution.

One example of a feature that was integrated in the software following customer feedback is the 'personal' details section.

Example of Personal information in ConvallisCRM

This feature came after talking to two clients, one runs a holiday let and wanted the medical conditions box to make notes if their clients were disabled or ill and needed and special facilities and/or access. The date of birth feature came from a club that wanted to make a report each month of their member's birthdays so that they could send them a birthday card or special offer for their birthday.

This is just one example of how listening to your customers can allow you to improve a product or service, but don't forget that as businesses we may sometimes get negative feedback. This should also be acted on appropriately and can still help to improve your business product or service.

Are you still using Windows XP?

Are you still using Windows XP as the operating system for your PC or laptop?

In September of 2007 Microsoft communicated their plans to end support for Windows XP SP3 and how that may affect your business.  Microsoft recognizes how integral Windows XP may have been in your operations and valuable to your employees, thus they have provided support for these past 12 years. The time has come for Microsoft and us to invest our resources toward supporting more recent technologies such that we can continue to deliver great new experiences for you as your IT environment evolves to meet the changing needs of your users in this increasingly social and mobile world. 

After April 8, 2014, technical assistance for Windows XP will no longer be available, nor will automatic updates be sent that have helped protect your organization’s PCs (including home users). For specific details, please review Microsoft’s Windows XP end of support information here. 

Microsoft continues to take steps to help all users, including home users, of Windows XP understand what end of support means, when it will take place, and what steps they can take to move to a modern operating system (ie. Windows 8.1) and Windows devices. Therefore, beginning March 8th, 2014, users using Windows XP (Home and Professional editions) who elected to receive updates via Windows Update will receive an end of support notification through Windows Update.   The message will state, “Windows XP End of Support is on April 8^th, 2014. Click Here to learn more.”  While the message is scheduled to recur monthly, users have the option to click “Do not show this message again.”  Enterprises that are managing their infrastructure using WSUS will not receive the notifications.

If you are still using Windows XP now is the time to consider upgrading your operating system, we use Windows 8.1 here at Convallis and can assist with your upgrade decision.

Don't leave it too late and leave your computers vulnerable plus don't forget not all modern software works with Windows XP.

What is CRM?

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. This is an integrated system of managing data which is used to schedule, plan, and control both the post-sale and the pre-sale activities engaged in by an organization. CRM’s objective is to improve long-term profits and growth of a company. Contact activity, indirect and direct sales, tasks and marketing efforts are some of the things that can be covered by CRM applications.

It is believed that CRM systems provide more accurate feedback and better-focused data concerning the aforementioned areas. Reports can be generated directly from the CRM to provided this detailed data.

The first component of CRM that was ever made available was SFA, or “sales force automation”. Automated field service, call centre activity, and SFA were all running down parallel tracks during most of the 1990s and late in that decade all of those began to merge with marketing plans to finally emerge into CRM.

So. CRM is actually not a technology and not something tangible at all. During the dot-com era, many people began to think of CRM as a technology in its own right. There are those who have implemented CRM technology just because they are technophiles or think that any new technology can in and of itself increase their business’ profits. But CRM technology is not about that. Too many businesses start using CRM technology without the slightest idea of how it is supposed to be used, or what the true CRM principles are. This is nothing other than putting the cart before the horse.

CRM is supposed to reflect your methodology of doing sales and marketing and customer service, supported by data and by the interpersonal relationship that you have with each individual customer that does business with you. CRM technology enables a front line person, a sales or marketing agent or a customer service rep, to instantly access all of the most relevant and important data about a client when that client contacts you, and use that data to give a personalized, relevant, and up-to-date response to the client. CRM technology implementation lets you have smooth transitions between stages of a client’s relationship with you both in terms of projects and in terms of the client’s own activity. At the same time, you keep very detailed and accurate notes about every contact with a client.

If you are looking to implement a CRM solution why not take a look at ConvallisCRM and take a free trial today.

Adapted from: http://plrplr.com/89090/what-is-crm-2/