Things have come a long way with open source. There are hundreds of mature, stable, powerful, secure, enterprise ready scripts full of robust features you can incorporate into your current website. Best of all they are free to download and can be tailored and integrated together to match your current web presence and branding. See the diagram below for the most popular ones I encounter in my freelancing business — scripts for content managment, social networking, customer relationship management, blogging, online stores, wikis, )

Your “Sand Box”
I set up some these popular scripts fresh off download so you can see how these scripts come “out of the box”. You’ll be impressed how full featured, stable and mature these products are. This “sand box” will allow you to test drive these scripts as end users and as administrators. You’ll need to email me if you need access to admin login and password (trying to keep the internet vandals away, those rascals!).

Name of Open Source Script: Joomla Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Content Management System Who Should Use: Anyone looking to replace their static web page website with a system (CMS) that’s easier to maintain.

Features of Interest: - Good CMS for non-techy - Easy installation - Easy learning curve - Intuitive admin interface - Polished modules - Polished themes - No multi-site - Difficult to integrate

Name of Open Source Script: Drupal Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Content Management System Who Should Use: Anyone looking to replace their static web page website with a system (CMS) that’s easier to maintain.

Features of Interest: - Solid platform - High performance - Multi-site features - Integrate w/ other scripts - Very flexible - Many high profile sites use - Need to be techy to use - Needs custom theme

Name of Open Source Script: Dolphin Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Social Networking Who Should Use: If you want social networking features in your site, this is the leading open source script.

Features of Interest: - YouTube, MySpace, Facebook (all in one) - Forums - Videos - Music - Blogs - Polls - Groups - Chat - Messenger Boards

Name of Open Source Script: SugarCRM Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Customer Relationship Management Who Should Use: Need a full featured CRM tool on the web, this is the leading open source script.

Features of Interest: - Marketing Automation - Sales Force Automation - Customer Support - Collaboration - Reporting - Analytics - Dashboards - Profiling

Name of Open Source Script: phpBB Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Forums / Bulletin Board Who Should Use: Wanna start a discussion board / forum, this is the leading open source script.

Features of Interest: - Most widely used BB in the world - Customizeable - Extensive admin panel - Detailed videos/tutorials - Large library of styles - Large library of user mods - Enterprise ready - Large user community

Name of Open Source Script: mediaWiki Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Wiki / Knowledgebase Who Should Use: Need a knowledgebase (Wiki) just like Wikipedia, this is the script used by this popular site.

Features of Interest: - Same script used by Wikipedia - Supports wikitext - Extremely Powerful - Built for million hits a day - Customizeable - Supports themeing - Manages images and multimedia files - Lots of support from media wiki site

Name of Open Source Script: Magento Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Online Stores / eCommerce Who Should Use: This is the script used by many leading online stores.

Features of Interest: - Used by popular online stores - Catalog Management - Site Management - Marketing and Promotions - Search Engine Optmization - International Support - Mobile Support - Checkout/Payment/Shipping processing

Name of Open Source Script: WordPress Wanna Play? Visit Script’s Website Type of script: Most widely used blogging platform Who Should Use: Anyone needing full featured blogging features

Features of Interest: - Widely used blogging platform - Large library of themes - Large library of widgets and modules - Cross blog communication tools - Robust comments - Full user registration - Password protected posts - Easy installation and upgrades

Let me know what you think!

Best,
Luis
510-914-2372 (mobile)
luis@luisphpmysql.com

The tasks which I can accomplish in Salesforce,Oracle CRM on Demand and Siebel CRM on Premise using workflow can be achieved in SugarCRM through Logic hooks.
As the workflows in Salesforce and Oracle CRM on Demand are made from the UI layer, but in sugarm CRM we have to do coding in order to achieve this.
Logic Hooks (or “Business Logic Hooks”, “Custom Logic”) allows you to add functionality to certain actions, such as before a bean save, in an upgrade-safe manner.

$hook_array['before_save'][] = array(
1, //Hook version
test, //Label
‘custom/modules/Leads/test12.php’, //Include file
‘TestClass’, //Class
‘lead_before_save_1′ //Method
);

The new year is coming baby!

As we all know, the new year is a time to set goals and resolutions both professionally and personally. I think we have all seen the large crowd of newbies at the gym at the beginning of the year or heard the endless water cooler discussions about how people had just started a new diet. Usually these resolutions start strongly for the people commiting to them, then tend to fade away by later half of the first quarter of the year. Well I wanted to put together a list of resolutions for new or small businesses that are very important for the growth and long term success of the organization. This list is in no particular order.

1 ) Strengthen your social media channels – If your business does not have a strong social media presense by now, you really need to put together a social marketing plan in 2010. Socail media is here to stay and it is no longer optional for small businesses to participate in the various social mediums.  Here is a short list containing the minimum sites your organization should have a presence in: 

-Facebook - The younger generation has been navigating away from Facebook and focusing more on other social networks like Ning.  However with more that 350 million active users, you should strongly consider Facebook as an advertising and/or networking mechanism for your business.

-Twitter – So are we tweeting or are we just twits? Well either way, consumers are now spoiled with the desire for real time information and direct access to merchants. They want to monitor your business moves and provide instant feedback while sipping lattes at Starbucks. Therefore keep your customers engaged with your business by linking them to your Twitter tweets. 

-LinkedIn - Are you looking for a place to network with professionals and other businessmen? LinkedIn is the premier option for B2B networking and to help your business find effective partnerships.

-WordPress – Humm…to blog or not to blog….that is the question. Well I feel blogging is extremely important to a small business depending on the service or product offered. Why? It gives customers direct access to your thoughts on what you are or intend to offer them. That could help build some form of understanding of your business and hopefully lead them through your door.

2) Build stronger customer relationships – The times of operating your business without deep understanding our your customer’s needs are over. In the past, customers had limited information on a business, it’s practices, competition and products/services.  Now people can google you and your competition, get price quotes, and rate your company from their cell phone while waiting in line! The importance of strong customer knowledge and understanding continues to rapidly increase as the technology devices and infrastructure get better.

3) Use or obtain free software – Small businesses need to take full advantage of the open source software solutions and free product offerings.

- SugarCRM – The community edition of this software is free and good enough for a small business to track customer relationships.

- Moodle – This learning management system is free and great for a small business who wants to set up a online learning solution.

- Joomla – This content management system can be used to manage a small business web site and online marketing campaign.

- Microsoft Bizspark – Are you considering using Microsoft products and or software and your business is less than 3 years old? How would you like Microsoft software for free? Yes…I did say free. Check out Microsoft Bizspark and see if you qualify. We did

4) Prepare to go mobile – As I mentioned earlier, there is so much you can do on a cell phone nowadays. The speeds of the cellular networks keep getting faster and faster and the phones themselves keep getting better and better. Getting your business in the mobile world is very important as this market continues to mature.

-iPhone Application – For $99 and a little elbow grease, you can have your business on the glorious i Phone. Not a bad entry price to have access and exposure to millions of iPhone users worldwide.

- Android Application – If you have noticed the “Droid Does” commercials, you are witnessing the direct competition of Google Android vs the iPhone. Droid is completely open source so there is no cost for submitting an application. Also since it is a new platform, you could get first entry to certain markets.

With the announcement of QuoteWerks 4.5, we have recorded a new tutorial video for all users.

This new video walks users through upgrading QuoteWerks to the latest version or build.  It can be viewed here.

For a list of all the available QuoteWerks tutorial videos please follow this link and the demo videos can be found here.

More information on QuoteWerks can be found on the QuoteWerks website.

Php/Drupal Openings with Photoninfotech Chennai

Url : www.Photoninfotech.net

Skill – PHP/Drupal

Exp -2yrs – 5yrs and above (Not less than 2yrs)

Mode – Contract/Permanent

DOJ –1 Week

Job Location – Chennai

We are planning to organize an inperson interview for PHP Scheduled drive on Saturday (19th Dec 09) at Chennai.

Must have:

- Working knowledge in open source App (OS Commerce, Drupal, SugarCRM)

- Good in MySql (Query/Referential Integrity/DB model)

- PHP 4.X and 5.X

- Drupal 5.X, Knowledge in administration and Module development.

- MYSQL 4/5

Nice to Have

Twitter API integration

Multi Cart usage with IScript

Experience in E-Commerce

If you want to be part of this dynamic organisation please mail me your cv to my mail id with the following details.

Current ctc
Expected ctc
joining time req
Willingness to attend the drive.

Regards
Raghu
Adroit Solutions
www.adroit-solutions.com
9916972084
raghu.nandan@adroit-solutions.com

QuoteWerks has just released a new version for all users.  QuoteWerks Version 4.5 Build 1 includes 17 new features previously unavailable.

Updated QuoteWerks Interface

Do you want to personalize QuoteWerks? Well, now you can! Take advantage of the new look for QuoteWerks.

<sp>
Drag and Drop Line Items

Do you want to easily move line items up and down on your quote without cutting and pasting? QuoteWerks development has listened to your requests! Now you can drag and drop your items on your quote.

<sp>
Link Documents and URLs

Have you ever wanted to link a document like a Word/Excel document, Visio diagram, or a CAD drawing to your quote? Ever need to link a web page to your quote for the products that you are researching? The new Links tab will enable you to this and more including presenting more detailed and vivid proposals!

<sp>
Search Online Merchants with Datafeedfile.com

Do you or your customers purchase items from Amazon, Buy.com, Dell, TigerDirect, J&R or other online merchants? Take advantage of the new Datafeedfile.com support to search and use items from more than 1500 merchants without having to manually import items or leave QuoteWerks! *

<sp>
ACT! Premium for Web

Are your sales reps in the field? Access your ACT! for Web 2010 contact information from within QuoteWerks. You will have the same functionality with ACT! for Web as you would if ACT! and QuoteWerks were on the same computer.**

<sp>
Change the Print Order

Have you ever wanted to set the order in which items are printed or saved to file? This new functionality enables you to print your Literature before your Print Layout or your Print Layout before your Cover Page for example.

<sp>
Automate Filename Generation

Do you want to customize the name of the PDF or RTF file when emailing quotes to your customers? Have you wanted to be able to customize your saved reports to be the name of your report and the date it was created? With QuoteWerks Version 4.5, you can automate all of this and more! Automate Filename Creation when Saving Documents

<sp>
QuoteWerks & SugarCRM 5.5

Have you upgraded to SugarCRM 5.5? Take advantage of your SugarCRM contacts in QuoteWerks!

* Datafeedfile.com support requires the QuoteWerks Real-Time Module
** The QuoteWerks integration with ACT! for Web is only available in the Corporate Edition of QuoteWerks

To see all the features available in this new release click here.

To download the latest version visit our Update Agent page.  It lists all the latest features for each new release.

For more information visit the QuoteWerks website.

QuoteWerks 10% Winter Special Discount off all purchases of new licenses, additional licenses, UMP (Update Maintenance Program), and edition upgrades will be expiring on December 18th 2009.

The discount is available to all QuoteWerks users who purchase new licenses, additional licenses, edition upgrades, or UMP during this time.  The discount is for a limited time only and will not be extended past December 18th.

This discount is QuoteWerks’ way of saying “Thank You” for helping us grow into the complete quoting solution we are today.

Don’t delay any longer, contact sales at (407) 248-1481 (option 2) and save today!

For more information visit the QuoteWerks website.

QuoteWerks 4.0 Build 51 Release Webinar Video
Build 51 includes over 20 new features. We will spotlight the improved Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration, Maximizer integration, re-designed select email window, QuickBooks 2010 support, and more! Additional time will be allotted for questions from the attendees.

The video can be viewed here and is free to view.

Please visit the QuoteWerks website for more information.

Теряются данные о клиентах ?

Не знаете, чем занят Ваш менеджер ?

Хотите повысить производительность сотрудников?

Решение есть - SugarCRM.

CRM-система – Система управления взаимодействием с клиентами (сокр. от англ. Customer Relationship Management System, CRM-система) — корпоративная информационная система, предназначенная для автоматизации CRM-стратегии компании, в частности, для повышения уровня продаж, оптимизации маркетинга и улучшения обслуживания клиентов путём сохранения информации о клиентах (контрагентах) и истории взаимоотношений с ними, установления и улучшения бизнес-процедур и последующего анализа результатов.

Воспользвавшись нашими услугами, Вы получите:

• Увеличения количества продаж
• Повышение производительности сотрудников
• Контроль информации о клиентах и компании
• Анализ произведенной работы

И многое другое!

Вы можете ознакомится с демо-версией программы на сайте:

http://crm.kashmensky.com

Логин: will

Пароль: will

Контролируйте свой бизнес!

Also you could visit our English website:

http://en.kashmensky.com

First of all THANKS. Thanks to the SugarCRM guys and Larry Augustin, for hosting an open-source-community event and for inviting people with real nice catering and the lot, at a time where many old-school companies wouldn’t even want to pay for a cup of coffee.

Well, hang on – maybe it is not despite the fact that SugarCRM has an open-source community -that they can afford things like that- but because of it? Maybe open-source is simply the model of the future?
I’m convinced that that this is the case. IP is no property any longer, but a commodity, same as information and air. Restrictions on IP are ridiculous. Innovation combined with flexibility and the ability to implement changes will be the differentiators between failure and success in the future.
Well now the chief concern officers will say, how can you innovate, if you are lacking the funding which was formerly generated by selling your IP?

Obviously you can’t. At least you can’t in the traditional way. You need to rethink and reinvent your business model.

Why? Because you are already making less profit and profits will go down furthermore. Funding is not always clear, but as innovation is more and more outsourced to the customers, or the communities which you operate, manage or contribute to, the entire business model is shifting. A company which has earned money before through, say subscriptions might find itself managing communities of people that share some interests. Obviously this will again not only change the revenue stream, or the value chain, this will force the company to reinvent itself.

All right now Florian, all this and not one word on social CRM? Wroooong…. All this was on social CRM, or whatever you want to call it. Social CRM, CRM2.0, or Social Media Management in the context with customer relations is all about the dear old Trinity of People, Processes and Technology – with one slight difference: People are now really in the beginning and everywhere until the end. Processes don’t need to be described only, or automated. Processes need to be so sophisticated that they can self adjust through the right measure of real-time web applications or other sophisticated BI tools. Without -as SugarCRM calls them- “Cloudconnectors” a CRM is not worth the energy required for switching the server on. Other than that, Technology can do what you can dream. Therefore the only question is: can you still dream?

…and the reality is, Processes need to support people in a holistic, immediate, proactive and such a wonderful way that your customers will stick with you. Then it’s not about what you are charging anymore, but about what kind of feeling and emotions your company is able to transport and to co-create.
This is something you can only influence when you see the full picture. People long for business friendships, they long for someone who knows them and with whom they can share their thoughts. Without the ability to dig into the networks and to establish that social competence, a CRM looses any right to exist. It can support your old school model for a couple of years, but due to its misconception, it will lead you down a road without return. When you wake up, you will look around and notice that you have slept one year too long.

I can’t tell you how curious I am, how this thinking will be adopted by the average CEO, who either is a lawyer, chemist, mathematician or has a degree in engineering. This has nothing to do with clear, well defined processes anymore. It must be comparable to the experience one has when he steps out of his Maybach and now has to win a bull-riding competition. SocialCRM IMHO is just the dawning of a new set of integrated tools forming Mash-Ups in the Cloud and helping us, as customers to manage ourselves. We will find the products we are interested in and we as customers will judge and decide whom we want to deal with. It is the ultimate democracy and Graham Hill was right comparing it in its importance with the era of enlightenment itself.

So to conclude, this is a first glimpse at the future therefore it is fiction, but it is so close to becoming reality that you can call it truth.
To be continued…

The provided database username and/or password is invalid, and a connection to the database could not be established. Please enter a valid user name and password.

This happens when installing SugarCRM 5.5 edition.

Solution:

Changes the Host Name filed from my IP to ‘localhost’ and it works.

The enhanced integration leverages additional features and functionality in MS CRM, previously unavailable for users, to support the sales process and increase efficiency.

ORLANDO, FL December 3, 2009 — Aspire Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of sales quoting software solutions for the global small and mid-markets, announced today an enhanced integration between QuoteWerks and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  This enhanced integration supplies functionality in direct response to user and partner requests.

The QuoteWerks to Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration is a powerful link connecting the two applications.  It enables organizations to manage their sales operations more efficiently and accurately by automating the quote and proposal generation process. The new integration includes not only the previous features (such as scheduling follow up calls and creating opportunities), but also:

• Supports multi-tenancy (organizations) environments using Active Directory or Internet Facing Deployment (IFD) authentication methods
• Enables users to create quotes in MS CRM that are associated with the MS CRM opportunity and populate these quotes with line item detail from the QuoteWerks quote
• Links to existing MS CRM opportunities rather than having to use a new MS CRM opportunity created by QuoteWerks
• Opens the MS CRM Opportunity in MS CRM using a button on the Create/update MS CRM Sales Opportunity window
• Opens a MS CRM contact in MS CRM using a new button on the Soldto/Shipto tab that will open the contact window for the SoldTo, ShipTo, or BillTo linked contact
• Allows users to schedule a MS CRM follow up call in MS CRM using the button on the Create/update Follow up call window
• Logs sent emails from within QuoteWerks (using built in SMTP email or by automating Outlook) in the MS CRM history

<sp>
Furthermore, users can search the entire MS CRM database for an email address by account, name, or phone number.  The email address window has been enhanced by adding functionality for users by enabling them to retrieve email addresses from the MS CRM contact or account records linked to the SoldTo, ShipTo, and BillTo contact fields.  If the quote is linked to an MS CRM contact, all three email addresses associated with that contact will be listed in the selection window.  Additionally, if the document is linked to a MS CRM account, users also have the option to choose from all email addresses associated with the account including all the email addresses of the contacts related to that account.

“QuoteWerks continues to evolve by strengthening integrations with popular contact managers such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This enables companies of all sizes and industries to not only utilize the robust quoting capabilities that QuoteWerks offers, but also integrate QuoteWerks with their already deployed software.  The demand for speed and efficiency remains an important factor during the sales process and this enhanced integration is just one way QuoteWerks continues to offer organizations a competitive edge,” says Vice President of Operations Brian Laufer.

Figure 1: Lookup MS CRM Contact or Account window

Figure 2: Writing line item detail into MS CRM quote from the QuoteWerks quote

The enhanced MS CRM integration is available in Build 51 or higher of QuoteWerks version 4.0.  Users must be on the Corporate Edition in order to use the integration.   Visit http://www.quotewerks.com/updates/UpdateAgent.asp to download build 51.

About Aspire Technologies and QuoteWerks^®

Aspire Technologies, the creators of the award winning QuoteWerks^® sales quoting and proposal software, is the leading provider of sales quoting software with its award winning QuoteWerks^® application deployed to thousands of businesses and enterprises worldwide. QuoteWerks^® integrates with leading CRM and accounting packages, along with IT distributors D&H^®, Ingram Micro^®, SYNNEX^®, and Tech Data^®, enabling businesses in all industries to integrate QuoteWerks^® seamlessly into their existing environments.  Aspire Technologies is headquartered in Orlando, Florida and is a Microsoft Certified Partner.  For more information please visit www.quotewerks.com.

QuoteWerks is a registered trademark of Aspire Technologies, Inc.  Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

@RLavigne Tweetpicks

1. Full Tweets listed in main section.

If you find any broken Tweets or Links, please report them in the comment section.

If you like what you see, may I recommend you start following me on Twitter to enjoy the benefits of real-time content as it materializes.

If you choose to follow @rlavigne42, please leave me a comment. I will make sure to check out your Tweets in return.

If you see a Tweet you appreciate, please Pay it Forward by ReTweeting it.

If you find an blogger you like, please Join Me in following Them.

My Thoughts Enclosed…Rb

The new build introduces the revolutionary QuoteWerks Communicator SPAM filter neutralizer and includes an enhanced Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration, improved Maximizer integration, and support for QuickBooks 2010 (USA and Canada).

ORLANDO, FL November 23, 2009 — Aspire Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of sales quoting software solutions for the global small and mid-markets, announced today the release of a new build which includes over twenty-two new features.  Included in the build are numerous features designed to help companies of all sizes reduce their cost-of-sales and improve sales worker efficiencies.

Build 51 improves some existing integrations and also adds some new features for users.  The most notable features include:

• Support for QuickBooks 2010 (USA and Canadian versions)
• New enhanced Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 integration (including support for Multi-tenancy, quote entity support, and more)
• Improved Maximizer integration for Maximizer 10.0 and 10.5

<sp>
In this release, the new QuoteWerks Communicator was introduced.  The QuoteWerks Communicator enables Aspire Technologies, Inc. to periodically send messages to QuoteWerks users informing them of build updates, new features available, and other pertinent information.  These messages are received and viewed from within the QuoteWerks application. These messages are designed to be sent infrequently so as to not inundate the customers with messages.  It also enables the users to reply directly to the messages that they receive.  They can send questions and suggestions about the product allowing for bi-directional communication for purposes of feedback and to gauge customer responses to new features.

“Our customers often upgrade their systems and applications to take advantage of new features and technologies.  It is crucial that we inform our customers when we release new integrations and functionality, ensuring that their combined CRM and accounting solutions continue to work seamlessly with QuoteWerks.  Often however, customers are unaware of new additions to QuoteWerks because email SPAM filters trap or discard our build announcement emails, disrupting legitimate email communication between us and our customer base.  The new QuoteWerks Communicator will allow us to keep our customers informed and alert them when new features are available,” comments John C. Lewe IV, President of Aspire Technologies, Inc.

A full list of all the features added in Build 51 can be viewed here.

The new QuickBooks 2010 integrations, enhanced MS CRM integration, and improved Maximizer integration (plus more) are available in Build 51 or higher of QuoteWerks version 4.0.  Visit http://www.quotewerks.com/updates/UpdateAgent.asp to download build 51.

About Aspire Technologies and QuoteWerks^®

Aspire Technologies, the creators of the award winning QuoteWerks^® sales quoting software, is the leading provider of sales quoting software with its award winning QuoteWerks^® application deployed to thousands of businesses and

enterprises worldwide. QuoteWerks^® integrates with leading CRM and accounting packages, along with IT
distributors D&H^®, Ingram Micro^®, SYNNEX^®, and Tech Data^®, enabling businesses in all industries to integrate QuoteWerks^® seamlessly into their existing environments.  Aspire Technologies is headquartered in Orlando, Florida and is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.  For more information please visit www.quotewerks.com.

QuoteWerks is a registered trademark of Aspire Technologies, Inc.  Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

@RLavigne42 Tweetpicks

1. Full Tweets listed in main section.

If you find any broken Tweets or Links, please report them in the comment section.

If you like what you see, may I recommend you start following me on Twitter to enjoy the benefits of real-time content as it materializes.

If you choose to follow @rlavigne42, please leave me a comment. I will make sure to check out your Tweets in return.

If you see a Tweet you appreciate, please Pay it Forward by ReTweeting it.

If you find an blogger you like, please Join Me in following Them.

My Thoughts Enclosed…Rb

The Definitive Guide to SugarCRM: Better Business Applications is the book I have been working on this year, which offers a unique insight into the SugarCRM platform from me as a engineer at Sugar. I go into details on the nuts and bolts of how things work: MVC, metadata, web services, and more, and then show how to extend the platform to meet any organizations needs. In the end, the book really shows the power of SugarCRM to fit into any business as a more than just a CRM, but more as a platform for application development. It’s also special because it’s the only SugarCRM book on the market that is an official book for SugarCRM, bearing the company logo on the cover.

The book is available on Amazon using the link above.

@RLavigne42 Tweetpicks

1. Full Tweets listed in main section.

If you find any broken Tweets or Links, please report them in the comment section.

If you like what you see, may I recommend you start following me on Twitter to enjoy the benefits of real-time content as it materializes.

If you choose to follow @rlavigne42, please leave me a comment. I will make sure to check out your Tweets in return.

If you see a Tweet you appreciate, please Pay it Forward by ReTweeting it.

If you find an blogger you like, please Join Me in following Them.

My Thoughts Enclosed…Rb

Build 50 includes 12 new features highlighted by the compatibility with Windows 7 and a new PDF generator.

ORLANDO, FL November 17, 2009 — Aspire Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of sales quoting software solutions for the global small and mid-markets, announced today the latest build of QuoteWerks sales quoting software (Build 50) is now available for download and purchase.

Build 50 includes new features designed to enhance the user’s ability to create quotes quickly and accurately.  The most notable feature is the new PDF generator.  The new and improved PDF generator no longer requires that a printer driver be installed and alleviates the inconvenience and complexity of installing these drivers.  Organizations often set user restrictions which limit the ability for drivers or new software to be installed by non-administrators.  Although this is a helpful security setting, installing required drivers for software becomes increasingly difficult and user rights usually need to be modified to allow the install to continue.  Utilizing a PDF generator that does not install drivers not only eliminates this issue, but it also allows the CPU to operate without another process running too.

Additionally, the new PDF generator includes the ability to flag PDF’s as Read-only.  This option can also be enhanced to prevent the recipient of the file from copying text out of the PDF.  Organizations can use this feature to make it more difficult for customers or prospective customers to alter the quote.  Furthermore, users can now embed fonts into the PDF making the file even more tamper-resistant since only the characters embedded in the file are used which also reduces the size of the document.

Coupled with the above features, users can also activate the option to have the PDF generator automatically detect hyperlinks in the PDF file.  This option will underline and color the link blue and allow the hyperlink to be clicked.

By installing this new build, users will also be completely compatible with Windows 7 since the only previous issue involved the PDF generator which has been updated in build 50.

“With the release of Windows 7 it is very important to offer our customers a solution that functions seamlessly with it as well as previous versions of Windows.  Currently, QuoteWerks is 100% compatible with Windows 7 and the new PDF generator expands the functionality users can implement to ensure their quotes are accurate,” says Vice President of Operations of Aspire Technologies, Inc. John Lewe.

The new PDF generator and compatibility to Windows 7 is available in Build 50 or higher of QuoteWerks version 4.0.  Visit http://www.quotewerks.com/updates/UpdateAgent.asp to download build 50.

About Aspire Technologies and QuoteWerks^®

Aspire Technologies, the creators of the award winning QuoteWerks^® sales quoting software, is the leading provider of sales quoting software with its award winning QuoteWerks^® application deployed to thousands of businesses and enterprises worldwide. QuoteWerks^® integrates with leading CRM and accounting packages, along with IT distributors D&H^®, Ingram Micro^®, SYNNEX^®, and Tech Data^®, enabling businesses in all industries to integrate QuoteWerks^® seamlessly into their existing environments.  Aspire Technologies is headquartered in Orlando, Florida and is a Microsoft Certified Partner.  For more information please visit www.quotewerks.com.

QuoteWerks is a registered trademark of Aspire Technologies, Inc.  Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

In today’s market, many small online businesses are struggling to get started. They are trying to stretch their start-up money to the limit in an effort to minimize upfront costs. This is especially true for business infrastructure and marketing software. Well I wanted to take the time to discuss how to utilize the open source software available today that get your business up and running successfully in no time. Why buy when you can start with free proven software that scales with your business and is used by many large organizations.

The Advantages

The biggest advantage of course is that it’s free or low cost. Many open source online software is PHP based and automatically packaged with many of the top online web service providers like GoDaddy and iPowerweb.

The Disadvantages

The biggest advantage of open source software serves also as it’s biggest disadvantage. It’s free. So that means that you get limited or no support outside the online web community and your own company resource knowledge.

The Winners

The following software options are in my opinion the best open source packages available in their business class. They have enough of a user base and available books and documentation for any small online business to implement.

SugarCRM is a Customer Relationship Management System founded in 2004.  It serves as a great tool to track, market to and assist your customers while growing your business.

Joomla – is a Content Management System that is used by many businesses around the world.  In addition there are numerous free and commercial extensions.

Moodle – is a Learning Management System utilized by many large and small companies and universities. It is a great tool for training and educating people and has grow to worldwide acceptance.

What else does my business need?

I will talk about the availability of low cost managed infrastructure in a the third-party Cloud environment and the available low cost social media options like WordPress and Facebook in this month’s upcoming articles.

I get the whole information distribution thing. I blogged recently about how effectively Australian band Powderfinger had been in using Twitter to build enthusiasm for their free concerts. I see lots of other good examples – ABC Radio for example. We’ve even had tremendous success – for another business I own Twitter has become a very powerful sales and communication channel.

But

The system has issues and the risk for enterprise in my opinion is too great – particularly in the B2B context.

Here are my concerns:

1. The system is flakey – part 1

The whole ‘fail-whale’ thing is cute for like – 2 minutes. Google gets its butt kicked when Gmail is down for 10 minutes yet constant service from Twitter is a rare thing. Running a major service channel through Twitter with this service standard? Sorry, I wouldn’t be hanging my career on that option

2. Hackers Rule the Roost

I used to get angry when people sent me DM’s about ‘I’ve added you to my mafia family’ or ‘are you as smart as me’. Then I realised these users were subject to hack attacks and spam attacks.

Here’s an example of a user who I consider to be prominent issuing an apology:

This would be a tough conversation with the CMO or CIO – ’Lets get on Twitter. Good chance we’ll spam our followers, our account will be hacked – but it’s all good. Everyone’s doing it…’

3. The system is flakey – part 2

What is it with changes being lost, blocks being unblocked, the system being severely constipated before it suddenly spews out a torrent of ‘past due date’ content?

This is poor. And again, in an enterprise context – why would you put trust in a system with these flaws?

4. Inappropriate Content

I’m pretty diligent about blocking anyone who mentions money, sex, or religion. But most days I find companies and individuals with followers who are so suspect it beggars belief that they haven’t been blocked or reported.

I’ve seen some really really inappropriate avatars used by Twitter accounts – why aren’t these users blocked?

Worse, I’ve seen some major US companies following users who have avatars that are quite shocking. I have to ask. If you’re following users who have graphic images of women – what is your Twitter strategy? Is this really a reflection of your company’s values? One of these companies is a major brand in the social media space.

So how are we protecting our brand in this free-for-all world? Can someone fill me in on what Twitter is doing to police this space? And don’t give me that ‘oh there’s a new report spam link’ – rubbish!

5. Widespread Abuse

This really irks me. Company names and brands are being hijacked. The proliferation of this abuse is amazing.

Given I work in the CRM space I’ve been watching a couple of accounts. One account bbakari uses the Twitter API to flood the service with – spam.

Here’s an example

Now, granted I can block this user and not worry about the mindless river of drivel – but the fact is if you search for Salesforce.com or SugarCRM.com this torrent of spam clogs up the search results.

And just so you know, this is bbakari’s second account on Twitter. His first account @freecrm was killed off.

My Conclusion

Personally, I like Twitter. I follow people whose opinions I value and I like that they use the service appropriately. I like the fact I can tie my other social profiles into Twitter.

I can see the value. I can see the big picture with Twitter being a useful tool for information distribution.

But if I put a CEO hat on I have concerns – serious concerns. Would I recommend a B2B company jump into Twitter – probably not! I think their social media strategy would make more sense and they’d get better value focusing elsewhere.

QuoteWerks has just created a new community page specifically for ConnectWise users.  The new page includes many features tailored for users and some helpful videos as well.

The new page also officially announces the new integration between QuoteWerks and ConnectWise and when it will be released.  Moving forward, users will be able to use a QuoteWerks native integration to link to ConnectWise.  This will allow the link to be updated on a more consistent basis as well as allow QuoteWerks to troubleshoot the link directly instead of ConnectWise.  This link will be completely written and supported by QuoteWerks.

The link will have all the features currently in the ConnectWise link plus some new features not currently available.

The community page also contains many links to features, videos, and layouts that may be useful for companies in the IT industry.

To view the new page, please click here.

I was fortunate this past week to be able to attend a Cloud conference put on by the 451 Group, down in Boston. While I have fine tuned my focus during the past year, less on the infrastructure side, and more on the business application side, this was time well spent. I believe that from a maturation – ability to offer measurable business value – perspective, Cloud, Open Source, Social and Enterprise 2.0 are growing up together.  Sometimes they act more like siblings during a long car ride, suffering from “Are we there yet” and “Look at me, look at me”.

Even given my slightly different focus, I do try to stay true to the brief description I have on Twitter, “I am passionate about the intersection of people, process and technology”. Luckily, SugarCRM, where I currently hang my hat, sits right in the middle of that that triple witching point:

• People/Ecosystem – Customers, Employees and Partners,
• Process – Who speaks, When they say,  How to engage, What channel,
• Technology – Open Source, Clouds, SaaS, Social (Yes, Social is technology)

Just because you can, does it mean you should?

Ok, now to the point – my theory is that the technology has made it is just too easy to do make bad choices – a crazy, maybe, silly statement, but tell me I am wrong – I dare you. There is a place and a time for the Nike moment – “Just do it” and then there is the ‘take time and think about what you are about to do’. What is the correct balance? Just because you can, does it mean you should? Some are probably saying that about this blog at the moment.

Back in the day (sorry, I love that phrase, my 18yo pulls it on me all the time), when you wanted to get something done, you had to do the ole ‘budget justification’, think through it, present to senior team members – Yes, ask for money, too! Part of this was also a required “Check with IT, I am not sure what you want to do is part of the standard”. This last one was especially hard for the Open Source applications.  Combine a pent up demand, economic pressures, getting tired of the perception of IT blocking progress with SaaS, Cloud and Online Social Media channels – and it is a perfect storm and excuse to just IGNORE the IT dept.

So, before anyone beats me up too much, this is not what I am suggesting, just saying what happens, what I have seen happen and the end result. I have seen many companies take the route of using SaaS – Take a Look at Phil Wainewright’s Blog He talks to Conformity – An interesting company who has the business model to help clean up this mess, but I am not going to deep here, just a reference to justify this post.

My key point is that it all just to dam easy. The ease of spending $20 to get a server in the cloud – yes, I said $20, standing up a system, setting up a blog, putting together a YouTube account, FaceBook group, Newsletter, Forums, Chat, Twitter. Awesome, let’s hope all the choices are successful, lots of people, lots of prospects, lots of eyeballs – Maybe some customers too. That would be great, right? Way too many times, I have heard the statement – “Hey that would be a great problem to have” – Really? Unless of course it is your problem to solve. Remember, once you are on a channel it is much harder to leave.

I do have to ‘tip-toe’ a bit, after all I do work for SugarCRM. A company that does make it very easy to get started, and take advantage of a structured CRM application. I am all for making things easy, but job one is success!  I also believe this is much more prevalent with respect to Social Media applications – too many people saying “Just do it”.  Is anything really free, no, as people and time are the most expensive part of running a business.

I am suggesting that a little bit of planning – just a little – is time well spent – Just sayin’

สวัสดีครับ…

ช่วงนี้ งานหนักครับ เลยหายไปนาน

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ก็ครั้งที่แล้วที่เคย up blog ไว้เกี่ยวกับ e-Forms บน SugarCRM

คือ e-Forms ที่เราสร้างขึ้นมา สามารถทำ relation กันได้ใช่มั้ยครับ

ก็วันนี้ผมจะมาขยายความต่อครับ ว่ามันทำได้อย่างไร

เริ่มเลยนะครับ

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Prerequirement

+ Installed SugarCRM 5.x or later on AMP (Apache, MySQL, PHP) environment

+ สร้าง e-Form อย่างน้อย 1 ฟอร์มสำหรับทำ relation ครับ

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Step

1. ไปที่ e-Forms ที่เราสร้างไว้แล้ว

2. เลือกที่View Relationships

3. เลือก Add Relationship

4. จะปรากฏหน้าจอ edit relationship ให้เลือก e-Form ของเรา เลือกชนิด relation (1-t0-1, 1-to-many, many-to-many) แล้วเลือก e-Form ที่เราจะมี relation ด้วย

5. จากนั้นเลือก Save

6. จะแสดงว่าเรามี relation เพิ่ม 1 relation

7. กลับมาที่หน้าจอ TestPackage

8. เลือก Deploy

9. จะพบ Menu Test Module

10. เลือก TestModule

11. เลือก Create TestModule

12. กรอกข้อมูลแล้วเลือก Save

13. จะพบหน้าจอแสดงข้อมูลที่เพิ่ง Save ไป และด้านล่างจะมีส่วนที่แสดง relationship กับ e-Form อื่นๆ (ในที่นี้ e-Form อื่นๆ คือ Account)

14. เลือก Select เพื่อเลือก Account ที่จะมี relation กับ TestModule ครับ (หรือเลือก Create เพื่อสร้าง Account ใหม่ที่มี Relation กับ TestModule)

15. เลือก Account ที่จะมี Relation กับ TestModule

17. จะพบว่า e-Form TestModule ของเรา จะมี relation กับ e-Form Account แล้ว

จบ

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Remark

ยังมี วิธีการสร้าง Workflow ง่ายๆ ด้วย e-Forms บน SugarCRM และวิธีเพิ่ม Business Logic เข้าไปใน e-Forms อีกนะครับ ไว้ว่างๆ ผมจะ up blog ให้ครับ (ทิ้งท้ายยั่วผู้อ่านอีกแล้วตรู )

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