I ran in to a recent problem when building an OLEDB Query and needed to filter on date fields. I hit on a problem that when using SQL Native Client 10, which I chose believing that to be the best option for SQL 2008, the SQL parsed by the query builder did not wrap my date literal in quotes, causing the query to fail. (I raised this with Orbis as issue #42146).
This was strange because I’d done this many times before, so why didn’t it parse correctly with SNC 10? I tried with a connection via the standard (MDAC) OLEDB Provider for SQL Server and the query worked just fine. Okay, a small defect in the query builder that Orbis now has on the fix list (#42149).
So if it works with the OLEDB Provider for SQL Server why use SNC 10 at all and what are the differences? There are a number of features that SNC 10 provides, such as the XML data type, but since these aren’t available through TaskCentre’s OLEDB Query Tool I see no advantage to using SNC.
According to MSDN (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms130828%28v=sql.90%29.aspx), “For existing OLE DB and ODBC applications, the primary issue is whether you need to access the new features of SQL Server 2005. If you have a mature application that does not need the new features of SQL Server 2005, you can continue to use MDAC.” So if you try querying through SQL Native Client and run into unexpected SQL parsing errors, try using good old MDAC instead.
My thanks to Eddy McCarthy, Orbis Software’s Support Desk Manager, for his help with this issue.
Using the telephone as a Sales Tool is this Concept Outdated? Is the telephone becoming a relic of the past?
I recently posed a question on LinkedIn about whether it is best to use the telephone or email to connect with prospects if face to face meetings weren't practical.
And I have to be honest that I was surprised with some of the answers that I received, that I am going to precis and add my own slant to in this blog. (Thanks to all contributors to the discussion).
The consensus was that used effectively the telephone is still a great way to build relationships provided you avoid the pitfalls.
One of the pitfalls is; calling without having a compelling message, just checking in - is not a good reason to call!
Other pitfalls include; pestering a prospect, constantly leaving irrelevant messages and when connecting not listening to what the prospect is saying to you!
By using the telephone to be professionally persistent your genuine prospects will be more willing to engage with you. If used in conjunction with email you have a fast and effective back up that you can use to repeat your voice mail message, which will often ensure that you get a response to the message that you leave.
A genuine prospect will get back to you. There are two key reasons you don't hear back 1) if your prospect is not genuine or 2)you are not presenting your product in a way that pique their interest, in both of these cases your phone and your email will remain quiet!
Don't give up you can always stop calling for a few weeks and then try and re-engage at a later stage with a different more compelling message. And if that still doesn't work then you need to find our if they are genuine.
Never be afraid to qualify or disqualify a prospect. Better to work on real opportunities than chase pipe dreams.
So the good news, in my opinion, is that the telephone is still a good sales tool, its up to you to make sure you are an effective user!
Everyone tells you that surveys are a great marketing and customer service tool but what do you do with the information once you have captured it on a survey?
It is a known issue that employees are inconsistent in gathering feedback and rarely share survey details within an organization, therefore any data captured is often lost or not handled efficiently and the respondent might as well not have bothered to complete the survey in the first place.
SurveyGizmo is a leading provider of web-based surveys, questionnaires and forms to capture business critical information.
Using TaskCentre to integrate with SurveyGizmo can automate how results are managed between your employees and the management team. In addition you can easily record the captured information within your business software according to your business rules.
The benefits are huge. Businesses that respond to their customers real opinions perform better. Imagine if you have a negative customer service survey, if the issue is responded to, and resolved promptly, the customer is more likely to remain a customer. If their responses are ignored they may well look to purchase elsewhere next time.
TaskCentre gives you the tools to integrate and automate according to your business rules.
Download our TaskCentre integration with SurveyGizmo brochure to learn more about the benefits or contact us for a demonstration.
The question is 'What do you want to automate?'
This article is taken from the Orbis Software knowledgebase:
How to query the data in Volusion e-commerce with the TaskCentre Web Service Connector tool?
Summary:
The Volusion e-commerce system contains product, orders and customer data. If you need to extract some of that data perhaps for integration into another system or for some business process automation or alerting activity then the TaskCentre Web Service Connector can be used. Before it can be used in a task the global connection to your instance of Volusion must be established and the structure of queries that you wish to make defined. This article provides information to help you set these up. Part one shows how to derive a generic XML query string though the Volusion product API. Part two shows how to configure the TaskCentre connector, make use of the XML query string and paramerterize the query for task automation.
Instructions - Part One
1. The Volusion website provides help for building queries. Login to the administrator area (when you first sign up for an account you will be given the url to your administrator area) and select Inventory and Import/Export
2. Then select the Volusion API button.
3. Then select one of the options from the Generic API, Orders, Products or Customers. Click Run.
4. Select Columns that you wish to return from your query by checking the relevant boxes. Enter data in the ‘Where Value’ column for any parameters that you wish to present to the user when configuring the task, e.g. you may wish to query orders by status, perhaps finding all orders with a status of New. In this case you enter ‘New’ in the where value column for the status. When you set this up you should choose values that are likely to return data. These values can be altered later at task configuration time.
5. Then click Run at the top.
If you wait a moment it will generate a URL. Something like this:
http:///net/WebService.aspx?Login=&EncryptedPassword==&EDI_Name=GenericOrders&SELECT_Columns=o.OrderID,o.AccountNumber,o.BillingAddress1,o.BillingAddress2,o.Order_Comments,o.OrderStatus&WHERE_Column=o.OrderStatus&WHERE_Value=NewInstructions
Part Two
1. If you now go into TaskCentre, and open the global configuration for the web service tool. Click on add to add a new service and give the service a name e.g. Volusion and select the last option as below.
2. Copy the beginning of the URL from the generated URL above, up to the ‘?’ (Question mark). Don’t bother with interrogating the service, it will not be successful. Then go to the operations tab.
3. Click Add on the right hand side to add an operation.
4. Choose a name for the operation and select the GET operation.
5. Then go to the URL tab.
6. Select the checkbox ‘Use the connection URL’ at the top.
7. Then take the remainder of the URL that you generated and paste it in the edit box at the bottom
8. Now you can make the query parameterised so that the user can choose the status
Enter a parameter name that you want to appear for the user to pass data into at task configuration time.
9. Now drag the parameter you have created down into the URL, replacing the value that you entered into query originally, ‘New’ in this case.
10. Now we need to define the output from the operation, and we do this on the Output Data tab. We first need to check the Output required checkbox at the top.
11. Then click the Send test message button.
12. Enter a parameter value and press test. A results message will be returned. You don’t need to be concerned with the details of this, if it looks like a set of data from a query then all is well.
13. The results message will be returned to this dialog. If you click on the Infer schema from XML or JSON button this message will be transformed into a schema defining the format of the returned data.
14. You then need to click on the validate schema button.
15. If you now click OK you have successfully created an operation that queries Volusion and this will now be available to the Task Designer to include in task steps.
To learn more about using TaskCentre with Volusion or any other ecommerce solution click here or telephone (877) 241-7713.
In this two part video series, Paul Garratt of Orbis Software shows how data can be easily imported in Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This serves as an illustration of how on-going synchronization of data can be performed completely automatically, using TaskCentre.
In the first video, Paul shows how to first activate the required Web Service via the NAV client. Then using the URL as shown here, a connection to the Web Service can be established:
http://YourWebServerHostName/DynamicsNAV/WS/CompanyName/Page/ServiceName?WSDL
TaskCentre automatically gathers the end-points of the Web Service on making the initial connection and exposes the various operations. These are then used as shown in the second video when the Web Service Connector Step is defined in the Task. The connection can be tested be entering a parameter value and if succesful sample XML is returned.
Setting Up Microsoft Dynamics NAV Web Services for TaskCentre
The second video uses this connection to import customer data from a simulated "other" system (via an XML Document feed). You can see how when configuring the Web Service Connection Step, TaskCentre handles the looping through the source data just by a simple mapping at the record level and goes on to illustrate how data can be translated inline as it passes from its source to the destination field in NAV. This is accompished using the Data Transformation Component that is a technology layer that will be used in a number of new Tools that are in development and which forms integral part of the Web Service Connector Tool.
TaskCentre updating Microsoft Dynamics NAV through Web Services
Once these simple steps are completed, TaskCentre can be used to run integration, process automation, workflow and many other processes, or as we call them "Tasks" which safely update Microsoft Dynamics NAV through its API.
To learn more about the benefits of working with Microsoft Dynamics NAV and TaskCentre click here to book a one-on-one demo with a product specialist or contact our sales team on (561) 922-6612.
My first blog post on this subject looked at pricing from all perspectives: Customers, Software Vendors and Value Added Resellers and my second blog focused on how this model might affect the Value Added Resellers current business model.
In the discussions that ensued and subsequently from other material that I have found, I have come to the realization that there is not a one size fits all approach. And I believe that going forward everyone will win if there are choices. And these are my key reasons why.
What Choices mean for Customers?
Though there are many benefits for customers to have all their applications in the cloud, some companies may not want to go down this route. For some companies security may be an issue and they may not feel comfortable having sensitive corporate information in the cloud. Other companies might want a combination of cloud and on premise solutions; they might feel that it is a better option for their business and also a good back up plan if they have a major outage in one of their systems. And there will be others who just want the ease of having everything in the cloud and knowing what their fixed monthly costs are. All these companies will want to work with Software vendors and Value Added Resellers who offer choices in the types of system available to them to meet their requirements. They will need to have choices in how they can buy their software; after all you could not make everyone purchase a pair of shoes if they were only offered in size 13!
What Choices Mean for Software Vendors?
For a traditional Software Vendor who has been used to selling on premise software to their customers and receiving a lump sum for each sale, being able to offer their prospective and renewing customers choices benefits their revenue stream long term. There are two reasons for this. Firstly by still offering their on premise solution model they will be able to sell full licenses, by keeping this type of revenue stream they will have the funds to continually maintain and improve their product. If they add into this mix a cloud pricing as well, although they will receive less revenue up front for those types of licenses, they have the potential of adding more customers, more quickly and ultimately increasing their revenues, maybe even doubling them, than they would have had by just selling their software in the traditional way. So for Software vendors choices should also be a win win.
What Choices Mean for Value Added Resellers?
In my opinion choices are where Value Added Resellers (VARs) will be able to show their true value to their customers. A good VAR will offer their customers the best solution based on what they know about the customer requirements, the type of business they are and how they want to run and maintain their business applications. The VAR’s knowledge of technology and their experience of the pro’s and cons of either a cloud or an on premise solution will be invaluable to customers. The VAR’s consulting experience will enable them to ensure their customers make the correct choices. VAR’s will add value to these types of decisions, and they will realize that that this type of consulting will be the way to move forward in this fast moving and changing environment of how applications and services are delivered. These VAR’s will find their niche by selling their experience as well as the solutions that work. And those that help their customers make the right choices for their business will continue to thrive as their customers will continue to turn to them for advice and support and in turn they will recommend them to others.
Do you agree? Or have I missed something?
As the year draws to a close many of us look back and think about out successes and our achievements in the previous 12 months and what has defined our year. I think for me 2011 will go down as my year of learning.
I feel I have gained a whole new perspective and voice in the last year thanks in large part to social media.
This time last year I had never written any type of business blog. Now, not only do I blog a minimum of once a week, I can proudly say that I have twice been a guest blogger and one of those guest blogs was published in a magazine!
I have also found my voice in some of the groups I belong to in LinkedIn. I have been able to participate and in some cases start conversations that have spawned quite a lot of feedback.
I have learned the tricks of Twitter and how to Tweet and though I am on the fence as to how much benefit Twitter is to me or my business, at least I am using it and by next year I hope to have better metrics to let me know the value of spending time on Twitter and Tweeting!
By dipping my toe into the proverbial Social Media water I have embarked on using Hubspot (and I am a big fan, what an incredible tool, technology made easy) and though our website has plenty of areas that need work, I now have a plan to not only improve the content, but to change the whole look and feel. Check back early in the new year and hopefully the new look will be live by then.
I have also started working on our LinkedIn and Facebook Company profiles and again though these are only baby steps they are leaps and bounds ahead of what I did in 2010!
I am certainly not going to sit back on my laurels nor pat myself on the back, though I admit to feeling satisfied with this years achievements, there is still lots of work to do and many areas to improve and enhance. The 2012 Marketing & Sales Plan is the next big item on my agenda and the lessons learnt this year will go a long way to defining that plan.
So as you look back on 2011 how would you describe your year? Did something define how you worked and will it lead you forward into 2012. I asked mystelf today am I looking forward and am I ready for 2012. And my answer to myself "you betcha!"
I recently wrote a Guest Blog for Juice Marketing entitled The Argument for Fixed Pricing (Ownership) or Monthly Subscriptions (Rental). This blog spawned many conversations from Value Added Resellers (VAR’s) about how their business could be affected by these pricing changes and what they need to do to ensure that their business does not suffer.
I think there are four aspects that VAR’s need to take into consideration and perhaps apply to their business.
Why are Customers going to Cloud based applications?
Traditional on premise IT Management can prove expensive as well as time consuming for any size organization. Firstly they need servers, back up systems, anti virus software – in fact a whole raft of hardware and software just to boot up their management systems. If companies don’t want the expense of an internal IT department or the expense of a service agreement with an external IT service provider to maintain these systems, then the ‘cloud’ option is a good one. Why? Because if everything is hosted then customers know that they have to pay a fixed monthly fee and that all their internal systems are being properly maintained, backed up, protected from viruses etc and the only thing they have to worry about is a PC, Laptop or Tablet to access the system from and good internet connection to their place of business, plus they have the advantage of being able to access their systems from pretty much anywhere with internet connection.
I know I have simplified the sales pluses of this and not addressed the negatives (I am sure there are plenty – we can leave that for another blog on another day), however for customers the perception is that ‘cloud’ and hosted solutions solves many of their problems, their costs are a known monthly expense plus they don’t have to worry about their system needing to be upgraded or becoming obsolete as this will be taken care of within the subscription they are paying.
Who Owns the Customer?
There is in my opinion no such thing as owning a customer. You either do business with them or you don’t! If you work as a consultant to a customer who through your introduction purchases software from a software vendor they are your customer and it is up to you to make sure that the vendor and you look after their needs.
What will Happen to VAR’s?
VAR stands for VALUE ADDED RESELLER – as such they will look after their customers needs. How? By working with their customers on an ongoing basis to ensure that their systems are performing in the way that ensures their customers can run successful efficient business. They can add VALUE to their customers by informing them about third party products that can benefit the customers. They can add VALUE by informing the customers about the latest technology trends that are relevant to their customers. And most important they can add VALUE by being proactive telling their customers about changes and upgrades to their current systems. Unless a VAR is a box shifter they should already be doing all these things for their customers and their customers should be paying them a ‘consulting fee’ or ‘partner-ship fee’ for these services.
Horror she has suggested that you ask a customer to pay for your expertise. My response would be do you go to a Doctor and not expect to have to pay? If a customer sees no value in the services that you offer they will abuse the VALUE that you give them and you don’t want them as a customer. There is an expression that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys!
Value Added Resellers have years of consulting experience and an inside track into the confusing world of technology that most business would put a VALUE on. They offer VALUE. And if they don’t offer or add VALUE how can they be a VAR.
Are VAR’s middlemen? Yes. But Software vendors need them and their experience to find and work with customers. Otherwise the Software vendor would need a sales force as large as the channel and I doubt they would want to go down that expensive path. And why do they need to when they have that Sales Force in place – they just may pay them revenues differently so the VAR will have to find different additional revenue streams to sustain their business.
Does Subscription pricing from Software Vendors Open or Close Doors?
I think I have pretty much answered this question above. The only thing I would add is that VAR’s can also look at different revenue streams such as working with other third party applications or becoming an ‘expert’ for a particular vertical, thus giving themselves further differentiation from the pack.
Many VAR’s are already taking this path, and I think many more will look to do so, there are many routes still open to ensure the survival of VAR’s and their ecosystem, they can re-invent themselves and enhance their offerings and it will be interesting over the next few years to watch the different paths that are taken.
In Conclusion
I believe this is an ongoing conversation and nobody has all the answers on how it will finally play out. I do believe that the agile VAR businesses that care for and work with their customers will continue trading successfully and overcome any challenges these changes bring. If being a business Entrepreneur or owner was easy everyone would be one and everyone would be a Billionaire. Life however does not work that way!
Finally, I would like to ask any Value Added Reseller (or Customer) do you agree with me or not?
When I started working 5 1/2 years ago at Fisher Technology promoting TaskCentre to the Value Added Reseller (VAR) Channel all the conversations centered around the products functionality and the benefits that these enhancements offered to their customers.
Over the past year or so I have noticed a real shift away from those types of conversations. No longer do I talk in terms of workflow, alerting or document automation which often resulted in blank stares of incomprehension, especially as technology speak was not (and still is not) one of my strengths!
I now find that the conversation flows because I am addressing solutions. For example I can have a conversation with a VAR about whether their customers are using shopping cart solutions. And if they are, do they want to be able to integrate their shopping cart into either their Customer Relationship Management or Enterprise Resource Planning system. And I see (or hear if I am on a phone call) their internal light bulb switching on as they can immediately see the benefits. Now, I am offering a solution that is so much more meaningful than offering functionality, which is not as tangible.
It has been an interesting learning curve to get to this point and I am sure I still have some more bends in the road to travel, but it is great to be able to talk to prospects in language that they and I am comfortable with and not have to bamboozle them with functionality and tech talk that can mean so many different things to so many people.
I'd love to get your feedback. Do you agree? Do you talk about functionality or solutions with your prospects?
Paul Garratt, Technical Director at Orbis Software, has posted a short video demonstration of TaskCentre working with Dynamics AX. It uses the recently released Web Service Connector tool to connect into AX.
This example is importing data into AX from a web shop, but it could equally be any other form of integration or automation such as those listed here.
Setting up against AX is very simple, as long as the application has been installed with the Application Integration Framework (which is included at point of install as an option I believe) then it simply requires the users to expose which web services they require from within the application. These are then registered (from within Dynamics AX itself – you select which web services you want and simply click Generate) and they appear in IIS under the web site for the AX installation and contain the wsdl URLs.
In TaskCentre you simple point at the WSDL file in the global configuration and off you go.
This video also highlights the use of the Data Transformation Component within the Web Service Connector Tool and Paul shows how to perform an inline transformation of a currency code.
Note: This was originally posted in the TaskCentre Group on LinkedIn. Please click here to visit or join the Group.