Posted by Randy Wadle on Tue, Sep 07, 2010 @ 05:53 AM
NetWise is proud to announce that we have integrated powerful ad-hoc reporting services into the ClientSpace application. We have partnered with Izenda Reports (www.izenda.com), one of the world's leading ad-hoc reporting and dashboard services, to seamlessly extend powerful analytical reporting tools on top of the comprehensive ClientSpace database and application services. We are finalizing the user interface and security model and expect the service to be ready for rollout by the end of September.
"Ad-hoc reporting is a feature that our clients have been asking for and we are excited about this important addition to ClientSpace", says Randy Wadle, CEO of NetWise Technology. "Our database has always been powerful and complete but analyzing that data to drive decisions required the help of NetWise or at least some skilled IT professionals. Now, building sophisticated reports, including charts and gauges, is simple and can be done by virtually anyone that understands the ClientSpace system."
Reports like the ones shown below can be created and delivered in minutes by anyone who understands where the data they want to report on is stored. The integration between ClientSpace and Izenda is seamless and will appear to the average user as if it is just part of the system.
Call us at (866) 474-0922 x1 to more information. It is already integrated into our demonstration application and can be demonstrated at your convenience.
Posted by Randy Wadle on Thu, Aug 19, 2010 @ 03:51 PM
Most of us can't just break out the old toolset and dive into a project like rebuilding a car engine? Why? Two reasons:
- You probably don't have the expertise to accomplish this task without messing up the engine even worse then where it started.
- Even if you did have the expertise, your standard garage toolset likely is not equipped with the tools needed to accomplish the task successfully and in a timely manner.
Everyone knows the old saying that if you only have a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. I think that old addage applies to many of the behemoth CRM tools such as Salesforce.com. They have a solid set of standard tools...a hammer, screwdriver, and maybe a pair of pliers and these work fine for tracking and organizing basic business processes. But these systems struggle to deliver game changing results that will propel their clients to another level. Why? Because they focus on delivering the same basic solution to a PEO or Staffing company as they do to a cement company, law office, or multi-national jewlery retailer.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=74456&page=3
This is a great article on Salesforce.com's CEO. Clearly Salesforce has been a leader in the revolution towards cloud computing and software that does not require significant infrastructure or IT personnel to maintain. I envy the vision and determination of these types of leaders and their ability to translate that vision into explosive business growth.
What I have found is that most companies have a level of sophistication and a unique way of doing things that makes them who they are. Don't get me wrong, I am a big believer in "best practices" and not re-inventing the wheel at every turn. But if all companies operated the same, virtually all products and services would be commodities. I don't believe that is realistic nor do I think the world would be a very exciting place if it were true.
Successful companies take pride in their uniqueness and strive to continue to advance their competitive advantages. Quite often, especially in the professional services market, it is their uniqueness that they sell to their prospects. In a growing number of industries, a company's ability to effectively leverage technology is one of the primary drivers for it's success or failure. The PEO industry (co-employment) is definitely one of those that can heavily leverage technology to improve sales and service, streamline operations, and make better decisions.
The PEO sales and service process is fairly complicated, at least compared to most industries. Leading PEOs require a more focused set of software tools that can be integrated and molded to their unique processes. These processes drive their ability to compete and to profitably serve a growing client base. Filling the gaps with hard drives full of spreadsheets, word forms, PDFs, and custom DBMS apps will only take them so far.
Buying a toolbox that includes tools to match the level of sophistication your business needs from a vendor that understands those needs will provide a return on investment instead of a investment to return (to the way it was before). If you aren't able to clearly define the expected ROI from a new technology implementation or project, than it's probably not a good fit. If you don't get a good feeling that your chosen vendor understands your needs, it's definitely not a good fit.
Let's face it, implementing Enterprise CRM software is a significant investment of time and money. So make sure that the solution has worked for other businesses that are similar to yours and make sure that the software does not box you into their way of managing your business.
Posted by Randy Wadle on Mon, Nov 23, 2009 @ 01:15 AM
NetWise has recently improved the handling of client and employee paperwork that is central to the PEO onboarding process. The initial feedback we are receiving is very strong and indicating significant improvement in the efficiency and accuracy of these core processes.
Using the Microsoft Word and Excel merge that is embedded within ClientSpace, we have demonstrated the ability to quickly configure barcoded paperwork that can be produced with a single button click in ClientSpace. Sales and onboarding personnel are able to produce paperwork such as CSA, credit and ACH authorizations, and employee packets (including W4 and I-9) much quicker than before. The process is controlled by ClientSpace so that this paperwork is available only to users that have the proper rights and at the point in the process that the paperwork is ready.
The documents are produced with a barcode that embeds the type of document as well as the precise location for the signed paperwork into the source file. When the completed onboarding packet is scanned in, the scanner will break on the existence of the barcode(may require scanner configuration). An included ClientSpace process will monitor the contents of a network directory and transmit the files, and related location information, to a web service. This service receives the image and attaches it to the proper record (client or employee). Administrative users can even map the barcode to a specific field on a data form which makes this a very powerful feature for improving efficiency of onboarding staff.
In addition to the obvious benefits of reducing cost, improving quality, and insuring compliance, these types of controlled and automated procedures give a great first impression to your new clients.
The barcode capabilities and image reading service are already part of ClientSpace. All that needs to be done to activate in any PEO's installation is an upgrade to the latest version and conversion of their paperwork files to this new process.
Posted by Randy Wadle on Mon, Nov 23, 2009 @ 12:40 AM
NetWise is proud to report that the first version of the ClientSpace.mobile platform has been released to production. The initial release enables users on mobile devices, including Blackberry and iPhone, to access critical sales and service information about their clients and prospects.
ClientSpace is a browser based application and thus already very accessible from any computer that can access the internet. However, we recognize the growing reliance that field personnel, primarily sales but also service, place on their mobile devices.
Mobile computing is a fast growing market and user expectations for anytime/anywhere/any device access to data stored in enterprise systems is keeping pace. ClientSpace.mobile will continue to grow and include more functionality as the mobile platform becomes more mainstream.
The initial release enables users to view, add, and edit client and prospect information and activity. The next set of functionality will enable users to interact with their task list and outstanding service tickets. Eventually we intend to provide access to the deal workflow enabling sales personnel to submit new prospect quotes using their mobile device and receive a PDF quote attached to an email when it is approved.
Posted by Randy Wadle on Tue, Sep 08, 2009 @ 04:57 PM
As the Blackberry, iPhone, and Android become more widespread and affordable, the expectation of the workforce, particularly sales personnel, to be able to connect "anytime/anywhere" is growing quickly. The ability to access and interact with mission critical sales and service data without having to use a computer is no longer a luxury item...it is quickly becoming an important feature in CRM and other types of software.
NetWise understands and is addressing the needs of the mobile workforce by investing in the ClientSpace.mobile interface. The initial release of ClientSpace.mobile will focus on the needs of sales and service personnel. Users are able to connect to the ClientSpace database to lookup, add, and edit prospect and client data using a standard mobile browser. Additionally, sales or service personnel can log activities, such as phone calls or meeting notes, and send email to contacts directly from the ClientSpace.mobile interface. Sales and service personnel that spend their days meeting with clients and prospects will be able to record activities while they are in between appointments using their mobile device rather than having to wait until the evening when they are in front of their computer.
As with any new interface or integration, taking the initial step is the hardest part. We learned that the hard way when we released the first version of the Outlook add-in. Now that we have the base mobile interface built we expect new mobile features to be far less costly and time consuming to build. We will aggressively pursue new features to make available from the ClientSpace.mobile interface focusing on the areas of the application that are most likely to be of high value and importance to a majority of our clients and prospects. Additionally, we have architected the new interface to be able to integrate specific custom requests from our clients without affecting the overall interface.
Our goal is not to make the entire product available via the mobile browser. However, as we uncover core functionality that would be heavily used by the mobile workforce and that will build upon our already compelling value proposition, we will add it to the core product. We are also hoping that building custom, client specific, mobile interfaces will be a source of add-on revenue going forward.
Visit netwisetech.com/mobile for more information.