Content list

  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV showcase
  • Is Project Management Software the way forward?
  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps you control financial information
  • You can't resist the cloud
  • Microsoft Office Tips
  • Techie corner  

  


Microsoft Dynamics NAV showcase

More than one million users have used Microsoft Dynamics NAV 
to simplify and streamline their highly specialized business processes.
 
We will be having a Microsoft Dynamics NAV Showcase at the Wishlist offices
on Tuesday 20th of October 2009.
 
Come along and find out what Microsoft Dynamics NAV
can do for your business.
 
Should you wish to attend, please contact us to book a place.


Is project management software the way forward?

By Shaun Parker

There has never been a time where a foot forward in business has been more vital. Efficiency is most certainly the key to maintaining a successful business, and through the use of IT solutions, project management, a key component in business, can be made easy.

It is cost-effective and hassle free to have Project Management software designed specifically for your business, and it will make a significant difference to your business needs.

Off the shelf Project Management software is, of course a cheaper alternative but may not fit every single need for your company and that is why bespoke software, made to fit your business is an option that many companies have been investing in.

Project Accounting packages help eliminate those processing repetitions that waste resources and slow down business operations. Conversely, some processes can be lost through inefficient management systems, so Project Management software aims to improve efficiency throughout the entire business, synching all departments.

Poor performing companies almost always communicate poorly from department to department, and this is largely due to having to use so many different software packages. Data either gets lost or forgotten about.

But with a single software system that allows you to time record, plan and invoice, this eliminates the need to duplicate data, which saves time and also safeguards information.

Tight integration within your accounts department will eliminate the possibility of over spending, thus improving the performance of your company. Also electronic data is more environmentally friendly and saves on paper costs. This may sound trivial from a financial point of view but a reduction in such sundries as paper over time can make a difference, especially during a time of economic downturn.

Integrated systems allow a project plan to have its own task lists, calendar and messaging service which simplifies the organisation of a project, so employees understand their role on a particular project and everything is recorded, through a simple to use system.
These systems can be integrated through an existing intranet also which will aid a company's transition from existing software packages. There really are many ways that Project Management software can benefit your business.

Companies may not be willing to splash out on such an expense given the current recession, but if it is clear that business is stalling and not running as smooth as you would like, then more efficient IT solutions would be able to improve business efficiency almost instantaneously, which in the long term would benefit the key areas of your business.

Software development has moved at a frantic pace. It seems only a short while ago that companies would save vital information onto floppy disks that would be couriered over to other departments. We are now in an age where we have the technology to implement quick, efficient and safe methods of information transfer, so why complicate matters?

Unify your database, accounts and diary into one, easy to use package and watch the performance of your company improve. By all means, search for off the shelf software packages that will suit your business, but for the best way to improve performance, Project Management software built to your business's specification will make an immediate impact, ask any manager or CEO using an integrated system and they will echo this. The technology is there, so why not embrace it?


Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps you control financial information ...

     ...and gives you the freedom to focus on critical business issues
  • Detailed visibility into every transaction
  • Inter-company transactions between any two companies within a group
    controlled by the same legal entity
  • Transparency and analysis tools for efficient processing of sales orders
  • Design your own simple reports for better analysis
  • Improved user interface on sales documents as well as new features for employees
    who require simple reporting functionality
 
Demo
See how businesses with several subsidiaries or distribution centres can perform sales and purchase transactions and make general ledger entries in more than one company at a time.
 

You can't resist the cloud

Cloud computing is already successful, except for in enterprise IT, says Daryl Plummer, managing VP and Gartner fellow.

During his discussion on cloud computing at Gartner ITxpo/Symposium Africa 2009,
he explained that
in the last 15 to 20 years, IT in the enterprise has been reluctant to introduce impactful consumer technologies into the business. Plummer pointed to successful technologies such as instant messaging and micro blogging, like Twitter, as examples of innovations that IT has been reluctant to allow
into the enterprise. “In fact, IT fights to have them kept out of the business.”

He said cloud computing is no exception.
“Most of the things that are fundamental in our lives can now be done on the Internet. IT needs to recognise that and embrace its advantages.” 
 
One advantage Plummer pointed to is that people are more tolerant of the faults associated with Web-based technologies. “If you get a '404 page can't be found error' on the Web, you simply hit refresh on your browser. But if your PC-based application has a fault, you are less tolerant.”

Cloud computing is no longer a matter of if, but when, he noted. Applications are no longer being built without some sort of Internet capability, and Plummer said this is a partial driver for its success.

On the dotted line

While the success in the consumer sector has been dramatic, Plummer added that the enterprise will have valid concerns about implementing cloud computing. “However, if you let your concerns work too hard on you, you won't break through the trust barrier.”

Some of the concerns revolve around the location and
securityof enterprise data in the cloud.
“You have to decide when and what intellectual property you will put in the cloud, because it's happening whether you want it to or not.”

Companies can overcome the problem of IP by forcing cloud providers into contractual agreements that protect the information, or ensure information is stored under the correct governance structures, he explained.

Plummer added that companies will have to trust that service providers will do their job.
“And we do this with other aspects of our lives. If we don't trust, the model will fall under its own weight.”

Behind the wall


Another method of breaking into the cloud computing arena is by building a “private cloud”,
where companies can directly control the services and information. “The difference between the cloud and a private cloud is there is a firewall around a private one.”

However, there is less value in a private cloud, since most cloud computing services require critical mass to be successful, he pointed out. Services in the cloud are flexible; there when you need them and gone when you don't. Plummer noted it's more difficult to create that flexibility in a private cloud.

According to Plummer, there are four ways enterprises can ease themselves into cloud computing today. “Compare your costs of capital expenditure to what the cloud providers are offering.
Find three workloads which you feel you can experiment with. Wrap some applications and dump them
in the cloud. Finally, consider cloud e-mail, or collaboration.”

With consumer technologies becoming more pervasive in the lives of employees, companies no longer have a choice but to start looking at the cloud as an opportunity. “Enterprises are just waking to what consumers have benefited from for a while.”


Microsoft Office Tips

Have you tried Office OneNote 2007?

Office OneNote 2007 is a digital notebook that provides one place to gather your notes and information.

It had a powerful search to find what you’re looking for quickly, and easy-to-use shared notebooks

so that they can manage information overload and work together more effectively.

See how you can work more efficiently

 


The Techie Corner

What’s new in the industry?

News from Microsoft -

·   Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
  are on their way to manufacturers, and will be available on October 22.
·   Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 was released on the 1st September.

·   Watch the Office 2010 movie 


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