As of now Exact Synergy Enterprise product update 249 and Exact Globe Next product update 404 are in controlled release. That means that these releases are now available for resellers as well as all controlled release customers. After a successful controlled release period we will announce both products generally available, planned for mid-June.

Responding to challenges and needs of professional services organizations we have extended our PSA offering with numerous enhancements which will allow users to work more efficiently, save costs and achieve higher margins. Among others we will offer now integration of WBS (work breakdown structure) and budgets, a new flexible project cockpit and the possibility to copy a scope of a project  for easy project scope creation. Additionally, in this product update of Exact Synergy Enterprise we will launch a new Word Merge functionality that makes it easier to generate MS Word documents in which content from various entities from Exact Synergy Enterprise, such as accounts, projects and persons is automatically included. Moreover, we have extended Exact Synergy Enterprise with numerous enhancements, such as UX improvements, a solution to facilitate new Dutch holiday entitlement legislation and other improvements that have been developed based on direct feedback from our customers.

In Exact Globe Next we focused on facilitating the needs of our Wholesale customers; we have implemented numerous changes to the current functionality, such as improvements to E-WMS (release notes in tab Warehouse Management System). Additionally, after an extended controlled release period the B2B e-Commerce Portal will be generally available as of Exact Globe Next product update 404. To further extend the value proposition for customers in the Manufacturing field, we offer new solutions such as Exact Visual Scheduler (to be generally available) and back flushing for by-products. Moreover, we have extended Exact Globe Next with a large number of new features that facilitate changes in regional legislations and other enhancements that have been developed based on direct feedback from our customers.

Furthermore, in advance to launching Exact Globe Next product update 404 and Exact Synergy Enterprise product update 249 we have introduced numerous solution: Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator and Central Master Data Management are now generally available. The Exact’s Service Management solution that strengthen wholesale and manufacturing companies is now in controlled release.

Please note that as a result of an extensive controlled release period and the feedback we received from our customers we have made a decision to change the name of Exact Globe to Exact Globe Next. What it means in practice is that when a customer decides to update his current Exact Globe, it will be updated to Exact Globe Next product update 404. An upgrade is not mandatory but when a customer decides to do so he will automatically benefit from the improvements of the Exact Globe Next version. Furthermore, he can request for up to four additional features that are standard in Exact Globe Next but not available without requesting them: Exact Synergy Enterprise with the Synergy user, integration with SSRS reports that offers real-time dashboard reports and a selection of alerts facilitated by Exact Event Manager. And a new menu/shell with state-of-the-art UX from which a user can operate all new and existing features. In the coming weeks we will provide more information on how this request process will work.

Should you have any questions regarding controlled release of Exact Synergy Enterprise product update 249 or Exact Globe Next product update 404, do not hesitate to comment on this blog post.

The Synergy app for Windows Phone will be introduced in the Windows Phone Marketplace early this summer!

Gartner expects Microsoft to climb to third place in the global Mobile OS rankings by 2013, behind Android and Apple. By adding the Synergy app for Windows Phone to our Synergy apps family, we have apps available for over 80% of our mobile Synergy users.

The design of the Synergy app for Windows Phone follows the Windows Phone guidelines. If you have a Windows Phone, this app will look familiar. Navigation is easy and the look and feel is clean and straight forward. You will find your way through the app in no-time. Below a mockup of the request card.

The functionality on the app is similar to what we offer with the apps for Apple and Android. Some most used features are:

-       Manage your workflow
-       View and maintain account- and contact-information
-       Search in employee list
-       Book your expense claims and Time-off
-       Register your hours (as a part of the PSA offering)
-       ….

I will inform you when the Synergy app for Windows Phone is available to download in a couple of weeks.

P.S. For the 20% of our mobile users who don’t have an Apple, Android or Windows Phone, Mobile Synergy is the mobile web client you can use on your mobile device!

Hi all,

In one of my previous posts I shared with you the concept on how we would handle support.

Now that the solution is generally available I can take you through the process of how we implemented it.

When we came up with the concept of registration  at the Exact domain we were faced with a couple of challenges, some expected, some unexpected.

In the end we came up with the following registration process:
When you click the deploy button on your configuration you will see the following screen:

Select deploy for customer and click register. This will take you to the registration page at https://partners.exact.com where you will have to logon with your credentials.

After logon you will see the registration form which will return to you a token key in order to complete your deployment process.

Enter the returned code in your deployment screen and click deploy. Your set will now be deployed to your entered location.

Regrettably we were not able to put a browser yet on the customer code, due to the exact environment being on a lower version than the latest 248 updates. In a later version you will be able to browse on the customer code.

Should you have any questions about this solution, do not hesitate to contact me at ruud.aalders@exact.com or add comments to this post.

As of today the Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator is generally available in the Benelux which marks the end of the controlled release period.

The Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator is a standard toolset that allows consultants to configure Exact Synergy Enterprise so that it meets customers’ specific demand regarding their primary and secondary business processes. The Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator will therefore offer a total, customer specific solution. It is a part of the standard Exact Synergy Enterprise software and requires no specific license to activate.

What is the benefit for a customer?

It is in the best interest of our customers to offer them one solution that can support and integrate all key business process. However, we were able to offer such a solution only through customization that involved investments from both customers and partners. With Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator it is possible to configure Exact Synergy Enterprise on top of standard solution. As a result Exact Synergy Enterprise will better meet their business needs and will fit within their core activities and business processes, without requiring a customization/custom solution. Exact Synergy Enterprise will therefore bring more value to their business.

What are the key features?

The Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator can be used for instance in facility management (car fleet), since currently there is no standard solution within Exact Synergy Enterprise to support that. With this toolset you can easily add new tables, more maintenance cards or extend the standard maintenance cards such us items or projects. As a result, information that customers need to run their business can be registered, accessed as well as used in processes and reports.

Please visit our LinkedIn group for additional information on Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator.

Please note that for in the International region Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator is currently in controlled release.

Should you have any questions regarding Exact Synergy Enterprise Configurator, please do not hesitate to comment on this post.

Easily send a predefined email or letter in corporate style. That was the goal we had in mind when designing the new Word Merge functionality. And… I think we succeeded!

With Exact Synergy Enterprise product update 249, the first version of the new Word Merge will become generally available. It is the successor of current merge functionality in Exact Synergy Enterprise (HTML and Word Merge) and offers a wide range of improvements.

For every company it is of great significance that documents that are sent to external stakeholders or employees are professional and follow the guidelines of your company. There are a couple of things that are important when you want to achieve this, where again the most crucial one is that it should be simple to create a letter or send an email. To realize this, the screen where ‘it all happens’ must be clear and to the point. The key elements here are the number and quality of templates available. The number of templates should be kept to a minimum, so that the end user can easily pick the right one. The quality of the templates should be guaranteed. The new Word Merge functionality takes care of all of this.

The new Word Merge offers the following features:

- You can easily create a letter or send an email

• Easy screen from where you can send email or create a letter
• Templates are available based on roles and action
• User can select to save a copy of the sent email to Exact Synergy Enterprise
• Server side merging: good performance and no tools needed on client machine

- Templates

• Define who can use which templates
• Define who can maintain which templates
• Template settings, to define which templates can be used from where (like: send email from account card or create letter from person search)
• Set language of the template
• Templates are made in MS Word

- Schema

• A schema is needed to make a template. It contains a set of merge tags which can be dragged into the template. While performing the merge, these tags will be replaced by the actual value (like {account name} = Exact International Development)
• Exact delivers default schemas. The merge tags in the schema are comparable with the merge fields currently in HTML merge
• Consultants can easily extend the schema and add new fields
• Consultants can make their own schema’s
• Define who can use which schema

UPDATED: In product update 249, Exact introduces a first version of the new Word Merge functionality. This first version is limited to single merge actions only. This means that you can perform a Word Merge from account-, contact-, person- and request-card. All other merge functionality, like merge from account-, request- and person-search will remain as is. We plan to have most used Word Merge functionality available as of product update 250 which will become available second half 2012.

We are pleased to announce that after an extensive controlled release period Exact’s solution for centrally managing master data for multiple divisions is now generally available. Exact Globe customers with multiple divisions that are dealing with cross divisional related master data can make use of the Central Master Data Management (CMDM) solution. Although being a topic on the agenda of many international operating companies, local operating companies with multiple divisions can also benefit from implementing Exact’s CMDM solution.

Companies with multiple divisions have a challenge in managing data across these divisions and facilitating companywide compliance and a foundation for consolidated management reporting and analysis. Besides that, being consistent in the way master data is set up facilitates effective collaboration between individual divisions by sharing available capacity, knowledge, resources, products and even customers or suppliers, leading to better overall results for the group. This leads to a need for CMDM.

Our offering

Exact CMDM makes it possible to manage the following entities “Accounts”, “Items”, “General Ledgers Accounts” and “People” as per Exact Globe product update 403/ Exact Synergy Enterprise product update 248.

Benefits

• In control over divisional risk and results.
• Compliance on company standards.
• Workflow management for creation and maintaining master data included.
• Offering blueprints for business processes.
• Work together increasing efficiency and avoid redundancy where possible.
• Facilitate consolidated reporting and consistent local reporting for better decision making.
• An in-house Exact solution that synchronizes between Exact databases.
• Including Exact business logic reduces implementation time and eliminates database (update) related constraints.

For whom

• Companies with multiple divisions that share related master data.
• Exact Globe customers with multiple divisions that share related master data.
• Exact Globe customers with multiple (country) licenses.

For more information about the CMDM solution, please refer to our videos.

Should you have any questions regarding our Central Master Data Management solution, please comment on this blog post.

On behalf of the whole solution team and the development teams we are happy and proud to announce the next phase of Exact’s Service Management solution!

It all started out on June 4^th last year with the first sneak preview blog post and a video. Then we showed you a simple example how the solution integrates both Exact Synergy Enterprise and Exact Globe processes. We shared our ideas on the dispatch board and combined everything in a full concept video. We also showed you how we will use SQL Server Reporting Service reports with the solution and how we register the agreements you made in contracts with your customers and finally you could see how the functionality comes together.

And now we have reached the stage of controlled release! The first customers have started implementing the new service management solution. Many more customers are scheduled to be implemented shortly.

In case you would also like to participate in this controlled release please contact your local Exact representative or Exact Partner.

Who can join controlled release?

Exact’s product development process involves five main phases: verification, design, implementation, acceptance and launch. During the final “launch” stage, selected customers have the opportunity to take part in the controlled release of new product updates.

Please note that there are numerous pre-conditions for participation, thus taking part in a controlled release may not be for everyone. In addition to the use of Exact software, the requirements include:

• An infrastructure that permits testing in a real-life environment
• The creation of a database backup which is sent to Exact before the controlled release starts
• Provision of remote access to help identify and evaluate any issues
• A capacity to test documentation in detail
• The preparedness to share results and opinions in periodic evaluations

Benefits of our controlled release program

1. Gain privileged access to pre-release software
2. Be the first to benefit from enhancements
3. Become part of the development process
4. Receive personal coaching on new functionalities
5. Enjoy dedicated support throughout the controlled release
6. Know that any issues will be resolved quickly
7. Have a say in the development of a specific product update

Hi,

As I stated in my previous blog, I would come back to how we are planning to handle the support on the Exact Configurator tool, but also on how we will handle the support on  configured solutions.

The actual tool will of course be supported by our regular support department. This is support on how the tool works, not on creating your solution.

Questions support can answer are questions like “How do I create an entity?”.
They will not be able to answer questions like “I have a customer that has a notary firm, what entities will I need to support his process?”.
For these kinds of questions we have created a LinkedIn group, in which consultants across the border and across resellers can ask eachother on how one would create a solution for a process. (Exact Certified Configurator Consultants (E-3C))

Now, lets suppose one of our Exact (certified) partners has configured a solution for a customer in which he has extended the itemcard and created a new field on there that is called “Car” and refers to his own created entity “Cars”.

Since the configured software looks and behaves like standard software the customer is not aware of the fact that he has a configured solution installed and calls the Exact Support department because some kind of error is occurring on his itemcard.
Our support department currently would not know that this customer has a configured solution and will deny this customer support because in our standard software the field “Car” doesn’t even exist.

This would create a disappointed customer (he is not helped) and a frustrated support department (they can’t help this customer).

In order to capture this situation we have come up with the following solution. When a consultant deploys a solution, ready for customer use e.g. live implementation, the configurator software will start up a registration screen on the reseller portal.

In this screen we require the consultant to register the customer account, a brief description of the configured solution and an agreement to the general terms of Exact.

This will result into a request created in the Exact Database so that support can see that this customer has a configuration, by whom the configuration was created and can refer them to the support desk of the reseller.

The same process will apply for Exact Consultants who configure a solution. In the same way of creating Custom Solutions, the exact consultants are responsible for bringing back the configured solution to Exact and storing this so that the Exact Support department can refer this customer to the respective consultant, so that the customer will be helped.

Should you have any questions about this solution, do not hesitate to contact me at ruud.aalders@exact.com or add comments to this post.

In the last product updates of Exact Synergy Enterprise we’ve been working on developing the different license roles to give our customers more flexibility, so they have complete freedom and control over their Exact Synergy Enterprise environment. In product update 248 (generally available) we have focused on realigning features for the CRM role, in order to complete and clarify the logic for the CRM role and to make sure that the available functionality meets the needs of our customers. The user with the CRM role has now full functionality in the module CRM, which means that he has the same access rights to this module as a user with the professional role.

Additionally, he is now able to see all requests from all places he has access to, like the workflow of a colleague or a project card. Viewing requests is based on the standard roles and rights settings. An important addition to the CRM role is the ability to perform delegation. On top of the above changes, from this product update onwards, only certain authorized function rights can be assigned to CRM users and the available menus are limited to CRM and Workflow.

Please watch the video below and read the release note to learn more about the changes in the CRM role.

Please let me know if you have any feedback.

Hi all,

As you may have heard we are waiting for the last finishing touches in order to release the Exact Configurator.

The Exact Configurator is a tool in Exact Synergy Enterprise which allows consultants to more personalize Exact Synergy Enterprise for every customer by giving them the availability to create any entity they want and have interaction with the existing entities in Exact Synergy Enterprise (p.e. workflow, accounts).

Using the Exact Configurator requires some additional skills from consultants because instead of thinking out a solution based on the software available in Exact Synergy Enterprise they now have the option to work out a solution concept more tailored to the customers needs and therefore they need to have a certain level of desigining / analyzing skills.

In order for Exact to release the Configurator to consultants to use, we will require our resellers to have followed a (currently being developed) training before we give them the keys to enable the tool.

The training will not only go into the use of the Configurator tools, but will also go into the thought process that preceeds configuring a solution.

As you may have guessed this can create pressure for our support department. We are working on a solution for this as well and I will come back to that process in a later blog.

From the controlled release phase we see that there is a need for consultants (across resellers and also Exact consultants) to have a way of communicating with eachother on how to implement solutions or how to tackle more complex configurations. And because Exact will support the tool, but not the configured solutions we have created a group on LinkedIn that certified consultants can subscribe to and share their experiences. (Exact Certified Configurator Consultants (E-3C))

Once the training is completed and the keys have been assigned to the reseller, the Exact Configurator tool is free of charge and shipped as standard software.

So, when you are a reseller, and  you are interested in using the Exact Configurator tool, you can contact your partner manager for more information on how to enlist for the training.

Should you have any questions about this solution, do not hesitate to contact me at ruud.aalders@exact.com or add comments to this post.