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Posts for August 2012

Friday Donut tip: Digging for gold in your inbox

August 31, 2012 by Imanuel Votteler

A very handy feature I’ve started using this week is finding related messages. This is extremely handy if you have a long thread of emails and want to go back to check something. You can find related messages (based on subject), or related messages based on the sender. In Outlook 2010 this is as simple as:

  1. Right click on the email you want to trace the history of
  2. Select 'Find related'
  3. Chose 'Messages in this conversation' for related emails by subject
  4. Chose 'Messages from sender' for related emails from the same sender
  5. To get back to your un-filtered inbox, simply click the X on the search bar in Outlook

Another feature I’ve been missing out on is categorisation. This lets you simply assign a colour to an email, task, contact or calendar appointment. You can also assign labels to each colour. This makes it really easy to find contacts, tasks and appointments relating to one project as you can give different projects different colours and see at a glance what's related. Again in Outlook 2010, it's as simple as:

  1. Right click on the email you want to categorise
  2. Select 'Categorize'
  3. Select your colour
  4. From there you can also select ‘All categories’ to add more or change the labels

Getting hold of Microsoft Outlook

You can buy Outlook 2010 from these retailers:

Meet the information saboteurs, aka your employees

August 28, 2012 by Dave James

Who poses the biggest threat to your company data? You've probably thought about external security threats, but have you stopped to consider the damage your employees could do?

Information risk management specialist Ascentor reckons nearly 15.9m people are ready to damage their employer's business, and says over two million already have. These statistics and more are summarised in this infographic, and you can see the full version over on the Ascentor website.

Meet the information saboteurs (your employees){{}}

See the full version of this infographic >>

 

Couch commerce and the convenience factor

August 23, 2012 by John McGarvey

Yellow sofa{{}}

Do you use your mobile when you're on the couch? (Image: the dailyenglishshow on Flickr.)

Mobile commerce is becoming big business. Recent research suggests that by 2017, the total value of mobile transactions will exceed $730bn. That's about £465bn - or enough to pay for the Olympics around 50 times over.

Unless you've been walking around with your eyes shut lately, that probably doesn't come as much of a surprise. Mobile internet access has gone through the roof, with people using their smart phones everywhere. And where potential customers go, companies tend to follow.

The convenience factor

There's a big convenience factor at work here. Done well, mobile commerce can be seductively straightforward. Take online commerce trailblazers Amazon. Finished your book but still have two hours of a train journey to get through? Just buy another book to read on your Kindle, there and then.

Businesses of all sorts are tapping into that convenience factor - not least the supermarket giants. Tesco is trailing a rather-contrived 'virtual supermarket' at Gatwick Airport, where you can use your smart phone to scan items on a screen for delivery when you get back from your holidays. And Sainsbury's reckons its new mobile optimised website has helped increase its online sales by 20%.

Sure, what's right for the supermarkets isn't always right for smaller companies. But in this case, if you're thinking it's probably is time for you to shape up your mobile commerce experience, you're probably right.

Dont forget couch commerce

Even if your business doesn't sell online, you need to be mindful that a growing proportion of your website visitors will be using mobile devices. Do you want to exclude them from learning about your company?

Before you get started, there's one other thing to bear in mind: it doesn't always follow that mobile internet users are out and about.

Actually, a significant proportion of people use mobile internet when they're at home, because it's usually easier to reach for a smart phone than start up a PC.

Dubbed 'couch commerce', this phenomenon means that the typical image of a mobile internet user as someone with only a few moments to spare at a bus stop or on a train could be inaccurate. And that might influence the information you show them.

Six questions to ask about your new CRM system

August 21, 2012 by Elke Schmitt

Bad customer service sign{{}}Introducing a new CRM system to your business is a significant project. To make sure you spend your time and money wisely, there are some key questions to ask right at the start.

Big names in CRM include Salesforce, Sage, Microsoft and Maximizer. But the best way to pick the right system for your business is to ask these six questions:

  1. Are your staff on board? It is vital that your staff and any other stakeholders are on board with your decision to implement a new CRM system. You're going to need the support of everyone to make changes to your processes and procedures.
  2. You’ll also need everyone’s expertise to find an application with the right features. For instance, it will be difficult for one person to decide what automation is needed within the sales department if he or she is doesn’t work in that department.

  3. What automation do you desire? You'll need to decide what sort of jobs your company wants to automate, and which you want the CRM system to do. Even with the best CRM software, it's still up to your business to use it effectively. However, it’s easier to evaluate different options if you know what tasks you need it to do for you.
  4. What input can your staff provide? Within your company there’s a vast network of professionals and experts. Every member of staff - not just those in customer service - needs to be focused on what type of CRM technology you want to implement as well as what the CRM strategy is. CRM is a company-wide tool that leads customers through your product funnel. It requires input from everyone.
  5. What type of training will you offer? Everyone involved with any aspect of your sales cycle should be trained in your CRM strategy as well as the CRM system. Although you’ll probably find that some training is available from your CRM supplier, you'll also need to make sure your other business training fits the CRM strategy.
  6. Where are users located? If your company consists of employees, contractors, and staff who aren't all in the same building it is important to consider how they will access the software. Cloud-based CRM applications can be a good option. They allow users to sign on from anywhere with an internet connection, often using mobile devices like smart phones.
  7. What is your budget? You need to know what your IT budget is before you even start looking at CRM technology. It comes in all price ranges, so if you go in with a good idea of what you can spend, you'll be able to throw out options that you cannot afford.

As with any significant IT investment, do as much background research as you can into CRM as a process and CRM as a software application.

GetApp – the company I work for – has worked with industry professionals to create a free, informative eBook: Powerful Customer Relationship Management For Small Business.

Image of bad customer service from Flickr user antwerpenR under Creative Commons.

Posted in Business software | Tagged software, crm | 0 comments

Friday Donut tip: the little box that can save you lots of time

August 17, 2012 by John McGarvey

Windows Search box{{}}Every Friday afternoon we bring you a useful IT tip. This week, how one little box in Windows can save you heaps of time.

It's easy to forget where you saved an important file, or where in your start menu the program you need is. The most common response is to start trawling through different folders in the hope you'll be able to track it down.

Well, there's an easier way. It's staring you in the face, yet there's a good chance you didn't think to use it.

Windows has a comprehensive, built-in search function. Just click the start button and you'll notice a search box at the bottom of the menu. Whatever you're looking for, just type it in here.

As you start typing, Windows will start searching everything on your computer: files, programs, folders, emails and more. If you can remember what you called your file then this is almost certainly the quickest way to find it.

There's more information about Windows Search on the Microsoft website.

Previous Friday Donut tips:

Six cloud services we use to run our business

August 16, 2012 by

Six cloud services we use to run our business/cloud{{}}As Chief Technical Officer for FreeAgent – an online accounting system – it’s probably no surprise that I believe virtually all IT tools are moving online, to ‘the cloud’. The days of rolling out shrink-wrapped software to a business are long over.

In fact, at FreeAgent we’ve already gone a long way down that road. Everyone in our company uses a whole plethora of online services, every day. Here are six that have become essential to our business:

  • We rely on Google Apps for email, spreadsheets and documents, instead of using the more traditional Microsoft Office suite.
  • Zendesk helps us provide customer support by managing and dealing with requests quickly and effectively. It means we never miss a support request.
  • Like many other companies, we use Salesforce as a business development tool.  It’s great for helping us identify and manage opportunities.
  • Geeks will already know Github, an online tool for version control – this keeps track of changes we make to the FreeAgent code base.
  • For project management we use both Basecamp and Trello. Both are very useful for the work we do at FreeAgent, although I especially like the flexibility that Trello provides and how it can be adapted to many workflows in different areas of a business.

There’s no guarantee, of course, that what’s right for us will be right for your company too. But I can safely say we’ve tried and tested all those tools, so they’re good places to start!

Olly Headey is Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of FreeAgent.

Why your business needs IPv6

August 16, 2012 by David Barker

Why your business needs IPv6/IPV6{{}}One of the internet’s fundamental technologies is changing. David Barker, founder and technical director of 4D Data Centres explains IPv6 and why your business should be deploying it.

IP stands for internet protocol. It’s a key part of the technology that enables most internet-connected computers to communicate.

An IP address is the unique label given to every device connected to a network (or to the internet). In the same way that your home address enables letters to reach you, an IP address enables devices on a network to send data to each other. An IP address looks something like this: 192.168.12.4.

From IPv4 to IPv6

IPv4 is (unsurprisingly) the fourth revision of the internet protocol and the most widely used today. However, it is also fairly old - it was originally ratified in 1981.

In total IPv4 has capacity for 4,200,000,000 unique IP addresses. Back in 1981 they assumed that would be enough to cover any possible eventuality. It’s lasted three decades, but there are now so many devices in the world that need to connect to the internet (each requiring its own, unique address) that we’re running out of room.

Step forward IPv6 (IPv5 was an experiment). It provides a massive increase in the number of addresses available. This means an IPv6 address looks very different to an IPv4 address – usually something like: 2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652. Sometimes all zeros are omitted to save space, leaving a colon marking the gap: 2001:cdba::3257:9652.

IPv6 was designed from the ground-up to allow for an enormous number of IP addresses. There are enough for computers and mobile phones and household appliances and cars.

In total it provides roughly 340,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 unique addresses. To put it into perspective, that’s 480,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 addresses for each of the seven billion people on the planet.

Should you worry about IPv6?

It’s vital your business starts thinking about IPv6 sooner rather than later. If you don’t introduce it to your network then over the next few years there will be parts of the internet that you simply won’t be able to access.

Once we’ve completely run out of IPv4 addresses, companies will be forced to deploy new services as IPv6-only. This is already starting to happen in Asia. For instance, operators in countries such as China are running on IPv6-only as they don’t have enough IPv4 addresses to support the number of people going online.

What’s more, if you introduce IPv6 early, you’ll have more time to learn how to make use of new features that IPv6 includes. A lot of these are technical features to improve data routing and security but there may also be ways to make money from IPv6. Perhaps you can take advantage of new services, or drive your own markets by showing your customers that you are an early adopter.

What you can do next

After reading this article you should know that IPv6 exists and it’s important you adopt it sooner rather than later – that’s a good start!

Now, here are four more steps to help your business get ready:

  • Start by testing your existing internet connection to see if it is IPv6-enabled. You can do this easily online, right now. This website is especially helpful because it will tell you how prepared your internet service provider (ISP) is for IPv6. You can use the test results when talking to your ISP about its plans for IPv6.
  • Make sure that your office network will run on IPv6. Firewalls are the key here as IPv6 support on firewalls has been fairly limited until recently. Your PC and ISP might be IPv6-enabled but if the firewall only talks IPv4 it will need replacing. It’s worth raising this with your IT supplier now, so you can budget for changes if required.
  • Make sure your website (plus any other public servers) are running on IPv6 as well as IPv4. Over time, devices will begin to only support IPv6. You don’t want your website to drop off the internet as this happens. Your web hosting company should be able to advise.

Has your IT supplier mentioned IPv6? Is this the first you’ve heard of it? Leave a comment to let us know.

Friday Donut tip: keeping on top of your Outlook inbox

August 10, 2012 by Imanuel Votteler

A bulging Microsoft Outlook inbox can be a fact of life. The more emails you send, the more you receive - and that makes it all-too-easy to forget to follow up important messages. So, to help you keep track of what's in your inbox, here are three key Microsoft Outlook tips:

1. Use coloured flags

All recent versions of Microsoft Outlook (since Outlook 2002) allow you to flag messages as they come in. There are lots of different coloured flags available (so you can use them to indicated different things) and flagging a message turns it into a task, which then appears on your task list.

Just click the grey flag by each message to set a flag. What's more, when you right-click a flag you've set, you can add a deadline, helping you prioritise tasks.

2. Use folders

Folders are a great way to group emails about a particular project or subject, or from a particular person. For example, I have an IT folder, with a Projects subfolder, and then subfolders within that for individual projects.

Getting into the habit of filing emails in the correct folder makes life a lot easier when you need to find an email quickly. And if you're feeling confident, you can also use rules to automatically move emails to folders based on who they were sent from, the text in their subject, or a number of other factors.

3. Search and you'll find

The search option in Outlook has improved considerably with recent versions, and it's often now the fastest way to find a message. In the latest version (Outlook 2010), the search happens as you start typing.

Outlook search bar{{}}

Just enter someone's name, a keyword, or another word you know will help identify the email. Results should start appearing as you type. If you are having trouble finding what you need, try some of the more advanced search options.

Getting hold of Microsoft Outlook

You can buy Outlook 2010 from these retailers:

Previous Friday Donut tips:

Six signs your business needs a server

August 09, 2012 by Andrew Miller

Six signs your business needs a server/Whitecomputerkeyboard{{}}A network server allows your company to run centralised applications, provides a safe place to store files and makes it easier to control how your IT system is used.

But buying and setting up a server isn’t a small investment. So here are six signs that it might be time to take the plunge:

  • You want to share files and applications. Are your staff constantly emailing files to each other, or having to find creative ways to share data? Have you reached a point where your customer database needs to be available to several people?
  • You need more storage capacity. Your hard drives are creaking at the seams, you have CDs full of data stacked up in cupboards, and your filing cabinets are overflowing with paper. Sounds familiar? You could fit all that – and plenty more – onto a server.
  • Your IT is spread out and difficult to manage. If you have added extra computers and software to meet business growth, you could easily end up with lots of different pieces of equipment, running different versions of software and due for replacement at different times. Adding a server is a good opportunity to consolidate.
  • Your staff require remote access to data and resources. With data and applications on a central server, it’s easier to enable and control remote access. Mobile workers can log in from their laptop or smartphone via your company’s internet connection.
  • Losing a laptop would mean losing important data. Companies without servers tend to store vital information on individual computers, meaning if a laptop gets lost or stolen, you can lose key data too. With a server, everything can be stored centrally.
  • You need to collaborate more efficiently. With a server, you can run centralised collaboration tools that make it easier to work together. For instance, you can set up a central workspace containing documentation, plans and feedback on a project.

Is it time your business had a server? Leave a comment and let us know where your company stands.

Friday Donut tip: free tools to delete files forever

August 03, 2012 by John McGarvey

Shredded paper{{}}Not even emptying your computer's recycle bin guarantees your files are gone for good.

Although you can't see or open them on your desktop, the information is still there on your computer's hard drive, which makes it relatively easy to recover if you know what you're doing.

Obviously, that's good if you delete something by accident. But it's very bad if you're trying to delete sensitive information, like financial details or personal information. If your computer falls into the wrong hands, so could your data.

Thankfully, it's easy enough to scrub data off your hard disk for good. Here are three options for you to consider:

  • Delete individual files for good with software like Freeraser or Eraser. These programs work by overwriting the files again and again with random data, eliminating any trace of the original files.
  • If you want to scrub an entire PC securely - for disposal or resale - you can use CCleaner, which also has lots of other useful cleanup features too. Alternatively, copy Darik's Boot and Nuke onto a CD, put it in your PC, restart, and then type autonuke when prompted.
  • Using a Mac? To permanently delete everything in your trash, click and hold the trash folder. When the menu appears, hold the command key, then move your mouse up to select Secure Empty Trash. Easy!

Of course, if you can't be bothered with all that and you don't need to keep your computer in working order, there's an option that's much more fun. Unplug your computer, rip out the hard drive and drill some holes in it. Satisfying.

An amazing map of the internet

August 03, 2012 by John McGarvey

The internet map{{}}

Stuck for something to do this morning in that brief period between the end of breakfast and the start of the athletics? We've just stumbled across this jaw-dropping, fascinating internet map.

It shows 350,000 websites, each represented as a dot. The size of each dot is determined by the amount of traffic that website receives, and dots are grouped together in a way that mirrors how closely sites are linked. The map uses figures from the end of last year - at the highest level, you can see how sites like Google, Facebook and YouTube dominate.

But as you zoom in, extra levels of detail become visible, revealing corners of the internet and sites you'd forgotten all about. You can even search for websites to see where they sit in the map and how big they are in comparison to websites around them.

Visit the internet map at www.internet-map.net.

Posted in The internet | Tagged online, Internet | 0 comments

An easier way to take credit cards?

August 01, 2012 by Liz Dawe

iZettle card reader{{}}Small retailers have long known that if you want to be able to accept credit cards, you need to be good at jumping through hoops. Applying for and getting set up with a merchant account can be a lengthy process.

Things could be changing though, if a company called iZettle has its way. This Swedish firm is currently trialling a UK service that enables you to process credit card payments through your mobile phone.

How iZettle works

When you sign up to iZettle, you get a card reader that attaches to your iPhone or iPad (see image - it's not available for other types of mobile at the moment) and an app that runs on your phone. Together, these turn your phone into a credit card terminal.

You open the app, tap in the amount to be paid, push your customer's card into the card reader, then pass the handset to them to sign on the screen. iZettle claims to work wherever you are, as long as there's an internet connection over which it can authorise the card.

The costs look reasonable too - there's a commission of about 3% on each payment, there aren't any subscription fees, and even the card reader is free.

You could use iZettle wherever you want. It would be useful for retailers, restaurants and bars, but because it runs on your mobile phone it also appears to be good for people who work on the move - like taxi drivers - or for use at events like trade shows.

No Visa, no PIN

Before you get too excited, iZettle has some disadvantages. It currently works only with MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club cards, leaving a pretty big Visa shaped hole in things.

It also seems to rely on a customer signature rather than using chip and PIN to process payments. Given the publicity-heavy switch to chip and PIN in 2005, it might unnerve your customers to find themselves having to sign again.

The first of many?

Despite these limitations, iZettle could be an early warning of what's on the horizon.

Our sister site Marketing Donut mentioned US company Square back in 2009. Since then, this similar service has grown to process $4bn worth of payments a year. PayPal is also introducing a mobile card payment service in the US.

Closer to home, mPowa and SysPay are both available or coming soon in the UK. And expect to see other companies announce similar services in the next few months.

Even if you already have a merchant account, these new players could shake up the market, potentially driving down costs and forcing established competitors to up their games. Good news, surely?

 

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