Energy saving solution

Measurement of energy efficiency is the most outstanding environmental benefit, if you have any energy problems at home, industry, business, building, and institution, you may need this solution to analyze of the energy matrix.
Cepenergy Management Software for Buildings is a tool for the analysis of the Energy Matrix (Electricity, Water, Fuel), and CO2 emissions in buildings. This is a new tool for multivariable analysis which combines simultaneously all kinds of energy together with the respective utility bills to get a model and a value for the energy efficiency.

With Cepenergy Management Software for Buildings you can know how optimize your energy resources, solves your energy problems, saving and optimizing and manage the cooperation and contribution, at the Building level, to decrease the generation of greenhouse gases.

Software Details, Features & Infos:

Platform:
Windows XP, Vista, Office 2003. Personal computer with a 486 or higher microprocessor, 25 Megabytes or more of RAM, at least 100 Megabytes of available disk space.

Programming Language:
Visual Basic

Validation Process:
Data can be validated in each running. Software predicts saving money to each energy used, so results can be confronted with the decrease of spending caused of a higher energy efficiency.

Users:
Include Universities, College and k12 School Buildings, Retail, Office, Government, Commercial, Industrial and Business Buildings.

Audience:
Buildings & Energy Program Managers, Maintenance Buildings Managers, Buildings Designers, Facility Managers, Architects, Builders Engineers.

Official website:
EnergyPuzzleOut.com

Availability:
Free trial demo for 30 days. Additional information also in the Web site.

Keywords:
Energy management, energy efficiency, energy evaluation, energy simulation, energy modeling, environmental performance, sustainable development, CO2 footprint.

Turn Outlook Into a Project Management Center

A Project Management Center, All From Within Outlook

Having a good Project management software is very important to the way that you conduct your your business to the next level. You can manage all your projects and ensure that all project team members are quickly updated about changing deadlines and new developments. Managing and prioritizing tasks is the main key to meeting business obligations.

Almost every business professional has a method of managing small projects and effectively collaborating with others to get the job done. Never again sticking to a paper-based project management system when several simple services can now do the job so much better.

You can find web-based project management service to help you prioritize your tasks and manage projects here, but if you are interested in getting unites all of the files, contacts, tasks, appointments and email messages about your projects together in one central location in Microsoft Outlook, then you should try MissingLink Project Management from Moore Software Solutions Inc.

With MissingLink Project Management, you can search and capture critical emails on a project-by-project basis, maintain a complete revision history of every attachment with the ability to retrieve prior versions. Yet, Outlook was never meant to be much more than an email program, With MissingLink Project Management, Outlook evolves into a full fledged project management tool, Outlook evolved beyond an Email Client into a Project Management Center.

Using Outlook for project management has never been easier, all of the information that you need to do your job comes through a single hub, and that hub is Microsoft Outlook.
With MissingLink Project Management you have the right project management tool - a powerful database of emails, contacts and files - in the right place: Microsoft Outlook.

Features and benefits

• Integrate with all you already do in Microsoft Outlook.
• Single-page overview of all the information necessary for the projects.
• Unite all of the files, contacts, email messages, and attachments related to a specific project in a single place.
• Search for critical email messages on a project-by-project basis.
• Enjoy a complete revision history of every attachment, with the ability to retrieve prior versions.
• Pick and choose what information to retain and what to delete when a project is concluded.
• Archive old project information in a flexible, searchable database system.
  

Who Needs MissingLink Project Management? You do if you've ever:

• Had to hunt through hundreds of email messages in your inbox to pull together all of the information you needed for a project.
• Experienced confusion over a version or revision of a file that has gotten lost in your Outlook inbox.
• Used other project management software, but ended up importing most of your data from Outlook anyways.

The Best Online Project Management Software Review

This review aims to make you acquainted with Online Project Management Software - a simple and powerful tool to collaborate on a team project or to organize your personal life virtually.
You can try-to-use them for free as all project applications mentioned below are also offering free accounts, you have options to find the best application that fit your need with no obligations, more than that, since they are web-based applications, you can start manage projects, create new tasks and organize to-do list from your own computer anytime.

Here's the list (in alphabetical order) :

Basecamp

• Task-centric interface. Keep focus on tasks at hand.
• Milestones all projects organized by date.
• The main dashboard shows all the upcoming tasks.
• Online message board associated with every project to all internal team project.
• Assign individual items to any of the team members or everyone with to-do lists.
• Wiki-style Writeboards for collaborative writing.
• Web-based instant messaging tool to chat the group.
• Free account with unlimited users for one project.
• Need to upgrade ($12/month) to add more projects and add documents and other files features.

Co-op

• Twitter style interface to track updates from everyone in the team.
• Team members can post anything in their status updates and it is visible to the entire team.
• Includes built-in time tracking from Harvest.

DeskAway

• Best recommended for graphs and reports tracking projects option.
• Supports tasks, milestones, calendar, time sheets and file sharing.
• Send mail to all members of the project inside DeskAway itself.
• Detailed reports and graphs information about completed, overdue, and upcoming deadlines.
• Graphs details showing your overall progress on various projects.
• Create an internal blog with DeskAway for team members.
• Free account for up to 3 active projects, 5 users, and 25MB of file storage.
• Upgrade starting at $10/month for accounts.
• Manage tasks via email, including additional users, more storage space and deskmail (Upgrade features).

Goplan

• Task-orientated project management tool; discussion board, calendar, document storage, timesheets, tasks and ticket.
• Easily track the time you spend on different tasks, automatic timesheet recorded.
• Attach documents and other files to the project.
• Add tickets to the project by simple emailing a note to a specific email address.
• The free plan provides 3 projects for 2 users, and 100Mb of online storage space for files.
• Upgrades are available starting at $10/month for additional projects, users, and storage.

Harvest

• Best recommended for freelancer.
• Easily track time spent on a task using the web interface or through dedicated desktop widgets available for Mac and PC.
• Time tracking and other project management features integrated with Basecamp.
• Tracking time spent on a project, produce invoice for clients and other expenses.
• The invoice dashboard keeps track of all open, past due, and recently paid invoices, once it's created.
• Free account for one user with up to 2 projects, 4 clients, and unlimited invoicing.
• Upgrades with unlimited projects and additional users and features starting at $12/month.

Soshiku

• Completely free (supported by ads).
• Best recommended for high school and college students.
• Keep track of all pending assignments and other school work.
• Shows due date all of the assignments and upcoming events for the full week.
• Invite partners and collaborate on class assignments within Soshiku itself.
• Attach files up to 50 MB in size with assignments.
  

Zoho Projects

• Best recommended if you already familiar with Microsoft Project.
• Import files feature, from Microsoft Project into Zoho Projects.
• Desktop to web based applications switching easily.
• Log into Zoho Projects using your existing Google Account or Yahoo! credentials.
• Integrated with Google Docs. Attach documents with your projects that are already on Google Docs.
• Available to track milestones, tasks, etc. in Google Calendar or even Outlook with iCal feed.
• Add tasks and milestones to a project and communicate with your team through wikis, built-in chat, and forums (or message board).
• Each forum has a unique email address so you can post replies to forums posts via a simple email message.
• The free version can only create a single project with 1 wiki and 100 MB of file storage.
• The premium version offers support for timesheets, invoices and additional projects at $12/month.

Mortgage Calculator in Excel

Rather than have to develop a function from scratch, you can use pre-built ones to do a plethora of tasks like Building your own Mortgage Calculator. This is 0ne of the really cool parts aspects of Microsoft Excel has created for you. As many Financial Functions available, The Mortgage Calculator or PMT function is just one of them that you can use.

Ok, Let's start... The first thing we have to do is setting up a few basic headings. Creat a new workbook and clicking in the first cell A1. Enter into cell address A1 the heading - Monthly Loan Repayments. Next off, enter into cell address A2 - Amount of Loan, cell address A3 - Interest Rate, cell address A4 - Length of Loan and then in A6 - Monthly Repayment.

In example mortgage calculator, we will take the Loan Amount, Interest Rate and Length of Loan and calculate your Monthly Repayment. Okay so in the corresponding field B1 enter the value of $200,000 and make sure you format the field as a currency. In cell B2 enter a value of 9.25% and format the field as a percentage and then finally enter in a value for the Length of the Loan as 25. The value you enter into the Length of the Loan field is in years.

Now its time to create the formula that will do your calculation for the Monthly Repayment. The function we will use for this calculation is called the PMT function. The PMT function always returns a negative number so one of the things we will need to do is to convert it into a positive number, but a little on that later.

There are three arguments we will use for this formula and they are -

= PMT(Monthly Interest Rate, Number of Payments, Amount Borrowed)

So to work out the Monthly Interest Rate we simply take the value in B3 and divide it by 12 - B3/12. The PMT function works on the basic of the number of payments you are going to make, so if we are going to make monthly payments on our mortgage we simply take the number of years in cell B4 and multiply it by 12 - B4 *12.

This means that to calculate the Monthly Repayment for our mortgage we need to enter the following formula -

= PMT(B3/12, B4*12, B2)

Now as I said before, the PMT function always returns a negative value, so to turn this into a positive value we simply type the PMT function with the Absolute Function encapsulating it as shown below -

= ABS(PMT(B3/12,B4*12,B2))

Simply type the formula above into the cell B6 and press the enter key. You must now format the cell address B6 as a currency and you can do that by simply pressing the Dollar Symbol on the Formatting Toolbar. As soon as you enter the formula and press enter you should get a result of $1712.76. If you do not get this answer, simply go back and make sure that you have entered the formula correctly.

The cool part about this Mortgage Calculator is that you can go back and change any one of the values in B2, B3 and B4 which are the Loan Amount, Interest Rate and Length of Loan to work out what your monthly mortgage repayments will be.

The cool part about this simple tool is that it tells you really quickly whether borrowing massive amounts from the bank is worth it and whether you can really afford that mortgage. Why not check out what your repayments will be if your interest rate went up by 2 or 3%, it can be really interesting to see the impact on your budget.

Simple tools like this can save you thousands of dollars and can also help you see what changes interest rates will have on your own budget. It is certainly worthwhile building yourself a Budgeting Spreadsheet and the mortgage calculator to work out just what you really can afford especially in these uncertain times.

Spyware Software, What Is It & What Does It Do?

If you own a computer and are connected to the internet then you will almost definitely have heard of spyware software and will also be at risk. The purpose of this article is to inform readers as to the risks of spyware software and explain exactly what spyware is and what it does.

Spyware as the name suggests is software that spy’s on you and collects information on your internet usage. The computer user will be unaware that this is happening as spyware software applications are usually hidden components in both freeware and shareware programs that can be downloaded from the internet. Spyware is installed without your knowledge or consent and poses some very real threats.

Once spyware software has been installed onto your computer it will actively begin monitoring your activity on the internet and will transmit all the information it gathers onto its owner which is usually an advertiser of some sorts.

Spyware software is very dangerous and this illegal software can record your internet history, passwords, and keystrokes, and some spyware can also record other confidential and private information. The only proven and successful way to get rid of spyware is to install a spyware blocker or anti-spyware software. These are available in both free and paid software versions.

If you use the internet, for whatever use, you should also use a spyware blocker or spyware removal software. It is also essential that you run this spyware removal software daily to remove any threats to your personal information. Doing this will not only help to keep your internet usage and private information safe but it will also help to keep your computer running efficiently.

Spyware software is as mentioned very dangerous and allowing your personal information which can include passwords and bank details to get into the hands of the wrong people can prove detrimental. Act now and install anti-spyware software and keep your information safe.

Produce and share videos, How to generate more buzz to your blogs

Produce and share videos, How to generate more buzz to your blogs

Asset Tracker for Networks, Network inventory solution

Asset Tracker for Networks is an inventory control tool for auditing software and hardware components installed on the network computers. This asset tracking software will collect your invenory control information, provide the Network Administrator with detailed comprehensive reports and allow him to export invenory information to external data sources. It is an excellent solution for auditing all types of software assets in a corporate network including, but not limited to, operating system details, processor, memory and hard disk drive information, software inventory, network printers, network adapters, operating environment and much, much more.

This inventory software does not require any network setup on each individual network workstation. Instead, the Network Administrator starts the program on his/her workstation and clicks the Inventory Network button. The program inspects the network setup to find computers and network devices there and automatically provides the Network Administrator with the network management information on each computer or device found in a few minutes.

Asset Tracker for Networks offers statistical reports for your needs. General workstation information report, processors, memory and operating systems reports, installed software and software licenses reports are already included with Asset Tracker for Networks. Additionally, you can request more specific types of reports which can be tailored to your requirements or even develop them by yourself.

Asset Tracker for Networks also offers an easy way to export inventory management information to ODBC data sources, CSV files, text files, web pages or to Excel. The program's template-based export engine allows the user to add new export types without changing the program itself. You can also create your own export types or order export type creation from Alchemy Lab.

The price of Asset Tracker for Networks 2.0 ranges from $199 for 25 PC's to $799 for 500 or more PC's. Site and Worldwide licenses are also available. Further information and a fully-featured trial download are available for free from Alchemy-lab.com

Enterprise Resource Planning, A Guide To

Information technology has transformed the way we live and the way we do business. ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning, is one of most widely implemented business software systems in a wide variety of industries and organizations. In this short article, we’ll try to concisely explain the basic yet important concepts relevant to ERP.

What is ERP - ERP is the acronym of Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP definition refers to both ERP software and business strategies that implement ERP systems. ERP implementation utilizes various ERP software applications to improve the performance of organizations for 1) resource planning, 2) management control and 3) operational control. ERP software consists of multiple software modules that integrates activities across functional departments - from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, to order tracking. Most ERP software systems include application modules to support common business activities - finance, accounting and human resources.

ERP Systems - ERP is much more than a piece of computer software. A ERP System includes ERP Software, Business Processes, Users and Hardware that run the ERP software. An ERP system is more than the sum of its parts or components. Those components interact together to achieve a common goal - streamline and improve organizations' business processes.

History of ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the evolution of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) II in 1980s, while MRP is the evolution of Inventory Management & Control conceived in 1960s. ERP has expanded from coordination of manufacturing processes to the integration of enterprise-wide backend processes. In terms of technology, ERP has evolved from legacy implementation to more flexible tiered client-server architecture.

Benefits of ERP - ERP software attempts to integrate business processes across departments onto a single enterprise-wide information system. The major benefits of ERP are improved coordination across functional departments and increased efficiencies of doing business. The implementation of ERP systems help facilitate day-to-day management as well. ERP software systems is originally and ambitiously designed to support resource planning portion of strategic planning. In reality, resource planning has been the weakest link in ERP practice due to the complexity of strategic planning and lack of adequate integration of ERP with Decision Support Systems (DSS).

ERP Failures - We couldn’t conclude our brief guide to ERP without mentioning ERP failures. The failure of multi-million dollar ERP projects are reported once in a while even after 20 years of ERP implementation. We have identified the four components of an ERP System - 1) ERP software, 2) Business Processes that ERP software supports, 3) Users of ERP systems, and 4) Hardware and Operating Systems that run ERP applications. The failures in one or more of those four components could cause the failure of an ERP project.

Copryright @2006, 4th-Media Corporation

Bluetooth Wireless Networking

Bluetooth technology offers three distant types of primary ranges, based on crop ranges. Class 1 devices are the most controlling, seeing they importance own up to 100 mW of aptitude, reserve a regular antenna giving them a compass of around 130 - 330 feet.

The class 2 devices are lower dynamism, offering up to 2. 5 mW of skill. A regular antenna will gift them a scale of around 50 - 100 feet. Class 3 devices usability polished less qualification, up to 1 mW of competency to betoken exact. Stash a regular antenna, they will obtain a scope of around 16 - 33 feet.
Rolled though you may not catch on existing, Bluetooth wireless technology has never been intended for person other than short distance types of communication. Shroud Bluetooth wireless, the short area is all a gain.

For one, the short reach will cut the quarters of monkey wrench between your devices and those that belong to others who are nearby. Overall, this is a basic type of security, designed to protect you and your devices.
Secondly, the lower competency used for short compass means a longer battery oomph. Most Bluetooth devices will arouse their gift from a battery, suggestion that element you amenability halt to never cease the battery enthusiasm is very same material.

The wireless networking offered by Bluetooth is in truth among the highest, identical though palpable uses short scale communication. Bluetooth is used shadow wireless controllers, the internet, and even wireless headsets.
For the best in short range technology, Bluetooth is extremely hard to beat. If you ' ve never tried Bluetooth before, now is the time. It ' s the best with wireless networking, especially for those who enjoy hands free talking on their cell phone.

Other wireless technology such as Garmin GPS utilizes complex wireless systems that let you know where you are, on any place in the world.

Blu-ray Technology

New technology is now making it possible for viewers to record and store high definition programming onto DVDs. Blu-ray Disc is one method of recording HD content onto an optical disc. A blue-laser optical disc (MPEG-2 or MPEG-4) is used. Systems that use this technology will be able to play traditional DVDs, but the goal of Blu-ray is to create an image that's as close to the HD format as possible. The name Blu-ray comes from the blue laser that decodes and copies information to each disk. Blu-ray technology may very well revolutionize the world of high definition programming. The Blu-ray disc format offers greater potential for storage, usually 25 gigabytes, which exceeds that of a standard DVD (15 gigabytes). One single-layer Blu-ray disk can hold about four hours of high definition content. A two-layer disk can contain eight hours of HD content. Four- and eight-layer disks are now in the works. These disks would have storage capabilities of 100 and 200 gigabytes. The Blu-ray recording system utilizes a shorter wavelength for recording information than traditional CDs and DVDs, and this is part of what allows it to hold more content on a single disk.

Blu-ray has also influenced the computer industry, specifically in terms of data storage capability. A number of major companies have come out in support of Blu-ray, including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, Pioneer, and Sony. Hewlett Packard plans to market desktop computers and laptops that utilize Blu-ray technology. Sony has announced that it will introduce a Blu-ray component in PlayStation 3, which is expected to appear in November of this year. Microsoft has also said that it may add a Blu-ray component to its Xbox 360. Currently, Blu-ray is only available in Japan, but it will appear in the United States in May, in video games and a DVD system that recreates a high definition effect on a viewer's TV.

Many movie studios have Blu-ray films planned for future release. In 2005, Sony Pictures cornered the market on the first Blu-ray feature-length movie disk, which was none other than Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Studios that support the technology include Walt Disney and Twentieth Century Fox.

Competing with Blu-ray in the area of HD storage is HD DVD. HD DVD disks have less storage capability, but they're cheaper to produce. Other big-name companies are showing their support for this option, including Microsoft, Intel and Toshiba, as well as Universal Studios. In what may be the smartest move, some companies are backing both types of technology, ensuring that their products support both Blu-ray and HD DVD. These companies include Samsung, Paramount and Warner Brothers.

Blu-ray is facing challenges from other competitors in the HD market: the Enhanced Versatile disk, the Digital Multilayer disk, and the Holographic Versatile disk are a few alternatives to Blu-ray. But at the moment, Blu-ray has a strong lead in the HD race. Check out New Technology TV for more information.

Enterprise Content Management And Information Presentation

Content is useless unless it’s used for managing the business. Managers must get relevant information presented in ways that bring out its significance. Only then can they make informed business decisions, instead of decisions based on a "hunch".

This article explores the information-presentation, or delivery, component of Enterprise Content Management.

Captured content must be transformed into meaningful information in a proper format and layout that make it easy to comprehend. The information must then be published to get it to the intended person or group, or at least made accessible for them.

Transformation and publication are thus the key elements of information delivery. We look at these in the following sections.

Transformation

A number of technologies or protocols have come into the market for information formatting and presentation.

XML is a description language that provides a way to define information. XML describes input-document metadata and interfaces, including its own structure, and presents output as specified.

PDF files provide a platform-independent presentation of information that can be printed and/or distributed easily.

XPS is an XML specification that provides for a presentation similar to PDFs and has been developed by Microsoft.

Other elements associated with transformation include:

Compression: Larger images and documents can be compressed to reduce file sizes for easier and safer transfers.

Viewers: Viewers enable information in different formats to be displayed in a uniform format.

Personalization: Personalization enables users to select the functions and information that they need.

Security Considerations

In the case of information distribution, the key considerations are ensuring authenticity of the sender and the document, and preventing unauthorized use of the published content.

Electronic signatures using keys and certificates help ensure that documents sent electronically are complete and unchanged (during transmission), and that the sender is indeed the person or organization he or she or it claims to be.

Unauthorized use of published content is sought to be prevented through such technologies as Digital Rights Management (DRM) (essentially access restriction) and Watermarking.

Information Delivery

Users of information generated from the content created all over the enterprise typically need it to be delivered in a way that is most convenient in different contexts. For example, when they are in their office, they can access it most easily using their network connection. Out in the field, it is easier to get information using their PDAs or mobile devices. Information is delivered in several ways, including:

• Internet, intranet, and extranet
• E-mails and faxes
• Data transfer using EDI or XML
• Mobile phones, PDAs and other mobile devices
• Transportable media like CDs and DVDs
• Paper

The above list contains a few examples. Other ways of delivering information already exist and new ways are being developed.

Conclusion

The ultimate objective of Enterprise Content Management is to make meaningful decision-support information available to business managers, in a format that is most convenient in their current context. ECM can deliver its information through technologies using IP protocols, such as Internet, intranet, or extranet, mobile devices like PDAs or mobile phones, and so on.

Content needs to be transformed in ways appropriate to the systems in use, and the context in which it will be used.

Contact Management Systems

Contact management is a modern way of managing your contacts. However, it’s not just an electronic address book that lists out your contacts such as phone numbers and addresses and appointments for the day. All this personal information can be integrated with e-mails and saved at one place so that you don’t have to waste time searching. You can store history of the interactions with contacts and keep track of all activities related to them. All this information can be kept absolutely confidential by using a password.

Contact management system can be of two types – a separate software product installed in the personal computer or a web-based application that can be accessed anywhere, anytime. The traditional method of installing software can serve the purpose if the nature of your work is stationary and is done from one primary computer. If you are logged on to the Internet most of the time and work at and away from office a web-based solution will offer you the flexibility you need.

Installing software is a one-time expenditure whereas web-based services may charge monthly subscription fees in addition to the initial lump sum payment. You’ll find this investment negligible compared to its advantages and the results you reap through an effective contact management system. Creating a systematic database of your contacts and updating the information regularly are the prerequisites for the success of the system. It is useful for both domestic users and business enterprises. Birthday and anniversary reminders come automatically and save you lot of embarrassment. On the professional front sales, marketing and customer care personnel are the major users of the system.

Marketing persons can send bulk personalized but professional messages like e-mails and news letters to the customers in the contacts list about new products and services and special offers. The communication can be sent with a link to company’s website and order form that can enable an immediate sale. The results can be amazing to unbelievable. This is the best way of cutting down the costs involved in direct marketing and there’s absolutely no need to hire a new sales team to reach more customers.

Customer care departments can maintain the history of all communication with customers for a systematic follow up. Since it is used extensively by businesses to interact with customers some call it customer relationship management system. Managers also use it to keep track of the employee information and to reach them. In one word, with an effective contact management system you can bid good-bye to the traditional paper-based system which is highly fallible.

CMMS, reporting and analysis easily

Maintaining physical ledgers for all your maintenance activities is a tedious task. Nowadays there are freely available Maintenance Management Software that can be used for your maintenance management tasks. There is also software that you can buy for a nominal cost and you get your return on investment very sooner than you expect. It is easy to maintain your assets, work order, plans and schedules, and inventory with the help of maintenance management software (CMMS).
You can easily keep track of your assets and perform different maintenance management tasks using this software. You can try the free versions available with many service providers and then decide on buying the full version that gives you more advanced features.

Although maintenance software is available in the default language as English, it is also available in other languages like Chinese, Spanish, Malay and other languages. If you do the maintenance work manually by using physical ledgers, it is not an easy task to do the reporting and the analysis part of your job.

With computerized maintenance management software ( CMMS ) you can easily do the reporting and the analysis. There are software manufacturers who provide you with simple and easy to use modules for your individual requirements. Modules for maintaining assets, work order, history of transactions, managing maintenance policies, different offices and locations from within the single module, invoicing, readings of different equipment, and permits for doing the maintenance work are available separately. These modules are integrated in full fledged maintenance management software. The most vital module for maintenance management software is the reporting module. The reporting module is important to monitor the progress of the maintenance work and also to help you improve your work.

What ever be the number of equipments you have in your factory or office, it is better to have maintenance management software to track the maintenance work of those equipments. Since this software makes the maintenance management easy you are free to use the time saved, on other tasks in hand. Software companies also can have such maintenance software to keep track of their software, associated licenses, and the number of installs. Web based computerized maintenance management software is also available with different types of services from many companies. You can avail these services if your factory or office are located in different locations within your country or in different countries.

With web based CMMS all you need is a browser and an internet connection to use this software. The details of transactions and records, in a web based Cmms Software, are maintained in a centralized server and the users will be using this data through the browser. There is no need for custom built client software for most of web based maintenance management software. Organizations that have multiple offices and factory locations can benefit from a web based maintenance management software. For different types of maintenance management software that is available in the market you can check out websites like http://www.cmmssystems.com

Digital Signage Software – Dynamic Advertising Tool

In today's hypercompetitive market each retailer needs to grow revenue and market share along with customer satisfaction. Retailers are using new technologies like digital signage to retain customers. Retailers not only provide additional value by facilitating their customers but also generate additional revenues by running branded advertisements. Static pop-up is a thing of the past.

Digital signage is being placed in-store, showcasing product information, new arrivals, offers, clearance sales and information about availability of products along with their location. Huge video display screens grab comparatively more attention than other sources, influence customers and are a means of additional revenue and customer satisfaction.

Communication is the key to any organization's success. However, in today's fast moving market it becomes a bit cumbersome and tedious for a corporate to inform each and every employee with key information at one go. One reason may be that all the employees do not have email ids like in floor shops, back offices or branch offices spread geographically.

The organization can update its employees based in any country, in any location with the latest internal news; can welcome the new joinees, keep the entire employee force abreast with the latest HR policies, transfers of employees, etc. The organization can even broadcast live internal and sporting events simultaneously. Using Digital Signage software these updates and events can also be displayed on LCD or plasma screens. Digital signage also helps in assisting visitors in accessing a facility's way finder, utilities area and other important information.

The same can also be used to display the company profile and areas of expertise. Third party feeds like news, weather, stock market updates, financial news, etc., are added advantages for staff and visitors alike.

Why is digital signage important in the transportation sector? Digital signage allows you to put live or real time data on to screens (LCD/ Plasma) fixed at the departure or arrival areas of airports, railway and bus terminals. Passengers can be updated with the current schedules in an interesting manner, rather than the boring numeric being currently used.
This can be used to display useful information that a passenger would like to know - trip delays, news, sports coverage, stock market updates, currency rates, safety information, world clock and weather. All this can be displayed simultaneously. Interactive kiosks or touch screens make it easy for travelers to purchase tickets, check-in and locate where to board planes, trains, and buses and tourism info centers.

Digital signage can delight customers by displaying their menu, along with their ingredients and calorie counts, price and the waiting time outside their premises. This could encourage the customer to have pre-decided his/her order once she looks at the menu thereby leading to the higher TRT (turn around time) leading to more revenue. Inside the restaurant besides the menu, entertaining videos, news, stocks etc can be displayed for customers.

Digital signage is ideal for retail banking because it lets you deliver personalized information to individuals critical to the success of retail banking. It can be used to display messages from the bank's board of directors or head appreciating and thanking customers for their loyalty. Display screens fixed at waiting areas informs the customer about the current offers and services for different categories and testimonials along with tickers, live news feeds and stock data making his wait more entertaining. Further the head office can communicate with other branches simultaneously at a pre-defined time for all internal communication.

Digital signage can play a significant role in making your guests stay memorable, for e.g. Screen at the reception desk, can be used to display different time zones of different countries dynamically which means a clock showing IST(Indian Standard Time) can have a background of The Taj Mahal and after predefined time it can show London time with Big Ben or video of London or a hotel logo as the background, this can also be added with weather conditions in multiple numbers, here imagination has no full stop.

Likewise in the lobby area a screen can be used to display facilities and amenities available with-in the hotel like today's function, today's top menu etc. to facilitate customers and guests. This can also help your guests find their way to rooms, what's in for menu, type and time of restaurants, bar, rest room and other amenities etc. at touch of their finger tip along-with the city's tourist's places, entertainment venues and prominent market in interactive kiosk mode.

Digimaker .NET-BASED Web Content Management System (CMS)

Digimaker is a leading .NET based Content Management Platform in the Nordic region. Digimaker Content Management NetServer is a 100% .NET-based, C#-written, web-based Content Management platform meant for editors, authors, developers and .NET solution houses for building user-friendly websites, creating rules-driven editorial processes for aligning online publishing efforts with business objectives and building customized solutions.

Offered throughout Scandinavia by a selection of Microsoft Certified Partners we are proud to announce a growth rate of approximately 50 licenses per month. Currently, for the first phase of our launch sequence for the USA, UK and Middle East market, we are looking to engage with a selection of highly qualified Microsoft Certified Partners, for representing us in the market more aggressively.

Some of our leading clients include the following: Ftadviser UK, Daimler Chrysler Worldwide, Jeep, Dodge, Cheroke, Fuji Films, Ventelo, Bravida, Norske Skog, Monter, History Today, etc
Digimaker Software Developer’s Kit

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• Developer copy of Digimaker – The .NET Content Management Platform
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Digimaker at a glance:

• The .NET Content Management Platform for the future - used by enterprises like Mercedes Benz, National Oil well and The Financial Times.
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• Growth rate of 50 licenses per month and rising.

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Enterprise Resource Planning And Enterprise Content Management

The word Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP conveys a sense of planning the use of enterprise-wide resources to achieve enterprise objectives in the best possible manner. However, ERP has come to mean something much less ambitious. It simply means integrating two or more separate applications.

The integration is done by the use of a common database and multiple software and hardware components. Thus an ERP system can include Manufacturing, Financials, Sales & Distribution, and HR functionalities in separate modules.

Integration of a number of systems results in:

• Creation of a unified database that results in greater reporting capabilities,


• Elimination of external interfaces between different applications that were needed earlier to exchange information between them, and


• Standardization and lower maintenance costs as a single system replaces the earlier multiple systems.

Typical modules in modern ERP systems:

ERP System Modules

Manufacturing: This module facilitates manufacturing and related operations such as plant engineering, production scheduling, materials requirements lists, workflow and process management, quality control and cost control.

Supply Chain Management: Inventory control and purchasing functions, including supply chain planning, and supplier performance monitoring, are the major functions facilitated by this module.

Customer Relationship Management: Sales and Distribution, Commissions and Customer Support are covered by this module.

Financials: This module covers the traditional accounting and cash flow management functions, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash flow control, and general ledger.

Other typical modules include Human Resources (including payroll), Project Management and Data Warehouse. ERP systems also provide direct interfaces for external entities like customers and suppliers, and internally for employees.

The separation of modules in this manner has resulted in some large organizations selecting different modules from different ERP vendors. Some functionality might be better with one vendor's module while other vendors’ modules better manage other functionalities. This would, however, involve building interfaces between modules from different vendors, which might have to be done by in-house staff. It follows that the staff should have the required skill level.

Implementing ERP in Organizations

Implementing ERP typically involves significant changes in working practices. Necessary skills might also not be available in-house. Either the ERP vendor or a third-party consultant usually helps implement ERP in an organization.

The ERP implementation needs to be aligned with the organization's business processes, which usually need to be re-engineered.

New user interfaces and even some processing might have to be coded where the ERP system does not meet certain work practices in the organization. The ERP system should ideally accommodate such customization.

Implementation will also involve training to the organization's personnel to work with the ERP system, and continuing support to keep the system running with minimal additional costs.

Why ERP?

In the absence of ERP, the different applications in use might not be able to exchange information. Such information exchange can become very critical for efficient operations and competitiveness. Organizations that have implemented ERP properly will be able to operate in a lean manner, leading to lower costs and customer prices, giving them an advantage in the marketplace.

ERP and Enterprise Content Management Systems

Enterprise Content Management systems seek to create a knowledgebase consisting of both structured and unstructured content generated all over the enterprise. Enterprise Resource Planning systems facilitate this goal by combining applications and using a common database.

Using E-Learning in ERP Systems Implementation

In today's world, information technologies are actively used in many spheres of life, including learning. In particular, e-learning courses are becoming more and more popular. Computer-based training saves you time, money, and effort when implementing such intricate software solutions as MS Dynamics AX or NAV. This way of studying can be useful not only for individuals, but also for large corporations.

In this article we will explain the advantages of online training during the implementation of complicated software products in general and Microsoft Dynamics products in particular. So, why should you use e-learning, and what benefits can it bring to your organization?

• Theory and practice. Online courses allow students to gain theoretical knowledge and ground it in practice on the spot.
• Knowledge assessment. Assess your knowledge by answering online test questions.
• Interactivity. Software emulations enable the students to work with the program interface without installation.
• Flexibility. Learn any time you wish within the 3-month access period.
• Reasonable prices. Distance education for Microsoft Dynamics products costs less than offline classes.

Implement ERP Systems with E-Learning

These days, ERP systems develop so fast that it's hard to ensure that employees are properly trained on them. Traditional trainings are not sufficient, and that's why a new technology needs to be introduced.

Trainings:
http://www.speedteach.com/dynamics-nav-training.aspx
http://www.speedteach.com/dynamics-ax-training.aspx

When implementing Microsoft Dynamics products, namely ERP systems, most companies hire experienced professionals to do this job, which involves additional expenses. Instead of this you can use e-learning to train the specialists who are already employed in your company. When correctly integrated with ERP processes, a comprehensive e-learning solution makes it possible to increase knowledge and improve skills for both internal and external users of the system.

However, in no circumstances should you put the offline courses aside. E-learning solutions cannot completely substitute conventional classroom training, so you can effectively combine online and offline education for your specialists. For example, the theory can be taught traditionally, while the practical tasks can be done by the means of online trainings. Moreover, if someone of your employees need to conduct trainings on MS Dynamics software, he or she can effectively use e-learning courses to prepare beforehand.
Source: http://www.speedteach.com/

Crime Fighting Computer Systems and Databases

As crime globalizes, so does crime fighting. Mobsters, serial killers, and terrorists cross state lines and borders effortlessly, making use of the latest advances in mass media, public transportation, telecommunications, and computer networks. The police - there are 16,000 law enforcement agencies in the Unites States alone - is never very far behind.

Quotes from the official Web pages of some of these databases:

National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC)

Its mission is to combine investigative and operational support functions, research, and training in order to provide assistance, without charge, to federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies investigating unusual or repetitive violent crimes. The NCAVC also provides support through expertise and consultation in non-violent matters such as national security, corruption, and white-collar crime investigations.

It comprises the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center (CASMIRC), and Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP).

VICAP is a nationwide data information center designed to collect, collate, and analyze crimes of violence - specifically murder. It collates and analyzes the significant characteristics of all murders, and other violent offenses.

Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS)

A program within the Washington state's Attorney General's Office that tracks and investigates homicides and rapes.

Violent Crime Linkage System (ViCLAS)

Canada-wide computer system that assists specially trained investigators to identify serial crimes and criminals by focusing on the linkages that exist among crimes by the same offender. This system was developed by the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in the early 1990s.

UTAP, stands for The Utah Criminal Tracking and Analysis Project

Gathers experts from forensic science, crime scene analysis, psychiatry and other fields to screen unsolved cases for local law enforcement agencies.

International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) - Interpol's DNA Gateway

Provides for the transfer of profile data between two or more countries and for the comparison of profiles that conform to Interpol standards in a centralized database. Investigators can access the database via their Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) using Interpol's secure global police communications system, I-24/7.

Interpol's I-24/7

Global communication system to connect its member countries and provide them with user-friendly access to police information. Using this system, Interpol National Central Bureaus (NCBs) can search and cross-check data in a matter of seconds, with direct and immediate access to databases containing critical information (ASF Nominal database of international criminals, electronic notices, stolen motor vehicles, stolen/lost/counterfeit travel and ID documents, stolen works of art, payment cards, fingerprints and photographs, a terrorism watch list, a DNA database, disaster victim identification, international weapons tracking and trafficking in human beings-related information, etc).

Interpol Fingerprints

Provides information on the development and implementation of fingerprinting systems for the general public and international law enforcement entities.

Europol (European Union's criminal intelligence agency) Computer System (TECS)

Member States can directly input data into the information system in compliance with their national procedures, and Europol can directly input data supplied by non EU Member States and third bodies. Also provides analyses and indexing services.

Better Software Foundations

I visited the ruins of a Roman settlement, the other day that was set in a lovely valley in the middle of an island.

The setting was idyllic, sheltered from the winds and not too far from the main market town, it seemed an ideal spot to farm and bring up a family.

Its history was thoughtfully provided on signs around the ruins of a substantial dwelling, which had been expanded in Roman times to include a hot and cold bathroom and mosaic floors. All of this was very attractive and a considerable investment for the landowner. But the settlement was abandoned, and it occurred to me that there had to be a good reason since it was clear that someone had put a lot of effort and finance into their dream.

I wondered if Vikings, who were known to be active in this area after the Romans left, had attacked it but there were no signs of charred brick work or the aftermath of battle.

Looking around another sign revealed the problem. There had been more than one attempt to settle the area, but the land formed a natural point of drainage for the hills around, and successive buildings had each eventually succumbed to subsidence.

I was left in no doubt that the buildings were of a good quality and that the builders were competent at construction, but clearly it had taken a few generations to work out that this was not a suitable site for construction. If we really wanted to settle this place now we would drive piles deep into the ground to overcome the subsidence.

The point that this drove into my mind was that of developing software. It is all too often the case that Software development organizations and their customers make the same mistakes over again. If the foundations are shaky then there is no point in building, but with a little forethought someone will could solve the problem and provide a safe way of delivering a good foundation.

The biggest mistake that organizations make is to rush to cut code before they understand the problem they are solving. That doesn't mean you have to be complacent and that sitting around in a few meetings will solve all your problems.

What should be done is: -

Ring fence what you know.
Ring fence what you don't know.
Make sure you are developing the right product.
Build the software that you know will not change.
Check that what you are building is what is wanted.

Often the customer just doesn't know exactly what they want, so you need to involve them in the development process. The earlier they get to know the product then the more likely they are to buy into the solution.
Having said all of that..

Code should be built where it enhances the understanding of the problem both to the customer and the developer.

Causes of ERP Failures

ERP is the acronym of Enterprise Resource Planning. Multi-module ERP software integrates business activities across various functional departments, from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, to order tracking. ERP has transformed the way multi-billion dollar corporations conduct their businesses. Successful implementation of ERP systems could save tens of millions of dollars and increase employee satisfactions, customer satisfactions and sustain competitive advantages in every-changing marketplace. Corporate executives are often perplexed by the stories that how reputable corporations (Hershey Foods, etc.) have failed miserably and lost ten of millions of dollars in their ERP endures.

The failures of ERP projects are preventable if we can identify the common causes of the failures regardless the companies and industries that implement them.

An ERP system is the combination of ERP software, the business processes that the ERP transforms, the users of the ERP system, and the computer systems that run the ERP applications. The failures of a ERP project is often the result of the failures in one or more of those four components. The failures in computer systems (hardware and operating systems) are much easier to identify and to fix, so we'll examine the failures in software implementation, business process and user acceptance.

Failure of ERP Software Implementation

Module-based ERP software is the core of ERP systems. Most ERP projects involve significant amount of customizations. Packaged ERP software modules have built-in functionality that work in a standard and simplified enterprise environment. However, every organization is unique in data requirements and business processes. It is the customizations that transform packaged ERP software into ERP software that meets organizations' individual business processes and operations. Long and expensive customization efforts often result the pass of release deadline and budget overrun. Customizations may make the software more fragile and harder to maintain when it finally goes to production. Major changes may be required in the later stage of the implementation as a result of incomplete requirements and power struggles within organizations

The integration of ERP systems with the IT infrastructures also challenges ERP project teams. The use of appropriate implementation methodologies can often make or break a ERP project.

Failure of Accommodating Evolution of Business Processes

According to Anthony, R. A, business processes fall into three levels - strategic planning, management control and operational control. Organizations continuously realign their business processes of all levels in response to the ever-changing market environment. Many ERP systems aren't flexible enough to accommodate evolution of business processes. many ERP system need a major overhaul in every a couple of years.

Failure of User Acceptance

The users of ERP systems are employees of the organizations at all levels. ERP projects usually modify the company's business processes which create extra workload for employees who use them initially. They may not think that the workflow embedded in the software are better than the ones they currently use. Ongoing end-user involvement and training may ease the difficult in organization's adaptation of new systems and new business processes.

Computer Networking Fundamentals

A computer network is a collection of two or more computers with communication between them through a medium. The communication medium can be through radio waves, wires, infrared, optical fibers etc.

Computer network is an integral part of our daily lives, with the most important reason being that of communication. The use of computer networking is to share resources like fax machines, printers, modems, files etc., and its other uses are database server, computer server, email, chat, internet etc. The computer to which the resources are attached is called the server and the other computers that access the resource are called clients. In peer-to-peer computer networks there are no servers.

The sharing of fax machines, printers, and modems amongst many computers and users reduce the operational cost. A database on a computer network is a very important application as it stores and runs many important data and jobs. Emails and chats can be used for instantaneous communication and sending of files on a computer network.

The computer networks are classified, depending upon the size, as Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Personal Area Networks (PAN). The topology (topology is the way the computer networks and network resources are connected) of the networking can be classified as Bus Network, Ring Network and Star Network.

The networking hardware basically consists of wiring, network cards and a hub. Computer network cards are required so that one computer can understand what the other computer is “talking”. Network cards have a unique MAC address to identify computers on a computer network. Hubs connect all the computers in the network. Hubs can also be used to connect to other hubs to increase the size of the computer network. Two computers can be connected using Ethernet cards or phone lines or power lines for communication, with hardware kits available at roughly a cost of $100.

As the number of computers in an office or a home increases, so do the number of cables, so wireless networking is a viable solution. In wireless networking radio transreceivers or infrared signals are used to communicate between computers and devices. Examples of wireless networking include Wi-fi and Bluetooth technology, though there may be security issues involved in wireless networking. However there definitely is a stronger preference towards wireless networking nowadays among consumers.

Computer networks have added a new dimension to the 21st century. Today the cyber world is much faster and wider than the real world. This has all been made possible due to computer networks. Computer networks have revolutionized business, communication, travel, research, defense, society and almost all human endeavors. The evolution of computer networks has helped the technological revolution take a big leap forward.

Successful Implementation of CRM

Recently, a company spent $25 million in CRM system's execution.
The company has been one of the leading forest-products companies in the world but for the past several years, office products - pens, computers, desks etc., have comprised the largest segment of its annual sales.
One-third of the company's revenue is generated from its online business and because office product customers rely on flawless e-commerce site performance to help reduce their administrative overhead, competition within this sector is strong.

What Prompted The Company To Go For CRM?
Of late, the company's application server was failing to meet volume and performance expectations.

The web site was not integrated with customer account information, so clients with questions about order position or account balances flooded the call centers. The customers were demanding and each customer had different needs.

As the company was in B2B business, managers of the contracted company were primarily treated as customers. After a lot of discussion, the management decided to go for CRM to:

Implement electronic report delivery - to eliminate report production costs

Scalability - to manage the growth of users and reports

Ease of use - to respond in a timely and precise manner to all users, both inside and outside of the organisation.

The initiative was started to invest in CRM to strengthen the company's internal processes and also to provide customers with a greater economic value.


Roadmap To Implement CRM
The implementation was planned in a phased manner. During the design phase of the implementation, a cross-functional team was chalked out of business and IT managers.

This was done to ensure that the IT department had a comprehensive understanding of the business strategies and customer's needs. Different sets of requirements were made for different customer profiles.

How each individual client interacted with the organisation was given chief importance. It was concluded that there were primarily three areas where client interaction was most - customer service center, dispatch department and online portal.

This process helped the company to focus on specific technologies that would improve customer service and discard those that weren't right for the company's goals.

Consequently, the company bought individual software applications (instead of a complete end-to-end CRM system) for customer interaction and operation management and integrated them with the existing order-processing technologies.


Putting CRM Into Operation
Once all the building blocks were placed in order, it wasn't a difficult task for the IT department to implement the CRM system.

It was decided to apply the new technology to the two largest customer channels, phone and web and so it was paramount that both remain fully functional.

As the company had a huge client base, most of the production deployment was done over the weekend when there was less number of client calls and when there was less number of people accessing the company's web site.

The data migration was another step which was carved out with utmost importance because it required cleansing of the 2.2 million customer records from multiple disparate databases into a single customer profile database.


Mantra For Successful Implementation of CRM
The company was able to successfully implement CRM because much of its focus was on customer convenience.

It always maintained the sync between the business and IT departments, so as to ensure everyone was on the same page.

Vigilant and correct choice of CRM software was another major step that helped the company to move ahead with a smooth and successful implementation.

In the end, the company was rewarded with increased revenue, customer retention and positive feedback from all sectors - both in-house and out-house.

5 Tips For Buying Accounting Software

Whether you are shopping for accounting software to help budget your personal or business expenses, you may find that managing all of your files with a single program helps you to save time and know exactly where your money goes. If you are familiar with the accounting process, you already know how complicated ledgers, account statements, debits and credits can be. In an effort to simplify the accounting process, a number of manufacturers have created software specifically designed to help make your life a little easier.

Before deciding on any one particular accounting software program, keep the following tips in mind:

1. Because many popular online software specialty stores allow for product feedback from customers, you will have the opportunity to read reviews that may help to make your decision easier based on the experiences by others who have already used the accounting software in question. Pay close attention to customer reviews when shopping for software.
2. When you consider the purchase of any type of software, including that of accounting, you will want to make sure that it is compatible with your computer and that all PC requirements are met before purchasing the product. Many software programs require a specific type of processor, available memory, etc. In order for the software to function properly your computer will need to be able to handle all of the applications contained therein. By being familiar with your computer’s configuration, you will be able to make a better selection when it comes time to purchase your new accounting software.
3. When shopping for accounting software, read about the program’s description and capabilities. You will need to make sure that you are either already familiar with the application or that you will be comfortable in learning how to use it. The reason is because many retailers will not accept software that is being returned if it has already been opened. So, before you buy, consider downloading a trial version or purchase an accounting software program that you are already familiar with.
4. Purchase your accounting software from a company that has been in a business for awhile and one that has a good reputation. This will ensure prompt customer service, reliability, product assurance and a timely shipment. By purchasing software from a reliable and established business, you will also gain the peace of mind in knowing that the title is authentic and not an illegal copy. The most effective way of checking out a business’s reputation is through the Better Business Bureau.
5. Learn about the company’s return, refund and/or exchange policy. Although most retailers will not refund the purchase if software has been opened, they may be willing to exchange it for the exact title if the program is defective or damaged.