CRM UK - the official blog of the CRM specialists at TSG

Changes to the Microsoft Partner Programme – TSG Gets Gold Competencies in Server Platforms, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Portals and Collaboration!

Over the past couple of years, Microsoft has made some major changes to its partner program. Accredited Microsoft Business Partners used to be categorised by Gold, Certified and general tiers. Partners were awarded certification on a points-based system, and working with a Microsoft Gold Partner gave you the assurance that the partner was qualified, experienced and trusted by Microsoft to deliver its products and services.

As the network of Microsoft Partners expanded across the world and the experience and expertise of its business partners grew, there became a lot of partners certified to the highest level (Gold). So from a client’s point of view, with quite a few Gold Certified Partners around, how could you differentiate between them? If you’re looking at an ERP solution such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV for example, and you have three or four local partners , each certified to Gold and offering that product and related services, how do you tell which is more suited in terms of specific qualifications, technical expertise, product experience and business knowledge?

This is one of the reasons Microsoft revamped the way it certifies its partners. Microsoft has now replaced its Gold, Certified and general accreditation partner rating system with a more specific and more stringent competency-based programme. Microsoft Business Partners are now accredited as Gold or Silver in a specific competency area or areas. They are no longer accredited as Certified or Gold Certified as a company.

The phased out partnership programme was pretty general and although it served a purpose for a long time (this is the first time the programme has had a major overhaul in many years), the business environment has moved on.

Although at first glance these changes may seem subtle, they’re actually of real significance to Microsoft Business Partners. They’re also, more importantly, of major significance to businesses and organisations that are clients of, or are considering working with Microsoft Business Partners. It’s arguably the biggest change to Microsoft’s partner channel that the software company has ever made.

From a business partner’s point of view, the programme is tougher, there’s no getting away from it. But it makes sense. You’ll now be able to find a Microsoft Business Partner that is specifically certified to the business area you’re looking at and to a level of expertise you require. The more stringent and focussed accreditations provide a much higher level of assurance, reliability and business expertise to clients and potential clients.

Under the old partner programme, both TSG and Concentrix (now part of the TSG group) were Microsoft Gold Certified Partners. In case you haven’t seen it yet, TSG recently published a press release announcing how we achieved not one but three Gold Microsoft Competencies. So already, TSG is a UK Microsoft Partner with Gold Competencies in Server Platforms, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Portals and Collaboration.

As a company TSG is really proud that we’re among only one per cent of the 650,000 Microsoft Partners worldwide good enough to achieve this standard. To earn a Microsoft Gold Competency, organisations have to complete a rigorous set of tests to prove their level of technology expertise, have the right number of Microsoft Certified Professionals, submit customer references and demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction by participating in an annual survey.

This quote from TSG’s Chief Executive Officer David Stonehouse sums up the pride he has in TSG’s very capable employees,

“As the highest level of accreditation Microsoft offers its partners we are extremely proud of these achievements, especially as it’s a reflection of the hugely talented team here at TSG and I can’t praise them enough, our people really are our strength.

This was a very challenging process, with significant investment, Microsoft raised the bar last year by introducing their new competencies strategy, allowing for some differentiation of core capabilities within the Partner Network.

So to achieve recognition as one of the Microsoft Partners considered to be worthy of Gold Competency really is the icing on the cake and our customers can now have even greater confidence that their Gold Accredited Partner can deliver sound IT solutions".

For more information about the full range of TSG’s products and services or our formal accreditations and qualifications, please visit www.tsg.com or contact your TSG account manager.

What Do You Think about IT Teaching in England’s Schools?

As one of the UK’s leading suppliers of IT products and services, TSG employs some of the very best IT professionals in the industry. But, despite the current economic climate, it’s not always easy to find the really good people we need. That’s one of the reasons we invest a lot in staff training, including our own Graduate Training programme.

The recent announcement by the UK government that it’s replacing the current information and communications technology (ICT) curriculum in England’s schools with a more flexible curriculum in computer science and programming, has started a lot of discussion within our business.

Nearly everyone has to use IT these days: it’s part of everyday life. As well as teaching children and young people to use IT, we also have to ensure we nurture the ones that have a natural affinity for computing. These will be the people that are able to develop programmes, create new applications and move IT forward in the future.

Graham Wylie, Chairman and founder of TSG, was recently interviewed live on BBC Radio Newcastle about this subject. You can hear the full interview with Graham on BBC Newcastle’s iPlayer listen again facility at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7cc. It’s for the programme recorded on 11/1/2012, and Graham’s interview starts at 0:36:41. Please note this link is time sensitive.

What do you think about IT teaching in England’s schools? If you have any thoughts or comments, please let us know! Or to find out more about the current IT vacancies and opportunities at TSG, please get in touch!

Find Out About Microsoft SharePoint at TSG’s Free Events in the Midlands

Microsoft SharePoint is Microsoft’s fastest growing business software solution. But finding out just what it does and how it can benefit your business is not always straightforward. That’s why in February 2012 TSG is holding free SharePoint events in the Midlands.

Microsoft SharePoint is a highly flexible business collaboration platform which delivers solutions for a massive range of business requirements, no matter how unique your business processes are.

SharePoint allows your staff to share ideas and expertise, search for information and increase the efficiency of a wide range of processes. You can use SharePoint to set up websites to share information, manage documentation and gain access to business intelligence – improving decision making across your entire organization.

If you’re considering Microsoft SharePoint for a future project or looking to build on or expand your current SharePoint set up, then February’s Microsoft SharePoint events will be well worth attending. Taking place in Birmingham and Kettering the events provide your business with the ideal opportunity to understand SharePoint, learn more about its features and benefits, and show you why SharePoint is the business software everyone’s talking about!

These free events are taking place on the 8th February 2012 in Solihull and on the 9th February 2012 in Kettering. Both events are divided in to different morning and afternoon sessions. You’re welcome to join us for both sessions or just to attend one, and lunch and refreshments are included. Pre booking is essential, so please use the following links to register:

Moning Session: Introduction to the Benefits of SharePoint

Afternoon session: Improving Information and Business efficiency with SharePoint

TSG recently ran several similar events in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Durham and Manchester which were quickly booked up. The events also received great feedback, so to avoid disappointment please register your place as soon as possible.

The Real Reasons UK Businesses are Moving to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, the cloud-based version of this leading CRM solution, is rapidly establishing itself as a key player in the cloud CRM market. Considering it was only released in January, here at Concentrix we’re seeing a high level of interest in the product from new and existing clients alike. We already have a number of new clients that signed up for the thirty-day free trial of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and thought the product was great. They've now incorporated the software into their business strategy and have it actively up, running and delivering productivity and efficiency gains for them.

Cloud-based CRM software is a great choice for businesses that have limited in-house IT resources or don’t want to manage their own hardware and IT infrastructure. There’s usually little or no financial outlay for new computers or equipment, and you just pay a monthly fee per user. In this way you make your CRM system an operational cost rather than capital expenditure.

Once businesses have decided to go down the cloud CRM route, they’re choosing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online because it’s easy to use, it has a familiar look and feel, it’s quick to get up and running and you don’t need to be a technical expert to understand it. It’s also possible to migrate from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to the on-premise version of the product Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. The features and functions of the online and on-premise versions of the product are almost identical, and the ability to migrate between the two deployment options is probably unique in the world of CRM software.

As well as its great features, functionality and flexibility, the price of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and some of the current offers around it are key reasons behind its rapid up take among UK organisations.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is available in the UK for just £22.75 per user per month. That price compares extremely favourably with other cloud-based CRM software applications. In June 2011, the price will increase, but not by much (it will still be less than £30 per user per month). The introductory pricing, combined with its power and ease of use, has been enough to convince many companies that Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is the right choice for their business.

In addition to the competitive pricing, back in December 2010 Microsoft published an open letter from Michael Park, the company’s corporate vice president of sales, marketing and operations for Microsoft Business Solutions. In this letter Microsoft announced its “Cloud CRM for Less” offer for Salesforce.com and Oracle customers. This offer is still running. So, for organisations with a minimum of 15 users (and that meet some other basic criteria), Microsoft will give you cash back for each user that makes the switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online between now and June 30, 2011. It’s not a small amount of cash either; it’s £134 per user. So, for example, if you switch 30 seats, you get over £4000 back. And you can spend that money on anything you like (there are no restrictions).

Here’s some more news to help get you started with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. If your company is a small business, Microsoft recently announced it’s offering the free trial of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online extended to 90 days from the usual 30 days. The aim is to help small businesses develop and manage their customer relationships and sales pipeline. This extension of the 30-day trial is worth £370, and part of Microsoft’s initiative to help StartUp Britain. StartUp Britain has been set up by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs to help enterprises in the UK, and has the full support of the current UK Prime Minister and HM Government.

For more information about Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online or On-premise, and the full range of services available from Concentrix, please visit www.concentrix.co.uk or contact us.

Concentrix Offer: 25% Discount on GFI Endpoint Security

Purchase GFI EndPointSecurity this quarter from Concentrix and we’ll give you 25 percent off list price.*

In the current economic climate, the theft of business-sensitive and confidential information by employees is emerging as a real threat to companies. With redundancies being made across all sectors along with rising job insecurity, more and more employees are using the confidential information they have gathered with their current employer.

GFI EndPointSecurity offers these business benefits:

- Prevent data leaks and theft by comprehensively controlling access to portable storage devices with minimal administrative effort

- Prevent introduction of malicious and other unauthorised software to the network

- Gives administrators greater control – you can block devices by class, file extensions, physical port or device ID

- Allows administrators to grant temporary device or port access for a stipulated timeframe

- Support for 32 & 64 bit platforms: Including Windows Vista and latest RC of Windows Server 2008.

To take advantage of this offer, or for more information, please email [email protected]  or call 01509 410 500

*This offer is for UK customers only. Offer applies for new GFI EndPointSecurity purchases only (not additional user purchases, upgrades, etc) and is applicable until September 30, 2009.

Choosing between Sage 50 and Sage 200 software

Sage 50 is one of the most popular accounts software solutions in the UK. The Sage 200 suite is a fully integrated business management suite, offering a wide range of benefits. But how do you choose between Sage 50 and Sage 200, know when to move from one to the other, or stay with your current application?

This article provides a comparison of the two solutions, with 10 points to help you decide which is the best solution for your business.

A recent survey by Concentrix found that Sage 50 (previously known as Sage Line 50) is one of the most popular accounting solutions in the UK. The product is aimed at small to medium sized businesses, and some of the reasons behind its popularity are that it has a good reputation (it's been around a long time), it does most of the things a small or medium business could want it to do, it's easy to use and fairly priced. However, depending on your precise business requirements Sage 50 can have limitations. Users sometimes wish it could do more, or do certain tasks a bit more efficiently.

The next product in the Sage business management software range is the Sage 200 suite. Sage 200 is a fully integrated business management solution for mid-sized businesses, which brings together all the key processes of a business.

So, if you're considering Sage mid-market business management software, which do you choose? Sage 50 of Sage 200? How do you know when to move from one to the other, or stay with your current application?

Well, it depends on your business requirements. If your business has grown, or you're finding Sage 50 restricting, it may be time to look at the Sage 200 Business Management suite. But then again, it could be overkill if your requirements are pretty straightforward.

So, you need to compare both solutions. Here's a comparison of the two software packages to help you choose between them, with 10 points to help you make that decision:

1) Number Of Users Past, Present and Future

Sage 50 is based on a proprietary Sage database. This limits the number of users and the amount of data the software can store. Sage recommends up to 6 users with Sage 50 (although there are examples of many more using it successfully). The database also locks - restricting users from the same activity at the same time. Sage 200 is based on Microsoft SQL Server database which has been tested with up to 50 users. So, if you have, or are likely to have, more than six users, you should use Sage 200.

2) Number of Transactions

The Sage 50 database has a limited number of transactions it can hold without archiving them (about 100,000 transactions). This means it often archives data which could be valuable in reports. It also means that Sage 50 users running the system near to its transaction limit often complain of slowness and data corruption. However, the Sage 200 database doesn't have a transaction limit, so if you're finding Sage 50 slow or you know you're looking at medium to high transaction levels, you need to consider Sage 200.

3) Transactions and Foreign Currencies

Sage 50 offers limited foreign currency functions. If you process frequent foreign currency transactions, you'll find the Sage 200 functionality far more efficient than Sage 50, and far more user-friendly. For example, with Sage 200 you can pay, receive or invoice in any currency. Unlike Sage 50, you don't need a separate bank account for each foreign currency to support each trading currency.

4) Reporting, Analysis and Business Intelligence

Reporting, analysing business performance, trend analysis and anomaly spotting is, much quicker, easier and enables more depth in Sage 200 compared with Sage 50. For example, Sage 200 offers powerful drill downs across each module. It gives easy access to data and also allows you to create your own profit and loss reports. However if the standard reporting functionality with Sage 200 isn't powerful enough for you, the Sage 200 Business Intelligence module offers even deeper, more flexible analysis.

5) Open and Closed Accounting Periods

Sage 200 allows open and closed accounting periods. Period lengths are definable and can be closed individually by Sales, Purchase, Nominal, Stock and Cashbook. By comparison, Sage 50 only works on open periods, which can lead to users waiting to post transactions at month end. It could also lead to inaccurate reporting because transactions may be posted to open periods after management reports have been run.

6) Cost Centres and Departments

Sage 50 offers a single level nominal ledger structure. This keeps things simple, but in comparison with Sage 200 only enables a limited analysis of income and expenditure. Sage 200 supports cost centres and departments which allows analysis of income and expenditure by multi levels within the chart of accounts.

7 ) Multiple Warehousing

You can set up stock items using Sage 50, but only record one stock holding value against each stock item. Sage 200 supports multiple warehouses and can attach them against stock items. Using Sage 200 means that warehouses can be two level, allowing bins and racking shelves to be recorded within the warehouse.

8) Batch Numbers and Serial Numbers

Sage 50 does not allow recording of batch or serial numbers. If your business processes needs to, or would benefit from working with batch or serial numbers, Sage 200 enables full batch or serial number recording and allocation. This is a great advantage for stock traceability. It also enables you to record by or use by dates.

9) Sales Order Processing

Sage 200 increases efficiency, accuracy and convenience of sales order processing compared with Sage 50. Sage 200 records sales orders automatically, and enables back to back purchase orders that can either be delivered directly to the client or into stock and immediately allocated.

10) Prices and Discounts

If you have a variety of pricing, say for different target markets or customers, or similarly different discounting schemes, you may find Sage 50 limiting. Compare this with Sage 200, which has a price matrix within the Sage 200 Commercials module. This allows you to easily manage prices and discounts throughout your customer base, using either price banded or discount-based pricing (or a combination of both) and applying them to groups of customers.

So, Sage 50 or Sage 200 - to Move (or Not to Move)? This comparison of Sage 50 and Sage 200 should give you an idea which of the products is right for your business. If you need further guidance, software demonstrations or any other information, don't hesitate to contact Concentrix.

Concentrix is a UK business management solutions provider, and a fully accredited Sage Partner. Formed in 1999, Concentrix specialises in products including Sage 50, Sage 200, Sage CRM and provides a full range of related services. Concentrix also provides a comprehensive range of CRM, business management solutions, IT infrastructure and hardware from other key providers including Microsoft, FrontRange and HP.

New Concentrix Whitepaper on AccountingWEB

AccountingWEB.co.uk is the one of the UK's main online information sources and community for accountants in business and practice.

This week, Concentrix customers that subscribe to AccountingWEB's IT newsletter may have noticed that one of the latest whitepapers from Concentrix, "Improving effectivenes with integrated Finance and CRM software" is available for download from AccountingWEB.co.uk.

Whether or not you're a subscriber to AccountingWEB's weekly e-bulletins (which are free), you can download the whitepaper from their website here. Alternatively, email [email protected].

CRM: where it is, where it’s going and how to get it right

CXO Europe is a popular business management journal written by executives for executives. It has an extensive circulation, and is published on-line as well as in traditional hardcopy magazine format. Read by senior management across Europe, the aim of the publication is to deliver a well balanced educational resource that serves as an essential tool for decision makers in the alignment of IT and business.

 

As leading UK independent CRM specialists, Concentrix is pleased to have been asked to contribute an article for the December edition of the on-line publication. The article, “CRM: where it is, where it’s going and how to get it right” discusses current CRM technology, the market, developments and trends. It’s an in-depth article and as well as discussing the current CRM market, it looks at how CRM technology is evolving. This includes integrated business management software, visual data analysis and whether the ‘one-size fits all’ CRM model will continue.

 

Please take a look at the article and feel free to post your comments and feedback here. Or if you would like to discuss CRM direct with a specialist, please contact Concentrix.