CallCenterTechs

I’ve closed the poll we ran last week where we asked folks what CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software they used in their office. We got about 50 votes in the poll. A couple of folks mentioned that they had multiple offices and therefore they used multiple solutions but I didn’t allow that as an option in the poll.

Here’s a breakdown of the votes we got…

26% – ACT!
14% – SugarCRM
08% – Goldmine
06% – Amtelco CMI
04% – vTiger
04% – Salesforce.com
38% – Other

Those folks who voted for ‘Other’ mentioned solutions such as…

Outlook, Quickbase, freeCRM, Right Now, Zen Desk, Infusion Soft, custom made internal solutions, paper based and even “none at all”.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote and look for some more polls after the holidays.

We recently had a discussion on the CallCenterTechs email list about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software solutions so I wanted to find out which solutions are being used by folks.

Here is a link to an excellent article from Microsoft Office Outlook Team Blog with some ideas about how to better use Outlook 2007. The article also contains links to additional tips as well. Well worth a read even if you don’t use Outlook 2007 since some of the tips apply to any email/organizer program you may use.

Best Practices for Outlook 2007
http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook/archive/2009/11/12/best-practices-for-outlook-2007.aspx

You may have heard about Google Wave which is a new collaboration service from Google that’s currently in “limited preview” but should be available to everyone in the near future.

This service has the potential to replace email as the primary way that groups of people communicate and work together. Doesn’t matter whether your group has 3 people or 300 people. This service/concept could be used by a group of friends, co-workers or a mixture of employees and clients. The possibilities are almost endless.

There is a very lengthy (over 80 minutes long) official video available here that talks about everything this new service can do. However, I suspect that most people don’t have the time or patience to watch that one. So here are some much more concise resources (videos and articles) to help you learn about this new service.

First up is a two minute video that gives you a very brief idea of the concept of this service…





Hopefully that video piqued your interest. If so, we have an eight minute video done by two members of the Google Wave team. It gives some excellent visual demos of how the service works and how it could be used. They use a couple of technical buzzwords like API (Application Programing Interface) and UI (User Interface) but for the most part this video is safe for even non-techies…





Next up is an article from Mashable that gives you an overview of the service and describes some of the components. It does get a little technical in some spots. However, there are also a few links to other Google Wave articles and resources if you want to learn more on your own…


Google Wave: A Complete Guide
http://mashable.com/2009/05/28/google-wave-guide/


Finally we have an article from Lifehacker. They had asked their readers for ideas on how they might use Google Wave if they could get an invitation to try the service. The article lists several real world examples of how it could benefit a group of people so you might find these scenarios helpful in seeing how you and/or your staff could use the service…


Google Wave’s Best Use Cases
http://lifehacker.com/5381219/google-waves-best-use-cases


Hopefully those videos and articles helped to give you a better understanding of Google Wave and whether or not you should care about it.

If you’d like to try the service for yourself you should fill out the form at the link below to request an invitation to the service…

https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/

Technical folks will be very familiar with the concept and benefits of a wiki. However, wikis can be used by many business folks too so here are a couple of resources that help you learn about wikis.

Our first item is a brief article entitled “A Small Business Guide to Wikis”. Nothing too deep but a good start…

http://mashable.com/2009/10/04/business-wikis-guide/

Next up is another excellent video from the folks at Common Craft. They offer several helpful videos in their “… in Plain English” video series. Here’s their video on wikis…

Interesting read on the topic of whether you should regularly drain your laptop battery.

Unplug Your Laptop Regularly (When In Doubt)

A friend replaced her laptop’s battery after only two years because it wouldn’t hold a charge. I suggested she shouldn’t keep her laptop always plugged in, but I wondered—was this outdated geek lore, rendered obsolete by modern batteries? Yes and no. It depends, of course, on what kind of battery you have.

http://lifehacker.com/5364784/unplug-your-laptop-regularly-when-in-doubt

With Windows 7 scheduled to be released on October 22nd folks are starting to wonder if they should plan to upgrade their existing PCs or not. This article from PC World gives you some thoughts on that topic.

Your Best XP-to-Windows 7 Upgrade Path: Buy a New PC

Microsoft’s leaders really, really want you to forget about Vista and move right on to Windows 7. And who can blame them? Vista was a train wreck. No one who knows what they’re doing runs Vista, not even the Microsoft faithful. Windows 7, on the other hand, is a worthwhile desktop operating system. There’s only one little problem. There’s no good way to get from XP to 7.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/172072/upgrade_xp_windows_7.html

Here is a link to an article from HowToGeek.com entitled “How Does Spyware, Malware or Crapware Get on My Computer?”.

This article gives some good ‘how to avoid problems’ advice and it also gives you some more details on how all these types of problems can happen.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/2998/how-does-spyware-malware-or-crapware-get-on-my-computer/

PC Magazine has a good article entitled “How to Choose the Best Web Browser” which offers reviews of the most recent releases of each program.

How to Choose the Best Web Browser

Today’s Web browsers are faster and more feature-rich than ever before. If you’re not sure which one you should use, our look at the most popular options will help prep you for prime surfing.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2350275,00.asp

Microsoft is releasing a new comprehensive security software package and these articles take a closer look at what they’ve done so far.

First Look: Microsoft Security Essentials

The beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials, a free program that fights viruses and spyware, is now available for download. The app, previously code-named Morro, replaces Windows Live OneCare and fights the usual rogues’ gallery of PC threats, including worms, Trojans, and other troublemakers.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/167246/Microsoft_Free_Security_App_What_You_Need_to_Know.html

Microsoft Security Essentials: The First Test Results Are In

The biggest question on everyone’s minds with regard to Microsoft Security Essentials is how well it can detect and remove malware. The early returns are in, and Microsoft Security Essentials performed well overall in initial malware detection testing provided to PC World by AV-test.org.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/167325/ms_security_essentials_first_test_results.html