harmony · coming years. focus on customers new automatic technologies australia (ata) has been...
TRANSCRIPT
inHARMONY AUGUST 2013
In this edition:
New Harmony Feature
Support Focus
New WinPOS Feature
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AUGUST 2013
Are you in the business of being social? What mechanisms do you use to
engage with customers and staff? Our feature article this month discusses the
benefits of engaging with customers and staff in a broader social arena by
utilizing any number of social tools available today. It also warns us about the
risk of creating an engagement gap if you choose the wrong approach.
Without engagement, organisations run the risk of losing customers and
employees. Without engagement, the influence of brands will continue to
decline. Recent studies claim that “engaged customers are three times more
likely to recommend or advocate a product or service to a friend.” There is
mounting evidence pointing to greater business value and strategic
differentiation emanating from improved engagement. So as technology is
enabling a shift from transactions to engagement, it’s important to avoid
haphazardly designed approaches to customer engagement.
I read recently that in the past decade, more than 40% of the companies in the
Fortune 500 list, have been replaced by new companies and upstarts. The
pace and change has hastened and there is visible impact of how disruptive
technologies impact business models.
In the mid-90s Clayton Christensen coined the phrase disruptive technologies
in his book called the Innovator’s Dilemma. Christensen defines disruptive
technology as any product or service that is designed for a new set of
customers. The problem is that disruptive innovation can hurt successful, well
managed companies that have a formidable track-record in responsive
customer service and a strong R&D culture.
Charles Fine warned us that we live in an age of temporary advantage, and
that industries with very rapid evolutionary rates can be examined for
information that will benefit businesses of all kinds. “The greatest rewards go
to the companies that can anticipate, time after time, which capabilities are
worth investing in and which should be outsourced, which should be cultivated
and which should be discarded, and which will be the levers of value-chain
control and which will be controlled by others.”
FBS is knee deep in the innovation process, leveraging thirty years of industry
experience and formidable talent to continually change the look and
performance of our products and services.
Managing Director's Note
Engagement is more than a promise
“It’s important
to avoid
haphazardly
designed
approaches to
customer
engagement.”
Mark Silver
Managing Director
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AUGUST 2013
The backing up of Harmony data has historically been
performed via a tape drive connected to the server.
Whilst this is still an adequate method of backup,
customers are now increasing the amount of data that
they are backing up. In addition to Harmony data,
common drives, user directories, and images directories
are often required to be backed up.
In recent years it has become increasingly popular to
perform these backups to a partition on the Harmony
server or to an external Hard Drive using a file based
backup system. This negates the need for a tape drive
and of course the tapes that go with it. A major benefit of
the file based backup method is that multiple backups
can be kept at any one time, e.g. the last seven days of
backups, the last 12 end of months, or previous years’
backups.
This solution is dependent on the availability of space on
expensive server hard drives. An alternate and preferred
solution for large file backups, is to use external hard
drives, which offer reliability and are relatively
inexpensive.
The QNAP TS-569 Pro model has become our favoured
model for performing these necessary backups.
The QNAP TS-569 Pro is a 5-bay, all-in-one NAS server
with exceptional performance that can meet the storage
requirements of modern SMB IT environments. Features
include, secure cross-platform file sharing for Windows®,
Mac®, and Linux/UNIX users, an iSCSI/ IP-SAN storage
combo solution and a number of versatile, value-added
business applications. With a well-rounded set of backup
solutions integrated in the QNAP TS-569 Pro, critical
business information can be safely protected against
unexpected data loss. The QNAP TS-569 Pro is also an
ideal shared storage solution for virtualized and clustered
environments, via VMware®Ready™and
Citrix®Ready™certification, and a proven compatibility
with Microsoft®Hyper-V environments.
The intuitive MyCloudNAS service simplifies the process of
publishing content residing on the Turbo NAS over the
Internet and helps users create a private cloud in just a
few simple steps. The mobile app QMobile provides iOS or
Android mobile device users with a convenient way to
access the Turbo NAS live, on the go.
Courtesy www.qnap.com
Couple the QNAP TS-569 Pro with 5 SATA or SSD Hard
Drives, to obtain multiple terabytes of data storage. This
device also comes with 1Gb RAM which is expandable up
to 3Gb, 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports and an Atom Dual Core
processor. Finally, there are 7 USB ports, 2 of which are
USB 3.0. This is extremely important as data transfer to a
3.5” external Hard Drive in order to take backups offsite
can now be performed incredibly quickly.
For further details on how file based backups or the
QNAP TS-569 Pro can help your organisation, please
don’t hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
Qnap TS-569
Focus on Hardware
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AUGUST 2013
Focus on Support
End of Month Rollovers Let FBS bring Harmony back to your life
If you answered YES to any of these questions then the
following Extended Support Service that FBS is now
offering will be of interest to you….
The Harmony End of Month rollover process can take
numerous hours to complete whilst system data is backed
up and restored into an EOM login and the final rollover
process is done. The process needs to be performed in
single user mode and as such, needs to be undertaken on
weekends or after hours. This can be an inconvenient and
costly exercise for your company.
FBS is excited to offer our valued clients a new EOM/EOY
Rollover service where a member of our trained and
experienced support staff can perform these tedious but
imperative duties on your behalf.
The service will include the following:
Backup your LIVE Data
Restore this data into one EOM directory of your choice
Rollover your subsidiary ledgers which include:
Debtors
Creditors
Inventory
Payroll
Fixed Assets
Note: It is important to note that the service does not
include or cover any reconciliation work. It is imperative
that reconciliation of subsidiary ledgers be completed
prior to the commencement of the EOM Rollover process.
The service is charged on a monthly basis at a fixed cost
where the price will differ from client to client based on
the size of your data and the number of subsidiary ledgers
that need to be rolled over.
In order to work out what your fixed cost will be, FBS will
perform the first month’s EOM Rollover free of charge.
This will enable our support staff to ascertain how long
this process will take to complete.
If you are interested in this new offer or would like more
information, please do not hesitate to contact your
Account Manager.
Do you have staff coming into work early in the morning, working late at night or spending
hours of their precious weekends each month to perform the Harmony End of Month Roll
over?
Are you paying staff over time to work these extra hours to perform the Harmony End of
Month Roll over?
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AUGUST 2013
Bell & Barnett was founded in 2009 and quickly established itself as a reputable men’s fashion and formal wear retailer
and wholesaler on the Melbourne scene. With Bell & Barnett’s high quality yet affordable tailored suits, fashion and
outerwear makes a lasting impression without breaking the bank.
Bell & Barnett’s aim is not only to make the modern day
gentleman look good, but to allow a reflection of ones personality through their attire. With an extensive range of
clothing including classic-modern business wear, elegant evening wear and relaxed fashion, the customer has the
choice of what type of impression they would like to make.
Since implementing the Harmony Business Solution, Bell & Barnett have quickly been able to utilise it to execute strategic
expansion plans and open 3 additional stores with relative ease. They also utilise the extensive warehousing capabilities
to replenish their 9 stores and handle wholesale ordering.
Bell & Barnett is one of our latest customers to opt for a cloud based solution to save on the hassles of
maintaining a server. FBS would like to wish Bell & Barnett
continued success and growth over the coming years.
Focus on Customers
NEW CUSTOMER
Automatic Technologies Australia (ATA) has been using Harmony for 20 years. ATA is a world leading innovator, designer and manufacturer of garage door, gate, and commercial opener products, plus related electronic, radio frequency and remote control systems.
Being in business since the 80s, ATA grew rapidly through their innovations and dedication to quality. By the early 90s they realized the need for a robust and reliable system that would facilitate their business to grow at that rapid pace. In 1993, Future Business Systems came in to assist and Harmony was implemented at ATA.
Over the years, FBS have made many modifications and customisations to the system at ATA, to successfully cater for their business requirements driven by their innovative nature. It has been a long standing partnership between the two organizations and we look forward to an equally successful future.
FROM THE VAULT
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A As technology changes the customer experience and
increases their appetite for more social engagement,
businesses risk creating an engagement gap if they choose
the wrong media to communicate their message. To tackle
the problem head-on, forward thinking organisations are
focusing their social resources and attention on three
critical areas, aimed at creating highly valued customer
experiences, namely, listening and engaging, building
communities and shifting toward sales and support.
Focus on Communication
The Business of Being Social
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Focus on Communication
Listening and Engaging.
Today, many more companies recognize the value of interacting with customers in social spaces. For example, TD
Bank, one of North America’s largest retail banks, with a workforce of more than 86,000 employees, extended their
customer service dialogue into the social arena. Using Twitter and other social platforms they listen, reach out and
respond to customers in real-time. With a team comprising of 25 dedicated specialists across North America they
monitor and engage in real-time, seven days a week, 18 hours a day. TD Bank further integrated this capability within
its contact centres and its overall customer support strategy. The interactions range from inquiries and questions
about products and services, to day-to-day banking and problem resolution.
Social business provides multiple paths to your constituents
Method of Engagement Social Capabilities Benefits
Providing answers Provide self-service and agent-based support via social platforms when and how customers want to be connected.
Improved response time; greater data capture; higher customer satisfaction.
Mining conversations Capture and analyse conversations to determine customer sentiment, purchasing preferences and overall market trends.
More effective marketing resource allocation; increased revenue opportunities.
Crowdsourcing insights Customize products and services using online social tools and allow other customers to rank and review new designs.
Identify new offerings and trends with market potential.
Influencing influencers Work with individuals with significant followers to obtain unique insights and gain mindshare.
Unearth emerging trends and increase word of mouth promotion/sales.
Source Material: IBM Institute for Business Value
Building Communities.
More business-to-business companies are exploiting platform-based communities, such as those found on Facebook
and LinkedIn. This strategy extends their reach beyond hosting private communities on their websites. The objective
is to imbue wider dialogue among customers and between customers and the organization. Customer communities
are becoming an integral part of their service strategy. They acquire deeper insight that leads to unique solutions
delivered in less time.
The success of these communities is generally determined by the existence of the following work activities and
underlying capabilities;
Overarching governance to oversee the community’s operation.
Achieving a critical mass of external participants.
The ability to react quickly to opportunities and challenges presented by customers, while seizing upon new business
opportunities.
Shifting toward Sales and Service.
Social business has been elevated beyond mere promotional activity. It participates in the entire customer lifecycle,
from lead generation to post-sales services. Providing customer support through social channels will become more
and more prominent with organisations incorporating social platforms into their larger customer relationship
management strategies. The challenge will be to elevate an organisation above and beyond the traditional
communication strategies.
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Stages of creating valued customer experiences
Basic Leading Edge Future
Engage with individuals and groups
Develop organization-wide, cross-functional approach to listening and responding to customers.
Integrate insights from customer conversations with purchase and usage data to innovate and personalize offerings.
Design customised ‘‘storefronts’’ that are aggregated from different retailers using social information.
Build communities Pay attention to existing customer communities sponsored by outsiders.
Initiate, host and nurture customer communities to build engagement and learn from customers.
Incorporate communities into core organizational processes, e.g. sales, support, product innovation.
Shift toward sales and service
Identify the areas of the value chain where customers are looking to interact via social channels.
Develop a social media strategy that integrates relevant components of marketing, sales and service.
Fuse the external company brand with the internal corporate culture to create a consistent customer experience
Source Material: IBM Institute for Business Value
Social Approaches to Workforce Productivity
Social approaches are equally effective when embedded into the daily activities of any organisation. The proliferation
of business activities into the global arena inevitably creates situations where information and competencies are
strewn across large distances and quite often unconnected and disparate. The ability to share knowledge and
participate in problem solving within global enterprises often helps address local market conditions and improve cost,
quality and delivery expectations. The cornerstone of this idea is to enable collaborative spaces for employees to
engage in extensive discussions, share ideas and resources.
Stages of using social to drive workforce productivity and effectiveness
Basic Leading Edge Future
Increase transparency and velocity
Create an infrastructure that allows employees to set up collaborative spaces and individual profiles.
Integrate collaborative tools in day-to-day work activities, projects and processes.
Mine social interactions to identify influence leaders and understand future trends.
Find and build expertise
Apply social tools to important learning initiatives.
Incorporate gaming capabilities and simulations into relevant work and learning streams.
Deliver insights derived from social data to individuals at the point of need.
Coordinate beyond boundaries
Use social techniques to identify areas of improvement from suppliers and intermediaries.
Apply crowdsourcing techniques to augment the organization’s processes and skills.
Incorporate social data to augment cross organizational processes and activities.
Source Material: IBM Institute for Business Value
A Fresh Approach to Innovation
Twenty-first century innovation is being fuelled by many ideas acquired beyond company boundaries. By utilising
social platforms new ideas have the opportunity to be created and adopted quickly. The merit of this social
engagement will largely depend on the eagerness of business leaders to act on these opportunities, or risk losing the
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AUGUST 2013
Study how your
customers are using or
taking advantage of your
product or service. It’s
important to heed what Peter
Drucker famously said, “The
customer rarely buys what
the business thinks it sells
him.”
Be aware of alternative
offerings to your
existing product or
service available to
customers. Ensure you
understand what substitutes
are currently available in the
market.
Identify or discover
compensating
behaviours. It’s
important to uncover what
jobs people are satisfying
poorly or products they
desperately need.
Identify what people are
trying to accomplish
and what real needs
they have. Then identify
how your products or
services are fulfilling their
expectations.
attention of these external communities. Innovation hotbeds have been in vogue for many years now and with
forward thinking organisations deriving great benefits from these satellite entities.
Next Step
It’s important for any organisation to realise the power of social business tools in engaging in extended dialogue with
customers, employees, business partners and key stakeholders. The potential to leverage shared resources, skills and
knowledge can provide a competitive advantage. So the next step is to decide what social tools you will adopt to
enhance your customer’s experience, extend the boundaries of internal and external collaboration and then how to
turn these ideas and insights into action plans.
RETHINKING THE DESIGN OF YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN There are no signs to suggest that in the short-term, offshore sourcing of products is likely to decline. Low
cost supply chains are not only compelling business propositions but in most cases the only option
available. The problem is that inevitably these widely dispersed low-cost supply chains lead to
organisational vulnerability due to protectionist governments, rising transportation costs and quality
problems. In order to prevent this problem from occurring organisations are taking steps to make their
supply chains shorter, simpler and stronger. This has the effect of reducing the distance within their
production networks to better manage their exposure.
Focus on Communication
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AUGUST 2013
Forced Password
Change
Due to the proliferation of hacking and identity theft worldwide, administrators of every computerised business system are struggling to get their users to choose a complex password that is hard to guess. Not to mention, an even harder task trying to convince the users to change their passwords periodically.
Harmony keeps a substantial log of user activities once logged in. When data changes unexpectedly, it is often possible to determine who made those changes based on the Harmony username. But if your username is your first name in uppercase and your password is exactly the same, anyone in your organization can log in as you, and assume all your rights and permissions.
We encourage all Harmony users to choose a complex password that is a combination of letters and numbers. Some examples of easily guessed passwords are your own name or
that of a child or spouse, date of birth, car registration, and pet’s names.
To take things to the next level of best practice, Harmony now has the ability to periodically force a password change. This feature is highly configurable. Some of the settings are
Exempted users / groups - users and user groups can be marked as exempt from having to change passwords. For example, a user or user group with very limited system access may not be required to change their passwords;
Ability to choose the number of days before a user will have to change the password, e.g. 7 days, 30 days, 180 days;
Ability to prompt the user about the impending password change, as well as the number of days prior to the enforced password change that the prompt would appear. For example,
you can set it up so that the system will start prompting 3 days before the user will have to change their password;
Ability to set the minimum and/or maximum length of the password (up to 8 characters);
Ability to force a minimum number of digits and/or characters that must be part of the password;
Ability to prevent the use of the same password for a specific period of time, e.g. specify that the same password can’t be re-used for 6 months after it has expired;
Ability to limit user access to Harmony via Harmony Desktop only. No ODBC access will be allowed for the specified user or group; Ability to limit access to Harmony via ODBC only, preventing user or group access via Harmony desktop.
If you are interested in implementing any of the above features, please contact your account manager.
Two very simple questions:
Is your Harmony password the same as your Harmony username? when was the last time you changed your password?
When we ask our Harmony users these questions, the most common answers are:
yes, and Never.
New Harmony Feature
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AUGUST 2013
New WinPOS Feature
In today’s digitally driven
world, access to customer
information is more
important than ever.
FBS has developed a Customer
Profile report to assist retail staff in
delivering a more personalised
shopping experience for customers.
Harnessing the functionality within
WinPOS to collect, sort and
summarise customers’ buying habits,
shop floor staff will be able to better
meet the demand for personalised
service, where smart product
recommendations become part of
your core offering
The report can be sorted by shop,
product category, season, date
range. It can be viewed as a
summarised report or retrieved as a
story board of items the customer
has purchased during a selected
period.
As retail staff may not be familiar
with all product codes and
descriptions, having a visual story
board is an invaluable aid, allowing
them to suggest to the customer
items that my compliment their
previous purchases.
Customer Profile Report