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June 30th, 2020 by Jessica Wert
![]() Don’t let your data go down a black hole. Keeping data clean and useful in CRM’s is usually a tough task for companies. You have multiple departments and users accessing and using the data. Simplesoft Solutions assigning someone at your company to be a Data Steward. Who are data stewards? Why do you need data stewards? What qualities should a data steward have? Related Blog Posts: Keeping Data Clean – Bulk Updates Follow the Keeping Data Clean series, subscribe to our blog
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton OH surrounding areas. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CRM (formerly Saleslogix). We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994. Comments Off on Keeping Data Clean – Infor CRM Data Steward
April 26th, 2016 by Janetta
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All of this work is very similar to a previous profile (see below) designed for the tasks involved with the work of a data scientist role. http://oceansofdata.org/our-work/profile-big-data-enabled-specialist The projected quantity of data is growing each year and the clique that data is “everywhere” in a sense is true. There is a strong need to promote data literacy and incorporate data-driven thinking into our daily lives. Our economy is increasingly defined by data as is our knowledge and skills for using it effectively. Our stakeholders and customers are demanding an increase in results that help make sense of the data in place. Simplesoft was pleased to be able to contribute to the larger picture by having a tenured consultant like Paul share his data expertise. Paul has a unique set of skills to lend to this project with his 20 years of data consulting expertise and his more recent experience teaching at the collegiate level. Paul was energized by his participation in this valuable work and commented, “It was a real honor to contribute to the work in the world of data and databases. Organizations of all kinds are looking for data to help them transform their business model and increase productivity. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this highly important discussion.” Simplesoft has highly skilled data specialists with a range of experience in system integration, business intelligence, CRM, and marketing automation tools. We are looking forward to seeing the finished work. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Simplesoft Contributes to Job Profile for Data Professionals
April 12th, 2016 by Janetta
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Paul will be joined by colleagues from the following schools: Bunker Hill Community College (MA), Normandale Community College (MN), Johnson County Community College (KS) and Sinclair Community College (OH). The other panels will help define big data careers and the qualifications needed per career such as certifications and degrees. The colleges can then determine the appropriate fit based on their regional employment needs. This work will allow the colleges to develop curriculum for their schools to match the career profiles developed. To read more about this project you can visit the ODI website. Paul reflected on this upcoming event, “It is very exciting to be involved in a project where my profession as a Senior Business Technology Consultant and my love for teaching collide. I have provided consulting expertise to customers both to improve their data quality and share the skills into those roles defined as Data Stewards and business administration. A project of this nature has tremendous value to our clients as they begin to hire data specialists trained through the college structure in the future.” We are looking forward to hearing the results of the conference and how the results will benefit our customers and our region through Sinclair Community College. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Paul Hansford Selected as Expert for Big Data Panel in Boston
February 9th, 2016 by Paul
![]() We are having trouble with remote client changes making it “to/from” the remote client during the Synchronization process. Do you have any suggestions for troubleshooting the process? Yes. Many times synchronization issues can be due to configuration settings or permissions. A good place to start is figuring out where the change files are breaking down and working to resolve from there. The following is a procedure for figuring out where the change files are failing to move properly. Sometimes an unexpected reboot of servers can cause issues. How to “follow the TEF” from remote to Synchronization server: Remote client Computer tasks ===================== 1. Start on the remote side and already synced up 2. Make sure the remote sync is off and set the Sync Options to not ‘Send changes’ 3. Have the remote create an account, let’s say ‘XYZ Corporation’ for generic tracking – Identify the AccountID on the Detail tab – confirm it is saved etc. (F5/Shift-F5) 4. Confirm the TEF file created and review in TRNVIEWER if needed 5. Confirm the size of the file and name and make a copy if needed. (Preferred) C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\SalesLogix\Sync\Outfiles C:\ProgramData\SalesLogix\Sync Main Office Computer tasks ===================== 6. Place the synchronization server service on pause or stop (Preferred) – Reset option to ‘Send changes’ on the Remote client 7. Synchronize the Remote client and send changes to the server 8. Confirm the TEF file transferred to the Infiles (FTP/Network) and review in TRNVIEWER if needed – Confirm the size of the file and name is the same and make a copy if needed – You can sort by sitecode with the file type to filter by the specific user 9. Cycle the synchronization server manually 10. Confirm/make sure that the new account gets to the host in the client application Find the Account and confirm the information by the AccountID on the Detail tab Synchronization Server tasks ===================== 11. Confirm that the Account is being sent to other remotes as appropriate (I.E. Team membership or Account Ownership) – One thought would be to run the synchronization manually and see the new account going to team members – An additional task would be to confirm the account on an additional remote client Remote client Computer tasks (Assuming the Account is received on the remote client) ===================== 12. Create an opportunity for the Account for number 3 step 13. Repeat the steps, for the following of the TEF files (Steps 6 through 10) 14. On the remote, make updates to the account and opportunity 15. Repeat the steps, for the following of the TEF files (Steps 6 through 10) – Use history actions, create activity changes, key fields etc. 16. On the remote, make a change to the Phone Number for the account and the Probability field on the Opportunity 17. Repeat the steps, for the following of the TEF files (Steps 6 through 10) Note: We are looking for symptoms where the TEF files are not being created, moved to another folder, (for example Rejected or Archived), TEF files with errors, sitecode issues, malformed TEF files etc., Keybase issues with a naming mismatch, or missing files waiting for sequence processing during a synchronization of service. All the settings need to be set back to the original settings after testing. — How to use the TEF Viewer ===================== Open SalesLogix Transaction Viewer (Default location is C:\ProgramFiles\SalesLogix\Trnviewer.exe) Log in as the Admin user Click the “Foldername” folder and click Open (you can filter to the specific user by choosing them from the bottom dropdown) Click the TEF in question and click Open Simplesoft can assist with this process by helping to analyze the TEF files with you. If you are requesting help from Simplesoft or Saleslogix/Infor CRM, you will need to compress the following files and send with your request: – syncerrors.txt and log file for the just completed sync from the Host server – syncerrors.txt and syncstatus.txt text files from the Remote client computer and any Saved TEFs on host (copy of them before they get processed) It takes some time to work through this list. Other testing can be performed as needed. “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on How to Follow a TEF for Synchronization Review
December 23rd, 2015 by Paul
![]() Its seems our indexupdates table is growing. What can be done? Although this is an older issue and now corrected, you should still monitor the table to make sure that the indexupdates table is cleaning up after itself. There are a few short steps for the potential resolution (the steps can be time consuming but they are not difficult) with SpeedSearch rebuilding. I have some standard disclaimers because Speedsearch is very heavy on the Disk I/O and needs to be performed off hours when users are not on the system. The steps below are easy but could take a long time to run depending on the amount of records in the database especially the history table.
Let’s review more details below ( I have a few more details than above): My Standard Disclaimers apply. ==========================================
Open up SQL Query analyzer, change the <Saleslogix Database Name>; to the name of your saleslogix database name and remove the <> characters and verify the following. The Infor CRM (Saleslogix) kb article had the table name singular, but I believe it is plural, so correct me if I am wrong. USE <Saleslogix Database Name>; GO SELECT COUNT(*) AS BeforeTruncateCount FROM sysdba.indexupdates; GO TRUNCATE TABLE sysdba.indexupdates; GO SELECT COUNT(*) AS AfterTruncateCount FROM sysdba.indexupdates; 5. Stop the speedsearch service 6. Go to the Saleslogix Speedsearch folder with the Speedsearch indexes Go to the SpeedSearch share folder as noted in the SpeedSearch configuration 7. Remove /backup the contents of each folder (Note: not the folders themselves) 8. Start the Saleslogix speedsearch service 9. Login to the administrator as admin user From the menu, Manage SpeedSearch Configurations Schedule tab Rebuild all the Full indexes Rebuild all the incremental indexes (this could take a while) 10. Test the results in the Saleslogix client/Web client or using SpeedSearch client in the network client. 11. Communicate the test results back to operations as needed. Going forward it is good practice to review and optimize the Speedsearch index schedules to confirm they are running at staggered times. E.g. not all running at 12:00 AM, 6:00 AM which is not optimal, but is the typical default. You may also have indexes running for areas that are not being used as well. Speedsearch is a great tool and works well, but needs to be monitored and optimized. Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. – Abraham Lincoln If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Saleslogix Speedsearch Truncate the IndexUpdates Table
October 16th, 2015 by Paul
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The term “big data” has been floating around for many years and creating a new era of data. We consult in the middle market with some customers on the verge the large end of the market definition and others in small end of the midmarket. Currently, we are not observing the “Big Data” business impact quite yet. However we believe there is potential for our customers to make strides in their operations with the data they have today. We closely watch the firms and industries in the enterprise tier, especially retail, finance, manufacturing and banking, to get a handle on the mega-trends heading to the midmarket (think social, virtual, cloud, mobile and the like). One such growing trend is called analytics and in particular business analytics. There are many different types of analytics and they fall along a path on a capability maturity ladder. This article will introduce some basic analytic terms, provide visuals for analytics maturity, and offer suggestions on how your company can prepare to utilize your systems to make gains before your competitors make the leap first, build up their capabilities, and leave you in the dust with smarter and faster decisions. First, here are the basic terms for analytics without taking into consideration emerging trends like cognitive analytics and robots etc. There is always something new.
Foresight is always better than hindsight. Companies are looking for a competitive advantage and are looking to get to the tipping point in markets faster.(The industry or focus is really irrelevant). Whether you are in the educational market, manufacturing, healthcare, service, retail, banking there is a competitive advantage in taking data and using it for decision making (in a faster smarter way). An interesting quote is, “We’re entering a new world in which data may be more important than software. –Tim O’Reilly” So data is growing and becoming more important to our value chain. Secondly, let us focus on how your organization can prepare for analytics and think through areas for experimentation. There needs to be a focus on data quality and data management. Once there is a proactive and reactive treatment utilizing data governance practices using information quality techniques, then there is a foundation for building on a “data platform” to leverage various levels of business intelligence/analytics. Then you need the right talent to help make sense of your data. Some of the objectives might be to detect trends, clusters, and outlier exceptions in data to various processes and operations to improve them (from data to decisions). The reasons for experimenting in various areas of business improvement would be increased revenue, increased profits, increased earnings per share, and increasing the operating margins for starters. Below are some Sales, Marketing, and customer service related areas for analytic experimentation and planning today:
Having data to help tune and shape your business makes sense. Working from a business model that is driven by data and positively impacting the bottom line can help improve decision making, bottom line results, and achieve better customer insights. In other words, the business drives the tools and not the other way around and the customer and finally the company wins the race to deliver value. “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Dayton/Cincinnati, OH | Charleston, WV | Charlotte, NC
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May 19th, 2015 by Paul
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Infor CRM is an incredible system that allows for customization flexibility and process management. However, if you unleash a system to users without any guidance or usage basics there will be consequences for storing all that mismanaged data. Through many unintended actions you will have created a hot data mess. A hot data mess can dramatically affect your bottom line in expected and unexpected ways. It is already a challenge when introducing a new system to users so make sure that you have put some thought into how you are launching and the process to make it more manageable.
How does an Infor CRM Administrator or an application Data Steward manage the expectations upfront and create a well-oiled machine (to prevent a nightmare on Elm St)? • Have a governance plan in place
• Identify a Data Steward
• Build a set of policies and procedures
• Configure the system tools
• Train to the usage procedures (initial, refresh, new employee)
• Monitor the results (using tools like KnowledgeSync, or data cleanup tools like DQ Global)
• Offer incentives for winning (keeping customers happy with high quality results)
With interactive systems, like CRM, we are constantly adding, removing, updating, and importing records. This is called Data Management and your company should have a plan in place to make sure the data changing is not causing the system usage issues. This will have a positive impact on acquisition of new customer as well as maintaining profitable relations with customers, partners, and vendors alike. If you find yourself unsure about where to start, we are encouraging our customers to start by identifying a Data Steward for each user group of CRM within their organization. The Data Steward can begin to define the data requirements for their user group and then work backwards to clean up what has gone astray. If you need assistance from Simplesoft, we have various levels of Data Cleanup Services. Data management does not have to be complex, but it does need governance and care. Taking care of data is one of the three pillars to CRM success that helps to support user adoption. CRMs are always pushing the limiting of technology and with platforms expanding (mobile, tablets and others) we must make sure the tools keep step with the users to enhance productivity. Good things will happen when CRM is put into place with users trained, processes documented, and a data maintenance plan in place.
“Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don’t worry…I’m here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you. -Charlie Brown to Snoopy”
— Charles M. Schulz
If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Bad Things Happen to Good CRM Systems When You Add Data – Prevent Data Nightmares
December 11th, 2014 by Paul
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Nine Practical Strategies for Data Management Data quality is one of the core pillars for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) success. It does not take long to realize when using a CRM tool, like Infor CRM, that the need for data quality management is paramount. The grueling pains of poor data management can range from the costs of inaccurate printing and returned mailings to the subtle troubles of users not trusting the data like they should. The effectiveness of customer facing operations (sales, marketing, and support) depends on having clean data. Think of the implications of marketing to customers using inaccurate data and sending them a prospecting letter (maybe you have lived it). The costly mistakes speak for themselves. Research studies from the Data Warehousing Institute suggest it only takes about four and a half years for a database to become ninety-eight percent “bad” if data is not managed properly, and regularly. On-going T.L.C (Tender Loving Care) will keep the data constant, but changes that occur with records when customers move, marry, divorce, pass away, go out of business, etc., render them obsolete quickly. Users can become skeptical of the data and resort to deploying their own data repositories. Of course, no one plans to use a tool where the data is outdated and not trusted. So, what can an Infor CRM Administrator or Data Steward do to ensure high quality data? Strategies for Data Success First, establish the processes and tools to prevent inaccuracies. Tip: We have found it helpful to develop a document to define user policies and procedures to establish data standards. Define the policies and procedures for managing change early before the system is deployed and communicate those policies to the end users of the system. Clean up existing data inaccuracies (if they exist). Our customers find it helpful to use a data survey checklist that helps you think about areas of review. Review critical data suppliers and entry points. Insist they provide accurate and current data. Especially important before importing data with G.I.G.O. (Garbage In, Garbage Out) in mind. Build in data accuracy by enforcing required fields and pick lists. Also, use scripting to enforce business rules whenever possible. Tip: Focus on the most important data first, especially for mailing and reporting. I am sure you have observed a state field with OH, Oh., OH., Ohio, OH-IO and other variations. This scenario can be easily prevented. Don’t be seduced by the promise of CRM data cleanup tools without a plan for prevention, too. There is no substitute for preventing errors at the source. Tip: You can enforce both clean up and prevention at the same time with QGate’s Paribus and PowerEntry utility. Select specific software tools to solve specific problems rather than general tools for general problems. The Groups features is an easy-to-use built-in tool in Infor CRM. Tip: There are many built in tools and methods to manage data so spend the time or work with your channel partner to learn them all. Assign a data steward (or trustee) to be responsible for each data element (Contacts, Accounts, pricing information, etc.). Typically, this role is the business process administrator; whereas the power user role manages the data and both should have strong executive support. Establish a process through which the accuracy and quality of data in all systems can be reviewed and assured on a reoccurring basis. Schedule regular tasks to review and clean up data, such as on a weekly or monthly basis. The data steward/administrator should be held accountable for completing those tasks. In the case of multiple systems using the same data, identify a system of “official record”. That is, a system in which data will originate and “feed” other systems that require the data (accounting and sales integration come to mind). Identify Data Quality Issues in Infor CRM Infor CRM administrators can create administrative Account / Contact / Opportunity Groups for various data segmentation such as missing required fields, duplication of data, and data that needs to be reviewed because the records have not been updated or reviewed, within a specified period of time, such as a six months or a year, for example. Infor CRM also includes tools to mass ‘swap’ the content of fields, change values, and merge records. As a standard procedure, first complete the actions in a test environment to verify the steps and desired results. After verifying, perform the steps in your production system. Tip: Always backup a production database before making mass changes and complete during non-working hours. You also may want to use the built in “user fields” to mark which records are changing, this will simplify an otherwise irreversible change and provide a temporary audit. Cleaning Data Using Infor CRM There are some basic built-in tools for managing and de-duplicating data in Infor CRM, which can be supplemented with and enhanced by third-party tools, such as QGate’s Paribus and several other data management solutions. Nevertheless, a data management strategy, as outlined above, is required. Some of the data de-duplication tools available in Infor CRM include: Administrative Groups – groups can be created to help administrators identify and cleanup data issues such as missing data or duplicate data Check for Duplicates Wizard – an automated method of finding and eliminating data duplicates Merging Records Manually – a simple method of merging two or more records from the Group view Increasing the reliability of CRM data within an organization is priceless. Avoiding costly mistakes such as targeting a current customer as a new prospect is critical. Now is a great time to review and clean your Infor CRM data. Remember to review and clean existing data, clean the data being entered, and prevent the current data from becoming “stale”. Managing data quality is an ever moving target and must be a part of your overall system management strategy. Data helps solve problems. — Anne Wojcicki If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Users Group Events.
Dayton/Cincinnati, OH | Charleston, WV | Charlotte, NC
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October 23rd, 2014 by Paul
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Data does not have to be perfect all the time, but does need to be fit for use in your sales operations cycles. Even if your CRM platform is backed up, updated, and managed on your behalf, your data management is an area that needs to be maintained and included in your CRM strategies. A CRM tool is the central repository for the lifeblood of your business – sales. When your business is using your CRM tools (Mobile, Web, Social etc) well then it becomes a tool where dashboards, data lists, reports, become a way to help your teams win the heart of your customers. What is clean high quality data? The top five characteristics of high quality data are: Accurate, Complete, Consistent, Unique, and Timely. These items can all be addressed with a system usage guide (user policy document) to ensure that everyone knows what is expected. Data are of high quality if “they are fit for their intended uses in operations, decision making and planning.” (J. M. Juran) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_quality Practical Steps to help your situation
We’re entering a new world in which data may be more important than software. Tim O’Reilly If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Five Characteristics of Quality CRM Data and Practical Steps to Get Back on Track
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