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June 29, 2007
Online CRM & ERP Product Planning
Based on some client requests I'm going to use this blog entry to shed a bit more light on our product planning process. I'll speak at a very high level about our dev and release process and then provide a bit of vision toward what's coming next.
Our software development methodology is a fairly mature process and quite systemic, however, not really different than most other credible software manufacturers. At a high level, our development methodology is based on the Microsoft development framework, insists upon several internal architectural guidelines, imposes disciplined use of industry standard technologies (with biggest focus on SOA, XML and web services) and results in point releases approximately monthly and new versions about every 12 to 18 months.
The online CRM software suite currently has underway several concurrent projects in the areas of new development, development enhancements and performance optimization. New development projects which are now in or near beta testing include a new mobile/PDA wireless solution, a new CRM report writer, a new data warehouse and OLAP product suite and several new functions to existing software components (such as adding a new Scorecard Qualification module to SFA - Opportunity Management). There are other new development projects underway as well, however, so I don't set any inappropriate expectations, I'll defer their recognition until they are at or near beta testing. A performance optimization project being led by our Chief Architect (Wayne) and generating a lot of excitement is the creation of an extremely optimized application delivery data broker. This optimization effort effectively inserts bits into VIEW columns so that large or complex Navigator Views can be rendered into a user's browser very quickly. For example, if you chose to customize your CRM Navigator View with many columns and/or columns which join multiple pages and database tables, this data broker will eliminate much of the time required to assemble the data by caching the view column bits in a dynamic fashion within application server memory. The net effect is to eliminate or reduce the database query transport time and render the user's Navigator view instantaneously. I expect this capability to make many of our power users very happy.
The online ERP and accounting software also advances in terms of new development, enhanced development and performance optimization. New development which is in or near beta includes updated internationalization capabilities (improved European date formatting, increased use of Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable VAT and GST controls, and a slew of new multi-currency and other standard reports). The next production update will also include improved time entry automation utilities (e.g. one-click option to migrate professional services or consultant time and expense entry to customer invoices based on rules). From an enhancement perspective, scalability is being extended to better accommodate clients who have master lists (e.g. vendors, customers, chart of accounts, etc.) in the tens of thousands (instead of just the thousands). There are several other exciting development projects underway, however, I'll save my early release blog comments until they reach the point of beta testing.
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Posted by Chuck Schaeffer on June 29, 2007 in CRM software, ERP software
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