ACCELERATOR Smart service business news / Autumn 2009
PlanMill solutions make visions reality
GETTING OUT OF RECESSION WITH SAAS Head in the clouds, feet firmly on the ground 2
PlanMill Chosen to Support Centris AG 3
12.0 is here!
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Ahead of Cloud Computing! The IT world has been raving about Cloud Computing for some time. IT companies make references to their heavenly new offering which incorporates the acknowledged benefits through this apparently new phenomenon. What does it really mean and should you be aware of its effects to your business?
Thomas Hood CEO & Partner
Generically speaking, we are talking about a style of computing which is dynamically scalable with virtualized resources provided as a service over the Internet. Users don’t need the expertise in or control over the technology infrastructure in the ”cloud” that supports them. Cloud computing ser vices usually provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers. This all sounds wonderful and yet, to us in PlanMill, also so familiar. Cloud computing concept incorporates infrastructure as a software as a service (SaaS) as well as other recent technology advantages that have the common theme of reliance on the Internet
for satisfying the computing needs of the users. This is what we already provide our clients. It is not just a buzzword and something to look forward to in the future. Whether your needs are small and local or large and global, PlanMill enables you to enjoy the latest best practices as well as the new editions. PlanMill’s service business solutions don’t operate in clouds. They are at your service already right now and inside your business accelerating your success. You can keep your visions alive, but still your feet firmly in the ground. SaaS is available to you today. PlanMIll 12.0 RELEASE IS HERE: We are pleased to announce the arrival of our 12.0 release accompanied by the SMART product family. The clear and concise focus on your business needs has lead our development at every step. The options and features are available as you need to apply them. You can read more in this newsletter and from our website.
PlanMill Solutions - a Smart Way for your business to grow! PSA and ERP solutions for service businesses. Our solutions help to improve the control of customer relationships, projects and business processes, which in turn improves the productivity and profitability of PlanMill’s customer companies.
thomas.hood@planmill.com
PlanMill has introduced user-friendly, cost effective and quickly implemented CRM, Project, PSA and ERP solutions, both in English, Finnish, and in German, to the market in Software as a Service form.
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PlanMill SaaS - Software as a Service solutions
www.itpro.co.uk / June, 2009
SaaS gives SMEs the power to ride out the recession Software as a service (SaaS) could be the panacea for smaller business, according to research published in ITPro. Investing more in software as a service (SaaS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) could help smaller businesses lower their operating costs and help them grow in spite of the recession. According to the report, recession-hit SMEs put limitations on IT spending in an attempt to reduce costs, with 19 per cent making little or no investment in IT for two to three years. However, the removal of many costs by moving to Saas
and ERP allow SMEs to now focus purely on business without the burden of IT, and less down time obviously equates to increased productivity. “Many SMEs have already made a move towards leveraging external IT expertise for support, maintenance, and advice. Making the move to SaaS is the next logical step,” said Andrew Watkinson, managing director at Ardent Solutions. SAAS STILL UNKNOWN n Today, many SMEs face huge disadvantages by not having adequate IT resources in place to support the running of everyday tech 2
operations. The report also suggests that many businesses simply cannot afford their hardware expenditure, with 43 per cent of them opting to postpone such investments. “SaaS is gradually beginning to filter down into business as a concept,” said Redshift Research’s managing director. However, the fact that 30 per cent of SMEs are unsure what SaaS actually is Jonathan Dawkins, a senior consultant at Ardent, added: “It is vital that SMEs embrace alternative methods of not only keeping up with the changing face of technology, but staying ahead of it.
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Swiss Centris AG chooses PlanMill PSA SaaS solution Centris AG chose a web-based PSA SaaS solution (Professional Services Automation) from Finnish company PlanMill to support its growing service business in Switzerland.
Patrick Progin CEO, Centris AG
According to Centris CEO Patrick Progin, the company had an urgent need to find a new project management system that would be up and running quickly to support the biggest healthcare insurance rollout project in Centris’ 60 year history. The old system, used by 150 – 200 people, consists of multiple solutions such as time tracking in MS Excel, planning in MS Project and a separate billing system. PlanMill CEO Thomas Hood explains that Centris needed to bring together all project information relating to a big rollout project in one easy to use, integrated solution, which could be accessed by everybody working on the project – employees and external partners alike. All the information would also be stored, enabling it to be reused in the planning of future rollout projects. The main modules provided by PlanMill are portfolio and project management, work schedules, tasks & assignments, ac-
tions, change requests management, time tracking including vacation planning, realtime indicators and finance & billing information. TIME MANAGEMENT AND BILLING n During progress meetings the PlanMill system can be used in real-time for tasks such as managing actions and change requests. With different groups using the system, having project information up-todate and available in real-time means less administrative work; it improves project management efficiency and brings both financial and environmental savings. The next stage will see Centris extend the use 3
of the PlanMill system into time management and billing, when the system will be seamlessly integrated with their Swiss billing software. The SaaS (Software as a Service) solution also offers the advantage of being available 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world. PlanMill carries the responsibility for the maintenance and updating of the system. Thomas Hood summarises: “Working with Centris has given us an opportunity to develop PlanMill to cater specifically to the service models and business requirements within their sector.” www.centrisag.ch
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Grow your business more and more!
12.0 is here! The latest release 12.0 arrives with several new options available for its users (Absences, E-Invoice, Import, Timer & Open API), as well as features and enhancements along with major usability improvements. These will allow you to work in a completely new, enjoyable way. Get a glimpse here of the new arrival and get inspired!
PERSONALIZE YOUR WORKSPACE The PlanMill 12.0 allows you to design your own workspace in a fresh new way. Whilst giving you the necessary support for current settings, it will give you tools to customize content and lay-out. With its drag and drop frames your workspace will be the as you desire it to be. PlanMill Workspace will from now on work only for you following your requirements!
REMOVE CLUTTER FROM YOUR WORKSPACE New at My indicators category: P My open requests this week P My open tasks this week P My open actions this week P My open opportunities New at Finance category: P Invoice & backlog analysis by quarter New at Projects category: P Projects (execution), TOP 5 by forecasted profit New for the Workspace: P Pick only favorite indicators to your Workspace
TIMER
KEEP TRACK OF TIME REPORTS
This will truly make your work routines easier. With the timer you control your reporting by starting, stopping and re-starting a timer. You will find it useful for real-time recording of daily tasks which often are left without accurate reporting. You can select the task for the timer recordings later or change a task for several recordings.
With the Time List, see all your time reports in one view, and even personalize the list for your requirements. Additionally, you can report time using actual clock values i.e. instead of reporting 3 hours, you report that you started at 8:00 a.m. and finished at 11:00 a.m.
PlanMill 12.0 in a Nutshell The release 12.0 includes several new options, features and enhancements as well as major usability improvements. New Workspace allows you to personalize your workspace to fit your needs.
New PlanMill options • Absences - Plan, schedule, track, calculate and get statistics for vacations and leaves • E-Invoice - One click away! • Timer - Easy way to track time! • Import - Import data from Excel files, CRM systems, Contact Managers etc. • Open API - Connect your own applications
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PROJECTS
Tasks/Performers tab (pr –function adds all team m task performers. You may as performers to a task w
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roject space): Add project team members from project team as y also add only team members with existing performer.
Freedom with E-Invoice PlanMill E-Invoice solution has arrived and is now available to our clients. The new service is specifically suitable for small and medium-sized companies enabling them to move into e-billing smoothly. This new cost-effective solution has been developed together with Basware Plc and is seamlessly integrated into PlanMill’s Saas-based solutions, such as Project, PSA and ERP products. ”With E-Invoice you can improve your billing process with better timetables thus increasing customer satisfaction. You can also reach thousands of partners through one platform - ecologically and not depending on network”, explains Thomas Hood from PlanMill. PlanMill E-Invoice -service handles invoices electronically and transmits them to either electronic invoice management system or to printing service (according to clients choice). E-Invoice (includes Basware Business Transactions) is a monitored service which ensures that e-invoices have been delivered to multiple suppliers and clients through one service platform fast and safely. E-Invoice can include photos and images similarily to paper invoice. E-Invoice is also VAT-compatible and you can add your electronic signature to it in order to safeguard its integrity.
BENEFITS OF PLANMILL E-INVOICE n Fast transmission Faster payment timetables No printing and posting expenses Client service improves Manual operations decreases Electronic archiving With printing service the whole invoicing can be managed electronically Creates competitive advantages
PlanMill Absence This new module for workplace absences has the potential to change your company’s HR culture entirely. Its possibilities in workplace management have been hailed already prior its release. The basic function is to manage the workflow for requesting and accepting absences (Similar to Expenses). Additionally it will perform the Annual holiday calculation (Finnish annual holiday law is implemented by default) based on the absence entries into the system. Its abilities stretch even further into importing and exporting data with HR systems.
PlanMill Open API PlanMill now offers application developers and customers open API (application programming interface) free of charge to enable information exchange between various business applications and PlanMill (R11.5 or higher). Application Developers are offered an up-todate documentation of the information content (modules, fields, lists of values). PlanMill customers who wish to use the interface, should contact PlanMill support.
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EKLEKTI Finland improves its Business Flow Management with PSA
näkyvy minen köisen media
EKLEKTI Finland Oy is a typical, busy marketing and communications specialist with various projects going through its creative and operational processes. EKLEKTI Finland operates in a fast expanding, networking business environment which requires effective management and tracking. “We are in the business of providing tangible advantages to our clients, quickly and efficiently. At the same time we need to maintain our standards of quality and added value for the end-customer. This needs to be done profitably and within timetables”, sums up EKLEKTI Finland’s Communications Strategist, MD, Berit Virtanen-Thewlis. “After testing other systems we quickly came to the conclusion that the PlanMill internet-based PSA solution would suit us best. Its features allow us to glance quickly over entire operations from finance to
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project management, and that is truly wonderful,” says Virtanen-Thewlis.
and ensuring quality and flexibility. “We can already see how the benefits brought by the PSA system can be transferred to our clients in quality and in price,” explains Virtanen-Thewlis.
Vaikuttavaa ja oikeahintaista markkinointia ja viestintää
HIGH EXPECTATIONS n EKLEKTI Finland sees the new PSA solution as being of key importance in maintaining
www.eklektifinland.fi
Digim
dynaam sivut, v uutiski kampa
Stronger and faster together
Osaamisemme brändi-, yritys- ja tuoteidentiteettien FC Lahtikattaa and PlanMill!
Kons
strategisen ja visuaalisen suunnittelun sekä markkinoinnin ja Aviestinnän leading Finnish football club FCniin Lahtiperinteisessä Oy (Ltd) and PlanMill (Ltd) have recently sigsuunnittelun kuinOy digitaalisesned a sponsorship agreement for two years. osana sakin Liiketoimintaan konsultointi”In FCmediassa. Lahti’s operating principles we perehtyvä see many similarities to ours.jaIt is an uncompromising and ambitious, and palvelujamme most of all, a professional koulutustoiminta täydentää ja antaa organisation syvem- with ja asiak high quality requirements”, says managing director Thomas Hood from PlanMill Oy. kehittä män näkymän yrityksesi todellisiin tavoitteisiin ja tarpeisiin. FC Lahti competes in the highest level of championship football league of Finland, Veik- nän su
Rafael Pires Vieira is PlanMill’s designated player in FC Lahti.
kausliiga. The league not only has a strong following amongst football lovers in Finland, but it also is one of the most developed media channel. With its professional organisation it provides clubs and companies alike effective platform for sports related marketing and publicity. www.fclahti.fi
EKLEKTI Finland Oy
Soita1 |tänään PlanMill Ltd | Westendintie FI-02160 Espoo | info@planmill.com | Pyynikintie www.planmill.com 25 Y 14 040 5114460 33230 Tampere PlanMill Ltd develops real-time, web-based CRM, Project, ACCELERATOR is our customer and interest Magazine production: info@eklektifinland.fi niin sovitaan PSA and ERP Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for servgroup magazine, which is also available on our EKLEKTI Finland Ltd tapaaminen! ice businesses. Our solutions help to improve the control website. Please feel free to share your thoughts Palmrothintie 2, www.eklektifinland.fi of customer relationships, projects and business processes, which in turn accelerates the productivity and profitability of PlanMill’s customer companies.
and comments on the content and the format of the magazine.
FI-33950 Pirkkala, Finland www.eklektifinland.fi
WEB-BASED CRM, PROJECT, PSA AND ERP SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SaaS) SOLUTIONS FOR SERVICE BUSINESSES
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