SMBs have a new
way to add time to their
businesses
By Michael Jenkin, Senior Engineer
Copyworld,
Australia
It is an unfortunate fact of life that all races, all
nations, colours and creeds are working harder. We are finding less time to
allocate to our work tasks or private lives. Small business owners are
trying to do more and achieve more goals in a comparatively less amount of time,
than those business that were run by people of the last
generation.
As Small Business Server installers or users (Or both),
we know how effective a great piece of software can be in managing resources and
achieving the needed results. Microsoft give us great tools to enable us and a
great platform for others to build on. One such tool is About:Time™ for Small Business Server by eOptimize.
This builds on Microsoft Small Business Server very
successfully.
Building on a solid
foundation
Microsoft Small Business Server Premium is fantastic. A product that uses
so effectively many features of this Microsoft suite is just as fantastic and
visionary. Scheduling resources in Microsoft Outlook and using Public Shared
Folders works well for smaller companies with smaller management
issues but there are limits to this unless you start your own modifications to
the product.
Myself, previously being a Microsoft Outlook forms developer, working
with VBA and Exchange for some time, I appreciate that modifying Microsoft
Outlook takes time and care. This is time we would rather spend bringing in
money to make our company or a clients company viable. About:Time have done
this for you. The eOptimize product makes very effective use of Microsoft
Outlook, Microsoft .Net, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft IIS, Microsoft SQL server
and many other items included in Microsoft Small Business Server. The tool is
fully extended to allow web access to the information and as easy to use as
Microsoft Outlook Web Access. The opportunities to move remote
users into a world of Remote Web Workplace, Microsoft SharePoint with
About:Time and endless and will mean complete web access to the company
and resources.
About:Time has so many great features that there is not enough
space here to document them all. For a complete list please refer to http://www.eoptimize.com/smallbiz.asp .
I believe that their best feature is their support. I have tested this on
numerous occasions and had very accurate answers delivered in a very short time
frame. There is nothing that speaks better about a product than the support in
place to assist the SMB user.
Just to list some of the
features
- Automated scheduling
- Workflow Management
- Appointment Lists
- Various Filters
- Ease of Management
- Activity Cataloging
- Very in-depth Resource
Management
- Interoperability (Multiple languages
etc)
- Collaboration
- Reporting and interaction with 3rd Party report
engines
- High Security
With About:time in place you will know where you are
meant to be, you can judge timelines more accurately, you can check on the
availability of resources at a glance and allocate items at a click of a
button.
Management
Adding users and controlling their permissions is now a
simple task. A web based interface provides a simple intuitive view into the
inner workings of About:Time. Adding resources, changing activities and
other manual changes you would normally make in Microsoft Outlook
Scheduling, are simple with About:Time.
Installation
Here is where
the SMB consultant will turn their clients server turn into a super
schedule machine. This is where the consultant is relevant. This product
requires someone with a reasonable background to be able to install it. That is
unless ..... you read the manual. The manual (Indeed manuals) are fantastic.
They are thorough and helpful. They display step by step instructions and help
instil the faith that eOptimize will be with you all the way until the
product is
commissioned.
The eOptimise
About:Time product has a trial version available. Stop wasting time, download
About:Time and try it for yourself.
BEST PRACTICE:
If you can allocate and manage your time, you can have time for your family
and things that excite you. Try to allocate your time and balance your life.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Michael Jenkin has over 12 years of experience in
Information Technology. His main focus is the SMB market and Microsoft Small
Business Server area. His actions in community based projects have helped
him gain the annual award for Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional,
Microsoft's Windows Server Systems - Small Business Server). Michael has worked
with many non-profit organizations and has only just started writing
articles to help share the knowledge.
Most
recently he has been invited to accept an award at Government house,
Adelaide, Australia for his input with Information Technology for the
Australian Scouts movement.
Michael is an active member of the SBS community both
online and at user
groups.