Leveraging the Internet for Improved Productivity

By Newt Barrett

Part One: Information Management Tools with PC Roots

We’ll tackle the use of new tools that leverage the Internet in two parts. First, we’ll explore software products that have evolved from roots as contact manager/information manager roots in a PC-centric universe and now include varying degrees of Web functionality. They are designed to improve productivity for ourselves, our workgroup, our company and well beyond. In a separate article, we’ll examine a new generation of tools that were born on the web and go so far as to recreate a virtual office environment wherever you are. In each case, these products are harbingers of an exciting new era of organizational tools.

Traditional Tools Webified

Organization has always been an essential executive skill. In the good old days, if we lacked organizational skills, we searched for a loyal administrative assistant who would make us look like a managerial genius. In corporate life, there was a corps of able assistants who did the organizing for us and for our colleagues.

Today we have fewer dedicated assistants, more to do, and less time in which to do it. Moreover, as geographic boundaries expand to include collaborators in other towns and other states, we require an increased level of coordination. Finally, our clients and prospects demand a higher level of performance at every stage of a business transaction.

Most of us use either a paper-based system such as DayTimer or Franklin Planner, an organizer/contact management software product such as ACT, Outlook or Goldmine. We may mix and match paper and computer tools as Franklin and ACT permit. We may be part of a group with a central database of shared client information and group calendars.

Too often the information we need is missing when we need it — or, worse, when our colleagues need it. Happily, a new generation of capabilities has evolved that put the Internet to work at productivity improvement. It’s worth noting that just two years ago when we examined this category of products, integration with the Internet was both less complete and less promising.

The near term reality of the Internet is that most of us will have high speed, always on connectivity at home or work—and the ability to connect wirelessly from any remote location. As a result, we’ll begin to think of the Internet as a natural and essential extension of our office environment. That new reality is driving the functionality of the next generation of Information Managers.

Important Internet Components

Meaningful Internet integration involves several components that provide bi-directional communication and information access to and from the web. This is true both for what we need for ourselves and what we want to share. Not every good product includes every Internet capability. Here are the important ones:

• Integrated email tied to contact information
• Ability to capture and link to information on the Internet from the information manager
• Integration with handheld devices that are now or will soon be Internet-enabled
• Online contact management/calendaring functions
• Online business resources customized to our needs
• Sharing of information with anyone anywhere

Home, Home on the ‘Net

Today’s best information managers share an ability to manage one’s contacts and activities well, although there are different shades of capability. Some focus on personal task/project management, while others emphasize contact or customer relationship management (the new buzz acronym, CRM). Others concentrate on sales automation. But those that integrate Internet functionality most effectively will be the ultimate survivors. We’ll examine three worthy exemplars: ACT 2000, Goldmine 5.0, and Franklin Planner 7.1.

Each product has a slightly different mission. Each has also adapted differently to the possibilities of the Internet.

Goldmine 5.0

General

Goldmine has always been a powerful and flexible tool designed for networks from the get go. But earlier versions made some tasks too daunting for many users. Unbelievably, Goldmine 5.0 adds both power and ease of use. Among the highlights:

• This latest version makes mail merge both simpler and richer with lots of templates for letters, faxes and email.
• It has improved its powerful InfoCenter tool that enables sharing of all kinds of business data among company users.
• It has added a literature fulfillment center to make sending out brochures, data sheets and price lists a no brainer.

Goldmine 5.0 on the Net

Several features stand out: Email and a customer information capture feature. In the Goldmine tradition, both are sophisticated and powerful but require a bit of a learning curve.

• Email sent or received from within Goldmine is automatically linked to contact info.
• Numerous rules can be applied to email messages so that you can save what you want where you want it and get rid of the rest
• Indivualized broadcast emails are easy to send as are standard responses to common inquiries
• "Automated Processes" is a sophisticated set of tools to enable the capture of client info from your website and the use of no hands emails and faxes as well as sales follow up

ACT 2000

General

ACT! is a pioneer contact management product — originally designed to be so simple that executives without computer or typing skills could use it effectively. The latest iteration has much improved sales tracking & forecasting, contact/activity management, more sophisticated group/subgroup tools and ‘FoneSync’ to dump names into cell phones.

Internet Integration — The Big News Coming Soon

ACT 2000 has fine integration with Microsoft’s Outlook email client and useful connections to a number of web resources. But the real Internet scoop is the acquisition of the ACT product by SalesLogix. The founder of Saleslogix was the original creator of ACT in the mid-80s; his company is currently a vendor of mid-market CRM solutions.

SalesLogix has just launched "Interact.com" which they term an ‘interactive application service.’ The objective for Interact.com is to become the Web destination for millions of salespeople worldwide, by creating a fully webified version of ACT! with dynamic content, commerce, and community subscription services that are customized for ACT! users and delivered in a fully integrated way within the ACT! application.

This is a terrific concept, but may not be available until this month or next. SalesLogix is also confident enough of their strategy that they intend to charge $19.95 per month for the full service.

Franklin Planner: In the Beginning There was Paper

Hordes of hopelessly haggard souls who lacked the most basic organizational skills were first converted to the analog version of the Franklin system. One first establishes life priorities that balance work and personal goals and then drills down to more specific tasks and objectives.

The PC version came later. The latest version is finally useful. Among its basic merits: seamless integration with the paper version and with the Palm Pilot, ability to track activities, maintain a journal and/or daily record of events, simple but effective project management, and a very useful information management tool.

But, what finally makes the Franklin Planner software appealing even for people who are not devotees of the entire Franklin system is the online version. Unlike ACT! which only promises a great future, the online version of FP is already up and running. Among its features:

• The ability to get to one’s personal data from anywhere
• The ability to notify individuals and groups of any tasks or appointments

• Fully functioning calendar
• Useful contact and group management function
• Ability to manage group relationships over the Internet
• Solid personal and group task manager
• Portfolio management tool with stock updates
• And by 2^nd quarter, 2000, the ability to synchronize from Internet to PC and back

In sum, each product is worth using without the Internet element. Goldmine may be the most powerful, ACT 2000, the most user friendly, but when it comes to the Internet, the Franklin Planner today offers far and away the most useful Web functionality for individuals and small organizations.