The limited time offer is available to Microsoft Dynamics customers who receive Microsoft Financing credit approval on all purchases of $20,000 up to $1 million. Costs associated with implementation, such as products from independent software vendors, partner services and customization, can be financed at standard rates.

The zero percent financing promotion is applicable to licensing and first-year enhancements costs on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics SL and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions.

ERP and CRM solutions allow businesses to do the following:

Increase operational efficiencies. Integrate and streamline business processes to eliminate inefficient procedures and optimize utilization of existing resources.

Increase employee productivity. Enable employees to boost their output and work smarter through a familiar, intuitive user interface similar to that of Microsoft Office and with Role Centers configured around the needs of individual users. Customers on maintenance plans also can get access to free, online training to help further stretch their budgets.

Leverage existing IT investments. Protect and extend investments in existing systems through solutions that interoperate with businesses' other Microsoft applications, driving synergies and promoting easy access to critical data across systems.

Retain customers and revenue. Strengthen existing customer relationships, minimize churn and maximize new customer acquisition opportunities through improved customer service capabilities and streamlined customer management.

Eliminate unnecessary marketing spend. Sharpen the focus of marketing efforts by more efficiently honing in on prospects, including improving utilization of economical online channels.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can earn zero percent financing contact Ignus Technologies, a Microsoft reseller.

Ubuntu 8.04-alpha4 was released on Feb. 2nd, 2008. Ubuntu 8.04-alpha and more information about Ubuntu 8.04-alpha is available here.

Fedora 9-alpha was released on Feb. 5th, 2008. Fedora 9 Alpha and more information about Fedora 9 is available here.

How would such a change affect Google?

Can this help Yahoo! Shore up operations and prevent further job cuts?

Not everyone is in favor of the idea, read more comments from CNN visitors here:

Mozilla has elevated this bug to a status of “high”.

A patch which fixes this bug should be included in Firefox 2.0.0.12 which is expected to be released on Feb. 5th, 2008.

Check the Mozilla security page for the status of version 2.0.0.12, and other future updates: Click here

Read more information about this bug at PC World: Click here

XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere. Basically it is an extremely flexible way of storing data.

What’s great about XML is that it is so powerful while still being so flexible. You can store any data in XML no matter how detailed it is and as long as whatever is looking at the XML knows the format it can read that data.

XML is the future of web because it does two things very well, transmit any kind of data and allow anything to read it. This means that your phone can read data that was sent from a news or weather website. Or your website can read information on product inventory sent by your suppliers. The possibilities are only limited by what we want to do with it.

Want to learn more about XML? Go to www.w3schools.com/xml.

CRM is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management. But what CRM means to you is “a system to understand your customers better and use that understanding to serve them better; ultimately resulting in increased customer loyalty and greater profit per customer.”

CRM isn’t a new idea. Using good customer service and customer relationships as a way to improve business profitability is an idea that’s been around for a long time. But while CRM isn’t a new idea, it is a great idea. CRM computer systems are experiencing a boom now because the software has finally matured to the point where it is powerful enough to really make an improvement in business and affordable enough even for small businesses.

Powerful CRM solutions can also integrate with other software and data on your network making your CRM system the one place where customer data is centralized. This is one of the easiest to achieve, yet most valuable features of CRM – a centralized location where all staff can get the information they need to best serve customers.

I’ve outlined what I feel are the seven key features of CRM here. Key Features of CRM Solutions:

1. Shared knowledge – entire organization can collaborate
2. Centralized customer data – available to everyone
3. Customer history – at a glance, know the history of each customer; improves customer service
4. Customer segmentation / profile – know the characteristics of your best customers
5. Marketing tools – easily market to each customer segment differently
6. Workflow / Automation – automation streamlines activities, increases efficiency, reduces errors
7. Analysis and reporting – dashboards and reports for managers / decision making

With typical implementation times running from a few months to nine months or more, it’s important that top management is committed to seeing the project through. One way to do that is to focus on the benefits that CRM will bring once fully implemented.

How Businesses Benefit From CRM
1. Increased efficiency
2. Improved customer service
3. Better marketing
4. Better decision making
5. Greater profitability

CRM can make a difference in your business. Your staff will be happier, your customers will be happier, and your bottom line will be better.

Contact Ignus today to see how CRM can work for you.

To answer that question, I rely on one of my favorite business books, “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. In his book, Mr. Collins hypothesizes that great companies look at and deploy technology in a different and unique way. Great companies don’t even consider technology as a factor in why they are great companies. To them, technology is simply an Accelerator. But what does Mr. Collins mean by Technology as an Accelerator? This concept simply means that the core value chain activities (sales, marketing, service, operations, etc.) of a business are the most important factors that affect bottom line. The role of technology in the business model is to be deployed only where it can enhance a core value chain activity to a degree greater than the cost of implementation.

How well does your organization evaluate technology as an accelerator? And once it has been decided that a specific technology might help your organization, is it properly deployed? I asked a friend the other day if his organization had any type of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool available to their sales people, his response was,

“We did.”

“But nobody used it.”

“So we got rid of it.”

Mr. Collins, please cover your ears.

My humble advice would be to keep the “Technology as an Accelerator” concept first and foremost in mind when making technology decisions that will affect your organization. The proper evaluation and deployment of technology as a bottom line driver is imperative for greatness. Of course, you could just ignore this article or toss out this newsletter altogether. Just promise not to yell at me when you toss out the latest, greatest technology that was supposed to take your business to the next level, too.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Hotspots range from paid services, such as T-Mobile or Boingo, to free connections at your local coffee shop or library. But they all have one thing in common: These are all open networks that are vulnerable to security breaches. And that means it's up to you to protect the data on your PC. Here are a few tips to make working in public locations more secure.

• 1. Try to choose more secure connections. It's not always possible to choose your connection type—but when you can, opt for wireless networks that require a network security key or have some other form of security, such as a certificate. The information sent over these networks is encrypted, which can help protect your computer from unauthorized access. The security features of different networks appear along with the network name as your PC discovers them.
• 2. Make sure your firewall is activated. A firewall helps protect your mobile PC by preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network. It acts as a barrier that checks all incoming information, and then either blocks the information or allows it to come through. All Microsoft Windows operating systems come with a firewall, and you can make sure it's turned on.
• 3. Monitor your access points. Chances are, there are multiple wireless networks anywhere you're trying to connect. These connections are all access points, because they link into the wired system that gives you Internet access. So how do you make sure you're connecting to the right one? Simple—by configuring your PC to let you approve access points before you connect.
• 4. Disable file and printer sharing. File and printer sharing is a feature that enables other computers on a network to access resources on your computer. When using your mobile PC in a hotspot, it's best to disable file and printer sharing because when enabled, it leaves your computer vulnerable to hackers.
• 5. Make your folders private. When the folders on your mobile PC are private, it's more difficult for hackers to access your files.
• 6. Encrypt your files. You can protect your files further by encrypting them, which requires a password to open or modify them. Because you must perform this procedure on one file at a time, consider password-protecting only the files that you plan to use while working in a public place.
• 7. Consider completely removing sensitive data from your notebook PC. If you're working with extremely sensitive data, it might be worth taking it off your notebook PC altogether. Instead, keep it behind the corporate firewall and use your company's VPN to access it when necessary. This way, you have multiple safeguards in place.

A few simple precautions can help make working in public places more secure. And by selecting the best connections and adjusting settings, you can enjoy productive and safe work sessions no matter where you are.

Resources

• “7 tips for working securely from wireless hotspots" 7 tips for working securely from wireless hotspots. 10 October 2007. Microsoft Corporation. 10 October 2007. < http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/stayconnected/hotspots.mspx >.

If you were an early adopter of USB flash drives, you may still have a 128 MB or a 256 MB USB flash drive in the back of your desk drawer. Even though the dusty drive may seem too small to be of any real use, you can put it back to work as a password reset disk for Windows Vista.

The USB flash drive

First, let’s take a moment to talk about the USB flash drive. The reason that I’m spotlighting your old small-capacity USB flash drive is that it is really too small to be of much use in today’s world due to that fact that portable storage needs are now reaching more towards the GB range. However, that’s not to say that you couldn’t use a 1 GB USB flash drive for a password reset disk. Some might consider that to be a waste of disk space because the password reset file only weighs in at 2 KB, but flash drives are inexpensive — you can pick up a 1 GB USB flash drive for under $20 or a 128 MB USB flash drive for under $5.

Creating a password reset disk

Follow these steps to create a password reset disk:

• 1. Insert your USB flash drive and wait for it to initialize and receive a drive letter.
• 2. Once the drive is ready to use, click the Start button and type User Accounts in the Start Search box.
• 3. Press [Enter] or click User Accounts in the Results panel. Either way, you’ll see the User Accounts dialog box. You will need to locate and click Create A Password Reset Disk in the Tasks panel (Figure A).
  
  When the User Accounts dialog box appears, click Create A Password Reset Disk in the Tasks panel.
• 4. When you see the Forgotten Password Wizard’s Welcome screen, take a look at the information and click Next.
• 5. On the next screen, you’ll receive a prompt to choose your USB flash drive’s drive letter (Figure B). To continue, click Next.
  
  Choose the drive letter assigned to your USB flash drive.
• 6. On the next screen, type your Current User Account Password (Figure C) and then click Next.
  
  When prompted, type your current user account password and click Next.
• 7. You’ll see a rapidly moving progress bar. Once it reaches 100 percent, click Next, and you will see the last screen in the Forgotten Password Wizard. To complete the operation, click Finish.
• 8. Click the Safely Remove Hardware icon, choose your USB flash drive’s drive letter, and remove the drive when prompted to do so.
• 9. Label the drive and put it away in a safe place.

While you may be tempted to label the drive Password Reset, remember that anyone who happens upon this drive can use it to bypass your password and break into your computer. Try a label that will help you recognize the drive but that isn’t so obvious.

Using a password reset disk

If you type an incorrect password in Vista, The User Name Or Password Is Incorrect error message will appear on the login screen (Figure D). Click OK.

At this point, the only thing you can do is click OK.

Follow these steps:

• 1. Return to the login screen, where you will reset your password below the Password box (Figure E).
  
  To launch the Password Reset Wizard, click the Reset Password message.
• 2. Insert your USB flash drive and wait for it to initialize and receive a drive letter.
• 3. To launch the Password Reset Wizard, click Reset Password.
• 4. When you see the Password Reset Wizard’s Welcome screen, take a look at the information and click Next.
• 5. Choose your USB flash drive’s drive letter (Figure F) on the next screen and click Next.
  
  Choose the drive letter assigned to your USB flash drive.
• 6. The Password Reset Wizard will open the saved file, read your saved password, and perform a few operations in the background.
• 7. The wizard will then prompt you to create and confirm a new password. You’ll also have to create a new password hint (Figure G).
  
  Create a new password, confirm it, and create a new hint.
• 8. Clicking Next will take you to the Success screen. Click Finish to complete the operation.

You can now use the new password to log on to your Vista system.

Note: As soon as you use the Password Reset Wizard to change your password, the information in the password reset file on the USB flash drive will be outdated. Therefore, as soon as you log back into Vista, you should run the Forgotten Password Wizard again and create a new password reset file.

Resources

• Shultz, Greg. “Create a Vista password reset disk using a USB flash drive" Create a Vista password reset disk using a USB flash drive | Microsoft Windows Vista. 4 October 2007. Tech Republic. 5 October 2007. < http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=547&tag=nl.e132 >.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.

Ignus Insight Newsletter

Opens an Adobe PDF file in a new window. Requires Adobe Reader.