Last year, we donated to 4 great non-profits: two that focus their efforts close to our office here in Boston, and two whose focus is more global in nature. These global organizations focus on protecting our oceans, which unfortunately do not fall under any one country or organization’s governance and thus become a big dumping ground, and yet the ocean’s health has a profound impact on us all.

PRETOMA is a Costa Rican-based non-profit that was founded in 1997. They are a conservation and research organization that works to protect ocean resources and promote sustainable fishery policies in Costa Rica and Central America. They generate funds by allowing people to adopt sea turtles and hammerhead sharks and that’s exactly how we’ve supported them. Swimfish adopted 1 shark and 10 sea turtles that have tracking devices attached in order to ensure long term survival and monitor their migration patterns. We can even watch their movements online! We’d like to give a special thanks to Alexia Garro for generously giving her time to get us all set up.

We also donated to Surfrider Foundation, which is an organization that has locations all around the globe. They have many campaigns running world-wide to help protect our oceans. One of their most recent victories was in Seattle, who has joined the ranks of American cities pledging to curb the distribution of single-use plastic bags.

The other two organizations are much closer to home. BOAT CAMP Nature School is a non-profit organization based in Newburyport, Massachusetts that’s dedicated to providing meaningful, nature smart, outdoor education to inspire lifelong connections to land and sea. Educational programs are the heart of their organization and they run a variety of programs year-long to children of all ages on and off shore.  They even offer professional development workshops for K-12 and informal educators! Keeping with the educational spirit, we donated computer stations and printers to the great people at BOAT CAMP. They’ve been putting them to great use and have shown the kids a baby bald eagle in its nest using a webcam!

The Food Project is another local non-profit organization we donated to in 2011. Their mission is to grow a thoughtful and productive community of youths and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. They are based in Lincoln, Massachusetts and are also actively looking for a new executive director. If anyone is interested, they can find the information here.

Looking forward into 2012, we want to combine our love for the planet with our love for (and expertise in) relationship management, by providing a 1% FTP non-profit member with services for our hosted Relationships^TM CRM powered by Microsoft Dynamics. If you belong to a non-profit or know one that may be interested, email us at info swimfish com. 

As always, we’d love to hear what you think about our philanthropic efforts so leave a comment below!

With InterAction Anywhere, you can access your InterAction CRM contacts through your mobile phone, on any internet browser – including FireFox, Chrome and Safari. You can view contacts, activities, relationships, and profile information and add contacts, activities, even reminders. Users can also add firm contacts to their My Contacts and view profiles on LinkedIn with just a click!

Our biggest and most requested enhancement is NTLM authentication for devices which are joined to the domain.  That means that when you’re on a mobile device like a BlackBerry that is already connected to your intranet, you’ll bypass our login screen and go directly into your dashboard.  No login required!  In addition,  we’ve added the ability to view All Lists (all Contact Types, Marketing Lists, and Working Lists), instead of just your “My Frequently Used” lists.

We’ve also fixed the following issues:

• Activity Summary Required – previously, Activity Summary was not marked as required.
• OS6 Click-to-Dial – the latest Blackberry OS update required a change to allow click-to-dial on phone numbers.
• Session timeout – handling was added around session timeouts.
• Web.config user’s stored lower case – corrected an issue where uppercase and lowercase account names were viewed as different users.
• LinkedIn.com – updates to linkedin.com required that we change how we link to their site.
• Google Maps addresses – updated to handle addresses not located in the USA.
• Profile exception handling – Corrected issues caused by certain profiles.
• Increased logging – more logging locations added.

We’re really excited to hear about what you think of this update, so comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Have you ever noticed the 1% For The Planet logo at the bottom of Swimfish.com’s homepage? 1% For The Planet is an alliance of over 1,300 businesses that donate 1% of their sales to environmental groups around the globe.  Swimfish donates 1% of its revenue each year to various environmental groups that help to protect our oceans.  We are a proud member!

As part of our first contribution to this great organization, we are offering any environmental group that’s part of 1% For The Planet free CRM implementation and services for the rest of 2011. This will also include a discount for 2012.

The only requirements we have for potential partners is that they are a 1% FTP non-profit member and are involved in some way with the ocean or fish – it be pretty cool for the organization to complement our company name (and vice versa).

All you 1% FTP non-profits: Want to migrate to our solution but are concerned that the transition from your old CRM solution could be complex? Don’t worry. We have lots of experience in migrations and offer support throughout the whole process. We know you’re busy saving the world (literally) and we can complete a migration in about 2 weeks!

We are so excited about being a part of the 1% family and partnering with a non-profit in order to help our planet. If you are a 1% non-profit member or know one, be sure to let them know about Swimfish! We’d also love to hear your feedback on our involvement, so feel free to comment below.

We hope that everyone has a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving with their family and friends. Eat lots of turkey!

Notice anything different when you go to sign into our login page? It’s not your mind playing games with you. We’ve given our login page a whole new look and it’s looking pretty great if I do say so myself. Not quite sure what the changes are or how they might make your life as a Swimfish user a little easier? Allow me to walk you through it…

For all you Internet Explorer users, you might want to check out our Application Mode option. If you check that option, your dashboard will open up in a new tab.  It will work more like an application, rather than a browser window and will allow you to have a more full-screen view.

If you check out the bottom right hand corner, we’ve added some troubleshooting links to help assist you. We have a link to check your server status, which is a new feature we added a few weeks ago. We also have 2 more troubleshooting links – one to remind you to disable pop-up blockers and the other to guide new users through set up.

Another neat feature we’ve provided is a link to bookmark the Swimfish login page. It’s located in the upper right side of the page and will save you a few extra steps to offer quick and easy access to your dashboard.

Last but not least, we’ve added a section totally dedicated to this blog! You can quickly see the newest posts about best practices, updates and more right in the lower left hand corner. There’s even a link that allows you to subscribe to the blog, so you’ll never be out of the loop.

So there you have it. Those are all the new features to make logging into Swimfish an even better experience than before. Try them out and comment below to let us know your thoughts!

I was asked the question, how do you know you need a CRM system, by a consulting client of ours and my immediate response was… when you have more than one employee.

You see, sharing and managing contact information is the first step in CRM. So when you start a business, once you hire an employee and you both are calling on the same business contacts, you need to start to share and manage those contacts. Now you don’t need an enterprise-level CRM at this point, but you do need some sort of application.

As your business grows and more and more people are accessing these same contacts, you then need more functionality.

Synchronizing contacts with Outlook.

Duplicate checking and duplicate merge.

Activity tracking.

Then as you’re tracking activities and storing them all in this central repository that everyone can use, your needs grow again. It becomes more efficient to track your sales opportunities in the same database that your contacts and activities are stored in instead of that Excel spreadsheet.

And then usage skyrockets…

Marketing lists.

Workflow automation.

Management dashboards.

You get the idea.

But here’s what I’ve come to realize after dozens of CRM implementations.

If the CEO doesn’t actively use the CRM system, and a VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, or Managing Director doesn’t take personal ownership of the system, IT WILL FAIL. Use Excel. Your firm isn’t ready for CRM. And coincidently (or maybe not so coincidently) your firm isn’t ready to grow its business.

It’s really as simple as that.  It may sound obvious, but I’m continually shocked by how many firms, especially small businesses, make this mistake.

A cost center cannot own CRM.  Accounting cannot own CRM. IT cannot own CRM. You can’t delegate it down to people in any of these functions, an Analyst or your Executive Assistant for that matter. And you can’t outsource the responsibility to your CRM vendor, supplier, or outside consultant.

I’ll say it again:

If the CEO doesn’t use the CRM system, and a VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, or Managing Director doesn’t take personal ownership of the system, IT WILL FAIL.

The beauty is, if your CEO is using the system and you have an owner of a profit center that also uses and manages it, then your firm is good and ready to grow. It’s only a matter of continuing to increase usage.

And how do we increase usage, you ask?  Well, that’s a blog article for another day.

So there’s your tough talk. Now you know if your firm is ready for CRM!

I’m often asked:

1. How do you only travel with your iPad and not a PC?
2. What apps do I use on your iPad for business?

Here’s a list of the top 10 must-have business apps and peripherals for your iPad.

1. Evernote. I use this as my primary note-taking device. It also serves as the backup mechanism for my aging brain. I can save web pages to it, send emails to it including files, take pictures of a whiteboard, record audio and video into it – you name it. Not only does it help you categorize your notes, it lets you search through all of your stuff, including every little word whether it’s in a PDF or handwritten. Plus, it’s ubiquitous. You can access your stuff on PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, etc. Auto-sync, with offline access and encryption if you upgrade from a FREE (what are you waiting for?) to premium account. I only wish I was an investor.

2. JUMP desktop. I know there are a bunch of remote desktop apps available, but Jump continues to be the best in my opinion. I use this to give software demos. It connects to a Windows machine back in my office and it truly looks like my iPad is running Windows. Mouse control is fast and intuitive, and you can output to a projector with the VGA connector from Apple. Great feature – the projected image doesn’t show the keyboard, so it truly looks like the output from a laptop. Best feature – the keyboard on the iPad becomes transparent!

3. Filamente – best access to Microsoft SharePoint on an iPad. Plus, it works seamlessly with our hosted SharePoint 2010 offering!

4. FUZE Meeting – great product. Like WebEx but no download is required to participate in meetings. It just works. Plus, you can take part or control a meeting from your iPhone or iPad. Everyone else in this space is playing catch-up to these guys!

5. PDF Expert – allows you to insert text and your signature into PDFs, and then send them out. Great for allowing me to review and sign contracts, and then email them, all from the road. Once I’m done, I use Filamente to upload the PDF into our SharePoint. Sweet!

6. Apple’s iWord Suite: Here’s your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint – all in tablet form. The import and export from Office work pretty well for the most part, and added features such as PDFing and emailing a file right from within the app truly increase your productivity. Yes, there is a bit of a learning curve, especially for Numbers as it take a different approach than Excel. However I now actually find myself preferring Numbers over Excel for some types of spreadsheets. Definitely worth a try. If you also install these on your iPhone, you will be loving life when iCloud is rolled out – trust me.
Pages (aka Word)
Numbers (aka Excel)
Keynote (aka PowerPoint)

7. PowerOneFE – simply the best calculator app for iOS. You can even create your own calculator app (pricing app anyone?) that you can then share with others.

8. OmniGraffle – flow charts, mockups, and diagrams made super easy through this amazingly powerful app.

9. Gusto – Connect with your website on the fly, edit a page, then publish. So handy for quick edits.

10. Swimfish – Goes without saying, right? No app necessary on the iPad – just bookmark our login page. Your email and address book are synced through our Hosted Exchange Email, SharePoint works well, and we automatically give you the mobile view of Microsoft CRM, preconfigured with the purchase of any of our Relationships CRM templates. If you’re using an iPhone, download our app for even easier access to our hosted Microsoft CRM or LexisNexis InterAction.

So those are the apps I use the most for business. Here’s a bunch of others worth checking out.

Honorable Mentions:

• ToodleDo – Syncs your to-do list with the web, across your mobile devices, and even with Outlook!
• WordBook XL – Great offline dictionary
• Kayak HD – Need to travel? Done!
• TripIt – On a trip and need a confirmation number? Done!
• iBooks – I prefer the iBooks interface to Kindle and store many of my PDF’s in there as well as the search is great. Book selection is improving (slowly)!
• iCatcher! – If you love audio or video podcasts and travel, this is the app. So much better than iTunes. Great for flights or that boring night at the hotel.

Now it’s your turn. What do you use to get business done on your iPad?  Comment below!

Just when you thought we were done…

BOOM!

We release a BIG update to our support portal.

So do you have your danish and a cup of joe? Alright then, here we go!

1. We now provide access to the current status of all of our server environments.

We have A LOT of servers running all sorts of applications to support our offerings! Now, with one click you can see which services are performing normally and which, if any, may be having trouble. It’s all about providing that extra level of transparency. You know what we know. Trust.

2. Create and view support requests.

Staying on that transparency theme, we now give you access to your support requests. You’ll continue to receive updates via email. But now you can check the status of a ticket, see the latest comments, and view your closed tickets – all online. Plus, if you’re an administrator you have access to view all the support requests for your firm.

3. Schedule your own one-on-one training.

Apple store – eat your heart out. Because so many of our clients opt for a CRM package that includes training, we now have given you instant access to schedule your own training sessions with our success team. Just pick the training you want, your date, your time, and (should I say it? …) BOOM! You’re scheduled!

4. Recommendations for books and additional resources.

Yes, our apps are simple and intuitive. But every once in a while we get a power user who wants to learn more. Build a CRM workflow. Customize a SharePoint site. Scan in their pile of 10,000 business cards. Whatever the challenge, we now give you our recommendations on the books and tools to help you get more out of our solutions. Even better, we’ve given you easy one-click access to order them from Amazon.

5. Faster and more efficient application hosting.

Swimfish provides hosting of not just email, CRM, and documents. We host a full range of applications for our clients. With so many firms choosing to downsize their data center and outsource, it only makes sense for us to leverage our private cloud infrastructure to help our clients outsource the remaining applications in their data centers. Just last week we upgraded all of those servers to the latest and greatest hardware. Speed, security, and support? Oh yeah!

6. Online password reset.

Forgot your password? Yeah, we get that a lot! Soon you’ll be able to click a link on our login page to reset your password either online with the answer to your security question, or via a link delivered to your registered email address. It’s simple, fast, and secure, and it’s the cherry on top of our latest updates to our support portal!

Yes, that’s right. You can setup email addresses on the fly, and then receive email immediately – all within SharePoint.

Why is this useful, you ask?

1. Build a tailored news service for your firm that everyone can search
2. View a “headlines” widget on your homepage and/or get an email newsletter of all the top articles, to replace all of those individual emails.
3. Save storage on your costly Exchange server

WARNING! This can eliminate over 50% of your inbox, freeing you up to do other things. Proceed with care.

Here’s how you get started…

1. Login to your Swimfish SharePoint / Spaces account.
2. Create a new Announcements list.
3. In the settings, choose Incoming Email Settings.
4. Select the radio button to allow the list to receive emails, and then give it an email address.
   
   
5. Now go to the web site for one of those emails you receive weekly or even daily, like M&A Advisor, eWeek, P&I Daily, etc. and subscribe with the email address you just created.
6. Moments later you should see the email appear in the list. To read it, just double-click.
7. Be sure to setup an alert to receive an email summary of new emails received in this list and choose to receive it immediately, daily, or weekly.
8. Additionally you can add an Announcements widget to your Spaces home page to see a quick list of the most recent emails received.

That’s all there is to it. We have one client that has set these up for all of their partners and use them as their “general” email boxes, saving their “real” email for only the most important topics. Others use it for resumes received from their website. Venture capital funds use it o receive business plans.

Once you start, you’ll be sure to find lots of uses. De-cluttering you inbox has never been so much fun!