20th century customer service consisted of packed call centers, phones ringing off the hook, and large, convoluted databases of information to manage a never-ending stream of support requests. Cloud computing, and the introduction of powerful, business-specific software solutions, has changed that.

Setting up and customizing your helpdesk is very intuitive, and Zendesk offers some great forum and training manuals. The features are so robust that it can seem a tad confusing at first, but once you know what each piece does (see above), you’ll be blown away by its usability. Once the system is setup for your needs, customer support seems gravy.

The agent view is simple and easy to learn, but the new Lotus view is a huge improvement (see screenshot below).The most important thing for support agents is open and pending tickets, which is the focus of Lotus.  Zendesk’s customizable “Views” make it easy for different agents to setup different views that they need on a constant basis, and these views are cleanly displayed in Lotus.

The usability for the end-user is a perk also; you can set it up so that end-users never have to login to the helpdesk and simply submit and communicate in tickets straight through email. Or, you can direct your end-users to the helpdesk so they can check the status of open tickets. Either way, it’s easy to use and straight to the point. 17/20 for usability, with 3 points docked for the inevitable learning curve that comes with robust software.

Security = 20/20 points

Zendesk is another example of how well-engineered cloud applications offer high-level security. As of September, 2011 Zendesk entered into several voluntary data privacy programs that cement the software as safe and reliable for business use. If you’re interested, you can read their full privacy policy. Overall, Zendesk is as secure as any other system out there, and it’s something they take great pride in. 20/20 for security.

Integrations = 10/10

Zendesk features one of the most extensive integration lists we have seen, and it seems to constantly grow. The best part about their integrations is they cover basically every aspect of most business workflows (analytics, CRM, automations, authentication, e-commerce, CMS, frameworks, communication, and management).

A few of our favorites are its integration with GoodData (for robust reporting), Formstack (for easily embedding a Zendesk-integrated webform into your website), and all of its social integrations (Twitter, Facebook) for social ticket channels. Check out the list yourself; we bet you will be blown away by how many integrations they offer.

If you’re looking for custom development for an integration that’s not on the list (yet), the Zendesk  API is well documented and robust. The user forum is also filled with sample code, best practices, and tips on using the API.  We give it a 10/10 for a truly impressive integration set.

Price = 8/10

Zendesk’s pricing model is on par with its competition, but stands out in some of its included features; for example, Desk.com charges users more for full web portal customization and an additional $99/month for phone support (not cool). Zendesk offers full CSS rebranding and included CSS and Javascript widgets with every account, and phone support is included in the Plus and Enterprise accounts.  Our only knock is that we wish every level of membership could do full CSV exports (and not just the top two tiers) – it’s the customer’s data, after all. 8/10 for price.

Support = 10/10

Zendesk has an active and helpful user forum community that answers many of the questions you will face while setting up your helpdesk. Zendesk employees frequent the boards to offer their insights, links to relevant forum topics, and updates on software improvements. Zendesk’s knowledge base is also filled with great information for new and experienced users. It is updated frequently and is another valuable resource (they’re smokin’ what they’re sellin’). If you still need some tips or guidance on setting up your Zendesk, we may know a team of professionals who could help you out .

Conclusions

We review a lot of business software but only pursue partnerships with some. Most software we see gets one or two things right and fails everything else – that’s not great for businesses who need reliable, functional tools.

Thus it’s rare that we find systems that deliver on all of their promises, but Zendesk fits the bill. It’s a beautiful blend of robust features, usability, top notch security, unparalleled integrations, and a high level of support.

Whether you need to manage the support requests of thousands of internal employees located across the country, hundreds of clients in one city, or just those few needy accounts, Zendesk is your solution. It truly is “the fastest way to great customer support,” and it is 100% worthy of our seal of approval. From our experiences with the software, our communications with their team, and our own observations, it’s a product that’s only going to get better, too.

VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.

Everyone knows that marketing matters. What they don’t know is that given the right tools, marketing isn’t expensive, time consuming, or difficult. That’s great news for small business owners strapped on cash and time.

Here’s our list of 5 easy to use, well tested, and free online tools that help manage small business marketing. Give ‘em a whirl – we promise it’s worth it

1. Google Analytics

Knowledge is money, especially in the nebulous world of marketing. Google Analytics, a free service from Google (duh), helps you track and analyze website traffic. Using Analytics, you’ll see exactly how many visitors your website gets, what they’re searching for, even which social networks they’re using. You can even setup goals (say, a contact form submission, or a download) to see which types of users are doing what. That’s invaluable knowledge that belongs in every marketer’s arsenal.

Here’s a good guide on setting Google Analytics up. Do it – it’ll take 10 minutes and the insights will be huge.

2. Mailchimp

So you’ve got a couple hundred email addresses – how do you profit from them? Mailchimp is a free online tool that makes email marketing easy. Using Mailchimp, you can send leads or customers beautiful, well branded emails, all for the price of… nothing. What’s more, you’ll see analytics on the emails you send, so you’ll know which types of emails are opened (and which aren’t). That’s huge.

When was the last time you offered old customers a promotion? Sign up for Mailchimp and do it the right way.

3. Hootsuite

Assuming you’re using Facebook pages, Twitter, and/or Linkedin (you are, aren’t you?), you’re probably also sick of managing content. Switching between social media services is a pain in the small business ass.

That’s why Hootsuite exists. Using Hootsuite, you’ll get a dashboard view of all your company’s social media streams, all in one place. No more jumping between pages, or accidentally cross-posting – instead, you’ll have a horizontal view of your company’s social presence. What’s more, you can invite team members to collaborate and post on your behalf. Pretty awesome.

4. Google Webmaster Tools

Yeah yeah, it’s lame to have two Google products on the same list, but it’s well deserved. Google Webmaster Tools is a separate product from Google Analytics, but it’s nearly as important.

Webmaster Tools lets you improve your site’s visibility in Google search results. It’ll suggest HTML improvements, warn you about broken links, and alert you if Google thinks you’ve been hacked. That’s a big deal, especially if you rely on your site for exposure and sales.

Like Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools is a breeze to setup. There’s no excuse not to, especially when it raises your Google position.

5. Crowdbooster

If Hootsuite lets you manage where you post, Crowdbooster lets you manage when and what you post. It’s analytics for your social networks (Facebook and Twitter).

If you’re on Twitter, Crowdbooster tracks your follower growth over time, determines your most influential tweets and followers, creates recommendations on engaging them, and suggests the best times to post (based on follower activity). If you’re on Facebook, Crowdbooster shows you impressions, fan growth, and top fans.

For small businesses stressed on time, this is a big time-saver: focus on the people and schedules that create impact, and go from there.

Conclusion

Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive or laborious. Free online marketing tools like the ones above are readily available and extremely powerful – it’s just up to you to use them!

VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software (we do social media setups too!). Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.

VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.

I speak with small business owners every day. Most of the time, we’re speaking because they have problems – workflow problems, software problems, scaling problems. Solutions aren’t obvious. If they were, we wouldn’t be in business.

Thing is, it’s not just that solutions aren’t obvious – it’s that solutions may solve the same problems (inventory, for example, or CRM), but their approach can be crazily dissimilar. That matters, because how a piece of software works can have long-lasting business implications. Here’s why.

The Gorilla Approach

Business software can be broadly lumped into 1 of 2 categories. We call the first one the “gorilla approach.”

This is “one stop shop” type software. The approach is to build a platform that does everything – one big system that facilitates as much business process as possible. Think Netsuite, Salesforce, Zoho, even Brightpearl (though increasingly less-so). These systems combine (to different degrees) everything from CRM, project management and helpdesk, to inventory, accounting, webstores and POS. They’re gorillas. They do everything.

The benefits of this approach are obvious. There’s one login. All your data is in one place, cross-referenced. There’s one system to learn, so there’s only one system to teach – it scales. Workflows coexist alongside each other, natively. Sounds idyllic, right?

Not exactly, no. The gorilla approach carries significant disadvantages. Because gorilla systems do many things, they tend not to do any one thing well. They’re generalists, not specialists. They also tend to be unusable – so many workflows demand a complex UI, which can be difficult to navigate. Vendor lock-in is another issue – good luck getting all your data out of Netsuite – and none of this comes cheap. Not exactly what a SMB owner wants to hear.

The Spiderweb Approach

Luckily, there’s an alternative – we call it the spiderweb approach (our nomenclature sucks, I know). If the gorilla approach implies building your business off one central solution, then the spiderweb approach is to build it off multiple smaller solutions that are integrated together.

Software built for the spiderweb approach is focused on: 1) one or two core functions, and 2) integration. The idea is to build tools for specific processes (ie customer service OR sales, not both) and integrate them together. A good example here is Freshbooks: they do one thing really really well (invoicing), and on last count they had native integrations with 71 other business apps. If you use Freshbooks, it probably works well with whatever else you use. Brilliant.

The spiderweb approach mitigates most of the issues raised by the gorilla approach. Because these apps focus on one or two things, they tend to do those things extremely well. They’re specialists. They tend to be very usable, even enjoyable. Lock-in is less of an issue: if you don’t like one vendor, you can leave without compromising the rest of your workflows. Pretty cool.

Unfortunately, spiderwebs aren’t all sugar and cream. Even the best integrations can result in data silos, meaning you have redundant information stored in disparate locations. Multiple systems also mean multiple processes to learn (and teach), making it difficult to scale. It’s expensive, too: integrate Shopify (for web sales) with Shopkeep (floor sales), add Xero (accounting) and Capsule (CRM), and you’re looking at >$180/mo. Sexy software doesn’t come cheap.

What’s the business owner to do?

The gorilla/spiderweb dichotomy is a bit of a conundrum. One the one hand you have bulky, complex, inefficient software: on the other hand you have redundant data and a hacked-together web. What gives?

First off, stop looking for the perfect solution. It doesn’t exist. No one likes hearing that (especially when they’ve hired you to solve all their problems…), but it’s true. We have gorilla systems and spiderweb systems because that’s the way it has to be. Anytime someone builds an all-in-one system, of course it’s going to be bulky and weird and expensive. Anytime someone connects a bunch of independently operated services, of course it’s idiosyncratic. Unless you have the money and vision to build your own perfect solution (which you don’t), the current gorilla/spiderweb system is as inevitable as it is annoying.

Secondly, choose software based on business needs. Don’t begin your software search by demo’ing everything out there. Begin it by prioritizing your business needs. Once you’ve done that, everything else falls into place, including which approach (gorilla or spiderweb) makes sense. We can help if you get lost.

Lastly, don’t get disheartened. Yes, finding new software sucks. No, it doesn’t do everything you *need* it to do. But compare it with the tools you were using yesterday and it’s quickly evident that cloud computing is a game changer. Powerful tools that were out of reach just a decade ago are now available and affordable. That’s amazing news for small business. Now get out there and use them!

VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.

Still, as the business grew, the sheer size of the spreadsheet made it more of a headache than anything. As is so often the case, they had outgrown their tools – the hacksaw wasn’t doing the job they needed it to. Documents took forever to load, redundant copies were lost and confused, key reports went missing. It was a mess.

Clearly, they needed something new. At that point, they had no idea what a “CRM” could do; for them, best case scenario was re-creating the same spreadsheet in a faster, and easier, interface (Microsoft365 was the logical next step in their minds). They feared that a CRM to replace what they have now would be super expensive and time consuming. Turns out, the tools are readily available – you just have to find the one that matches your business, then fit your workflows in. That’s where we came in.

That’s right – weekly Solve360 training. Twice a week, every week, we’ll be teaching “Solve 101” and “Solve 102” webinars. We’re educators!

Who it’s for

New to Solve360 but struggling to find your way around? Interested in those small-but-helpful features that could make or break your workflow? Or maybe you’re a Solve360 veteran, but need a refresher on some advanced usage tips?

We’ve got a webinar for you. Solve 101 is for new users finding their way around. Solve 102 is for anyone who “gets” Solve360 but wants a deeper experience.

How it works

Every Tuesday and Thursday we’ll be hosting group webinars focused on Solve360 best practices, features and tips. On Tuesdays, it’s “Solve 101,” a basic overview of Solve360 concepts. On Thursdays, it’s “Solve 102,” which covers Solve360 best practices, tips and advanced usage.

Webinars are 45 minutes long plus 15 minutes for group Q&A, and you’ll leave with our slides and notes. Each webinar is $49/USD/person, or $79 if Solve 101 and Solve 102 are purchased together. Register today and up your Solve skills!

More info

Interested but not sure if it’s for you? Read more about the classes here, or check out our other services – we’re here to help!

VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.

The hunt is over. We’re happily awarding the New Zealand-based Xero an A+ and our seal of approval for their impressive all-in-one accounting solution. It’s awesome. Read on for our full review!

The Quick and Dirty Verdict = 91/100

The problem with *most* accounting solutions is they’re either geared towards accounting dumbies, and thus too limiting for SMB, or toward accounting professionals, and thus overwhelming. Xero bridges that gap. It’s usable enough for DIY’ers and powerful enough for accountants. It has an elegant UI, robust feature set, thoughtful integrations, and beautiful reports. It’s not perfect – there’s still work to be done – but it’s pretty damn good. We’re giving it a 91/100, our best accounting grade ever. Yay!

The Details: Functionality = 24/30

90% of everything you’d want done in an accounting tool, Xero does. Money coming in (AR), money going out (AP), payroll, expensing, budgets – it’s all in there. What’s more, it’s in there intelligently: features link up intuitively, and everything comes together with clean, professional reports.

There’s more to Xero than just the usual features, though. There’s a thoughtful, robust permissions system, so accountants can share the books with business people (and business people can share with sales reps) and not worry about irrevocable damage. There’s a clever feature called “tracking” so you can weigh customized categories against one another (ie, department against department, region against region). Auto-feeds from most major banks makes transaction imports a breeze (though no support for HSBC), and the mobile app is great. Never thought we’d say it, but this is one sexy accounting tool…

Of course, it’s not all peaches and cream. It’s lame that tracking is limited to two fields. There’s no real support for inventory systems (though integrations largely take care of this). You can’t forecast net profit based on predicted expenses, which sucks for companies with rising fixed costs. Also, Xero could probably take a cue from Freshbooks for their invoicing: online invoices would be a huge plus (currently, it just automates emailing pdfs), as would email reminders for overdue accounts. Oh well.

All in all, Xero’s features impress. 24/30.

The Details: Usability = 18/20

Accountants aren’t known for their grace or style but Xero manages both. Using Xero is a breeze (a pleasurable breeze, even). It contains a wealth of features without seeming overwhelming, and guides users through any technical stuff. The “Dashboard” – your horizontal view of accounts and AR/AP – delivers “at a glance” information, while granular detail is *usually* just a click or two away. Reconciling transactions – the grunt work – is easy and rule based. No sweat.

Our gripes are minor. The Xero help section, while helpful, feels like the old Microsoft card-catalogue way of organizing articles, and needs a facelift (badly). Also, what’s with the fixed-width, left justified screen? It’s weird.

Compared to the competition though (*ahem* Quickbooks *ahem*), Xero makes bookkeeping fun. That’s no small task. 18/20.

The Details: Security = 20/20

Xero has never suffered a security breach, not once, ever. That’s because they employ high standard SSL encryption and firewalls, as well as 3rd party security audits, daily backups, and enterprise class hosting (Rackspace). That’s also why we’re giving them 20/20 for security – they deserve it.

The Details: Integrations = 10/10

Thoughtful integrations are a big deal for online accounting. It’s one of the industry’s main advantages – finally, your accounting info alongside customer histories, integrated with your web portal, tied into POS. Luckily, Xero doesn’t disappoint. In fact, their integrations are outstanding: they’ve tied into numerous CRMs, inventory systems, and timetracking apps (to name a few), and they’ve done so in a fundamentally intelligent way (helping you get more from Xero). That’s awesome.

The two integrations we’ve tested – Freshbooks and PayPal – were intuitive to setup, easy to maintain, and helpful when implemented. Add in their well documented API, and integrations gets a big fat 10/10.

The Details: Price = 10/10

Xero is cheap. Their most expensive package is $39 USD/mo, and includes multi-currency support. ‘Nuf said.

The Details: Support = 9/10

With the exception of the kinda crappy help section (which we already deducted points for), Xero’s support isn’t half bad. Complex support requests we submitted on Friday evening were dealt with by Sunday, and phone support was helpful and honest. We like that.

There’s also a generous selection of 3rd party consultants available who don’t collect referral fees (we like that too). 9/10.

Conclusions

It has been a long time coming, so it’s great to see a cloud-based accounting tool that finally delivers. If you’re a DIY’er small business owner, your invoicing, AP, payroll and more can all now live under the same (cloud based) roof. If you’re an accountant managing multiple books, you now don’t have to deal with whatever crap you were using. Use Xero instead. It’s better.

Our final score? 91/100. Now, off to reconcile our accounts…

If you’d like to talk about how Xero might work for your business, or if you just want to talk cloud computing, drop us a line at contact AT vm-associates DOT com. Cheers!

Props to @ed_lea for the image.

Without going into too much detail, the VAR model is one of selling software licenses for the margin, with the idea of “adding value” via technical expertise and support. Vendors get qualified sales reps: customers get experienced help: VARs see project revenue from the initial sale, then recurring revenue from support retainers. Everyone wins, right?

Wrong. Cloud computing is destroying the traditional VAR model, and rightly so. Here are 3 reasons why.

1. Customer needs have changed. The old VAR model was helpful because, generally speaking, software installations were complex. Getting a locally-hosted Exchange server up and running was a significant task, requiring time and technical expertise. Customers were happy to pay a premium if it meant having helpful local nerds on-site to help. Sold.

These days that’s no longer true. Cloud computing applications are by definition hosted on third party servers, meaning you no longer need technical help in getting setup. Patches and updates are pushed by the vendor, meaning you don’t need an IT guy or a VAR retainer. The technical side of VARs isn’t needed anymore. Customer needs have changed.

2. Vendor needs have changed. Used to be, vendors needed VARs because they worked like salespeople. Land a VAR and you land their customer base. Easy.

Thing is, vendors don’t need VARs to make sales anymore, not if they’re cloud-based. Customers come to software directly – they read a review, type in the URL, sign up for a trial, and convert to paid customer if they like what they see. The cloud model cuts the middle man out.

3. IT is changing. Underlying all of this is the fact that the fundamental business role of information technology (IT) is changing. Nevermind – it has already changed. In the old VAR model, IT was still something you could ignore. It was a tool, no more, no less. VARs existed to service that tool.

The power of cloud computing has changed that. Extremely powerful tools have become so easy to use that today, more than ever before, small and mid-sized business owners are incorporating IT as a core component of their business. Your CRM, your email, your website: all are inextricably linked with sales. Good luck separating them. IT has changed.

So what?

What does all this mean? To our admittedly biased minds, it means that A) The VAR model is broken, and B) We need a new model. Not to be immodest, but that’s us.

Customer needs have changed, so how do we meet them? We’ve got a whole services page for this, but, generally speaking, we’ve seen value in 1) matching business process to software, which is the opposite of the VAR model, 2) custom development and integrations between silos, and 3) user training. The whole cloud computing thing is still new to most business owners – helping them find, configure and use the right tools is a huge value add.

Likewise, vendor needs have changed, so how do we align ourselves? Because the new model is subscription-based, users can come and go as they please. That’s great for users, but difficult for vendors. It’s called churn. Consultants can (partially) mitigate churn by bringing in qualified customers (ie, companies whose objectives match the solution’s strengths), and by helping current users convert to “power users.”

We can also provide a measure of hand-holding that many vendors either can’t or won’t. Development teams speak tech. Clients speak business. Consultants speak both.

Going forward

If you’re a user or vendor, ditch your VAR, or demand they live up to the name. Cloud computing has changed the landscape and VARs have been too slow to respond. It’s time to wake up.

If you’re a VAR, get your shit together. There are huge opportunities out there and you’re not going to see them if you don’t adapt. For reals.

If you’re someone else, well… I can’t really believe you just read this whole thing.

What do you think? What’s the future of VARs?

VM Associates is a New York City cloud computing consulting firm. We help companies transition into newer, better, smarter software. Contact us to talk about your business, the cloud, and how we might help.