SmarterTrack 9.x BETA Now Available

January 24, 2013 by 2 Comments

We’re excited to announce the BETA of the next version of our popular help desk: SmarterTrack 9.x. Over the last few major releases we focused on providing a Web interface for SmarterTrack that agents, managers, administrators and end users would find as simple as it was powerful.  With this latest release, we kept the same look and appearance but rewrote the underlying architecture with the latest Internet technologies to dramatically improve the speed, reduce the size and increase compatibility with all the latest Internet browsers and tablets.

In addition, SmarterTrack 9.x brings several new features, server side optimizations and fixes that continues to make SmarterTrack compatible with the latest Internet trends.  As with all releases, we worked closely with customers and partners and while we couldn’t incorporate everyone’s ideas into this release, we prioritized our users’ wants to create a new version of SmarterTrack that we think you’ll really like.

So let’s take a look at what’s new…

Tremendous Performance Increases

We spent a great deal of time benchmarking SmarterTrack and then making changes to increase the level of performance across the board. In many instances we’ve seen increases of 70% or more in the speed and responsiveness of the SmarterTrack 9.x interface. We’ve also seen huge decreases in memory and CPU usage, even under extremely heavy loads. All of this means that the product runs much quicker and much more efficiently than previous versions. Some of the changes we’ve made include:

  • Re-factored and completely re-wrote many areas of the web interface to reduce the amount of JavaScript code, CSS and HTML, making the entire web interface much faster, much more responsive and much lighter weight.
  • CSS files have been converted to LESS, making stylesheets much smaller and more efficient.
  • The button bars were re-factored to be lighter weight controls.
  • The context menus were re-factored to be lighter weight controls.
  • The date pickers were re-factored to be lighter weight controls.
  • The tree view controls were re-factored to be lighter weight controls.
  • Greatly increased performance of the Web interface.
  • Replaced the message editor control with a more lightweight control.

As we mentioned in a blog post late last year, we feel efficiency IS a product feature, and SmarterTrack 9.x really proves that point.

color_customization

Simple Customization for the Portal and Management Interface

SmarterTrack 9.x introduces a much simpler way for users to customize the look and feel of their management interface as well as the entire customer-facing Web portal. Now, rather than having to access system files to create custom styles, users can simply override existing SmarterTrack styles with their own variables or, more simply, by modifying the overall color scheme of the primary, secondary and hyperlink colors. Users can even drastically revise the look of the management interface. For example, by moving the navigation icons to a horizontal position versus their default vertical position. Of course, if an Administrator prefers the defaults, customization at the user level can be disabled, thereby preserving branding and corporate identity. Regardless, with these changes to the customization experience, web developers can more fully integrate a SmarterTrack help desk into an existing Web site.

kb_suggestions

Streamlined Knowledge Base Suggestion Process

Both live chat and ticketing are integral parts of any company focused on customer service. However, they shouldn’t be barriers to customers finding out information on their own. In fact, companies can cut support costs by better positioning self-help resources, making them more apparent and easier to use for their customers. With that in mind, SmarterTrack 9.x better integrates self-help options for issues prior to a live chat being sent to an agent or a ticket being submitted from the Web portal. After an end user types in their initial query they are presented with a new page that lists suggested knowledge base articles based on keywords and phrases that are contained in the live chat or ticket text. End users can then see potential solutions before communicating with customer support agents and possibly resolve their issues themselves.

spell_checker

Improved Spell Checking

No one likes to send replies to tickets or live chats with spelling errors. SmarterTrack 9.x offers a completely revised spell checking engine that greatly increases the accuracy of the spell check as well as adding in grammar support. The new spell check also ignores things like URLs and email addresses and allows agents to add words to their own personal dictionaries.

Better Mobile and Tablet Support

SmarterTrack was architected so that the experience a user gets from a browser on a tablet mirrors their experience in the browser on their desktop. With this latest release, the experience is even more fluid and enjoyable due to a complete revision of the HTML editor used to create and/or reply to tickets, create knowledge base articles and more. Now it’s even easier, and more efficient, for agents to work from anywhere, at any time, using the laptops or tablet devices. And of course, the mobile interface is still available for devices with smaller screens, like smart phones.

Greater Support for
International Customers

SmarterTrack is a truly international product. With customers in well over 120 different countries, support for languages other than English is a priority. In addition, as SmarterTrack’s adoption across the globe continues to rise, support for non-Western character sets is also essential. With SmarterTrack 9.x we’ve not only included support for right-to-left languages in the management interface and on the portal, but we’ve also gone through the entire product and greatly simplified our language strings to make things much easier for automated translations and for customers who create their own translations files.

17 Different Spell-check Dictionaries Included

In addition to the improved spell checking, SmarterTrack also includes dictionaries for 17 different languages. The languages supported include:
configure_dictionary

  • English (US+UK Combined) – DEFAULT
  • English (US), (Australia), (Canada), (UK)
  • French
  • German/German (Switzerland)
  • Greek
  • Hungarian
  • Italian
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese/Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Russian
  • Spanish

These dictionaries are fully editable as well, so agents who speak multiple languages and use the dictionary of their choice and add words as needed.

Is that it?

Of course not! SmarterTrack 9.x has many more features and improvements. You’ll find them in the release notes we’ll post in the SmarterTrack 9.x BETA forum, but here are a few more that might be of interest:

  • Phone numbers now carry over from the login and user creation external provider.
  • Incoming or outgoing tickets created by agents can now be pinned to an agent when they are created.
  • Status messages and tip text now drops down from the top of the page and no longer disrupts page flow.
  • Language strings have been simplified so that they are much easier to translate.
  • SmarterTrack Communicator users can now designate calls, either incoming or outgoing, as “Personal” in order to prevent automated call logs.
  • Canned replies are now inserted into a ticket or chat wherever the cursor is located.
  • Duration now appears in the ticket grid so that agents and managers can see the total time a ticket has been worked on.
  • All default system emails were reviewed and rewritten to make them easier to understand.

Getting started with the BETA

To get your hands on the BETA simply visit the SmarterTools BETA forum, where you’ll see how to:

  • Sign up for the BETA
  • Get a special BETA license key
  • Download the latest BETA release (we update it regularly)
  • Communicate with other BETA testers and the SmarterTools development team
  • Stay up-to-date on the latest release note and BETA news

Sign up for the BETA

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Microsoft building an ecosystem with Barnes and Noble investment

May 1, 2012 by 2 Comments

Microsoft is one of the largest players in the next generation of platforms and operating systems but it’s the only one with out an ecosystem. That is, it’s the only one without revenue generating services that can help power and guide those platforms

In a previous blog post, “Windows 8 will succeed, but Microsoft could still fail“, I talked about Windows 8 and the impact it could have on the antiquated business model Microsoft has for their Windows Division. Specifically, I talk about how their business model is in trouble due to pressures on providing free upgrades like Apple and Google do for the iOS and Android platforms. I further propose that, without additional revenue generating services, Microsoft is going to have a difficult time competing in the platform space moving forward. In order for Windows to succeed in the Post-PC era, Microsoft needs to build an ecosystem that provides their main source or revenue in the consumer space.

Oddly enough, it seems Microsoft understands this and its recent injection of money into Barnes and Noble is proof.

It’s no great secret that Microsoft is years behind Apple, Amazon, and Google in providing online services. In addition, Microsoft will not be able to build these services in a reasonable amount of time and, to be honest, their track record has proven they aren’t necessarily very good at it. They have attempted multiple music services, either through building it themselves or via partnership, and none were very successful. In addition, their implementation had a long lasting impact on users because they took down DRM servers making some music no longer able to be played.  Bing has been somewhat of a bomb and continues to cost Microsoft money.

The “funding” of a new Barnes and Noble digital and educational company is brilliant. This allows Microsoft to complete against all three major e-book players on a fairly level playing field very quickly. Without Barnes and Noble, Microsoft would be in a world of hurt, plus they have added another piece to their ecosystem.  Microsoft is already planning to come out with an App Store for Metro, which will provide some decent revenue opportunities, but having access to the Barnes and Noble customer base and providing their e-reader on all Windows 8 versions is a step in the right direction.

Now the question is, where is Microsoft going to get video?

A friend of mine, Jeff Hardy, sent me an email and suggested, albeit sarcastically, that Microsoft buy Netflix. The funny thing is, I agree 100% with the idea.  Netflix is in trouble. They don’t have enough money to get enough content and they’re stuck.  Companies such as NBC, CBS, FOX, Showtime, HBO, etc. don’t like the Netflix model. Plus, Netflix has another issue: their model works great for older content but you can’t sell customers on older content. New and ever-changing content drives revenue. That’s why CBS, NBC, et. al. have their own apps and websites for customers to consume “new” content.

Microsoft has the perfect opportunity to get into the TV and movie service, immediately and across ALL platforms.  Microsoft could go from zero ecosystem to a complete ecosystem, across every device and platform available, practically overnight. Once Microsoft has their new media service (i.e., post-Netflix), they will have the money and the leverage to bargain with the NBC, CBS, HBO and other media companies. Microsoft will now own the platforms – Windows Mobile and Windows for desktops and tablet – and will have the ability to extend Netflix into a rental service as well, just as Apple has with iTunes and Amazon with their Prime service. The Amazon model is really the one everyone needs to move to. What’s holding Amazon back is that their video can only be played on limited devices and the service is very dependent on Flash.

So that leaves Microsoft with a need for a music service, and it sounds like they’re going to try to develop their own solution again. This time it should be simpler both because they’ve tried it before, and this time there are a few good models to use moving forward.

Investors, and even politicians, are giving Microsoft a lot of heat for sitting on nearly $60 billion in cash. This might have been a very smart decision and will give Microsoft a lot of flexibility in their direction and development of online services as there are some very well established companies that can make Microsoft very relevant very quickly, for the right price.

It would be a pleasant surprise if Microsoft could erase their consumer failures over the last 5 years. Apple’s iOS has had the same look and feel for the last few years and I don’t think Apple has felt pressure from Google and Android from a “user experience” standpoint. Microsoft, especially with there Metro interface, might be the nudge that Apple needs to evolve their very functional, but somewhat boring, mobile platform.

After all is said and done, what do you think of a Microsoft acquisition of Netflix? Does it make sense? Do you think Microsoft has what it takes to build a comparable ecosystem to Apple, Amazon and Google?

Filed under SmarterTools, Technology Reviews Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the Mobile Battle, the Browser Will Win

May 10, 2011 by 6 Comments

It’s a hot debate, and one that will probably last quite some time: Should you build a mobile application for your products or is a mobile-enabled website the best way to go?

As a software development company with a fairly sizable customer base, we’ve been asked several times what our particular mobile strategy is, which direction we’re going with our products and why we’ve chosen one route over the other. While I doubt the direction will be much of a surprise to anyone –after all, we DO focus our products on the Web versus native, installable clients like some of our competitors–I still wanted to give a few reasons why we’re focusing on the mobile Web versus building mobile apps.

1. Less Platform Headaches
It’s no secret that creating an interface for mobile browsers is easier than having to create different versions of the same app for iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, etc. Indeed, with the fragmentation currently seen within Android, we’d possibly even have to create and manage different apps based on the various flavors of Android currently in use. And let’s not forget managing apps that run on phones versus tablet. Has anyone run an iPhone app on an iPad with the “2x” modifier enabled? While some apps can pull it off, most can’t.

As an added incentive, we recently noticed that over 50% of our site traffic, and an increasing number of new product purchases, are coming from overseas. That means an even greater number of mobile devices and operating systems to support with an app (even with Nokia partnering with Microsoft for Nokia’s next generation of phones). Using a mobile browser interface means that growing customer base has unfettered access to our products. Accommodating different mobile browsers is less time consuming than building for a mobile OS, and therefore we will have an easier time reaching the largest number of potential and existing customers.

2. The Technology is Here
In the past it was a given that a mobile app would provide a better user experience than a mobile browser-based site. Anyone remember building WAP sites? Ugh… Now, however, the technology is here for building robust, engaging and beautiful browser-based sites and applications. With advances such as HTML5 for developing apps and advances in mobile browsers for displaying apps, users can get at least as good an experience on a tablet or mobile phone as they can on a desktop.

3. More Seamless Experience for Users
While it’s possible to create an app that “looks” like your Web-based product, the experience is generally going to be different due to the app creation process. If the product was built to use a browser, keeping it in the browser is more likely to present end users with a seamless experience. With the upcoming SmarterTrack 7.x BETA, customers will get their first look at how we’ve managed to streamline the mobile experience: we cut out a lot of “excess baggage” in terms of code so the browsing experience is faster. In addition, the look and feel of the interface is almost exactly the same as you get using a desktop browser–there are some changes for specific circumstances (like scrolling panes for tablet navigation, etc.) but the overall experience is mirrored across devices, both mobile and desktop.

4. Less IT Involvement
This is possibly a point best suited to the enterprise, but keeping your application in the browser means less involvement from IT to ensure standards are in place across the wide variety of mobile devices being used within an organization. Installing applications generally means involvement from IT–either in a support capacity or actually physically installing the app if the organization is particularly hands-on. With a browser-based system there’s no need for IT staff to manage the process. In addition, product updates and new releases are much easier to manage when an IT team only has to update a centralized location versus ensuring all users with mobile phones, tablets and the likes have the proper patches and updates installed. This is why the enterprise loves our products: From the IT side of things, the same basic rules apply for desktops and laptops as for mobile devices when you deal with browser-based products and from the management side, browser-based products help keep IT costs low.

5. Flexibility Across Products
We have three products that are built around the browser: SmarterMail, SmarterTrack and SmarterStats. We were lucky in that we built all three products very similarly, so creating a mobile browser interface for one product means it can be distributed across the other products with minimal effort. As each product behaves differently (i.e., they have different functions) this wouldn’t be possible if we created apps for each–they’d each have to be developed individually. By keeping our focus on the browser, regardless of whether it’s a mobile browser or not, we maximize our efficiency and emphasize the user experience.

6. The Browser is Our Domain
As I mentioned above, SmarterTools is a company that builds for the browser. When we started (almost 10 years ago…wow) we could have easily built desktop applications for Linux and Windows like most of our competitors. Looking back it was almost like we were ahead of the game and had a clear vision of the future. By starting in the browser we are able to more easily adapt to the changing landscape, like today with the move toward mobility. Each and every one of our products runs in a browser, whether it’s on a desktop, server or on an iPad, Xoom, Galaxy S, iPhone, Droid or BlackBerry. By building our products for the browser, we feel it’s the best way for us to reach the maximum number of current, and potential, users and to ensure that their experience is as seamless as possible. We honestly believe we can provide customers with as good of an experience in a browser as we could if we build desktop or mobile apps. Besides, why shift away from something you’ve been successful at for almost 10 years?

That’s pretty much it. There’s no doubt that mobile is a direction we all should be going. The good news is that SmarterTools built our products in such a way that transitioning them to become even more mobile-ready is a fairly simple task. In the end, and if you’ll forgive a bit of opinionated prognosticating, I believe in the war for the mobile user the Web will win out over native applications. Mobile apps will always have their place, but until such time as you can quickly and easily build out an applications that will seamlessly install across a variety of mobile devices regardless of OS (much less version of OS), building for the mobile browser is just the most logical way to go.

So, what about you? What are your thoughts on the rise of mobile computing and whether it’s wiser to build mobile apps or build for the mobile Web? We’re curious to know, so leave a comment and have your say…

This post was written by Derek C., vice-president of marketing and communications for SmarterTools. If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to the SmarterTools Blog so you don’t miss an update.

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Reaffirming Our Commitment to the Mobile Worker

February 10, 2010 by

Hi, I’m Tim Uzzanti, CEO of SmarterTools. From time to time, I’ll be posting my own thoughts on the industry, our corporate philosophy, and the future of the company in the SmarterTools Blog.

With last week’s unveiling of Apple’s much-hyped tablet computer, the iPad, the importance of mobile computing in small and enterprise businesses has never been stronger. Both small business and corporate employees already use iPhones, BlackBerrys, Droids, and netbooks to access mission-critical applications on the road as they travel from company headquarters to remote offices or from one business meeting to the next.

According to Forrester Research, mobile workers make up 28 percent of the enterprise workforce and it’s those individuals SmarterTools has always had in mind. Since our inception, the SmarterTools vision has primarily been focused on allowing individuals to work from remote locations without any limitations. This is one of the primary reasons we made the extra efforts of building Web-based interfaces for all of our products, although it would have been much easier and faster to develop platform-specific applications.

Our latest releases of SmarterMail and SmarterStats also exemplify our commitment to the needs of the mobile worker. Licensing the Exchange ActiveSync add-on was a major advancement in SmarterMail 6.x, as the direct push synchronization protocol allows mobile devices to function like desktop clients such as Microsoft Outlook. Now, SmarterMail users can access all of their email, calendars, contacts, tasks, and notes in real time via most mobile devices, virtually eliminating the need for Webmail or third-party mail clients. SmarterStats 5.x features improved mobile phone detection and reporting, allowing users to better understand their mobile Web traffic. For our development team, this enhancement enabled them to better understand mobile devices and the variations between mobile browsers.

In the spring, mobile workers will begin using the Apple iPad, which truly has the potential to change how on-the-go professionals conduct business. Make no doubt—SmarterTools will continue to advance its products with the “work from anywhere” philosophy at the center of our development decisions.

Our goal? To further extend the flexibility of our product line to allow the mobile employee to operate SmarterTools software from a mobile device as if they were at the office.

This likely means developing applications for mobile platforms that allow remote workers to provide customer service, sales, support, or even manage business operations as efficiently as they do from the office computer—a task our developers are already hard at work on. When the time comes, we’ll put our money where our mouth is and ask our own employees to leave the office and conduct their day-to-day job functions on a mobile phone.

Thanks,

Tim Uzzanti

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and Outlooks are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation [MSFT]. BlackBerry is a trademark of Research in Motion Ltd. [RIMM]. Droid is a trademark of Motorola Inc. [MOT]. iPhone and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc. [AAPL]. All other images, logos, and product names mentioned in this post are the trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective owners.

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