Microsoft Dynamics ERP: What’s The Hype About?

If you happen to be on the Internet for any amount of time, you’ve seen Microsoft’s almost-ubiquitous ad campaign promoting Dynamics enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. You’ve seen them on MLB.com, Nytimes.com, Bostonherald.com, and even on Facebook.com.

The ads primarily promote the interface of the Microsoft Dynamics software and how similar it is to the universally-used Microsoft Office products, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Outlook. And as you can see in the image below (a screenshot of Dynamics CRM), the advertisements don’t lie.

Microsoft is excited about its line of ERP software (Dynamics AX, GP, SL, NAV, and CRM) not only because it’s a cutting-edge solution to manage the processes of a business from one console, but also because Dynamics users enjoy a quick learning curve. Due to the familiarity of the software’s interface, customers realize a rapid positive return on investment that is not likely with other ERP solutions.

Based in Peabody, Massachusetts, GraVoc Associates, Inc. has been outfitting satisfied clients with Microsoft Dynamics ERP software customized to their needs for years, and GraVoc is proud to have earned the title of Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Clients in the Boston Area and throughout New England have trusted Microsoft’s reputation in business solutions and GraVoc’s reputation in prompt implementation and customization of business solutions.

If the “everyone gets it” ads have caught your eye and your business could use powerful software to cut down on wasted time, inefficient communication, and disjointed business processes, we strongly recommend that you do some exploration on the Microsoft Dynamics website as well as GraVoc.com to see if this powerful yet familiar software is the right solution for you.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing all of our customers, vendors and friends a very happy holiday and a prosperous, safe New Year.

Dave

GraVoc Helps Their Own Cause with New Product

GraVoc’s Field Service (GFS) Application was designed to streamline the processes of dispatching, mobile communication to technicians doing field service, tracking time, billing customers quickly and correctly, and developing a comprehensive service history for each client. As the development of this application progressed throughout 2008, GraVoc’s personnel wasted several hours every week with a convoluted, inefficient billing procedure.

Up until December 8, service calls, time sheets, customer time tracking, and customer billing were all handled by different applications at GraVoc. Each employee had differently-formatted time sheets, and staff members needed to enter the same information into different programs. This process cost GraVoc’s staff time that could have been spent on other projects.

After months of development and the successful implementation of GraVoc Field Service software for a client, GraVoc implemented the system internally on December 8th. Almost immediately, the staff saw benefits of a new, streamlined process:

• Each time sheet is now in the same format.
• Technicians can enter notes regarding service calls immediately—even while still on-site—and the time sheets are automatically entered.
• Management is three clicks away from viewing how many hours and which supplies were used in the service call.
• There is no longer a need for wading through time sheets to formulate a service history for each customer, as each call is saved on a server through GFS.
• One program is used by the dispatcher, the technicians, and the accounting staff, providing less confusion and a quicker billing process.
• Within a week, the entire staff is capable of using the software, as it is extremely easy to learn and use immediately.

GraVoc is confident that GFS is capable of doing the same with your service-based business. Originally designed for a boiler service business, GraVoc Field Service Application’s scalability and versatility resulted in an instant solution for GraVoc’s own business. No matter the industry, if you provide top-flight services to your customers and want to eliminate constant headaches and lost time, GFS might be the solution for you.

Please visit the GraVoc.com homepage or contact a representative at GraVoc Associates, Inc. at 978-538-9055 or at info@gravoc.com for more information on this very powerful solution or a demonstration.

GraVoc in Puerto Rico

On Friday, December 5th, a representative from GraVoc attended the 7th Annual Symposium of ISACA’s Puerto Rican Chapter in San Juan. The event featured a wide variety of speakers who addressed a number of issues pertinent to information security and information security consulting today. Attendance at the symposium was just the first step in an ongoing effort to extend our consulting services to the island.

The Importance of Vendor Management

Earlier this month, electronic bill paying service provider CheckFree, who controls a majority of the market in online bill paying services, incurred a security breach. Though Checkfee was diligent about the problem, rectifying the issue in a matter of hours, it again raises the subject of how important an effective vendor management program is, especially for financial institutions.

What Happened:

• An external hacker somehow stole the credentials of a CheckFree administrator and edited the CheckFree site.
• Instead of coming to the expected web page, CheckFree end users were redirected to a Ukranian web page that automatically attempted to install malware on end user computers.
• If the computers did not have up-to-date antivirus provisions, a Trojan may have been installed to gather usernames and passwords from the infected computers.

Within five hours, CheckFree fixed the problem and was already well underway toward investigating what happened and how many users were affected and reversing the effects of the hijacking. The firm is a third-party service provider for a very large share of the financial industry.

The CheckFree incident is a perfect reminder of how important a vendor management program is. Banks and credit unions are among the most strongly-regulated businesses in the world, as it is crucial that they keep customers’ and members’ information safe from malicious outsiders.

In addition to banks and credit unions taking the security of their systems seriously, third-party vendors and service providers must be held to the same tough standards. It does not matter whether information is compromised in the hands of the financial institution or the hands of the service provider—if a customer or member has his information stolen, the financial institution will inevitably take the blame. This hurts the reputation of both the service provider and of the financial institution, and ultimately costs both a tremendous amount of money.

A vendor management program is a crucial program to have, as it enables financial institutions to make sure their vendors, like CheckFree, are doing their business with as much attention to security detail as they are. This kind of program is in the best interests of the customer/member, the financial institution’s bottom line, and the financial institution’s regulatory compliance.

GraVoc Associates, located 18 miles from Boston in Peabody, MA, is very much willing to help both existing and new information security customers develop and maintain their vendor management programs. As the new year approaches, many experts predict a 2009 characterized by attacks such as the ones incurred at the beginning of December. It is up to financial institutions to safeguard their information, and GraVoc can help them ensure that third-party vendors and service providers are holding themselves to the same standards.

Cracking Down: GraVoc Information Security Practice launches the latest version of its identity theft risk assessment

Since the introduction of the FACT Act Red Flags Rule in November 2007, our Information Security consultants have been hard at work developing risk assessment tools and solutions to help our clients comply with the regulatory standards and ultimately develop an Identity Theft Prevention Program. We have continued to update our identity theft risk assessment methodology according to our latest research of risk mitigation tactics and, more importantly, our experience from prior assessments. For more information on how to keep your information and business secure visit our Information Security page.

Moving On Up! GraVoc moves from #15 to #2 for Microsoft Resellers in New England

At a recent Microsoft Partners conference in Waltham, MA, GraVoc was informed that the company had moved from fifteenth to second on the list of Microsoft Business Solution reseller’s in New England. Much of this development is the result of our ability to successfully customize and implement Microsoft’s most recent line of integrated business management solutions—Dynamics AX—for clients in a variety of business sectors. GraVoc has been doing business in the greater Boston area and throughout New England for 15 years and is proud to be a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

MGL 93H Deadline Extended

On Friday November 14th, the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations announced that the compliance deadlines for Massachusetts General Law 93H (Massachusetts Data Protection Law) would be extended. Under the former provisions, businesses had to adhere to new identity theft prevention regulations by January 1, 2009. The deadline has now been extended to May 1, 2009. For more information on MGL 93H and how GraVoc can help your business stay compliant, please click on the MGL 93H Quick Link.

GraVoc’s Role in the Creative Economy

Thursday morning November 13, GraVoc sent three staff members to Peabody City Hall for a breakfast round-table discussion regarding the North Shore’s “Creative Economy.”

Creativity has always been the backbone of GraVoc’s development. Since the very beginning, GraVoc’s hard-working staff has had an ability to stay on the cutting-edge of innovation so the company can suit the needs of its customers. GraVoc has used creativity to write or customize powerful software, find the right high-tech tools, or create policies rapidly so that customers could make the best out of their business.

GraVoc’s range of services, now made clear on the NEW GraVoc.com, is a dynamic list. GraVoc’s consultants are experts in the fields of information technology, information security, and software development, and their expertise combined with their flexibility has resulted in a constantly growing catalogue of services, making GraVoc a market leader. Six months ago, GraVoc’s Field Service Automation software was a work in progress. A month and a half ago, the MGL 93H compliance program was just an idea.

If your company needs a creative solution to make your job or the jobs of your employees easier, we encourage you to explore what GraVoc has to offer. We are willing to meet your challenges and get creative to make your business run the way you want it to.

GraVoc 3.0 Debuts!!

Today GraVoc Associates launched it's new web site! Some of our new features include our interactive blog, media player and new information on M.G.L.-93H. Not to mention we created a whole new look and feel to our home on the web. Subscribe to our blog for updates to our site over the weeks and months to come and stay tuned for more information on all of our services and products. Thanks for visiting gravoc.com!

MGL-93H

We're excited to announce that we will be offering services to help your business comply with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 93 H. Check back for more news or contact us today at (978) 538-9055.

GraVoc 3.0 to launch soon

Stay tuned for our new website launch next week!