Reducing Spending in 2012 | Help Desk Software
February 15, 2012 | 
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We’re continuing our series this year on reducing spending with the topic of Help Desk Software. You may be thinking, “I don’t have a help desk – those are for call centers.” Well yes they are, but help desk software is ideal for all kinds of tracking.
Businesses track all kinds of things. Automating that tracking not only improves efficiency but saves money. If you are relying on spreadsheets you know you have limited reporting capabilities. If you are communicating requests through email you lack cohesive documentation in a single place as well as difficulty knowing the status of a request. In addition it is easy for emails to get ‘lost’ and ‘the ball dropped’ if someone is away. A help desk application, also called a request tracking solution will manage all your requests in a central solution. Even better, a web based solution will allow you to track requests from any location – on any computer.
So what kinds of things can you track? Of course we have customers that track IT support requests, but we have customers that track all kinds of unique things, such as specialized equipment and even employee illness.
Learn more about the Novo Help Desk and contact us for a free trial!
http://www.novosolutions.com/help-desk-software/
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Tags: Help Desk Software, help desk solutions, helpdesk software, request management, request tracking | 
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Privacy? It depends on who’s looking!
Electronic documentation and the Internet has greatly changed the way we communicate, but privacy issues and security have become something every business owner and consumer has to think about these days. Just last month google presented sweeping changes to its privacy policies causing congress to look into it. In some arena’s we can choose to just ‘not play’ and not use a service, but even that is getting increasingly more challenging, especially with health care electronic records management becoming the norm. Even facebook has people scratching their heads – do I really want to disclose my personal information just to use this app (and more importantly what I am disclosing)?
Other organizations like Spotify and Netfix use (or plan to use) social media to share with others what you are watching and listening to.
At Novo Solutions we take privacy very seriously!
- Our application by design has security measures built-in. Login’s are required and administrators can control settings so only certain people can see certain data, giving management tight control to keep information secure.
- For hosted customers we provide the Novo Private Cloud. We go above and beyond normal cloud services – we have our own cloud (so to speak). All Novo customers’ data is kept on a private cloud with added security features.
We encourage you to keep your eyes open, use diligence in what you share, and use complex passwords (and change them regularly). For information on the Novo private cloud see: http://www.novosolutions.com/solutions/cloud-computing/index.html
Posted in General | Tags: cloud, Cloud Computing, internet privacy, privacy act, security | No Comments »
Customers give ‘Novo Support’ record ratings!
Well we polled our customers and the results are in. 95.3% of respondents rated Novo Support as “Very Satisfied’ or ‘Satisfied’.
A core mission of Novo Solutions is to serve our customers. That means at the ‘point of sale’ the relationship is just beginning. Unlike some companies who give a lot of attention to ‘make the sale’ then disappear, at Novo our customers get the same attention throughout implementation and support as when they are first speaking with a sales person.
Providing top-notch support is challenging for any organization, including technology providers. Technology is ever changing and that brings challenges. Our customers run our app in a wide variety of environments bringing added challenges. In fact many of our support calls end up being the result of personalized environmental conditions. We will do what it takes to help diagnose and resolve issues because we want the Novo software to ‘sing’ when you get it home.
So Kudos to our support team! If you would like to learn more about the suite of Novo products contact us at www.novosolutions.com.
What would you do in case of a knowledge blackout?
Beginning tonight at midnight Wikipedia will be closing down its US site for twenty four hours to protest the federal anti-privacy legislation known as SOPA, warning it is a threat to free speech.
Whether you agree with or oppose the proposed legislation this action raises a lot of issues. Free speech governance concerns aside, an intended consequence is that many who rely on wikipedia for information are going to be disappointed when they cannot get to what they are looking for. Instead visitors will be directed to contact their congressmen to oppose the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) legislation.
Knowledge management and ownership is a serious issue that must be addressed. But this kind of action also raises the question “What would happen if you could not get to needed company information”? It brings to light our vulnerability to how we access important ‘knowledge’.
Many times companies and organizations do not think about the value of company knowledge unless it is compromised. A fire or physical disaster can destroy paper documentation or even local PC’s and servers, not to mention undocumented knowledge that is dependent on a person.
A web-based knowledge base is an essential tool for storing valuable knowledge. With the proper credentials it can be retrieved anywhere, anytime. This can make your everyday operations smoother and even save your company in a crisis.
We will have to see what happens with SOPA and PIPA. By all means if you have an opinion please tell your legislators. In the meantime YOU have control over your data. Guard it well!
For information on the Novo Knowledge Base or for a free trial see: http://www.novosolutions.com/knowledge-base-software/
Posted in General, Knowledge Base | Tags: Knowledge Base Software, knowledge management, knowledge privacy, PIPA, SOPA | No Comments »
Reducing Spending in 2012 | Asset Management Software
It’s the beginning of a new year. Most of us are reviewing our businesses to learn where we did well in 2011 and what we need to improve on in 2012. Whether you finished the best or worst year ever, all businesses either need to improve efficiency or reduce costs (or both). In times like these, having the right people and resources in place can make or break your organization. Over the next weeks we’ll look at some proven products that help organizations reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
Asset management software is a good example of a valuable cost cutting solution. Maybe you think Asset Management Software is only for businesses with very large IT departments. It is an essential tool for tracking the locations and history of servers, computers and other IT equipment. But when you think about it, behind salaries, IT equipment may be a company’s largest expense. It males sense to know the status of every asset.
Asset Management Software is not just for the IT department. Think about what other assets your company uses in doing business? Do you know important information about:
- When items were purchased and deployed?
- Where they are located?
- Repairs, service outages and problem issues?
This is important information for any assets you may have. Items such as:
- Mobile technology, – cell phones & tablets
- Office equipment – furniture & fixtures
- Cars, trucks, and fleet vehicles
- Equipment specific to your industry
Knowing what assets you have and where they are located ensures that you are managing assets efficiently to help minimize costs and maximize value. Asset management software – it’s not just for IT.
For a free trial of the Novo Asset Manager contact us http://www.novosolutions.com/asset-management-software
Happy New Years from Novo Solutions!
We want to wish our customers all the best in 2012! This will be an exciting year for Novo Solutions, as we are deep in development and expanding our solutions offerings!
If you are interested in Beta testing our new solutions please give us a call. Not only will you be running the newest version, but we will be offering deep discounts for Beta users who wish to continue using the new software.
Your comments and suggestions are always welcomed – please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have any questions or suggestions about the Novo Software.
Again Happy New Year!
Novo Solutions!
Posted in General | Tags: customer service software, Customer Support Software, Novo Solutions | No Comments »
Novo Solutions | Technology Talk
What does your office staff chat about around the water cooler? Tebow? Politics? The economy?
Well call us geeks, but invariably when we start chit chatting at the Novo office the conversations almost always turn to technology. The excitement builds when a staff member tells of something new they have learned about. Like kindergartners at ‘show and tell’, new purchases are brought in for everyone to ‘ooh and ah’ over. Sales and buying tips are freely shared so anyone can join in.
And while it may seem all fun and games we almost always end up discussing a customer’s unique use of our software or a need in the marketplace. This kind of dialogue not only bonds departments together but spurs interdepartmental creativity. Support gives ideas to marketing, and sales gives ideas to accounting, etc. Great ideas for our software arise as we discuss new technology effects on consumers and businesses. These chats almost always end in some sci-fi type of invention one of us is going to create.
These commonplace chats remind us that the world is changing at a rapid pace. We as a company have ridden the technology changes of the past ten years and will continue in 2012 with more and improved support software offerings. We feel this coming year is going to be our best year ever. Keep an eye on us…. we’ll keep you posted!
Novo Solutions | ANNOUNCING…Version 4.8 – The Best Novo ever!
You spoke….we listened! We are pleased to deliver version 4.8 with many feature enhancements our clients have been asking for!
Here’s what’s new!
Company News: Central area that can be a Home Page +Search hub for your Knowledge Base
Article Comments: Blog style in line comments beneath selected articles so visitors can interact with each other on article content
Enhanced Article Feedback: Article Feedback and Voting enhancement that allows you to better track how well your support documentation is serving your customers
RSS Capability: RSS feeds allow customers to stay informed with the latest article posts.
Other Enhancements:
Core/General:
- Ability to Disable Admin Users
- Ability to reorder Custom Rules
- Ability to run custom timer rules on Date & Date/Time UDF’s
Knowledge Base:
- AJAX style auto complete search field on Home Page and Advanced search pages
- Normalize Cute default font and default.css content styles
- Ability to display Author &/or Editor
- Ability to change Authorship of an article
- Ability to enable a Captcha feature on Article Comments, Feedback and Questions
- Various Custom Rules Enhancements
- New Mailto Variables (Author; Editor; Group; etc.)
- Run Rules based on Editors
Help Desk:
- Memorized Ticket Scheduling Enhancement
- Ability to export viewcase.asp to excel
- Enhanced Assign Due Date and UDF action for custom rules
- Enhanced Ticket Search Enhancement
- Ability to Enable/Disable Automatic New Ticket Notifications
Assets:
- Add Asset UDF setting display on asset search
- Related Articles section on Add/Edit Asset.asp
- Status ordering for Assets
- View Paths for Locations (reports)
Reports:
- Ability to create a Report that shows all users that are subscribed to a particular article
- Ability to create a customer report that includes subscriptions
- Ability to report on Assets with related Articles and Visa-Versa
- Report on Included Articles
- View Paths for Categories and Asset Locations
Contact us for a free trial!
Did you ‘Novo it’ today?
Who would have thought we would be speaking words in the workplace such as “tweet’, ‘wiki’, ‘blog’, and ‘google’? Technology sure does wear a face of humor doesn’t it? I guess they are really no different than words of the past such as ‘Xerox’ and ‘Kleenex’, but they do have silly rings to them.
Take google for example. This company name has become a verb. How often have you heard (or said), “have you tried googling that”? Around here we say that a lot.
Imagine our delight when our customers tell us that they ‘novo’ at their workplaces. When they need to retrieve knowledge they will ask, ‘did you novo that’? That has become the term for looking for something in their Novo Knowledge Base.
Now we are not google, but we are happy that our software has become the mainstay of getting quick information for many organizations. This is what we have dreamed of since we developed our foundation knowledge base application.
So the question is, “have you novo-ed today”? If not please contact us and we will set you up with a free trial so you can try it out for yourself.
Wiki or Managed Knowledge Base – what’s right for you?
All of us know the value of accessible, stored knowledge. Not that long ago few of us used words like wiki or knowledge base, now they have become common words in our workplaces and in everyday life.
Many of us have learned the hard way that with knowledge comes responsibility. In order to be effective one has to build & maintain organizational knowledge to its end goal to be accurate, easy to access, &helpful. Organizing knowledge does not happen by itself – it has to be regularly managed.
Consider the wiki. Someone had the great idea that assembling knowledge could be a shared effort. Why not let people who may be experts contribute their knowledge so it can be shared with others? This would allow experts to play a part, and take the burden off management to be required to compose all of the desired information.
For many a wiki is a good solution, but it is not without its Problems.
Wiki submissions:
- Must be reviewed and/or approved for accuracy
- Must be reviewed and/or approved when edits are made
- May be subjective to the writer’s motivation
- May not provide a thorough answer
So for those who are counting on a wiki to be a big timesaver you may need to think again. There is still a significant time investment to manage a wiki.
For many organizations a knowledge base is still the best solution. Today’s new features, such as workflow automation makes article management easier than ever. Workflow automation:
- Offers the capability of defining workflows with various completion or approval paths.
- Empowers administrators to easily view pending task status, assignments, predecessor relationships & deadlines
- Email notifications can be automatically sent to the appropriate person or group when tasks are completed or rejected.
This flexibility allows management the ability to manage article creation through administrators’ and others as needed.
For information on the Novo Knowledge Base see http://www.novosolutions.com/knowledge-base-software/.
Posted in General, Knowledge Base | Tags: customer support, Customer Support Software, knowledge base, knowledge management, Novo Solutions | No Comments »