FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9 A.M. EDT, November 2, 2007

Contact: John Mapel

Phone: (508) 644-1553

www.cnpintegrations.com expands Customer Relationship and Business Management (CRBM) System services for small and medium-sized businesses 

info@hand 5.2 -New features

Boston, MA – CNP Integrations, in partnership with The Long Reach Corporation, has announced the latest release of its high powered business software suite info@hand 5.2.  The newest generation of the firm’s flagship product puts the company squarely into the arena with any of the world’s leading solution providers for CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and now CRBM (Customer Relationship & Business Management). 

CRBM is the inevitable and powerful evolution of CRM and the new Web 2.0 leveraging the social networking revolution. CRBM integrates any company’s front and back office functions and extends it right into the customer’s daily operations. The recent release of info@hand 5.2 provides CNP unparalleled tools to streamline its customers’ business model and maximize their marketing potential.

The application is one of the first to blend first class CRM features with extended business management capabilities for Order, Project & Resource tracking, Customer Service, Human Resources and mobile accessibility. info@hand 5.2 differs from conventional CRM products in that it offers key features that enable small and medium businesses to capitalize on their ability to be nimble – and outmaneuver larger companies.

This is the same approach CNP founder Chris Nielsen covets for his own company, an avid user of the Long Reach Corp product. As a smaller firm in an ocean of powerhouse software solution providers, CNP delivers comparable services and solutions faster, with greater economy. Nielsen credits the info@hand product itself for much of CNP’s international growth.

The platform eliminates common small-business bottlenecks in finance and administrative areas. For example, it allows customer-facing personnel to create quotes or invoices quickly for clients, and then synchronize them later into a familiar accounting system for tracking by administrative staff. It provides for comprehensive project management capabilities such as timesheets, project costing and invoicing; fully integrated customer service management with an automatic assignment mode that pairs cases with the most qualified technicians; and strong international support.

CNP’s unique approach focuses on professional support for open source models, such as info@hand 5.2, providing consulting, development and service in multiple disciplines that are rarely addressed by single solution providers.

As well as specializing in these online solutions, the firm builds and supports robust ecommerce portals and feature-rich social networks that are supported by content management systems (CMS) for ease of maintenance, integrated with customer relationship management. Rounding out the capabilities of the firm is ecommerce and online interactive training, as well as the strategy and support that keeps each solution interacting with other components as well as users.

CNP founder Chris Nielsen, a recipient of many innovation awards for his work with interactive on-line training solutions and collaboration tools, spent several years developing an “open-source” approach to core technologies, citing the economy of scale and flexibility to serve customers’ specific needs. Simultaneously, Nielsen discovered that organizational support for these technologies has yet to be developed effectively.

According to Nielsen, “The open source approach has given us faster development cycles, and lets us take advantage of a far greater base of innovation in our industry. Our unique position here is the ability to “connect the dots” and support the client. Most of all, our approach affords cutting edge technology, and support for it, at a remarkable price point.”

CNP’s global team of professionals provides diverse focus in all areas of WEB 2.0 Solutions, as well as traditional marketing disciplines and public relations specialties. This mix combines to provide businesses, at all levels, the infrastructures they need to seamlessly manage and grow, independent of physical location or diversity of resources.

Customer Portal 2.0 Now Available!

info@hand 5.2 Release

Long Reach Launches Release 5.2 of Flagship info@hand
Customer Relationship and Business Management System (CRBM):

Comprehensive System Includes CRM, Customer Portal, eStore,
IP Telephony Integration and QuickBooks Link

ONTARIO, CANADA – (Oct 8, 2007) – The Long Reach Corporation has announced the next generation of its flagship product, info@hand, a Customer Relationship and Business Management (CRBM) System for small and medium-sized businesses. (Try it here: admin/admin to login) The application is one of the first to blend first class Customer Relationship Management (CRM) features with extended business management capabilities for Order Management, Project & Resource tracking, Customer Service, and Human Resources.

info@hand differs from conventional CRM products in that it offers key features that enable small and medium businesses to capitalize on their ability to be nimble – and outmaneuver larger companies. info@hand does this by eliminating common small-business bottlenecks in finance and administrative areas. For example, it allows customer-facing personnel to create quotes or invoices quickly for clients, and then synchronize them later into a familiar accounting system for tracking by administrative staff.

Other features setting info@hand apart from the myriad of CRM products offered today include comprehensive project management capabilities such as timesheets, project costing and invoicing; fully integrated customer service management with an automatic assignment mode that pairs cases with the most qualified technicians; and strong international support including the ability to generate quote and invoice PDFs using the full UTF-8 character set needed for many languages including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai.

Pricing for info@hand is simple compared to other CRM products. info@hand is sold for a one-time customer fee of $250 per user, which includes specific software for mobile access (info@hand Mobile) and the Joomla!-based info@hand Customer Portal with eStore (which allows your clients access to automated sales and service 24/7). Many other CRM products charge additional fees per customer linked via the portal. Also included in the standard price is the info@hand Plug-in for Microsoft Outlook, and info@hand PBX for integrating with Asterisk/Trixbox-based telephone systems.

The key features of the latest info@hand version include:

IAH 5.2 Features:

• Mail merge capability - using an RTF template file (see Contacts module);
• Automatic phone number formatting, to ensure smooth IP telephony operation;
• Support for info@hand PBX 1.0, info@hand Finance for QuickBooks 1.1, info@hand Customer Portal 2.0, and info@hand eStore 1.0 (which is part of the Customer Portal 2.0);
• Discounts have become a regular module, within the Order Management Group tab. They are no longer accessed via the Quotes and Invoices section of the Admin page;
• Line item level discounts are now supported on Quotes, Sales Orders and Invoices;
• Discounts may now be percentage discounts, or fixed amount discounts;
• Assemblies may now include discount lines within their catalog definition;
• Quote approvals option if gross profit percentage is lower than a threshold value
• Enhanced Group Inbox capability, with support for directing incoming email to standard and custom folders (such as Customer Support) within Group Inbox, plus auto-create of Cases via email and improved bounce handling for Email Campaigns;
• New 'Test Mode' for data imports - instead of importing data, returns import CSV file with annotations on duplicates or other data quality issues (see Leads module);
• Create or add to campaign target lists using reports on Contacts and Leads (see Reports module).

In addition, today marks the release of info@hand Customer Portal 2.0, with support for these new features:

• Customer self-registration and password management;
• Marketing Event registration, for seminars etc;
• Review and comment on Invoices and Payment history;
• Review and comment on Quotes;
• Purchase products via the embedded eStore 1.0;
• May be implemented on existing Joomla! installations or as a stand-alone shrink-wrap installation.

Sign up for your own online demo of info@hand now available via www.cnpintegrations.com . Simply fill out our registration form and we will set you up your own FREE 30 Day demo.

By Marc Rahimzadeh

September 20, 2004: In order to improve its chances for success, an enterprise portal must be viewed a strategic investment, not just a technology solution, writes CIO Update guest columnist Marc Rahimzadeh.

Determining "Does my organization need a portal?" might seem easy, but gearing up for successful implementation requires some careful planning and a close look at your overall business strategy and communication goals.

Planning a solution for a diverse corporate audience presents several challenges including: designing a system that will provide the most value, building programs to drive end-user adoption and communicating the relevancy of the project.

An enterprise portal has the potential to change the way business initiatives are accomplished and key messages communicated. Without a clear plan of attack, planning for a large-scale implementation can be intimidating.

The following are five key phases of the development lifecycle:

Create vision, set goals and identify end users: Assemble an eclectic task force including stakeholders from various divisions to contribute to the development of the solution.

Your initial analysis should pay equal attention to technical requirements, business needs and the portal's ability to adapt to an evolving business. Understanding your current and desired landscape will begin to show how each business unit could benefit from the portal and help you to identify quick wins for rapid user adoption.

Gain top-down support: Never underestimate the power of enterprise-wide adoption. Getting leadership onboard in the early stages is crucial. However, it's equally important to secure buy-in from end-user employees.

You need executive endorsement to get the project underway, but you also need the support of the underlying departments that will be ultimately responsible for mobilizing the portal.

Be sure to educate employees in advance about application releases and upgrades and develop a plan for communicating the solution's benefits at a departmental or role-specific level.