On January 2006, Cisco reported “British small businesses are receiving inadequate customer support and intelligence prior to making crucial technology buying decisions. According to the survey of 400 UK small businesses, the majority of small businesses (42%) feel left in the lurch after purchasing technology, due to insufficient post-sales support or training.”

I came across this article on outserve.biz blog, and the author of blog comments “ I think the above can be caused by the standard VAR (value added reseller) model, whereby the emphasis (and majority of the income and therefore profit) is centred on the initial sale with less attention given to the post sales period which is traditionally less profitable. The Software as a Service (SaaS) model should help to rectify this by having an income model which is interested in the long term for ongoing revenues (and less based on the initial income) which should ensure a better post sale and support experience. “

Spot on. ebdex Document Exchange is offered as a SaaS without any capital outlay or upfront subscription fees. Whilst we would sign each client for a three-year period, our revenue more or less dependent on the usage, which ensures we deliver a superior customer service. This is far better method than what can be achieved by licensed software model. The business case for SaaS is increasingly being accepted by both larger and small organisations.

Tags: ebdex, SaaS, Cisco, VAR, Benefits

I have been awaiting for this phone since back end of last year. Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse is promising delivery in May 06. I am not sure I believe any of them, as they both promised delivery in Q1 06 before.

What do you use and why? I am looking for an alternative if SE 990i is further delayed. David, thanks for your suggestions through Skype and your blog.

Update 1: Signed up with O2 and got XDA Mini S. Vodafone just lost me as a customer, as they were not flexible enough to upgrade my phone free and sign up for a higher tariff. Looks like customer retention does not form a strategic part of their business. Pity!! In ebdex customer retention is No. 1. That’s how our organisational culture will be built!

Ok. So what do I think about my new phone whilst its being charged. I have been told it has the same functionality of its big brother, the over weight XDA Exec. But XDA Mini S, is not a 3G phone. Will I notice the difference! No, as my old phone is GSM and I never used it for e-mails or web acess.

I know how I will spend my time tomorrow!!!

Update 2 It took me at least good 1/2 day to get the phone going. First, they had to e-mail me two files to set-up internet and e-mail access. O2 could have easily enclosed the contents of these two e-mails with the phone. I heard from other owners of having similar problems. My firewall stop synchronising with MS Outlook. O2 helped me sort this out by reading a help page from MS website.

I am disappointed with phone’s ringing tones. I suppose these can be downloaded. Overall, very happy! I am hoping this will last..

Continuing from my previous article, Two Heavy Weights enter EIPP market, GT News reported in March that HSBC has launched A/P integration service. HSBC calls this service, Accounts Payable Integration (API). I wish they chose a different name. In our industry, API stands for Application Programme Interface. APIs are needed to build interfaces between different programmes, for example, connecting ebdex Document Exchange to Access Accouting, Mamut, Oracle or any other.

“HSBC API is an integrated accounts payable solution, the first in a series of a new suite of accounts payable solutions launched by HSBC. The platform accepts all types of invoice in whatever format, including paper and e-mail, and converts them into a useable data format as required by the accounts payable industry.”

So, who is providing the technical know-how to HSBC? Could this be Bottomline Technologies? In Mar 05, GT News reported, Bottomline becoming the sole supplier to HSBC for providing BACTSEL-IP solutions. Both parties have at least been working together for 5 years.

Perhaps, its worth tracking development (relationships – perhaps not full EIPP offerings yet) within the banking sector (free research for our competitors!):

1. Lloyds TSB with Causeway
2. Deutsche Bank with Computer Sciences Corporation
3. Royal Bank of Scotland with Accountis
4. HSBC with Bottomline Technologies
5. Nordea
6. DnB

So, what is Barclays, Bank of Scotland, NatWest (part of RBS) and others are up to?

Tags: ebdex, EIPP, HSBC, Bottomline Technologies, GT News