The EBSUS Blog

. . . In The Spirit of "Eating My Own Dog Food" . . .

Just as I was publishing my last post about Personal Productivity and having mentioned one of the best tools that I have come across for boosting personal productivity while using Lotus Notes - eProductivity from ICA.com, Inc. - I realised that I hadn't actually checked out what the ICA boys had done recently to enhance the product.

So, . . . in the spirit of "eating my own dog food" . . . I bounced around the ICA.com website for a while checking out the list of enhancements available before actually downloading the very latest version of the product and upgrading my own copy to the latest release.

I was previously using the stand-alone version of the product [the one that doesn't modify your mail template] but decided to install the fully integrated version this time just to compare and contrast.

I really liked using the stand-alone version previously as it gave me a quick and simple means of importing email directly from my mail file into the far more feature rich eProductivity environment, from where I could more effectively schedule, prioritize and action things [or simply just file them] "locally" without me having to mess with the design of my mail file at all.

Operating in this manner I got all the productivity benefits, established an effective means of keeping the size of my mail file well within its quota and had absolutely no arguments with my Domino Administrators about my mail file design being out of step with all the others. Priceless!!!

This time around I want to explore what additional benefits I can get by running the fully integrated version of the product that does actually require you to replace the design of your mail file with that of the enhanced eProductivity template, but there are several additional features that this gives you access to that I want to explore.

I'll report back my detailed findings in a few weeks time but my initial impression is really positive so far.

I know that my Domino Administrators are going to moan at me again and that there is a strict - "we don't change the Notes mail template design" - policy within many an organization these days, but no Domino Administrator has ever been able to convince me why a policy like that is actually required.

Sure, it makes life easier for the Administrators, but hey . . . I run an IT infrastructure to support my business operations and NOT the other way around .

If this kind of change to my mail file can give me back even 5% of my time each day then guess what's going to happen to the mail files of all my other key personnel?

After all, the frequency of Notes upgrades in any organization is typically around once every 18 months [maximum] so why should organizational efficiency be hindered daily just to save incurring a little bit of extra effort next time a full upgrade takes place?

That sounds a bit like letting the tail wag the dog to me!!!

"My Boss Prefers Outlook Over Lotus Notes Because She Say's It's Easier To Use"

Ever heard that one? I do, all the time.

But come on guys. How hard is ANY email program to use? At the end of the day, whether it's Outlook, Notes, GMail or anything else, it's not that difficult to use ANY email system effectively.

If of course, you're only trying to use it an an email system and NOT as a full blown personal project management system with scheduling and prioritization of tasks etc, which is what I am sure drives a lot of the aforementioned comments in the case of Lotus Notes.

Let's face it. A mail file is a mail file and NOT what used to be called a "Personal Information Management" [PIM] system, even if that's what many people attempt to turn there Notes mail files into and what appears to drive a lot of the apparent discontent.

Well. I've got really good news for anyone out there suffering from their boss continually bashing Lotus Notes because of any apparent lack of functionality in that respect and one that may even open up a whole new world of personal productivity for them too.

One of the very best ways that I've come across for enhancing the generic Lotus Notes capabilities and for boosting the productivity of key personnel is via the eProductivity application from ICA.Com, Inc.

Unlike almost all other Lotus Notes-based packaged applications, which are generically "groupware" and targeted at collaborative, group productivity, the eProductivity application is targeted very specifically at boosting personal productivity and transforming the manner in which most people interact with their mail files.

The app. comes in two versions; a fully integrated version that overlays enhanced functionality within your mail file [but requires modifying your mail template] and - my personal favorite - a stand-alone version that allows you to create a new dB alongside your standard Notes mail file within which you will find all the tools required to work far more effectively.

The stand-alone version delivers the additional benefit of passively enforcing better mail file size management among its users. Not only do eProductivity users get a personal productivity boost via the various tools and facilities to be found within the eProductivity dB but, due to the fact that it eProductivity users naturally import most email into eProductivity for processing and storage, they thereby naturally minimize the size of their Lotus Notes mail files.

This product is a genuine win-win for everyone concerned in its use and more details can be found either on the EBSG website - www.ebs4domino.com - or directly from ICA.com at www.eproductivity.com.

Still Sending Paper-Based Contracts, Purchase Orders & Official Notifications?

OK. So the general theme of this blog is that of helping you along the path of transforming yourselves into genuinely 21st Century Social Businesses, but this first post has absolutely nothing to do with "social business" and everything to do with simply bringing yourself into the 21st Century . . . while saving yourselves a ton of money!!!

Why? Oh why, do we all continue to spend thousands each year sending little pieces of "high value" paper either around the corner or around the world via the Postal Service, Fedex & UPS, or whatever our favorite flavor of "snail mail document delivery" may be?

So that it can be tracked? So that it can be recorded?? So that it's "official"???

Consider this. The cheapest means of sending a document via US Postal Service, Recorded Delivery here in the USA is around $7.50 and it takes around three days to get to its destination. Next day via Fedex & UPS, over $20.00

We all feel more comfortable because we get a little receipt that we can produce if anything goes wrong to prove that we actually sent the document. If we're lucky, and the document actually gets to where we sent it we also get a record of the date when the other half of our receipt arrived at its destination and was signed for by either the intended recipient or at least their mailroom staff.

Do we really get proof that what we sent was actually delivered to and opened by its intended recipient? Do we have any way of proving that what arrived at the other end actually arrived there in the same format in which it was sent?? Do we actually have any "proof of content" whatsoever???

And all that took 3 days and at least $7.50 for a single small item!!!

Multiply that up by 100 or 1000 items per month and then add in larger "packets" of printed material and we can all see why the Fedex's and UPS's of the world - while delivering excellence in what they are paid to do - are making lots of money.

Now consider for a second why email has become so popular.

It's convenient, almost instant and it's cheap ... right? You don't have to pay $7.50 per email - even the high value stuff - and it gets to the intended recipient typically within minutes. You've got a date and time stamped record of when you sent it and you can even track - with good email systems - whether or not the intended recipient received it.

So why do we all continue to spend $7.50 per letter via the US Postal Service, Fedex & UPS? Because email doesn't stand up in court if challenged . . . right? Because sometimes we simply need a document signed and you can't do that electronically . . . right??

Actually, NO. That's WRONG.

Via the wonders of modern cloud-based technology your company could save around $7.00 of that $7.50 that you are happily spending daily right now on every piece of "high value" letter post simply by using the RPost Registered Email Services.

The best of it is that not only do you save $7.00 per transaction, you also speed up delivery, gain legally valid proof of sending AND proof of receipt PLUS proof of content as well.

Kind of a no-brainer when you think about it, huh? Oh, and signatures? Well, it costs slightly more - perhaps a $1.00 - but yeah, RPost does that too.

Almost instantaneous communication of high value documents, full legal proof of delivery and receipt, proof of content as well, encryption when necessary AND it save you money. No catches. Just better technology.

Come on guys. Before trying to become a "social business" let's get you into the 21st Century first off. Why not visit our website at - www.ebs4domino.com - for more details on how we could embed the RPost services right into your Notes/Domino app's or visit RPost direct at - www.rpost.com - to plug immediately into their standard, cloud-based service.

The sooner you try it, the sooner you'll arrive in the 21st Century AND start saving loads of money into the bargain.