Nathan,
I hear ya. But the process you described is only half the loaf and you
did an excellent job of explaining and validating the tools used to
automate sending email. There is still all that data cooped up inside
the application that tools like SF are pulling from Outlook and Notes in
the form of inbound mail. "I'm a sales person and the customer just
sent me a scanned image of a PO so we can book the order." That
information just sits the salesperson's email client until she decides
to copy it or forward it to the CRM. Sure, I can build a web app to
allow the customer to upload the PO to a standard interface. Just like
I can get all of my customers to stop faxing PO's too! Good luck! The
reality is that there will always be adopters and those who resist.
They have their reasons, but a browser based email client as an apple
while fat client based email solution is an orange. I guess we'll see
how the world evolves. I personally think the cell phone industry will
push folks to thin client email faster than workstations. But look at
the Blackberry, years in the market, still dominant in the business
sector (come and get me you iPhone zealots!), and still replicates mail
to a fat client on the device! Heck, even my Gmail app on my Blackberry
replicates mail.
Not to mention the asynchronous model of the email client. Nothing like
deleting 2,000 messages at 30,000 feet! I know, this subject was
discussed ad-nausium (old word for the spell checker) in some previous
threads and I do not wish to reopen that debate about internet access on
planes, trains and automobiles. But I see the mail client being a LOT
like the mail-box outside your front door. So many people were touting
the demise of the postal service when email started to come on the
scene. But it hasn't gone anywhere. Sure it has evolved, but who
besides the RPG II (only) programmer hasn't evolved? So many of us are
employing new technology in our lives that was so radically different
than our parents technology. (My Dad programmed a 1401 and then a
System-3)
Now I fully expect the downloadable email client to work asynchronously
soon, assuming I have not missed it already. That can certainly have an
impact. I think Mr. Ozzie is a prime candidate for the deployment of
such technology if you combine the security and stability of Lotus Notes
with the thinfrastucture (another word for the spell checker) world of
the web! Keep your eyes peeled!
Regards,
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Nathan Andelin
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 2:17 AM
To: Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: [WEB400] CRM on Demand
From: Mike Pavlak
Whether you like it or not, integration of a CRM to an email
solution is key.
Yes, but we're seeing some migration away from the honkin desktop email
client that once was an application to sell your soul for.
Today, you insert a <textarea> into an HTML form, add a <send> link, and
you have an email application. Well, that may be a bit overly-simplied,
but hopefully the point is well taken. Firefox and Chrome helped by
embedding a spell checker in their <textarea> elements (you don't have
to be a Joe Pluta with a 30,000+ word vocabulary; perfect spelling and
grammer).
Add a note to your project record, click the send link, and all persons
on the project distribution list receive the message. While viewing a
person record, click the email tab, fill in the text area, click the
send link. You can realistically add email capability to quite a few
different applications.
For RPG programmers, Brad Stone has a nice command for sending email,
and the open-source MMAIL utility of Giovanni Perotti is another option.
Nathan.
midrange.com
