Business software

[untethered]

It's not necessarily Google you have to worry about. They'll be a major target for hackers due to their profile - will your docs be secure?

How much security you need really depends on what you're doing. Remotely hosted data isn't suitable for some organisations.

However, if a major breach of privacy/confidentiality is as easy as pinching someone's laptop or breaking into an office and stealing a desktop, server or backup tape, then perhaps you'd be better off having your data in a secure remote data centre.

 

[ChrisFilter]

It's not necessarily Google you have to worry about. They'll be a major target for hackers due to their profile - will your docs be secure?

Probably more secure than the average SMEs server and indeed office.

 

[Dubber Dan]

Well that truely set the cat amongst the pigeons!!!

Lots of ideas and suggestions and some interesting looking links to follow up. Anyone got an idea of what Netsuite costs as I can't see it on their site, at least it's nowhere obvious. I guess that means it's gonna be serious money and out of the question anyway!

But to be honest I'm not sure Netsuite et al. are really what I'm looking for as I was kinda hoping for a solution that runs on my server (read beefy pc with dual external drives for redundant backups) in my home office.

The perfect solution would allow me to hold records of my clients, the services they have purchased and the recurring invoicing point for each service/client (multiple services with different invoicing dates possible for each client). The ability to have an email reminder sent out 60/30days before, then the invoice emailed out on the specific date, all automatically without my input.

 

[YoursTruly]

Well that truely set the cat amongst the pigeons!!!

Lots of ideas and suggestions and some interesting looking links to follow up. Anyone got an idea of what Netsuite costs as I can't see it on their site, at least it's nowhere obvious. I guess that means it's gonna be serious money and out of the question anyway!

But to be honest I'm not sure Netsuite et al. are really what I'm looking for as I was kinda hoping for a solution that runs on my server (read beefy pc with dual external drives for redundant backups) in my home office.

The perfect solution would allow me to hold records of my clients, the services they have purchased and the recurring invoicing point for each service/client (multiple services with different invoicing dates possible for each client). The ability to have an email reminder sent out 60/30days before, then the invoice emailed out on the specific date, all automatically without my input.

Well...if you would tell us what the business does, you never know...there could be a killer app out there that does the lot perfectly.....

...so what type of business is it? What kind of services are you offering?

 

[untethered]

The perfect solution would allow me to hold records of my clients, the services they have purchased and the recurring invoicing point for each service/client (multiple services with different invoicing dates possible for each client). The ability to have an email reminder sent out 60/30days before, then the invoice emailed out on the specific date, all automatically without my input.

Have a look at Blinksale:

http://www.blinksale.com/

There was another good one that I'm just trying to remember.

Blinksale integrates with Basecamp via the Basecamp API, if you're interested in using both together.

 

[untethered]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=e...l&hs=puy&q=online+invoicing&btnG=Search&meta=

http://www.freshbooks.com/

 

[Dubber Dan]

I thought I had said what it was, must have been somewhere else I wrote that!

Going to be a mixture of IT services including hosting, web design, networking and some general consultancy. At least to begin with to maximise revenue opportunities. A one-man band, so I need a solution that is slick and saves me having to re-enter things into several systems ideally. Without to much of an initial cost outlay.

Definitely need the ability to scale the solution as the business grows. Doesn't need to be an online solution either, but do need the ability to email out from it, ideally automatically or with the least input from me.

 

[Iam]

Probably more secure than the average SMEs server and indeed office.

Lol.

http://www.theregister.com/2007/09/24/google_vulns_put_users_at_risk/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/26/gmail_backdoor_vulnerability/

 

[ChrisFilter]

I thought I had said what it was, must have been somewhere else I wrote that!

Going to be a mixture of IT services including hosting, web design, networking and some general consultancy. At least to begin with to maximise revenue opportunities. A one-man band, so I need a solution that is slick and saves me having to re-enter things into several systems ideally. Without to much of an initial cost outlay.

Definitely need the ability to scale the solution as the business grows. Doesn't need to be an online solution either, but do need the ability to email out from it, ideally automatically or with the least input from me.

Then Netsuite is bang on... but it might be cost prohibitive. As it's a web-app it's per user, so may well be worth it.

It does everything you want to and is fully scalable.. there's a 100 of us, but I know a 3 man band that use it, and Carphone Warehouse use it.

We do similar things to you, and it covers all of them.

There may well be an open source app that does all of this at a lower end, but certainly worth speaking to them.

 

[ChrisFilter]

Lol.

http://www.theregister.com/2007/09/24/google_vulns_put_users_at_risk/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/26/gmail_backdoor_vulnerability/

And? What about the billions of vulnerabilities that MS Server products have?

What about unalarmed offices?

What about the last person out forgetting to lock up?

Of our 500 odd clients not one has ever been hacked but about 20, in the last year, have had their offices broken into and servers, workstations and laptops stolen.

 

[Iam]

And? What about the billions of vulnerabilities that MS Server products have?

What about unalarmed offices?

What about the last person out forgetting to lock up?

Of our 500 odd clients not one has ever been hacked but about 20, in the last year, have had their offices broken into and servers, workstations and laptops stolen.

There's no accounting for morons. They deserve everything they fucking get.

And I really couldn't give a toss anymore, to be quite honest. Here:

"ChrisFilter's solutions are the bestest evah!!"

 

[ChrisFilter]

There's no accounting for morons. They deserve everything they fucking get.

And I really couldn't give a toss anymore, to be quite honest. Here:

"ChrisFilter's solutions are the bestest evah!!"

They're not my solutions and I'm not trying to make out they are. My point is only that hosted solutions and web-apps are perfectly suitable to the SME marketplace.

 

[magneze]

Lol.

http://www.theregister.com/2007/09/24/google_vulns_put_users_at_risk/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/26/gmail_backdoor_vulnerability/

Heh, beat me to it - was just reading them.

 

[Iam]

Blah blah blah

*yawn*

 

[Dubber Dan]

Then Netsuite is bang on... but it might be cost prohibitive. As it's a web-app it's per user, so may well be worth it.

It does everything you want to and is fully scalable.. there's a 100 of us, but I know a 3 man band that use it, and Carphone Warehouse use it.

We do similar things to you, and it covers all of them.

There may well be an open source app that does all of this at a lower end, but certainly worth speaking to them.

Ok thanks. One thing that annoys me is when a website doesn't give any idea of costs for services and forces you to make contact to get such basic info.

 

[Dubber Dan]

*yawn*

hehe If it bores you that much, then why not simply ignore the thread now?

All this slagging back and forth hasn't helped much, quite the opposite, making it more difficult to pick out the useful posts and suggestions. Yes, it's good to have some different viewpoints on possible solutions, but not for folks to go on and on at each other

Give me some possible solutions, offer suggestions of things to consider, then let me go from there

Oh and peas to ya all

 

[untethered]

Going to be a mixture of IT services including hosting, web design, networking and some general consultancy. At least to begin with to maximise revenue opportunities. A one-man band, so I need a solution that is slick and saves me having to re-enter things into several systems ideally. Without to much of an initial cost outlay.

I'd recommend doing either networking/hardware support or web design, not both. Each are big enough to ensure you get enough work and specialised enough that it's very hard to be an expert in both.

Whichever you choose, partner with other local businesses offering your complements for when your clients ask you about whichever one of these services you don't offer.

In general, you can make more money by specialising in an area that you're very good at rather than being a jack of all trades.

 

[Dubber Dan]

I know what you mean, and will specialise over time. My current employment covers all these topics and have made plenty of contacts in the region & speciality (GP surgeries), so there's an untapped market locally for all of these. But am definitely going to specialise over time

 

[ChrisFilter]

*yawn*

When did you get so rude? It's a discussion forum, you discuss, no?