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LerrynEXSync – Features Overview
Everything starts with an email.
Most business actions start with an email. Regardless of the employee role email play a central part in business activities. Linking email and related actions in directly into Interprise Suite ERP using LerrynEXSync for Exchange Email closes the gap often left between email communications and business software. Bring your business activity closer to your email with LerrynEXSync.
LerrynEXSync is designed to integrate the CRM functions used most often with Interprise Suite between email, calendar and activities most often used within Outlook. This means for exchange users with LerrynEXSync their email activities will be posted into Interprise Suite Suite Software as exchange email is used.
LerrynEXSync is an Outlook / Exchange Server synchronization utility for Interprise Suite CRM / ERP users that is designed to synchronize items bi-directionally between a user’s personal folders in Outlook or Exchange Server (Inbox, Sent Items, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, etc.) and the equivalent tables in Interprise Suite. Items synchronized from Outlook to Interprise Suite are connected to the relevant contact, customer and user records in Interprise Suite.
Supported Environments
Microsoft Outlook
- Outlook 2002
- Outlook 2003
- Outlook 2007
- Outlook 2010
Exchange Server
- Exchange 2003
- Exchange 2007
- Exchange 2010
SQL Server
- SQL Server 2005
- SQL Server 2008
Installation : Client-Side or Server-Side
LerrynEXSync can either be installed on the Outlook client or (more typically) on a back-office server which connects to Exchange Server directly and does not need Outlook installed on the server at all. In the latter case no additional installation on the client is required for Outlook or Interprise Suite at all.
Local and Remote / Internet Connection
LerrynEXSync can connect to Outlook or Exchange using :
- The Outlook Profile Installed On The Client Workstation Where LerrynEXSync Is Installed
- An Installed MAPI Client (In Which Case Neither Outlook Nor Exchange Is Required On The Server Where LerrynEXSync Is Installed)
- Remotely Via WebDAV (Available For Exchange 2003 And Exchange 2007)
- Remotely Via Exchange Web Services (Available For Exchange 2007 And Exchange 2010)
Bi-Directional Synchronization
With LerrynEXSync you can synchronize bi-directionally between all tables/folders. So data edited in Interprise Suite is immediately (within 30 seconds) synced down to Outlook, and any changes made in Outlook are reflected in Interprise Suite Suite in the next sync cycle.
Conditional Synchronization
Every user can synchronize a different set of data. Four different filters can be specified for each user, namely Interprise Suite to Mailbox, Mailbox to Interprise Suite, Interprise Suite to Public Folder and Public Folder to Interprise Suite. So each user will only see the data relevant to him or her, for example by having ‘My Contacts’ synced from Interprise Suite to personal Contacts.
Mobile Device Synchronization
Users can add or update contacts on their PDA, which sync back to their Personal Contacts folder in Outlook/Exchange, and these updated contacts are then automatically synced back to the Interprise Suite database via LerrynEXSync (and vice versa). Contacts and/or company records in Interprise Suite that match the filter conditions for different users will synchronize down to all the relevant user mailboxes.
Client e-mails sent via Windows Mobile or Blackberry devices are automatically copied to the Interprise Suite database and linked to the customer record.
Likewise users can add/update appointments and tasks on their PDA devices which then update the central Interprise Suite database. And tasks and appointments captured in Interprise Suite can be pushed down to the PDA automatically.
Contact Synchronization
LerrynEXSync will synchronize selected contacts in the Interprise Suite or Public Folder database to each user’s Personal Contacts folder, and vice versa. So LerrynEXSync will update changes made by anyone on the host database back to each user's respective Contacts folder, so that these changes can be replicated out to their smart-phone/PDA/Blackberry device. Likewise users can add contacts in Outlook or even via their PDA’s and flag them in such a way that they will be added to the Interprise Suite or Public Folder database automatically by LerrynEXSync.
In summary :
Creating a contact in your Personal Contacts folder and setting a specified Category (e.g. ‘Interprise Suite’) will create the contact in the Interprise Suite database (if it does not exist already).
Creating or editing a contact in Interprise Suite that matches a specified filter condition (per user) will sync that contact from Interprise Suite down to your Personal Contacts folder in Exchange/Outlook.
Shared Customer Information / Data
LerrynEXSync enables you to share customer and other common data easily amongst users by making this data visible and accessible in Outlook and on their PDA or smartphone devices (which are synchronized from Outlook).
E-mail Linking / Copying
LerrynEXSync performs server-side linking of e-mails from designated personal mailboxes to the Interprise Suite Server E-Mail Folder.
So all e-mails sent and received in Outlook can automatically be linked and copied to client records in Interprise Suite.
In addition all e-mails sent from the Interprise Suite E-mail client will be synced to the user’s Sent Items in Outlook.
This ‘server-side’ linking of e-mails also means that e-mails sent from a user’s Blackberry or PDA will automatically be copied to the E-Mail table even if that user does not have Outlook open on their machine at the office.
Below are examples of additional ‘rules’ that could be defined for LerrynEXSync :
- E-Mail That Is Marked Private, Personal Or Confidential Can Be Excluded From Being Linked
- E-Mail For Designated Contact Records Can Be Excluded From Being Linked
- Setting The Category ‘Create Contact’ On An E-mail Will Create The Contact In Interprise Suite And Then Link The E-mail To The Contact
- Setting The Category ‘Create Contact And Company’ Will Create The Contact And Company In Interprise Suite And Then Link The Contact To The Company And Link The E-mail To The Contact And Company
- Setting The Category ‘Link Opportunity’ Will Link The E-mail To The Most Recently Added Open Opportunity Linked To The Contact
- Setting A Category (Either For Individual Emails, Or As A Global Setting) That Indicates To LerrynEXSync That Attachments Should Be Saved To The Documents Folder And Possibly Replace The Attachment With A Shortcut To This Document
Calendar Integration
Appointments will be synchronized between Exchange and Interprise Suite in the following scenarios :
1. Creating an appointment linked to a personal contact in the Personal Contacts folder that has been synchronized to Interprise Suite will create the appointment in Interprise Suite and then link the appointment to the user, the contact and the contact’s primary company.
2. Creating an appointment (not linked to contact) but setting a specified category (e.g. ‘Interprise Suite’) will create the task/appointment in Interprise Suite, linked to the user.
3. Creating an appointment in Outlook where a contact in the Interprise Suite database is invited as an ‘attendee’ will create the appointment in Interprise Suite and then link the appointment to the user, the contact and the contact’s primary company.
4. Creating a task/appointment with the e-mail address or a specified ‘descriptor’ in the Subject line that identifies the contact/company to which the appointment should be linked will create the appointment in Interprise Suite and then link the appointment to the user, the contact and any other entities identified by the ‘descriptor’.
Task Assignments
Although Interprise Suite has a ‘To-Do List’ component, these follow up actions are usually more comfortably handled by the user with Outlook tasks. So it’s logical that there should be two-way synchronization between Outlook Tasks and the equivalent Activities table in the Interprise Suite system. Tasks created in Outlook and marked in a certain manner (for example by setting a specific category) will be copied to the Interprise Suite database by LerrynEXSync, and linked to the appropriate contact.
Call Recording / Logging
Sales or Service personnel can use standard Outlook appointment or Journal forms to log calls made and recode details about any client activities. LerrynEXSync will automatically convert these appointment or journal records into completed Activities in the Interprise Suite database. These calls can even be logged via a Windows mobile or Blackberry device.
Below are examples of additional ‘rules’ that could be defined for Journals :
- Creating A Journal Linked To A Personal Contact In The Personal Contacts Folder That Has Been Synchronized To Interprise Suite Will Create The Journal In Interprise Suite And Then Link The Journal To The User, The Contact And The Contact’s Primary Customer Record
- Editing An Appointment In Outlook And Setting A Category Like “Create Journal” Will Create A Record In The Journals Table Rather Than The Appointments Table
Automated CRM
One of the challenges of any CRM system is getting users to keep the system updated, i.e. enter their contacts and related activities. This is especially important in managing a sales force.
Given that LerrynEXSync can synchronize and ‘process’ e-mails and appointments on the server side according to a set of ‘rules’ and flags, LerrynEXSync can ‘populate’ a CRM system automatically by :
- Creating Contacts From E-mails, Using The Senders’ / Recipients’ E-mail Address(es), And Scanning Signatures For Phone, Mobile Numbers, etc.
- Creating Companies Automatically Using The Senders’ / Recipients’ Mail Server Domain(s), And Linking The Contacts To These Companies
- Linking The E-mails To The Contacts, Companies And Users
- Saving E-mail Attachments To A Documents Table In The Interprise Suite Database Or A Designated Series Of File System Folders, And Linking These Documents To The Relevant Contacts, Companies And Users
- Creating Journals / Call Reports Automatically From Outlook Appointments Which Users Should Be Utilizing Already
This process creates a self-populating and self-sustaining, well-structured CRM system, comprising contacts, companies, e- mails, documents and journals, which needs to be updated as resources allow. With LerrynEXSync the amount of time spent updating basic information within Interprise Suite can be decreased considerably. More importantly, chain of activity from the initial point of contact can be tracked with a minimum of time used to manually update basic details. Time spent within Interprise Suite will naturally be on the next steps for a transaction. For sales this would be quotes, proposals and orders.
Optional Outlook Add-In
All the functionality described thus far can be achieved without any client installation. Only a server-side component is installed. This greatly eases the administration and support burden normally associated with Outlook CRM client software systems.
However Lerryn does offer the option of an Outlook Add-in client to greatly enhance the functionality normally available in Outlook, namely the Lerryn Express Edition Client. This is a ‘lightweight’ Outlook add-in that basically enhances the capabilities in Outlook to link activity items to Contacts and other ‘custom’ entities synchronized to the user’s mailbox like Customers, Opportunities, Groups, Issues, etc.
Lerryn Data Technology, Ltd. - www.lerryn.com
