RecFind to KnowledgeOne (K1)
Hi All,
As I sit here working on K1 getting it ready for a July release, I
occasionally have to refer back to RecFind and then it dawns on me that
this product has been around since June 1986. True, it has been
redesigned and rewritten at least six times but it has always maintained
the 'RecFind' look and feel despite running on every platform but
mainframes (MSDOS, CTOS, Novell, Unix, AS/400, etc, etc, etc).
Every 'new' version was one-hundred-percent upwards compatible with
the previous version and every version also 'looked like' the previous
version. For example, open up RecFind 3.0 and then 5.0 and even though
there is ten years difference in technology, you can still recognize the
familiar 'RecFind' look and feel.
We did this for a very good reason; so customers would not have to
completely retrain all staff. And, it worked remarkably well for our
customer base if not always for GMB. Our 'retraining' revenues were
certainly a fraction of our competitors' and those same competitors used
the persistence of the RecFind 'look and feel' to criticize RecFind as
an 'old' product and that was never true because of the frequent
rewrites and the ongoing use of the latest technology. It is a bit like
saying the latest Porsche 911 is an 'old' car because it still looks
like the 1969 model.
However, with K1 the RecFind look and feel finally completely
disappears. K1 is nothing like RecFind in any respect. K1 is a
"whole new ball game" as my American friends say with not one
iota of RecFind DNA.
So, what does this mean to our loyal customer base? How will our
customers handle the upgrade from RecFind to K1?
There is good news and good news.
Even though K1 is a major superset of RecFind in functionality, it is
also significantly easier to use. It has less than ten-percent of the
screens of RecFind. It will take less than ten-percent of the time it
took to train a RecFind user to train a K1 user. And, K1 comes with a
one-button RecFind upgrade option, AND, K1 does not overwrite the
RecFind database, it creates a brand new K1 database every time you hit
that one-button upgrade.
So, the upgrade and retraining scenario is infinitely easier to
manage than a typical RecFind upgrade.
Step 1 - Install K1.
Step 2 - Convert the production RecFind database(s) into a K1 database
as a training database. Continue using RecFind in production.
Step 3 - Provide the K1 URL (remember that K1 is a portal that runs
within your browser, there is nothing to install on the workstation) to
your users.
Step 4 - Run some in-house courses or get your staff to use the K1
training courses off the GMB website. For most users, a half day should
be sufficient training (versus five days for RecFind).
Step 5 - Have the users begin 'playing' with the K1 training version.
Ask them to try duplicating what they do in RecFind in K1. Suggest that
they take one hour a day to do this. It won't take long before they are
begging you to make the 'final' production import and cutover.
Step 6 - Once you are happy that your users are up to speed tell
everyone that RecFind will finish Friday at 5:00pm and K1 will be the
new production product from 9:00am Monday. At 5.01 pm (when everyone has
signed off RecFind) hit the one-button upgrade again to convert your
very latest RecFind database(s) into a new K1 database (yes, K1 has a
single database, not multiple databases).
Step 7 - Come Monday morning start using K1 instead of RecFind. It
really will be that simple because I personally will be working on the
upgrade for the next three months to ensure that it is. The last thing I
can afford to do is upset my loyal customers by providing them with a
'less-than-super-easy' upgrade path from RecFind to K1.
A Final Tip - With K1 you can change virtually anything without
programming. Colors, fonts, backgrounds, methods, data model, error
messages, help screens, buttons, icons, language, etc, etc. It is
functionality you did not have in RecFind. However, I strongly suggest
that you give K1 at least 3 months in production before making any
changes. Standard K1 will do everything RecFind did without requiring
any changes so there is no need to rush it. Give your users a chance to
really get used to K1 before making any changes; give them a chance to
understand what K1 is capable of first. Take your time and the finally
'agreed-by-all' changes to K1 will be of far more value to your
organization.
We have already told you how K1 is a 'multi-personality' application,
able to easily assume the personality of virtually any business
application. As one customer recently commented, "That's easy to
say but hard to do." We agree, so in version 1.0 of K1 we will
include at least two additional personalities, Helpdesk and CRM
(Customer Relationship Management) to show you how easy it is to add
personalities to K1.
Whereas we don't guarantee that these two applications will be a
perfect fit for your specific needs, we do promise that they will be at
least an 80% fit 'out-of-the-box' and that you will be able to easily
make them a 100% fit using the K1 Application Development Wizard.
Plus, by the time you read this, GMB will be switching its internal
Help Desk and CRM systems across to K1. GMB will be both the Alpha and
Beta test site for both applications. So, if you are on the lookout for
a new Help Desk or CRM system don't buy one just yet. GMB will be
providing you with free software in just a few months.
Frank
McKenna
CEO
GMB Group
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RecFind 5.0.0E is now shipping. If you have a current Automatic
Software Upgrade (ASU) agreement with GMB you should have already
received this new release or are about to receive it.
This is your ASU investment at work! If you are not under warranty or
without a current ASU agreement you should contact sales@gmbsupport.com
for details on how you can upgrade to RecFind 5.0.0E.
5.0.0E is a major release. This means that it includes many new
features and enhancements as well as stability updates. The RecFind
5.0.0E Release Notes and Upgrade Guide and the context sensitive
help screens are the best source of information on the new and improved
features.
As mentioned in our last 'Good News Update' dated 21 February, 5.0.0E
is the last planned major feature release of the RecFind suite. The next
major upgrade, currently scheduled for July/August this year, will be KnowledgeOne (K1)
and you must have RecFind 5.0.0E installed prior to upgrading to K1. If you did not receive a copy of this
Good News Update
please email GMB Marketing.
Please contact GMB Support if you are running a pre 5.0.0A release of
RecFind for the best advice on how to upgrade:
On-line: www.gmbsupport.com/Support/index.htm#helpdesk
E-mail: support@gmbsupport.com
» Back to "In This Issue"
Another good reason to upgrade to RecFind 5.0.0E is that GMB
will no longer continue to support RecFind 4.0 after June 30, 2005.
After this date GMB will no longer accept support calls for RecFind
4.0 or any previous version of the RecFind product group, (e.g., 1.0,
2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.2).
Our standard policy is that we provide full support for the current
version (e.g., 5.0.0E) and only limited support for the previous version
(e.g., 5.0.0D). In other words, once a new release is out we 'freeze'
all development on the previous version. Please see the PDF document on
our website at:
http://www.gmbsupport.com/support/gmbmtceservices.pdf
The upgrade from 4.0 to 5.0 is an easy one.
RecFind 5.0.0E simply installs over the top of 4.0. All
customers have had ample time and opportunity to upgrade now that there
have been more than five releases of RecFind 5.0 (A, B, C, D and
E).
Please see the Support section of our web
site for further information:
http://www.gmbsupport.com/Support/supportdiscontinuation_v4.htm
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KnowledgeOne is not the only exciting project happening at GMB at
the moment. We are also working on two separate online facilities that
we hope to be extremely useful for all users of RecFind and GMB
products.
We are currently developing an online training program for RecFind 5.0
using the Macromedia application, Robodemo. These online courses will be
a low-cost alternative to the training courses that we currently
schedule. Unlike the scheduled courses, the online courses will be
available 24/7 and from any location around the world.
The first e-learning courses will be on RecFind's Active module.
These courses are
expected to be available for use and downloadable from our website by
July 2005. We will notify all users via email when they do become
available.
If you would be interested in utilizing an online training course or
have any questions please email training@gmbsupport.com.
Over the years we have received numerous emails from frustrated users
unable to attend RecFind User Group
Meetings due location, lack of resources and/or travel budget. We are
therefore happy to announce that ALL users can now become part of
the GMB user network through an online user forum.
The GMB User Forum will allow users to communicate with other users
throughout the world, 24/7, on issues such as GMB product knowledge,
technical questions, records management, imaging etc.
It has the same look and feel as most online forums and has been
configured so that it is easy to use.
We expect to go live with the forum at the end of the month or in
early April. We will send an email prior to this happening with further
information about the forum and instructions on how to use it. Stay
tuned!
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Training Program
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City
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Scheduled Dates
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» Adelaide, Australia
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4-6 April 2005
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» Hobart, Australia
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18-22 April 2005
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» Perth, Australia
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16-20 May 2005
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» USA/Canada
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TBA - customers interested in attending RF5 Training in the USA/Canada please email training@gmbsupport.com.
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Professional Services Update
Written by Gregory Warrilow, GMB Trainer/Consultant
The last quarter of 2004 and quarter of 2005 have seen staff from
Professional Services visiting sites throughout Australia and North
America. This pattern is set to continue with further trips over the
next quarter planned for Washington DC, Port Hedland, Dampier,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart.
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Onsite training was conducted in November at
the City
of Leduc in Alberta, Canada. This training was part of their
roll out of RecQuery-TC and the RecFind Button -
key components for achieving a total Electronic Document Management
System. Training was provided
for all staff and enthusiasm was high. I even managed to survive the
minus 11 temperatures and snow!
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A two day Post Implementation Consultancy was conducted at Northern
Fiber Inc in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The consultancy was to ensure
that RecFind was being used in the most effective way. Once again
RecQuery-TC was an integral component in getting remote offices in
Alberta and Arizona (US) on line.
In December, a week of scheduled training was conducted in Hobart,
Tasmania and was attended by staff from a variety of different sites
including the Dept of Education and TAFE Tasmania. These sites use
RecFind throughout the state and have been taking advantage of the new
functionality in RecFind Version 5.0.
The New Year started with onsite training at GasNet Australia
in Melbourne, Victoria. GasNet have been utilizing RecFind for a number
of years for records management. They have recently
commenced using RecFind for Electronic Document Management. This initial
training visit was to train key users and Administrators prior to
rolling out a new database. Further training in RecQuery-TC will be provided over the
coming months as further access is rolled out throughout GasNet.
A one day consultancy was conducted to assist in the implementation
of EDM for day to day correspondence at South East Queensland Water
Corporation (SEQWC). EDM had been in use for some time at SEQWC to
allow Board Members access to important board papers which are scanned and
OCR'd.
One day of customized training was conducted at Canegrowers in
Brisbane, Australia. They had recently upgraded to the latest version of
RecFind and wanted to utilize some of the new functionality to enhance
their records keeping procedures. EDM is also being phased at
Canegrowers and RecQuery-TC was being rolled out as part of this
process.
If you are interested in attending a RecFind 5 Training course or one
of GMB's Consulting services please email training@gmbsupport.com.
» Back to "In This Issue"
Due to customer demand, RecFind Version 5.0 saw the introduction of
an Administration function that enforced Users to change their passwords
on a regular basis. It was also in RecFind 5.0
that it became possible to enforce the minimum length of a password.
Both these security controls are also enforced in RecQuery-TC.
RecFind Version 5.0.0E introduces yet another new enhancement to the
password function in that will allow RecFind Administrators to disable a
User from automatically logging on when their RecFind User ID matches
the network logon name.
To Disable an Automatic Network Sign On from within RecFind an
Administrator needs to perform the following:
1. Click on the Admin tab on the RecFind toolbar > Config module
icon > Other Options tab.
2. Tick the 'Disable Network sign on' checkbox.
If your RecFind Administrator has set the configuration in RecFind to change
your password, a message will be displayed each time you log onto
RecQuery-TC, starting seven days prior to the password expiry date. If
you do not change your password within this seven day period, you will
not be able to logon to RecQuery-TC and be blocked from accessing the
database.
Therefore, a new function has been added to RecQuery-TC 5.0.0E, which allows
Users to change their passwords from within the RecQuery-TC menu. This
new password functionality allows organizations to meet their security
policy needs.
A User can Change a Password from within RecQuery-TC as follows:
1. Select the 'Change Password' function on the branch structure menu
on the left hand side of the RecQuery-TC screen.
2. Enter the current password in the 'Password' field.
3. Enter the new password in the 'New Password' field.
4. Confirm the new password by re-entering the new password in the 'Confirm Password' field.
5. Select the 'Save' function button. The new password will take
effect from the next time that the User logs on.
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GMB is pleased to announce that Australian Executor Trustees Limited
has purchased GMB's RecFind-Corporate software for their Corporate Trust
division. Australian Executor Trustees plans to use the
RecFind-Corporate application to track the movements of Mortgage
Document Packets between Mortgage Brokers, Australian Executor Trustees
and Solicitors.
Australian Executor Trustees is a prominent authorized trustee
company within Australia, with over 120 years of experience as a
specialist provider of wealth management, wealth preservation and
transfer services. The Corporate Trust division offers trustee and
custodian services for prescribed interest and managed investment
schemes, debt issues and securitization issues.
Philip Joseph was appointed as CEO of the Corporate Trust business
last year and has embarked on a growth strategy, aimed at increasing
Australian Executor Trustees presence in the property, mortgage and
equity custody business and enhancing its structured finance and
securitization services and products.
Part of Philip's strategy has been to implement a 'Mortgage Document
Custody System' for managing 'Mortgage Packets', which include all
official documents that relate to a mortgage. In order to continue to
compete successfully in the industry, Australian Executor Trustees
required a proven, robust solution that was absolutely secure and
reliable.
Australian Executor Trustees use the Workflow feature in
RecFind-Corporate to manage the life cycle of the Mortgage Packet. It
tracks the packet as it moves between Mortgage Brokers, Australian
Executor Trustees and Solicitors. Although Australian Executor Trustees
will predominantly use RecFind to manage paper, there is also the
functionality to allow for electronic document management (EDM), and
email management, if required. The system is initially being implemented
in Corporate Trust, Sydney with the intention to expand the system to
Corporate Trust's Adelaide office in the future.
For further information or to request an online demonstration of
RecFind Corporate simply go to http://www.gmbsupport.com/recfind
demos/standard_demo_request.htm
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Macedon Ranges Shire Council in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia has been
utilizing RecFind for records management since 1995.
Located within an hour's drive of Melbourne, the Macedon Ranges Shire
is renowned for its semi-rural lifestyle, unique natural features such
as Hanging Rock, and local heritage townships.
In 2004, the council had the following basic needs to meet:
- Council Executives wanted to track
correspondence
- Records Dept needed to introduce an
Electronic Document Management Solution (EDMS)
- IT wanted to leverage existing systems
- Finance wanted a system that would be
low-cost
- Users wanted a simple solution with minimal
training
Macedon Ranges already had a customer request system called Infra
Enterprise to track all customer requests into the organization and
RecFind, which had EDMS capabilities. The most simple and cost-effective
solution was to link these two products together with GMB's RecQuery-TC
API and to utilize the existing features in RecFind.
The RecQuery-TC API is an add-on for customers with RecQuery-TC, to
allow other applications to link directly to information stored in the
RecFind database. It can link to file profiles, document profiles, box
profiles or electronic documents.
Macedon Ranges utilized the RecQuery-TC API in the following way in
order to meet their needs.
All correspondence at the council is now scanned using GMB's High
Speed Scanning Module and entered at a central location - the records
department. Once in the system, staff are able to track and report on
the responsiveness to any request in the entire organization.
Staff responsible for responding to customer requests now have access
to the initial correspondence and any supporting documentation
regardless of their location. This was achieved by adding buttons to the
customer request system (Infra) screen, which uses the RecQuery-TC API
to link directly to the relevant files and documents in RecQuery-TC.
With RecQuery-TC, Macedon Ranges has a fully web-based solution which
is perfect for the dispersed nature of their four offices and the
limited bandwidth between them.
David Brown, IT Manager at Macedon Ranges, will be providing a more
in-depth overview of their RecQuery-TC API implementation at the next
Victorian user-group meeting. See for yourself how the RecQuery-TC API
can provide a painless, cost-effective integration to core applications
at your site. Click here for
meeting details.
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Have you recently shifted office or changed contact person?
For any updates, simply give us your new particulars, as listed
below, and email them to our Sales Department at sales@gmbsupport.com.
Please include the following details:
Company Name, Contact Person, Designation, Address, Email Address,
Telephone Number, Fax Number, and GMB Customer Number
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