The article referenced here was one of those ‘I’m bored – lets call the paper’ scenarios. Bit of a laugh now, as I’m sure all will agree, but still, there is a little truth in the comments.
Anyway read this: Proud to be a Geek! article from the local paper.
Recently, a press editor called and asked for a comment in regards to broadband, considering our particular circumstance. We are a global software company running the business from a remote rural location. Most homeowners in the Canterbury country can’t get broadband. We are lucky enough to have a fairly good connection.
It’s a great article, which hopefully helped lead to the unbundling of Telecom! ;-)
> Heres the article: The Press Article
Here’s my comment….
“…ProActive Software director Julian Stone, who runs his company from a Rolleston lifestyle block, said the speed of broadband in New Zealand was well behind that in the US and other countries. He believed some of Telecom’s lines could handle broadband speeds at higher levels than the company set.
“It’s very hard to run a business on the small amounts of data that are available.”
Stone said smaller businesses were struggling to get off the ground, in part because of the lack of high-speed internet…”
Over the past few years we have been adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach to software development, but it’s all about to change. The typical size company for our core product www.proworkflow.com is 10-20 staff. However we’ve been approached many times by larger companies with 50-1000 staff. Simply put, we missed out on most of these larger sales due to the ’structure of the app’ – Let me explain, here are the general problems…
Software Considerations for 1-50 user accounts
- Typically ‘Flat’ structured business at this size
- Permissions need to be set ‘per user’
- Single office setup
- Basic reporting
- Suits ‘Subscription’ delivery model
- Quick easy email support
- Contract: Simple terms and conditions of use
- Typical sales cycle – 1-4 weeks
Software Considerations for 50-100 user accounts
- Either ‘Flat or Hierarchal’ structured business at this size
- Permissions need to be set ‘per user or per role’
- Single office, multiple teams setup
- Comprehensive team and role based reporting
- Suits ‘Subscription or code download’ delivery model
- Email support, basic user training required
- Contract: Simple terms and conditions of use / basic support contract
- Typical sales cycle – 3-6 months
Software Considerations for 100-1000+ user accounts
- Typically ‘Hierarchal’ structured business at this size
- Multiple offices, multiple teams or divisions setup
- Comprehensive team, role, and division based reporting
- Suits ‘code download or dedicated server’ delivery model
- Email support, user training required, train the ‘trainers’ at customer end
- Contract: Simple terms and conditions of use
- Full support contract
- Typical sales cycle – 6-12+ months
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The new Version 5.0 of ProActive Software’s popular ProWorkflow project and time management package brings a new range of enhancements to the user experience, ensuring that the software continues to equal or exceed the competition yet still retain its affordable cost.
ProWorkflow is a workflow management tool provided primarily on an ASP basis through a high bandwidth Freemont, California-based host. It is designed to operate as a project management solution for companies requiring a simple, intuitive method of tracking, managing and invoicing time spent on project tasks. It enables managers to keep accurate time records, and to easily organize, plan and delegate projects and tasks, with a complete overview of activity.
Key features include:
- Browser-based online access, for remote Web-based management and project status on the go
- Intuitive, modular organization with the Project Manager, Dependent Tasks module, Task Manager, Time Tracker, Contact Manger, Timeline View module, Notes Manger and Reports Manager
- Comprehensive administrative options, including extensive Administration sections and a Project, Task and Notes Search Tool
- Version 5 enhancements include a new Calendar Page, WYSIWIG editors, more Personal settings, and Upcoming Items sections.
“As usual, ProWorkflow functionality has been developed primarily in response to customer feedback,” says company director Julian Stone. “This ensures that we meet real user needs. The most important new feature is the Calendar page, which provides a top level view of upcoming start and due dates as an aid to planning. This is enhanced by the Upcoming Items sections on Calendar and Personal Summary pages, which show items coming up in the next few weeks. And, of course, plain text entry fields in project descriptions have been replaced with a full-featured editor.”
The new Version also includes added Personal settings, providing each user greater control over the look and feel. And the account setup Wizard has been enhanced to provide easier use and an improved user experience for those just getting started with a trial account.
The standard ProWorkflow solution was chiefly developed for environments of fewer than 50 users – but customized solutions have been created to serve the needs of much larger corporations. Online access and ease of use have made it popular as both a departmental and a small business solution. Customers include a diverse range of organizations, from California State University, the US Coast Guard, and the Arizona Health Board, to Grizzard Agency, Pitney Bowes, Dell and a host of smaller businesses.
“ProWorkflow continues to hold its own among the top workflow management solutions, after four years on the market” says Stone. “The new Version demonstrates our commitment to improving our customers experience. Watch this space for significant new developments toward the end of 2006.”
ProActive provides an interactive demo and free trial accounts for potential customers at its interactive website: http://www.proworkflow.com . The ProWorkflow product is available as either downloadable code or as a hosted subscription. Customization is available to meet specific requirements.
ProActive Software is an international software development company focused on developing solid, reliable platforms designed to improve efficiency of business processes by providing accessible, state-of-the-art project planning and tracking tools. The company’s key product, ProWorkflow, has thousands of users in over 20 countries, across industries that include creative studios, development house, architects, education, medical, military establishments, cleaners, financial services and more.
Related Links
ProWorkflow Website
www.proworkflow.com
ProWorkflow Free Trial Accounts
www.proworkflow.com/PWF_assistance_privateDemo.cfm
ProWorkflow Whitepaper
www.proworkflow.com/marketing/whitepapers/PWF_Overview.pdf
Julian Stone
CEO / Software visionary
ProActive Software Ltd
+64 21 864 639
Well… After a fair bit of planning over the past weeks, the www.ProTasks.com website is making progress. Not the placeholder online, rather the development site behind the scenes. We estimate the website should be online in the next week or two and the solution should be launched about a month or two after that.
This is the great aspect of online business, that you can create an entire product and business system from scratch in 2x months with ZERO dollars spent or invested. The hard part however is actually putting the ‘business machine’ into play and approaching the market in the right way so you can actually create and grow revenue – that the hard part!
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Remember: “Success is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration!”
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We’re expecting fairy rapid takeup with this project (based on cross promotion through www.ProWorkflow.com) and as such, we’ll need to have solid backend infrastructure and virtually completely automated business/server systems. I may discuss the inftrastructure and business model plan in a later post. ;-)
