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SAP Business One. ERP for the SME
 In the past ERP software (Enterprise Resource Planning) has only been privy to larger organisations that have huge IT budgets and dedicated IT teams. This all changed in 2003 when software giant SAP launched an ERP product specifically for the SME sector, SAP Business One.
Sense has been providing practical, cost-effective, market leading business management software since 1993. It’s not often that a new product comes along that gets us excited (it is accounting software after all), but SAP Business One is proving a big success with clients and staff alike. “The strength of SAP Business One is the unique technology combined with a wide array of parameter driven functionality. This makes it easy to adapt to suit a particular operation without the need for lengthy and costly customisations”, commented Paul Blatherwick of Sense. “We always advocate that a new system should pay for itself in terms of time saved and information gained. We are seeing a lot of clients gain real world pay back through the implementation of SAP Business One. Anyone who thinks that their current system is holding them back should take a look at this product.”
Free SAP Business One Workshops
For those companies who would like to see the power of SAP B1 for themselves Sense are holding a series workshops commencing in January 2008.
For more information or a one to one demonstration then contact Paul Blatherwick via the Enquiry Form or call 0115 9646646
Sense Awarded Microsoft Gold Status
 Earlier this year Sense became a Gold Certified Partner with Microsoft joining an elite selection of companies who are regarded by Microsoft as the very best of their profession. This accreditation is based upon the highest performance in project delivery, technical skills, customer satisfaction and business performance.
Microsoft delivers their market leading IT solutions and tools via a vast network of Value Added Resellers (VARs). VARS are divided into three levels of Microsoft Accreditation exist; Registered Membership, Certified Partners and Gold Certified Partners, with Gold Certification being the highest accolade in the group. To reach this level requires a huge commitment from the individual partner to work to strict levels of development skills, project delivery, customer satisfaction and business performance with examinations and criteria adhered to every step of the way.
Gold Partner status means that Sense have full access to Microsoft’s resources which understandably reaps masses of benefits for both the Sense and our customers.
Michael Blatherwick, Sense Managing Director concludes, “We have been working closely with Microsoft to attain Gold Partner status for several years and are very proud of this achievement which is a mark of the quality of both our solutions and service levels.”
Sense are experienced in providing customer solutions utilising a variety of Microsoft applications and tools including: Microsoft Dynamics AX, CRM, Office, SQL Server, SharePoint, BizTalk and e-Commerce.
 Spear and Jackson Client Profile - Datafile
Spear & Jackson’s roots can be traced back as far as the 1760’s making them one of the worlds most established manufacturers and distributors of industrial saws, knives and tools. Spear & Jackson International was purchased as part of a Management Buy Out from Spear and Jackson Plc in 2001. The MBO team was lead by Tony Lockey, the current Managing Director, and he needed to act fast after the MBO to replace the company’s business management systems after the separation from the parent company.
Tony recalls the need to change their systems, “When we took over the company we were ‘renting’ our accounts and business management software from the old holding company. The system was bespoke and didn’t particularly suit our business; it was more suited to a warehousing type business with off the shelf products. It was too slow and the cost of ownership was high. In addition to this we required a solution that would increase our control around critical functions within stock, order processing and batch tracking. The old system was particularly weak in these areas and this was a risk.”
Spear and Jackson carefully listed the criteria for selecting a replacement Business Management System. They involved all their internal key users and also sought the views of their clients. They realised the importance of not just thinking about the current needs but also where the business might go and the impact on its IT systems in the future.
Once the system requirements were agreed within, Spear & Jackson set about the task of finding the right software and a credible supplier with whom they could forge a long term partnership. The key measures for choosing the replacement solution and the supplier included:
- Ability to demonstrate the knowledge and experience within their industry and provide several reference sites.
- The solution would need to meet the current and future needs of the business. It would also need to be easily tailored to meet the unique aspects of the business.
- The system would have powerful integrated reporting tools and work in conjunction with standard Microsoft tools such as SQL, Office, Sharepoint and BizTalk.
- The supplier must be well established, reputable and have an excellent track record for supporting clients in the same industry sector and geographical location.
Potential suppliers who met the above criteria were short listed by Spear and Jackson’s Operations Director, Peter Gray. “Datafile was recommended to me during a conversation with a fellow business director, who were already using the Datafile Premier system and were highly satisfied. Initially I contacted Datafile directly and spoke to their M.D. who in turn put me in touch with Sense Computer Systems because of their skills and reputation in our industry”, recalled Peter.
“Sense were very professional and carried out an audit to ensure they totally understood our needs prior to recommending a solution. They then put together a tailored demonstration of the system to prove to our team that the Datafile system could cope with our immediate and longer term needs. We were very impressed by how easily Sense could tailor the system to suit our exact needs. This factor, along with their practical and professional approach, meant that we selected them for our shortlist”, added Peter.
After a further demonstration and several site visits to existing Sense clients Spear and Jackson were convinced that Datafile Premier supplied by Sense would meet their demands and take the business forward.
In terms of implementing the system Spear & Jackson were quite cautious and for good reason as their M.D., Tony Lockey, recalls, “We knew that we had chosen the right system, but the system is only as good as the people that use it and the information that’s transferred to it. Sense eased these concerns because they have a very structured approach toward implementing the system. Firstly they configured the solution to meet our requirements and we tested it thoroughly with real data but in a test company. This ensured we were well prepared for the transition before we trained the users and ultimately, went live. The whole process was as painless as it could possibly be.”
The whole process was project managed by Terry Moore (Sense) and Peter Gray (S & J), who commented, ”the implementation went really well. I’m not saying that we didn’t have some minor issues because we did and I expected that. The fact that Sense provided us with an excellent project manager that maintained good communication throughout the implementation and go live process, meant we were able to overcome these issues without any problems, and I would not hesitate to recommend Sense for their excellent services”.
Since the implementation of Datafile Spear and Jackson now use Sense for most of their I.T. including their hardware and network infrastructure. Future projects include incorporating Job Costing/Booking process into Datafile which is planned for later this year and Spear & Jackson are excited to be working towards these with Sense.
Spindle Document Management
 Spindle Professional enables you to instantly email, fax, print and record all documents from your accounting system. This includes statements, invoices, remittances, delivery notes, sales and purchase orders, quotations and much more. Spindle Professional merges information from your accounting system with form designs, such as your company logo and branding. This means you can produce professional looking documents that can be faxed or emailed, thus reducing your printing, postage and administration costs.
Key benefits for you business
- Dramatically reduce your costs by delivering your documents by fax and email
- Save money and wastage by using plain paper instead of pre-printed stationery
- Place your company logo, branding, image and design on all outgoing documents
- Intelligent delivery means Spindle Professional knows what to fax, what to email and what to print
For more information please contact Paul Blatherwick on 0115 9646646
Prodigy - Protected against unwanted emails and potentially devastating viruses
 Business networks are increasingly under threat from viruses, worms and trojans which can bring your entire operation to a sudden halt causing down time and loss of data.
Most at risk are the small and medium sized businesses that often don’t have the in house skills or resources to deal with virus threats effectively and make do with low-end security devices which simply don't make the grade in providing adequate security from these threats.
In our opinion Prodigy is the most comprehensive and cost effective integrated Internet Security Management (ISM) solution for small and medium sized businesses. Prodigy ISM provides multi layered security from a single point and will save you hours sifting through those unwanted emails. Prices start from just £395 for a 10 user system and can grow to more than 1000 users.
Key features include;
- Secure Firewall
- Protection against Viruses, Worms and Trojans.
- Filtering or Spam Email
- Adware and Anti Spyware protection
For more information and advice on how you can protect your business then please contact Stuart Stafford via the Enquiry Form or Call 01159646646
Sense People - Adam Dumbleton
Adam Dumbleton joined our Hardware and Network team earlier this year. Adam’s just completed his City & Guilds level 2 & 3 and PC Tech apprenticeship at the West Nott’s college. Adam will be spending the next year working along side Dan and Stuart to gain further qualifications and experience. | 
