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> BETA News
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BETA News is a new feature of our website launched in October 2007 that will help our clients keep current on technology and practices in the insurance industry. The following articles are ones we think are interesting trends, tools or information that are relevant to your organization. Items that are identified as being the top will be incorporated into our Best Practices Library.
If you are interested in any of the information found here, we can help you evaluate and implement it. Contact us at 877.604.2382 or by email at james.bowen@iopractices.com
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10/16/2007According to Endgadget, Canon has launched a new network scanner. We like the new ScanFront scanner because it does not need to be attached to a workstation, has a programmable touch screen and a fingerprint reader for security. We have always recommended Canon scanners, as they have proven to be fast and reliable. Keep in mind this scanner does not appear to have Twain, WIA or ISIS drivers and won't be suitable for TAM barcoding. However, for some email-centric workflows this would be an ideal solution.
10/14/2007We are always keep an eye out for tips and tricks for managing electronic documents (such as pdfs)more effectively. When we are visiting office, we often find workers unaware of the things you can do with pdf files. Lifehacker has an article on their top ten tips. Although not all of them would be in our top ten, we like the idea of better utilization of pdfs. We are a big fan of increasing the use of email for communications, but it must be done in a way that smart for your organization. Email communication is faster and more cost effective that paper communications. Ars Technica has a good article about how email can have a negative impact on productivity if not managed comprehensively. For you report gurus out there, Lifehacker has a great article on how to put graphs into cells in Excel. Those of you that work with us know we are big on metrics and measurements. This tip is a great way to display the information you pull together including information in WinTAM. Those of you that work with us know we strongly recommend the use of Microsoft Exchange Server for email. Particularly for those that use AppliedOnline and want to have their email in TAM Online synchronized with their Outlook on their local desktop.
Exchange offers many features that are great for insurance organizations. Access and synchronize your email from multiple email clients and mobile devices, access your email remotely from a web page. Exchange also has group calendaring, scheduling and collaboration features that are not available in many email setups.
One of the most cost effective ways for an office to implement Exchange is through the use of Microsoft Small Business Server. Small Business Server is bundled with components that most small offices need. However for offices without the IT resources for an in-house Exchange server a hosted solution may be beneficial. WindowsITPro has an article about the benefits of Hosted Exchange.
One key feature to make sure you have setup in exchange is RPC over HTTP for Outlook. The benefit would be that the Outlook on your local computer will be exactly synced with Outlook on TAMonline. This will include calendar, tasks and contacts. When a new mail arrives, it shows in both places. If you delete an email it is deleted in both places.
This will allow you to scan to your email and have the information show up in TAM online. The attachment file size limit is controlled by the settings on your Exchange server not TAMOnline's. You will also be able to send email from TAM online and have it show up as yourname@yourcompany.com.
A couple technical items for your IT person:
- You need to have an Exchange server
- Instructions for setting up RPC over HTTP can easily be found on the web.
- You will need to purchase an SSL cert to put on your Exchange server. Make sure you purchase the cert from a well known provider such as Network Solutions or Verisign. TAMOnline does not have the most current root certs installed . For instance we have had trouble using GoDaddy certs because the root cert in the cert chain was not in TAMOnline. Adding the root cert in TAM online has not worked as it does not get replicated across all the TAMOnline Servers.
- If the setup is done correctly, you will not be prompted (after the initial setup) in TAMOnline for your email password.
- TAMOnline has Outlook Cached Mode disabled, so performance may be impacted if you have large mailboxes.
- You will want to set the default delivery of mail in TAM online to the Exchange mailboxes. For some clients, to reduce confusion, I have also removed the TAMOnline email address and mail folders from the TAMOnline profile.
Contact us if you need more information on the benefits of Exchange for insurance organizations. James.bowen@iopractices.com .
WebMD has a good perspective on when sick is too sick. For companies reviewing their sick time policies, you may want to consider the message you are sending your employees. A poorly designed policy can inadvertently have results opposite of your intent. Reduced productivity and moral can often be more expensive to the organization than a more balanced sick policy.
Of course we recommend that you consult with your legal counsel before making changes to your policies. The paper tape adding machine on your desk is well past its prime. It does not lend itself to the paperless office and electronic communications. It is also one more piece of equipment that needs supplies and repairs. We prefer calculators that can be used on your windows desktop. Unfortunately, the built in windows calculator has limited features.
Our favorite calculator is DeskCalc. DeskCalc is a full paper tape adding machine replacement. It allows you to cut and paste tape results into email, it has an export feature to Excel. We feel it works particularly well in offices that have dual monitors.
There is also a free enhanced calculator from Microsoft, it does not have all the features of Deskcalc, but is a good start. For the Windows Mobile users out there, we like 1calc from Omega One software, it offers a currency conversion and tip calculators.
For you administrators out there, Lifehacker has written about a tool that helps you manage remote access to computers within your organization. It offers support for VNC, Microsoft's Remote Desktop (RDP) and others. This could be a useful for managing servers, workstations and Applied Online. RDP is the technology used to connect to Applied Online.
We like tools that help organizations be more efficient supporting their users.
View the article at Lifehacker. BETA News is a new feature of our website launched in October 2007 that will help our clients keep current on technology and practices in the insurance industry. The following articles are ones we think are interesting trends, tools or information that are relevant to your organization. Items that are identified as being the top will be incorporated into our Best Practices Library.
If you are interested in any of the information found here, we can help you evaluate and implement it. Contact us at 877.604.2382 or by email at james.bowen@iopractices.com
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