KnowledgeSync Receives 'Editor's Choice' award from Customer Inter@ction Solutions Magazine!

Knowledge-Sync 2000 is referred to by its publisher as a business "smoke detector." Its major function is to alert the proper personnel when data conditions reach pre-determined criteria. This is accomplished by monitoring company data stores, scanning and processing incoming e-mail and generating and distributing Crystal Reports. Professing the ability to enhance any database-centric application, KnowledgeSync 2000 can be used, for example, to alert an account manager via pager that the company's (and his) largest account just e-mailed tech support. Or, it can be used as a human resources tool to e-mail a supervisor that an employee is out sick and automatically append a Crystal Report detailing that particular employee's attendance record over the past year along with a company attendance policy file.

Put simply, KnowledgeSync 2000 is an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) solution designed to synchronize and filter information from disparate sources by alerting the proper personnel when data meet specific criteria or conditions. This provides a tool for all staff to address and respond to time-sensitive issues without having to spend their time unnecessarily "putting out fires," when a neglected situation is conveyed by an angry customer, rather than through an alert from KnowledgeSync.

Via an EventPAK (a software add-on), KnowledgeSync 2000 is capable of using VB (Visual Basic) scripting to interface with operating systems. The Event Log in Windows XP, 2000 and NT can be monitored by KnowledgeSync to identify events such as security breaches, network problems and low disk space. In addition to alerting MIS personnel, KnowledgeSync can be programmed to take corrective action when certain conditions occur by restarting a server or deleting log files to recover disk space.

Implementation

A software based solution, Knowledge-Sync 2000 is sold through resellers and partners of SalesLogix and FrontRange Solutions. If a customer opts for alert functionality only, the solution can be up and running in one or two days. Implementing more complex data-pushing functionality for checking, creating and generating records, such as lead management, may take up to seven days. Additionally, resellers have started developing EventPAKs such as Integrated Service Alerts and Opportunity Minder, both created for SalesLogix. Integrated Service Alerts, for example, provide pre-configured queries and events for monitoring support-related events and incoming e-mail to generate support calls. 

KnowledgeSync is licensed per connection. A connection is defined by as monitoring one application database, monitoring incoming e-mail or monitoring a server�s operating system. A KnowledgeSync license allows one copy (iteration) of the KnowledgeSync Event Manager, KnowledgeSync Monitor and KnowledgeSync Administrator to be run only from the server on which the KnowledgeSync database is installed.

Alert Messaging

Since the purpose of Knowledge-Sync 2000 is to synchronize information, its backbone is based on queries able to traverse different databases and applications. Part of the "ease of use" of this solution is weighted heavily upon the interface design. The Query Definition interface, for example, allows a database administrator to define any data condition desired. The process to define a condition, or query, is broken down into different tabs, allowing a user to quickly set up and define a query using multiple tables in disparate databases. SQL script is then generated, and can be edited manually if desired.

Once data conditions are defined, creating an Event is the next step to effectively using the data selected by the query. Queries are kept separate from events so a single query can be used in multiple events. We created an Event that was triggered when shipping charges reach seven percent of the order total for the previous week of business using a sample database. In addition to sending out an alert via e-mail, fax or pager when an Event is triggered, KnowledgeSync is also capable of automatically generating one or more Crystal Reports using the Crystal runtime engine 8.5. The reports can also be automatically appended to an outgoing Alert e-mail message, can be Web cast or can be posted to an FTP site. Files can also be added to an outgoing message; for example, appending a freight calculation worksheet to the Shipping Supervisor along with an e-mail alert.

Reports

The reporting feature of Knowledge-Sync 2000 allows its owners to pre-define, automatically generate and distribute Crystal Reports. Reports can be distributed via e-mail, fax, FTP and by linking the reports to a Web page. Similarly, reports can be generated based on a variety of criteria such as specific data that trigger a report, or an on-request report via e-mail. Since the Crystal runtime engine is backwards compatible, existing enterprise reports can be appended to an event by pointing KnowledgeSync 2000 at the existing report.

We reviewed an Event in which a report was generated if more than 20 people sign up for a particular CRM Training course in a particular month (in a sample database). Similar to appending a report to an Alert e-mail, KnowledgeSync can also attach files to include with corresponding reports. Additionally, report distribution can also be achieved in a variety of ways. A report can be attached to an e-mail message, faxed, or, to reduce network traffic, can be Web cast or posted to an FTP site and e-mail and pager notification can be generated to both alert employees the report is complete and also convey its whereabouts.

E-mail

In addition to employing APIs to interface with Microsoft, Lotus Notes and other e-mail solutions for the purpose of alerting company employees, KnowledgeSync 2000 is also very capable of processing and responding to incoming e-mail based on content. Using the E-mail Response System is similar to defining queries to identify conditions in database stores, only using the electronic mail medium instead. Funneling the contents of an e-mail (directed by the addressing) into a KnowledgeSync e-mail database, the e-mail data is then separated into database fields. Although basic fields are standard, such as inbox account, inbox address, etc., administrators also have the ability to create their own, site-specific fields within the KnowledgeSync e-mail message database.

Using filters and sub-filters, an administrator can employ KnowledgeSync 2000 to check for e-mail from specific clients, or specific conditions within the body of a memo. Consider this example of a real-world implementation to further illustrate E-mail Response System capabilities: In addition to sending a canned response to the sender, a tech support manager wants to be alerted each time a support inquiry is submitted via e-mail to the general support@company.com mailbox. After specifying the application to use (E-mail Response) and naming the query, we were finished completing the Alert portion of the Event. Since the query is designed to look at all the mail sent to that e-mail address, there�s no need to add additional trigger parameters. If certain statistics were required, we then had the option to append a report after "X" amount of e-mail support requests were received. The report could contain information such as who handled the support calls or turn-around time; or automatically generate a report of past support calls for that particular client ‹ perhaps identifying and allowing the support team to prioritize responses to high-cost, low-revenue clients. Also, we could have opted for pager notification, fax transmittal or the automatic posting of support@company.com mail to a Web page; or we could have added an incoming message to the appropriate area in a customer contact database. This would make the account manager aware, for example, that a client is experiencing some difficulty.

Conclusion

KnowledgeSync helps companies patrol and constantly monitor their data to report important business conditions. Although you must be familiar with database architecture and your company�s own data stores to efficiently pilot the product, the GUI makes it a far cry from writing your own script. Along the same line, the application interaction is provisioned via an embedded VB scripting module, which allows the addition or updating of existing fields in an application database. A small learning curve exists when becoming familiar with the GUI; however, patterned to allow the same sort of interaction when developing queries for e-mail response or Alerts, the tab-orientated GUI is very intuitive.

Although this First Look is not an in-depth product review, my experience with KnowledgeSync 2000 has revealed what appears to be a comprehensive product that allows an enterprise to fully utilize existing data stores. Additionally, the sound business strategy of interoperating with legacy software increases its value as a business investment. Ever the office watchdog, when applied and used to its potential, KnowledgeSync 2000 can provide the means to make many areas of an enterprise run more efficiently, and therefore is deserving of an Editor�s Choice award.

For more information on implementing KnowledgeSync, please click here.

back to top