What Is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is an on demand access to shared servers, software and data using the Internet. The user accesses the cloud using any type of device (PC, Laptop, Smart Phone, iPad) that runs a web browser.

The Cloud is meant to represent the concept that the user does not need to know anything of the computing infrastructure he or she is using and that it just sits within a cloud somewhere out there. It is often depicted, as a drawing of a cloud inside which is a network of linked servers much like drawings of telephone networks or electricity grids.

The Cloud can also be seen to represent an alleged infinite capacity of computing resources available for all to use. The cloud can even be a private Cloud (at a cost.)

There are many types of applications for cloud computing from backups, data storage and email systems through to full-blown ERP systems such as Lakeview’s LV product. In theory all business and personal systems could be delivered to you via the cloud.

In reality there are of course still companies that you contract with for these delivered services via the Cloud as the latter is after all a different route to market for the products and services already on offer pre Cloud.

The way these Cloud application services known as SaaS (Software as a Service) or ‘Software on Demand’ are delivered via a subscription from the service provider.

So, what are the pros and cons for your business potentially moving to a Cloud Computing model?

Pros

Cost reduction

This is the key benefit in that there may no longer any need for in house IT hardware or technical expertise or these resources can be redeployed to other business functions.

Scalable

It will grow with your business (although you will pay more.)

Green

Companies sharing global data centres within the cloud should reduce green footprints.

Cons

Risk

Single point of failure with one supplier for all IT needs with limited negotiating power, control and costly to revert back in-house.

Access

This may well be a showstopper as you will need a telecom (Broadband or Lease) line into your business that provides reliable and responsive access to the Internet.

Privacy

Handing confidential business data over to a third party.

Performance

Many software applications are slower and less reliable as they weren’t designed for cloud deployment.

Summary

If your business is an early adopter, and prepared to take a considered risk for a cost saving, then the Cloud is certainly worthy of consideration.

For the remaining majority of pragmatic, conservative and technology laggard businesses then best to maintain status quo and keep your server and data sat safely within your four business walls (five counting your firewall!)

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About Lakeview

Lakeview are authors of ERP solutions providing outstanding levels of customer service to UK SME’s for over 25 years.

To find out more

Please contact at info@lakeview.co.uk

Visit our YouTube demo: UKERP

LV ERP product page: www.lakeview.co.uk/lv

iTunes business App: Visit iTunes to trial ‘LV ERP’

PDF download: LV ERP Brochure

Author: Mark Greatrex, CEO, Lakeview Computers Ltd

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Technorati Tags: cloud computing, cloud erp, erp cloud, LV ERP, mobile ERP

Lakeview are pleased to announce a rental model for its latest ERP product ‘LV ERP‘.

Renting software or Software as a Service (SaaS) is often bundled and confused with Cloud Computing. Whilst the two naturally fit together, we believe many businesses may prefer to rent their software whilst keeping the systems on-premise within the business domain and control.

Flexibility of determining usage, on a month by month basis

Lakeview offers a fixed price on a per user per month basis, with the right to use ‘LV ERP’ with maintenance, support and upgrades included.

This gives you the flexibility to increase or decrease the number of users easily and aligned against business changes.

This can also include any add on Lakeview modules and potentially third party applications supplied by ourselves.

The option to rent, either on premise or via The Cloud provides a low cost entry point rather than having to pre purchase licenses, and an option we are seeing increased demand for in these uncertain economic conditions.

The benefits of renting your next ERP solution with Lakeview include:

1. Low cost of entry and ownership
2. No need for an in house IT team
3. Flexibility of determining usage
4. Anytime, anywhere access
5. Industry specific solutions

About Lakeview

Lakeview are authors of ERP solutions providing outstanding levels of customer service to UK SME’s for over 25 years.

To find out more

Please contact us by email: info@lakeview.co.uk

Or visit our LV ERP product page here: www.lakeview.co.uk/lv

Author: Mark Greatrex, CEO, Lakeview Computers Ltd

Technorati Tags: cloud erp, erp on rent, mobile ERP, rent erp, saas erp

Many sales teams still operate paper-based processes with an order pad that requires re-keying in data when back at the office. This is clearly a very inefficient use of time, and can lead to lost business and customer service issues when data is not entered correctly or in time.

In today’s business world it’s imperative that the sales person has all the latest information to hand when with a customer or prospect and be able to close business there and then. Lakeview’s ‘LV’ ERP system can be operated via any mobile device whether it is a smart phone, tablet, laptop or an inexpensive net book and provides online access to your business data.

Using LV ERP your sales team can enter quotes or orders directly into the system, print documents onsite or email them to whoever needs them. They can check accounts, prices and the latest stock levels, and can access any menu options that are available to them in the Office.

Mobile App

If your sales team uses iPhones, iPads or Android devices then there is a dedicated LV App for each of these platforms.

For Apple users

Click here to download a functioning version of LV free of charge using demo data.   http://t.co/B66gW4Zx

There is no need to purchase any Terminal Server or Citrix type software, and no help needed from expensive external IT consultants.

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To find out more

Contact Lakeview at: info@lakeview.co.uk

Visit iTunes to download LV ERP to your mobile device

Or download our LV brochure to read more on LV ERP for mobile

About Lakeview

Lakeview are authors of ERP solutions providing outstanding levels of customer service to UK SME’s for over 25 years.

Author: Mark Greatrex, CEO, Lakeview Computers Ltd

Technorati Tags: apple erp, erp app, LV, LV ERP, mobile ERP

In today’s high technology world it is now common place to find employees working from home.

From an IT perspective this can be an expensive and often frustrating experience for the home worker. Terminal Server licenses have to be procured and the connection itself can be unstable or slow with the laptop operating system, and the network software adding a burden at both ends.

Lakeview’s ‘LV’ ERP solution makes it easier than ever for companies to offer a ‘working from home’ option. Any laptop or indeed low cost net book can be connected to the full functionality ERP system via any web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox etc.)

There is no need to purchase any Terminal Server or Citrix type software, and no help needed from expensive external IT consultants.

Any new transactions or updates are automatically made to the LV system wherever it resides in the world, or in The Cloud, ensuring all data is viewed in real-time.

This is how home offices should be functioning in the 21st Century in order to provide competitive edge, manage costs and provide excellent service.

The best way to see how ‘LV’ ERP‘ can help your business is to a talk with a Lakeview consultant.

Contact Lakeview at: info@lakeview.co.uk

About Lakeview

Lakeview are authors of ERP solutions providing outstanding levels of customer service to UK SME’s for over 25 years. To find out more visit: www.lakeview.co.uk.

Author: Mark Greatrex, CEO of Lakeview Computers

Technorati Tags: business software, erp, LV, mobile ERP, remote, remote working, web erp

Given the extended period of economic uncertainty UK business leaders have come to a typically stoic British conclusion – we must press on and restart investment for growth.

UK business leaders and entrepreneurs cannot wait for the European Union to resolve its issues but instead have to show leadership. What is clear is that there needs to be financial options readily available for investment in business. With the banks still reluctant to offer support to SME’s it’s down to savvy suppliers to offer financial options.

Here at Lakeview we offer our market leading ‘LV ERP’ software and services through a number of finance options:

1. Buy the right to use ‘LV ERP’ for as long as you choose
2. Take advantage of attractive leasing options tailored specifically for your needs
3. Rent ‘LV ERP’ on a per user per month basis, as a lower cost entry point for your investment

These financial options are available regardless of whether you want your ERP solution to:

1. Reside on your IT infrastructure on your premises
2. Be hosted on ‘The Cloud

Either way we are able to evaluate, advise and implement the best solution for your business.

So, the choice is yours to make the investment in your next generation ERP system in a way that best suits your business finance, and delivers the business growth and cost savings to meet the business case.

About Lakeview

Lakeview are authors of ERP solutions providing outstanding levels of customer service to UK SME’s for over 25 years.

Find out more

To find out more email info@lakeview.co.uk.

Or visit: www.lakeview.co.uk

Author: Mark Greatrex, CEO of Lakeview Computers Ltd

Technorati Tags: cloud erp, finance ERP, lease ERP, LV ERP, pricing ERP, rental ERP

You maybe aware that Sage has announced termination of support for Sage Line 100 on September 30th 2012. This means no further development of the product beyond that date, no new releases and no changes for any taxation or legal requirements. This effectively renders the product unusable the next time there is a legal or fiscal change.

We have heard instances of Sage resellers not informing their customers and other resellers claiming they can support and develop Line 100 past this date (they can’t.)

Here at Lakeview our approach to product life cycles is very different to Sage and just about every other ERP author. Put simply we do not end life products and we do not force customers into buying an upgrade. Line 200 is sold as a natural evolution from Line 100 but in fact is a new piece of software. This is the opportunity for you to consider alternates.

Our Lakeview LM product has been providing customer with accounting and ERP functionality for over 25 years (longer than Line 100 has been in existence!) LM is still supported and developed with many of our customers still happily running their business very effectively on LM.

Two years ago we launched our LV product range which offers the rich functionality within LM plus all the latest Microsoft, Internet, Apple and mobile technologies. An increasing number of LM customers have taken the smooth upgrade path to LV based on their own decision and business benefits. Equally many Sage customers have migrated to Lakeview as the cost and disruption of moving to us is comparable or indeed less than moving to Line 200 but with much more benefits.

Lakeview LV also offers a fully functional mobile version that can work on any smart phone, tablet, iPad, iPhone, netbook, in fact any device that can connect to the Internet! This enables remote sales teams, executives and remote employees to access the system anytime anywhere.

As a UK author we also offer a completely unique proposition known as ‘Bespoke As Standard’. This means that we will modify the software to meet any needs that are specific to your business and we will guarantee that it will be included in the standard product. This enables a very smooth and painless upgrade to future releases – to our knowledge; nobody else in the UK offers this!

To find out more

Visit our website, download our LV App from iTunes or our LV brochure here.

Author: Mark Greatrex, CEO of Lakeview Computers Ltd

Technorati Tags: alternative to sage, good alternative to sage, sage erp, sage line 100, sage line 100 end, sage replacement

OVERVIEW

Established in 1979, Esher-based baked products manufacturer The Cookie Man supplies supermarkets such as Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrison and Waitrose. It‟s a highly competitive industry, driven by a continual need to improve productivity, cut costs, and reduce wastage.

In late 2010, The Cookie Man responded by launching an initiative to drive manufacturing efficiency, greater visibility, control and lean processes on the manufacturing shop floor. To achieve this, the company decided that it would augment its Lakeview ERP system—with which it was otherwise delighted—with a specialist „add on‟ package focused upon providing detailed management and visibility for factory-centric operations.

“As an ERP system, Lakeview did everything we wanted,” says The Cookie Man‟s general manager Jayson Scheib. “But we needed to monitor manufacturing operations at a more granular level of detail in order to drive manufacturing performance higher.”

Download the full story about Cookie Man’s Manufacturing success working in partnership with Lakeview ERP and Mestec

CHALLENGE

And to try to get the desired level of visibility, the business had become reliant on a number of spreadsheets and paper-based systems, he explains. By 2010, Cookie Man had outgrown these dated methods which were onerous to manage, not to mention the frequent re-keying of data.

“We would spend hours entering data into paper forms, and then copying the information into the ERP system, checking records and trying to resolve conflicts and errors,” says Charles McIntosh, The Cookie Man‟s supply chain manager.

The business needed visibility of real-time shop-floor data to support lean activities to continue to drive cost out of the manufacturing process.

To read this case study in full

Visit: www.mestec.net/Download/TheCookieManCaseStudy.pdf

About Mestec’s Smart Box solution

A touch screen and barcode based factory focused solution, Mestec’s Manufacturing Smart Box system is designed to track, trace and report on key aspects of the entire production process … from goods receipt to despatch.

What’s more, the Mestec Manufacturing Smart Box has been designed from the ground up to complement existing ERP systems, and not to replace ERP functionality.

The Manufacturing Smart Box interface is a simple touch screen configured for a specific set of factory activities. Its simplicity means that minimal training is needed. Typically, the Mestec Manufacturing Smart Box system is specified, chosen and implemented by manufacturing management, and not the IT department.

The Manufacturing Smart Box is flexible and can be rapidly deployed into even complex and changing environments. This makes it ideal as an ERP companion, capturing key production information in real time whilst seamlessly interfacing to the corresponding company information systems.

With a typical payback of two months to one year, Mestec’s Manufacturing Smart Box systems are affordably-priced, and available on either a low-cost monthly subscription, or through one-time perpetual licences. And a typical initial improvement project delivers results in days or weeks, not months or years.

Visit: Mestec

Case study written by: Mestec

Technorati Tags: barcode solution, cookie man, food customer, food erp, manufacturing erp, manufacturing smart box system, mestec, new business win, smart box

Lakeview is a leading UK software company, providing effective ERP and accounting solutions to wholesalers, manufacturers and distributors.

LV Mobile ERP puts the power and flexibility of Lakeview LV in your hands. Place orders, check stock, print and email order acknowledgments, and action almost any business transaction remotely.

Download LV and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Visit iTunes to download this App or call our Sales team on: 0845 388 3329 

Mobile Solutions Across The Web

Lakeview’s LV system provides you with a more mobile ERP solution; by exploiting the latest technologies to your business advantage. LV can be deployed real time, via a web connection, onto desktops, notebooks, laptops, iPad, iPhone or any tablet or smart phone that supports Android or Windows Mobile software.

This enables employees and executives on the move to have access to systems and key information wherever they are in the world. It also enables sales people and service engineers to capture orders, raise quotes, order parts, capture signatures, check accounts, progress orders whilst  with the customer and without paperwork, duplication or needless trips to the office.

As authors of the software we provide a ‘Bespoke as Standard’ commitment that is unique to us. We commit to providing an outstanding level of service underpinned by ensuring that the software fits to your business rather than you having to fit your processes to how the software works.

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Visit iTunes to download this App

Call our Sales team on: 0845 388 3329 to find out more

Or download our LV brochure to read more on LV ERP for mobile

Author: Angela Kennedy, Marketing Manager, Lakeview

Technorati Tags: enterprise resource planning for iphone, erp for ipad, erp for iphone, ERP LV iphone app, lakeview offers erp iPhone app, LV app, LV for ipad, LV iphone, LV mobile app

Cloud computing or ‘Cloud’ is fast becoming a buzz word for us all, it is a platform that offers many benefits to many businesses, but it is still in its infancy particularly in the UK SME marketplace.

We have all witnessed an unprecedented global financial meltdown and a recession, companies within every industry are looking for cost savings. I think it fair to say, gone are the days businesses invest large amounts of capital in servers and thanks to the Cloud this is fast becoming a reality.

So, we look at some risks and trade-offs with Mark Greatrex, CEO of Lakeview Computers and contributor to the UKERP Twitter.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet).

Extract taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

What are the major benefits of cloud computing for you?

Our client base consists of small to medium sized businesses within manufacturing, distribution and wholesale marketplaces.

For us, ‘Cloud computing’ facilitates the delivery of our enterprise solution (LV) in a new way, via the web, with different pricing structures and gives businesses the ability to scale up and down easily. For some businesses a Cloud model will be attractive on a pay per user basis, for others it’s about removing large up front hardware costs, it gives business owners choice.

The Key benefits for Cloud based ERP

• Allows a faster evolution of the ERP solution and its ROI
• Requires a minimal capital outlay
• Minimal operational and maintenance cost
• Fewer IT resources needed, with easier implementation and integration path

These significant benefits are driving business owners and executives to look at the way they are currently doing business in a proactive effort to make cost savings and to stay competitive within their market place.

What do you see as the risks and trade-offs of a Cloud platform?

The key risks and issues of Cloud are:

• Security concerns of outsourcing business confidential data
• Performance & reliability of the infrastructure, particularly the connection to/from the SME’s business locations
• Willingness & capability of your software suppliers to provide an integrated solution in the Cloud
• Nervousness over relinquishing control of your IT resources to parties unknown!

The good news is that all of these risks and issues can be mitigated and concerns allayed.

Should my business adopt a Cloud platform?

Once all of your concerns have been addressed it comes down to a business decision based on cost. It should be easy to quantify the cost savings to your business of not having to replace IT hardware and associated software and having to employ IT staff to manage your infrastructure.

With the right supplier and contract the annual cost of cloud should be predictable and so your return on investment should be straightforward to calculate.

Cloud is now moving from early adoption by technology enthusiasts and now becomes attractive to those of you who are pragmatic buyers.

Authors: Angela Kennedy, Marketing and Mark Greatrex, CEO, Lakeview Computers Ltd

LV: Taking ERP mobile

Technorati Tags: cloud computing, cloud erp, LV

The finance function is ultimately responsible for ensuring the financial health of the business.  In the current economic climate, with restricted lending from high street banks, limited economic growth and cost pressures reducing operating profits, controlling the working capital of a business is becoming more critical.

Customers who pay slowly often do so as a means to support their own working capital and it is always a difficult subject to chase for payment.  However, it is important to remember your terms of business and that you have only incurred costs and used the working capital of the company until you receive payment from your customer.

George McDonough, FD, Lakeview Computers Ltd

To reduce the chances of a customer compromising your cash flow it is important to ensure your credit control processes are streamlined and automated where possible.  This can be achieved by:

1.     Using Technology.  Sending invoices by email will help reduce the time it takes for invoices to be processed and will provide a trail.  Invoices cannot ‘get lost in the post’ and you will know if an email has not been delivered!  Additionally, encouraging customers to pay by BACS will prevent cheques from being lost and taking additional time to clear the banking system.

2.    Ensuring Customers have received your invoice.  Your credit control processes should be sufficient to check customers have a copy of the invoice and that the invoice has been processed for payment.  It is better to be aware of any queries a customer has with approving the invoice before it is overdue.

3.    Understanding your Customer:  Regular credit checks should be performed to ensure your customer is able to pay for the goods you are supplying.  This should be factored into your credit control processes and the credit terms you are willing to provide.  You should ensure you are aware of the customers who consistently exceed their credit terms, dispute invoices and generally pay late.

4.    Enforcing your terms of business:  Your customers have probably signed up to your terms of business and you should ensure these are enforced.  A customer may have a reason for payment to be late, but consistent late payment will require action.  Ensure you have a good dialogue with customers and that they are aware their account will be placed “on stop”, the consequences of this and also how they can make payment.

5.    Communicating internally:  All your employees should have an understanding of the credit control procedures.  Existing customers should have credit limits and credit terms that are adhered to, and sales should only be accepted where the customer has the ability to pay.  Before you receive payment from your customer, the sale has cost you time and money and has used up your resources which could be better spent elsewhere.  Accounts which have been placed on ‘stop’ should be communicated within your organisation.

Stay tuned!

This is the first of two blog posts by George McDonough focused on making debt collection a company wide concern. The next in this series is due for publication next week.

Author: George McDonough, Finance Director of Lakeview Computers Ltd