Welcome to Internet Software Sciences Newsletter # 9. This newsletter outlines several new product announcements concerning the new Web+Center version 5.0 beta program and other important upgrade policies for existing Web+Center users.

Newsletter # 9 Article Index:

• Web+Center Version 5.0 Beta Program
  
• New Web+Center Version 5.0 Features
  
• Upgrading to Version 5.0 and new upgrade policies for Version 5.0
  

Web+Center Version 5.0 beta is now available for download and evaluation or you can easily peek at the new Version 5.0 functionality on-line. Before any Web+Center software is released as "production", the software is first rigorously tested in beta test environment. This beta release can only be used for new non-production systems. Upgrades of existing Web+Center installation will be possible with the second beta release for existing and licensed customers.

If you would like to participate in the Version 5.0 beta program, simply complete the Web+Center 5.0 Beta Download form and install the application as outlined in the installation guide.

New Web+Center Version 5.0 Enhancements

Version 5.0 incorporates over a year of new development and design based on feedback from existing Web+Center users in a wide variety of market applications. Version 5.0 is designed to be completely database upwards compatible with Version 4.0 to allow for easy upgrades with existing Web+Center systems. All of the information that is currently stored in the database will be maintained in the new Version 5.0 system. The main new features of 5.0 include:


• New and upgraded User Interface (UI) look using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• New invoicing and mini accounting package integrated with the work order/tracking system
• New HTML based emails and new ASP mailer to support SMTP authentication and HTML emails
• Extended time spent work order entries that integrate with the new invoice component.
• Additional Calendar/Scheduler functionality
• New case and customer search capabilities
• New Asset import options and asset management features
• Support for Windows and Linux with a single set of application code

New User Interface with Cascading Style Sheets
Most of the Web+Center application screens have been "stylized" using the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for clarity, presentation, and screen form layout efficiency. Information about how to customized the screens and style sheets to match your own design and user look and feel requirements is included in the programmers and internationalization guide.

Figure #1 - Customer+Center Version 5.0 work order screen shot

Figure #2 - Tech+Center Version 5.0 work order search page screen shot

New invoicing module
An extensive new invoicing/ sales forecasting module has been added to the Web+Center application to keep track of your business invoices and sales quotes. Inside the Business+Center, the sales CRM component of the Web+Center suite of application, is a new feature to create invoices, sales quote, and renewal invoices. Additional invoice reports and invoice processing features allow easy review and management of paid and unpaid invoices, sales quotes and other in invoice /sales/forecasting processes.

The invoicing module is designed to be very configurable to match your business requirements. Included in the invoice component are scripts to export customer and invoice data for external accounting package integration.


Figure #2 - Business+Center Invoices screen shot

New HTML based Emails and new ASP mailer
Starting with Version 5.0, Web+Center for Windows now uses a special licensed version of an ASP mailer from EmailArchitect (www.emailarchitect.net ) that offers new options when sending emails from ASP pages including HTML emails and also handles SMTP authentication. New HTML based notification messages are sent to the customer and techs. New User group HTML email opt-in list options allow for easy creating and sending of HTML emails to user groups. This newsletter was sent to the Web+Center user group using the new HTML ASP mailer and the Business+Center Email options.

Extended Time Spent work order and integrated invoicing
Every year, thousands of users world wide download and deploy the Web+Center Help Desk for their own IT department work order tracking or for an external sales/ customer support system. There are increasing numbers of smaller, outsource IT shops that are now using the Web+Center to track and manage and bill support cases for a variety of external customers. To accommodate this model of a IT support shop, this new extended time spent billing feature was added to allow IT support organization better track and bill support cases for customers and create billable invoices for their customers.

Extended time spent work orders allows techs to add records for billable and non-billable time spent with billable hourly rates for each time spent entry. Invoices based on date ranges can compute monthly invoices that can then be exported to other accounting systems for processing.


Figure #4 - Extended Time Spent Form screen shot
Additional Calendar/Scheduler Functionality
New Calendar/ scheduler functionality allow for easier group and individual calendar viewing and automatic email notification when a calendar event is updated for the event attendees. This component has a variety of uses from work order scheduling, tech group meeting to scheduling sales contact meetings.

Figure #4 - Web+Center Calendar/Scheduler screen shot
New Case and Customer Search Capabilities
Some new search features have been added to the Case Search form allowing for searching in the optional case text fields. Additional search capabilities have been added to the customer search pages to allow one to search for customers based on information in the optional customer information fields.

Figure #5 - Work order search form screen shot

New Asset Import scripts and creating duplicate assets
New asset importing scripts have been created to allow one to more easily import assets into the Web+Center to more easily use the Asset Management component of Web+Center.

Support for both Windows and Linux with a single set of application code
Starting with Version 5.0, a single set of ASP code will be used to support both the Windows and the Linux Implementation. New hosted Web+Center plans are now available. Please refer to the Internet Software Sciences web site for the new Hosted Web+Center Help Desk Solutions.
Windows System Web+Center Server Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP Pro, Windows 2000 Server/Pro, NT
• Database: SQL*Server/2000/2003, MS Access
Linux System Web+Center Server Requirements:
• Operating System: Linux Redhat or compatible
• Database: mySQL
• Active Server Pages Script Engine: Sun One

Upgrading to Web+Center 5.0 and new upgrade policies

With Version 5.0, the upgrade script necessary to migrate an existing Web+Center 4.0 installation to Version 5.0 will not be part of the regular downloadable released application. The following upgrade options will be available:
• Licensed Users with current Support/Upgrade contracts - Free upgrade scripts will be available
• Licensed Users without current Support/Upgrade contracts - Contact ISS to renew your support/upgrade contract and obtain the upgrade script.
• FREE (3) Tech Users - A one time upgrade script can be purchased to upgrade FREE (3) tech systems from Version 4.0 to 5.0. Check the Internet Software Sciences home page for more details on upgrade options when the production version of Web+Center 5.0 becomes available.

For further questions on upgrades and your support contract status, please contact Internet Software Sciences Sales group at sales@inet-sciences.com or by phone at (650) 949-0942.