If you work in education you know that while students may have the summer off,  staff is still hard at work.  The summer season sets the stage for the success of the following year.  This is a crucial time to get operations and support departments in tip-top shape.

Summers are especially demanding on school IT departments.   Equipment needs to be evaluated, serviced, and inventoried for use the next year. If you have multiple departments or campuses, keeping track of this can be very challenging.

The Novo Service Desk software is a great tool for IT use in education.  Year round request tracking can be managed from any location with the request tracking tool.  Assets are tracked & managed with the asset management module, and the Novo Knowledge Base component is a great tool for all kinds of related documentation, service manuals, self help and more.

We’d like to share a case study of how one of our customers is using our software in their school system.  If you would like to evaluate the Novo Service Desk, or one of our other software solutions, please contact us for a free trial.

http://www.novosolutions.com/service-desk-software/

Today, more than ever, people need effective ways to track their IT and other business assets.  On any given day we are contacted by people looking for a better solution than spread sheet management or a inferior tool they may be using to get by.  It is easy to see why.  The costs associated with managing assets have to be considered as much as initial purchase costs.

Effective Asset Management:

• Records where an item is located , as well as it’s location (as it has been moved)
• Keeps a history of  maintenance and problems and issues
• Records the relationship of assets to one another
• Provides robust asset reporting and documentation

A problem with spreadsheets is that they cannot do this effectively.  A web-based asset management solution allows you to keep tight control on your assets locations and other important information to effectively keep track of your equipment.  Asset tracking software will also help you manage life-cycle expectations to help you predict costs and control spending.  Today’s cloud solutions can make acquiring an asset management solution affordable for most businesses, costing only dollars per month.

So leave the spreadsheets in accounting and bring your asset tracking to the next level with an affordable asset management solution.

For information on the Novo Asset Manager see: http://www.novosolutions.com/asset-management-software/

Repeat customers are a building block of most successful businesses, but not so commonplace in the software industry.  Because specialty software is typically a one time purchase, most vendors make just a single sale per customer.  This is not the case at Novo Solutions!

Because our solutions are highly flexible and adaptable to multiple departments, what starts out in an IT department finds it’s way into other workplace environments.  It just makes sense.  Companies can purchase and maintain a single solution and use it across multiple departments,  maximizing efficiency and saving money.  When new users are added it is as simple as customizing the configurations to meet that department’s needs and giving us a call to purchase additional administrators licenses.

Here at Novo we love getting calls from long-time customers and learning how they are using our software in new and unique ways.  If you would like to learn more about Novo Shared Service please download our complimentary whitepaper.

http://www.novosolutions.com/solutions/shared-services

When we came out with our first knowledge base software over ten years ago we had no idea where it would go.  Initially it seemed like a good idea to help people find a low cost,  easy way to centralize their organizational knowledge.   Before long we realized that all kinds of knowledge, from internal documentation to customer facing web support could be managed in a single, powerful application.  Since that time the Novo Knowledge Base continues to be one of our best selling solutions in multiple organizations and across multiple departments.

Today most organizations realize the importance of having a company knowledge base, but did you realize just how important effective knowledge management is to the success of your company?  According to Forbes, “Three key reasons why actively managing knowledge is important to a company’s success are: 1.) Facilitates decision-making capabilities, 2.) Builds learning organizations by making learning routine, and, 3.) Stimulates cultural change and innovation.”

Here is a short article speaking to “Why Knowledge Management Is Important To The Success Of Your Company” .  We hope you’ll enjoy yhe read and if you have any questions about the Novo Knowledge Base please contact us.

http://www.novosolutions.com/knowledge-base-software

Whether you are currently running your business on fewer employees or hiring new ones, the company knowledge base is a great tool for managing employee knowledge.

Current Employees – have a wealth of training and experience  invested in them.  Documenting this knowledge allows knowledge sharing among employees and management.  Lessons learned and best practices can be shared resulting in increased operational effectiveness.  Incentives can help employees participate in contributing valuable knowledge to the repository that is helpful to both management and other employees.

Departing Employees – don’t let valuable information leave when an employee leaves.  From daily tasks to lessons learned, employee knowledge should be documented so it is retained in the company knowledge base.  No important information should be dependent on an employee’s memory.

New Employees – empower your new employees with the knowledge and confidence to do their jobs.  Training tools, policy manuals, company information, etc. can all be made available to new employees from their first day.  Employees will not only ramp up knowledge quickly, but you can be sure everything that needs to be covered is presented in a uniform way.

If you are already using a knowledge base for customer self support consider bringing it into human resources for a great employee training tool.

For more information on the Novo Knowledge Base see: www.novosolutions.com/knowledge-base-software/

Nothing compares to a strong, web-based, customer support tracking tool to streamline and manage customer support requests, but today more and more customers are taking their requests and complaints into social media.  Savvy customers know that organizations do not want negative comments on their facebook pages and can get fast resolution going that route, but did you know that social media can also be a great way to proactively manage your customer support?  From company announcements to customer support monitoring, social tools like Facebook are becoming more commonplace as a customer support tool.

Here is a great little article speaking to ways to use social media with your current customer support:

http://goshennews.com/breakingnews/x964872964/TECH-TALK-Use-social-media-as-a-customer-service-tech-tool

As always, please let us know if we can be of assistance building your customer support solution.

http://www.novosolutions.com/customer-support-software

Well it’s a New Year and time for resolutions, right?  Resolutions are hard work and by nature require change and a lot of self discipline.  I have had a lot of good intentions, but must confess I have started (many) more than I have finished.  That proves to be true for most people.

Chances are you have business as well as personal goals for 2013.  Having the right tools in hand can make all of the difference in the success or fail of a resolved goal.

Here at Novo we want to come alongside you to help you achieve success.  Our sales consultants are not just here to sell software – they are first and foremost problem solvers.  Our team is eager to learn about your unique challenges and offer proven solutions.  If our support software is not a fit we will be the first to tell you.  We do not just want customers, we want happy customers!

Whether you have five minutes or thirty why not give us a call?  We’d love to show you how we are helping other customers streamline their businesses and improve efficiency.  Our support tools may be just what you need to achieve your business resolutions in 2013!

http://www.novosolutions.com/solutions/shared-services/

We just want to wish all our customers and friends a Happy New Year and prosperous 2013!

We wish you all the best in your families and businesses this year!

http://www.novosolutions.com

Human trafficking continues to be a horrific problem in the world today.  It is estimated that there are over 27 million people in forced labor, and that seems to be a low estimate; these are the highest numbers in history.

This Christmas Novo Reach, an outreach of Novo Solutions, is making a hearty donation to help start a ‘Freedom House’  in Odessa, Ukraine.  This building will help house women and children who have been victims of sex trafficking.

We encourage you to help fill a need this holiday season!  Together we can make a difference.

Merry Christmas and Happy Near from Novo Solutions!

http://www.novosolutions.com

It’s a given, if you have customers you have support issues.  Whether you serve retail customers or other businesses, support issues occur and must be resolved.  Today, more than ever, providing first-rate customer service is necessary to earn and keep your customers.

Some contributing factors to increased expectations are:

• We have become used to getting information quickly.  When we have to wait a few seconds can seem like an eternity.
• Many businesses are running on fewer staff.  The result may be customers having to wait longer for an agent to handle their call.
• Many businesses are maintaining smaller inventories.  Order fulfillment may take longer, resulting in customers inquiring on the status of their orders.
• Support reviews are easily found online.  A few bad online references can harm your business.  This is especially true when frustrated customers cannot get their issues quickly resolved.
• Competition is fiercer than ever.  Staying ahead of your competition in customer support is as essential to build and keep customers

The customer support aspect of your business is as important as the products that you sell.  More and more businesses are realizing this and ensuring support agents have the training and tools needed to bring fast resolutions.

A strong customer support software application empowers staff to effectively manage support issues.  The inclusion of a knowledge base tool allows agents or customers the ability to find answers quickly, shortening call times, or eliminating them all together.

So as you are looking for ways to improve your business, be attentive to the importance of customer service as a key element of retaining and gaining customers.

http://www.novosolutions.com/customer-support-software