The Pros and Cons of Offline Files :: Pelco Consulting :: Custom Online Systems, Website Design and Consultancy for Brisbane

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Pelco Consulting has written a very basic backup script that utilises the Windows Powershell interface.

For those that are not familiar with Windows Powershell, it is a command line based scripting tool that allows system administrators to write scripts. In a nut shell, Windows Poershell is the modern day version of the old '.bat' files from DOS.

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Storman Online Quote Manager
Continuing on with the contract work for Storman, Pelco was contracted to build the code and functions behind an online quoting management tool.

This system has a range of sections and features, including:
- Price List Manager - This allows admin to create price lists for the various items and allows the staff to assign a currency to the price list.
- Company Manager - This allows admin staff to create, edit and manage companies that are going through teh quoting process.
- Quote Manager - This allows the staff to create the quotes for the selected company by assigning a price list and then adding items from that pricelist into the quote.
- Lead Source Manager - This provides the staff with the ability to manage a set listing client lead sources, providing valuable marketing data.
In addition to having the ability to select a price list and items for the quote, the staff can also download a PDF version of the quote for emailing to the client. This allows employees to track quotes online while still maintaining that person-to-person contact that can be so crucial early on in a new client relationship.
1300 Locate Online
Pelco Consulting was contracted to build a custom online booking system for 1300 Locate, after having previously built the 1300 Locate website on behalf of All Media Solutions.

This custom online system for 1300 Locate was built on the Pelco Consulting myJobs platform and features an online real-time calendar for the management of bookings.

This complex system features the ability to create vehicles, assign services to the vehicle and then assign employees to the vehicle. A booking can then be placed against the vehicle and when the user logs into the system via a mobile device, it display a list of work in queue.

The custom system allows these users to go into the job and add comments while on site via the mobile and mark the work as completed. The driver of the vehicle then uses the next job in queue to continue work and the head office staff can log in via a desktop and add bookings as they come into the system.

It features an GUI calendar format that supports 5 minute intervals for bookings and supports both 24 hour booking or booking only via the standard trading hours.

In addition to this handy online calendar for managing bookings in real-time, the system also features a full client and client contact management utility, project tracking and asset tracking for the client.

With a huge range of administrative functions, including editing the lists and options for the various sections, the myJobs platform was customised from the core platform to support the complex booking format that was required by the client.
Spot Dog Walk Online - Phase 1
Pelco Consulting was contracted by Spot Dog Walk to build a custom online system to centralise the management of clients and bookings for the various walkers spread across Brisbane.

This custom online system was built using the platform available from Pelco for online system customisation known as myJobs.

The needs of Spot Dog Walk saw them require a database of customers and the pets for the various clients along with the management of the services offered by Spot Dog Walk.

The custom online system also features staff management and the assignment of bookings to employees. An employee is then able to log into the system either from home or via a mobile device to view the bookings they have in queue.

The online system allows the walker to log back into the system to complete the feedback for the job via a mobile on the job or when they arrive at home. Upon completion of the feedback, the system checks if the client for the pet has subscribed to alerts and will add the feedback from the walk to the email queue. Once the feedback is approved by the head office staff, the email is added to the process queue and sent when the system runs the emails.

In addition to having full management of staff, services, clients, client pets and pet bookings, the system also features reports as requested by the client for payroll purposes and trackign the amount of work completed by the staff.

With a huge amount of control and the ability to easily add new sections, this custom online system build is the first phase in a three stage build for Spot Dog Walk.

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CCIG Online
Pelco Consulting was contracted to rebuild the online system for Cash Converters Investment Group as the previous platform had certain aspects that did not quiet meet the needs and requirements.

This new custom online system was built as a custom coded platform and features a news managment utility, bulleting boards per store, an online document repository, online calendar, feedback and a huge range of administrative tools, including managing the various store, companies and users.

The custom online system allows for the assignment of different access levels to different user groups to allow store employees, store managers, store owners, head office staff and system administrators to all log in and view content relevant to them with certain pages and sections being limited to specific user groups.

The custom online system for CCIG was built using the PHP language and is utilises a mySQL database.
StorMan Online New Site Application
Pelco Consulting was contracted by Storman to write all of the back end script required for a very complex application form and tracking utility for managing the new site applications for the software they have available.

This custom scripting required Pelco Consulting to write code for the 16 page application form that featured a 'Save to XML' function to allow visitors to save a partially completed application to XML with the ability to upload the XML at a later date to finalise the application.

In addition to writing the code for this complex application form with saving and continuation, Pelco Consulting was also required to write the code for the various administrative steps involved with a completed application.

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The Pursuit of Simplicity in Business

The dream of almost every single employee within a company is for simplicity within the role, be it the removal of double handling, the layout of a workspace or the forms that need to be completed. Every business, even those at the top of the field, has opportunities for improvement.

Before commencing the pursuit of simplicity within your business it must be accepted that with improvement comes change. Evolution and change is one of the key elements to the world and universe and a business that does not feel it needs to change or evolve is doomed to die a slow and gradual death. Even companies at the absolute forefront of the industry or even the world are at the front because they are always looking for improvements and constantly evolving. Improvements in product quality and systems and processes will ultimately result in increased employee happiness due to the reduction of frustration and annoyance in the role.

The Pros and Cons of Offline Files

Windows 7 contains many great features that can be used to ensure the smooth operation of your computer.

The Offline File support for Windows 7 is primarily targetted at the business users and this type of setup has both pros and cons that need to be considered before moving ahead with this type of setup.

So what exactly is the Offline Files and how does it work? Offline files are essentially network files that are copied to the users local machine for editing purposes. If the network connection is lost then the Offline Files will simply save work the users drive and when the connection is restored, the new and updated files are copied back across to the server.

The copying back of files form the users computer to the network location uses the Windows Syncing and upon syncing back the files, the system check if the files on the server have also changed. If the files on the server changed from the original file that was synced to the users machine it will ask you which version of the file you want to keep, the version on the users machine or the version on the network.

So now that we know what the Offline Files are and how they function on a basic level, we can start to look at the way to apply this to a business situation and what type of business setup this is suitable for.

Users can work with lost network connection
Only copies files that the users requests from the network location
Ideal for the backup storage with local usage of employee 'My Documents'
Syncing back of files to network when connection is available

Users must have space on local machine for files until connection is restored.
No version control system. Users can sync down files but if the remote file changes then upon sync back the user must select which file they want to keep.
Unable to easily change save location on the local machine for offline files. By default it is the system directory in the C:\.
If you use a small C:\ with larger additional drives, as most laptops are these days, the storage of large Offline Files in the C:\ can become a huge inconvenience.