The Product Development & Customer Service Corner

Several exciting changes are in store for PMX. We’ve been working behind the scenes to bring you updated features as well as a new look and feel for the system, and we’re excited to be getting closer to delivery. Look for more information on many of those features in our December newsletter.

Operating Systems
With a new release of the Windows operating system just around the corner, we also have system testing and verification to do to ensure that PMX and Windows Vista bring you the best combination possible. We recently surveyed many of you to determine what operating systems you’re using, and I’m happy to report that the majority of you are on either Windows 2000 or Windows XP. As part of our push to ensure we deliver the best possible product to all of our clients, I am announcing that we will be dropping support and certification of Windows 95 and Windows 98 as of December 31, 2005. We will continue to provide functional support for anyone using either of these browsers; however, I encourage any of you using either of these platforms to upgrade as soon as possible.

Q: I’d like to upgrade to XP – how do I do it?
A: Visit Microsoft’s Windows XP Professional Upgrade site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/upgrading/default.mspx

Q: I’m unable to upgrade my OS due to another software package. Can I continue to use PMX?
A: You’ll be able to use PMX up through version 4.x. Versions 5.0 and above will be incompatible with older operating systems. Some pieces may function, but we will not be developing OR testing for those environments.

Q: I’ve considered upgrading in the past, but it was cost-prohibitive. Do you have any suggestions on how to upgrade on a budget?
A: Keep in mind the productivity benefits of upgrading – it’s not just the cost of the license that will affect your budget. For more details on the benefits, visit the Microsoft upgrade website listed above.

A quick check of several online resellers of upgrades to XP show prices from $180 (Amazon.com & Office Max) to $300 per license. Prices may have changed by the time this newsletter is published, so please review the options carefully. Microsoft has published a list of small business resellers here: http://microsoft.links.origin.channelintelligence.com/pages/prices.asp?sSKU=E85-02666&nRGID=512

If you’re a government agency, academic institution, or are looking to upgrade several computers, please use the following links instead:

Large Accounts: http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/render.aspx?view=22&type=mnp&content=22/licensing

Government Agencies: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/HowToBuy.mspx

Academic Institutions: http://www.microsoft.com/education/AERFind.mspx

PMX Versions
We are committed to providing the best possible customer service to you, and want to ensure that you have the best possible product to use. To that end, we will be limiting our support of older versions of the PMX system. As of December 31, 2005, we will only be supporting 4.7 and higher. We will continue to provide functional support for all lower versions by answering questions, etc.; but we will not fix bugs identified in lower versions. If you are on a lower version and have a technical problem, we will first help you upgrade to the current release, and then work with you to determine if your issue still exists in that version. If so, we’ll be happy to develop and issue a fix.

Q: I don’t have an IT staff and I’m really not comfortable upgrading the system on my own. How much help can you provide?
A: We will walk you through the upgrade(s) step by step to ensure your data is protected and that everything is successful. If you’d like even more assistance, please contact our office for a custom upgrade quote.

Q: I use a feature that I’ve heard may not be in the newest version. Can features be re-instated?
A: It’s very rare for us to remove a feature; however, if you’re concerned about this, please get in touch with us for all the details on what happened to your favorite feature – we may have simply improved it! If it truly is gone, we’ll be happy to discuss a custom quote to integrate that feature with today’s system.

Q: I just don’t have time to do an upgrade with the holidays coming! What will happen if I postpone that until after the first of the year?
A: We’ll help you then. The only change is that after January 1, if you are using an older release of PMX, we will need you to upgrade & retest the problem you’re having BEFORE we start any troubleshooting, etc., and any known or newly identified problems will not be fixed in older versions.

Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance
Many of you have made requests for enhancements to PMX to make it easier to fulfill your Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements. We have taken those under advisement and are working on a set of features to do the following:

• Increase the length of the employee ID from 3 to 10 characters
• Allow you to customize your approval email settings:
  • Receive 1 email notifying you of 1 or more items to approve (no change from today’s functionality) OR
  • Receive 1 email per item to approve, with the Requisition Number and the URL of the web page (if you’re using our Web module) on which to approve.
• Industry-standard password encryption
• Allow you to customize your password settings to either function the way PMX does today OR:
  • Allow users to maintain their own passwords
  • Allow only XX login attempts before the ID is locked and must be unlocked by the PMX Administrator
  • Allow passwords to be reused only after 6 unique passwords.
  • When a new user logs in for the first time, they will be required to reset their password.
  • Force password resets every XX days (customizable by your PMX Administrator)

If you have other Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements that you would like to see addressed or simply need a statement of the current limitations of the system for your audit, please contact me.

Next Month
Highlights of our upcoming major release, including an all-new look & feel to the system, and overall strategic direction for the product. Find out if your requested feature(s) are in the works for 2006!

Beth Harney
Director of Product Development