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Salentica feeds Schwab OpenView Gateway™ data to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. Or does it? I’m confused.

Posted on April 10, 2013 by in Software

Not all versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM are the same

04/11/2013: Updated to clarify a LOT of my own confusion surrounding Salentica and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM comes in so many variants with and without third-party providers, I find myself scratching my head when trying to figure out the maze of buying the product, let alone use it.

I was saving this for Friday’s Bits and Bytes update, but as I started digging into the story, I found myself navigating a rabbit’s hole of strange logic.

If I’m confused about Microsoft Dynamics CRM, then I think you don’t stand much chance keeping this all straight on your own!

This story all started with the following press release:

Salentica Releases Schwab OpenView Gateway™ Solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Users from PRWeb.com

Ok, stay with me on this one.

Who is Salentica?

Salentica is a reseller Microsoft independent software vendor (ISV)/ Microsoft Certified Partner, and they provide a custom overlay to Microsoft Dynamics® CRM specific to financial advisers called Salentica CRM. If you use Salentica CRM and custody with Schwab Advisor Services, you’ve been able to use  Schwab OpenView Gateway™ to get real-time data from Schwab populated in Salentica CRM for about six months.

Great!

Wait. ISV vs. Reseller?

I was mistaken about Salentica’s role as a reseller. They’re an ISV. What’s the difference?

An ISV sells software they created that runs on a particular platform. In this case, Salentica CRM runs on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, but you don’t buy Dynamics from Salentica. You have to buy your Dynamics licenses from either Microsoft (for Dynamics in the cloud) or a reseller (for Dynamics on-premises or in a partner-hosted environment).

A reseller adds custom features and (very commonly) services to a particular product, then resells it as an all-in-one solution. This is how the Laserfiche document management product is sold. Advisers (excluding the very large multi-office multi-billion RIAs) typically buy Laserfiche from a value-added reseller (VAR), not from Laserfiche itself. Licensing, billing, customization, support, and more is entirely administered by the VAR.

Standalone Microsoft Dynamics CRM

But maybe you don’t use Salentica CRM, and instead have your own license of Dynamics CRM. You don’t get Schwab data. Well, Salentica just announced the general release of Schwab OpenView Gateway™ for Microsoft Dynamics® CRM, so now users of plain-vanilla Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 can also get real-time data from Schwab via Schwab OpenView Gateway!

Clear?

Not so Clear

Wait.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM comes in lots of versions, two of which primarily apply for advisers. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is the on-premises version installed locally on a computer, OR it can be in the cloud using a partner-hosted environment.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online is the cloud version that retails for $44/user/month. It can be combined with Office 365 (which alone typically runs $150/year/user if you want the Small Business Premium version that supports desktop Word, PowerPoint, Excel and more). So you’re looking at just under $200/month/user for retail pricing for Office 365 and Dynamics CRM. Microsoft Partners may offer lower pricing, but you get the general idea of cost.

So, if you’re using Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online (with or without Office 365), then you’re out of luck with respect to real-time data via Schwab OpenView Gateway.

If you want Dynamics in the cloud with Schwab OpenView Gateway integration, you first have to use Dynamics in a partner-hosted environment, THEN you have to use the new solution from Salentica mentioned in the above press release.

But wait. If your partner-hosted environment comes from Tamarac, you can’t integrate with Schwab OpenView Gateway today. Not yet, at least. A solution is coming soon.

The Salentica solution mentioned in the press release only works with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, whether it be an on-premises version or in a partner-hosted environment (minus Tamarac for the time being).

How to Buy? See a Reseller

I can’t even figure out how to buy the on-premises CRM version from Microsoft. It turns out you can’t. You have to work exclusively with a third-party reseller to get it.

So, say you happen to ask Salentica about buying Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 for an on-premises CRM. Won’t you just get “upgraded” to Salentica CRM that already features the OpenView Gateway integration? No separate solution required.

So why bother releasing this new solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 users?

It turns out that there are customers who purchased Dynamics CRM from a reseller/Certified Partner and also want to connect it with Schwab OpenView Gateway. Pareto Platform CRM customers are a great example. How many potential customers fit this criteria, I don’t know. It can’t be more than a few hundred. Can it? But evidently there are enough for Salentica to build a solution for them.

My Digression on Press

So in the strikeout section below, I went off on a tangent about the Salentica press release potentially not being news. Clearly I didn’t understand the fact that there are users out there with Dynamics they bought from a reseller (Tamarac keeps coming to mind) but can’t integrate it with Schwab OpenView Gateway.

Salentica’s solution is new, and now those users do have an option to integrate  Schwab OpenView Gateway data into their CRM.

Subscribing to Salentica’s new solution costs $120/user/year.

So a thought just occurred to me: maybe this is just press for press’ sake, and there’s really nothing new here.

I found it odd that news of a new custodial integration came from the third-party provider rather than the custodian. Why would that happen? Wouldn’t the custodian also want to take some credit and boost their marketing profile with some news as well?

Perhaps if the “news” really isn’t news, then I can begin to understand why the custodian didn’t also jointly release their own marketing material. There’s no story.

But, take note, Schwab Intelligent Integration’s last press release is dated November 2012. Not exactly breaking news. But I digress.

 

(Salentica president Bill Rourke called me out for writing “tiny fraction” below. His response was that Salentica is the largest provider of Microsoft CRM for independent advisers. I get that. Only Microsoft CRM continues to fair poorly in financial adviser technology surveys, including Financial Planning’s 2012 survey (3%) and InvestmentNews’ 2012 survey (4.4%).)

If you’re one of the tiny fraction single-digit percentage of all advisers using Microsoft Dynamics CRM powered by Salentica feeding in data over Schwab OpenView Gateway, can you care to leave a comment on how well its working and how it’s helped your business?

Because I feel a little in the dark.

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 5

Posted on April 5, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

This week, a registered rep's YouTube video on annuities lands him in hot water.

This week, a registered rep’s YouTube video on annuities lands him in hot water.

My lesson learned from this week: Completely block out a few days each month in my calendar for rescheduling events. Things don’t always go according to “plan,” so it’s a lot easier when I have a few unscheduled days available in the future rather than try and compress existing commitments to squeeze in a rescheduled event.

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

YouTube Annuities Videos Lead To Fine And Suspension from Forbes.com

[So a registered rep for First Heartland Capital, Inc., Ralph William Hicks Jr., created and posted videos to YouTube about equity index annuity (“EIAs”) seminars. FINRA alleged that Hicks’ marketing materials, including the YouTube videos, “presented oversimplified claims which omitted material information, or failed to provide a sound basis for evaluating the facts.” So what’s your lesson in all of this? If you’re going to market on YouTube (or any online site), you’d be better off avoiding specific details about products, including annuity guarantees and risks, and rather address general financial planning principles or opportunities NOT linked with particular products. But if you do mention products, you probably ought to provide a conspicuous link to disclosure material at a minimum.] While registered with First Heartland during approximately 2009 through 2011, the AWC alleges that Hicks disseminated to some 200 to 1,000 members of the public: advertising and sales literature to the public in YouTube videos; invitations to seminars and workshops; and letters concerning, among other things, bonus incentives.

Book Review: Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice from the Journal of Financial Planning

[Bruce Colin, CFP® provides an honest, unbiased review of the new edition of Technology Tools for Today’s High-Margin Practice, updated by Joel Bruckenstein and David Drucker featuring multiple contributions from a variety of authors (of which I am one). Read Colin’s review for the best chapters of the book and why this edition is “required reading” for advisers. You can buy a copy using this affiliate link or just search for it on Amazon.] Required Reading for Tech-Savvy Planners: Latest Drucker-Bruckenstein book disappoints in some areas, but still worth the investment.

Technology blueprint for a typical RIA firm from InvestmentNews.com

[Nexus Strategy founder Tim Welsh makes a (first?) guest appearance at InvestmentNews to cover the programs and applications most used by financial advisers. Data for this article was obtained from the 2013 InvestmentNews Technology Study. But one opportunity for improvement: avoid burying the lead.] The overwhelming success of the independent-adviser segment is transforming the financial services industry. With over $2 trillion in assets, independent registered investment advisers continue to be the fastest-growing segment and as a result are attracting investments by technology firms to penetrate this growing marketplace.

Biggest Tech Trends Now from Financial-Planning.com

[In this recap of February’s Technology Tools for Today conference, Joel Bruckenstein covers the biggest trends observed: data security for financial advisers, protecting mobile devices, ramped-up custodian technology, touchscreen interfaces, and Windows 8.] The interest in security among independent advisors seemed to have ratcheted up. Perhaps it’s because major custodians have acted to heighten advisor awareness of attacks, or it could be increased media coverage of Chinese hackers targeting U.S. websites – but either way, it was one of the key questions for attendees at February’s Technology Tools for Today conference.

Salentica Releases Laser App Integration to Enable Advisors to Reduce Time Spent On Form Filling from PRWeb.com

[Streamlined form filling is almost a required technology for the progressive advisory firm. Laser App is the 800-pound gorilla in form-filling software, so it’s imperative that other technology vendors integrate with them in some way. Here’s the latest CRM integration from Salentica, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM overlay provider for financial services. They’re still tiny with respect to their user base among advisers, but supporting integrations such as this will help boost its adoption in the marketplace.] Salentica Inc., a market leader in providing innovative Client Relationship Management (CRM) and Client Reporting technology solutions for the wealth management industry, announced today the general availability of its integration with Laser App within its CRM software.

Build your own email notifier using RSS feeds of financial services updates

Posted on April 3, 2013 by in Efficiency

Financial advisers need alternate ways to consume information via RSS feedsSeveral weeks ago, Google announced it will no longer support its Reader application after July 1 of this year.

Google Reader is a very popular way to read updates from websites scattered across the Internet in one convenient page. All updates are powered by RSS feeds (Rich Site Summary, or commonly referred to as Really Simple Syndication). So for any website you read on a regular basis, you can subscribe to receive updates inside Google Reader by adding the RSS feed URL.

The few die-hard financial advisers that continue to use Google Reader to consume information are now faced with dilemma of what to use going forward.

In this month’s Quickview update for Morningstar Advisor, I highlight one service to consider as a replacement to Reader, and also one way to build your own custom email news feed to deliver updates right to your inbox.

Use the following link to read Quickview: Feed Your Appetite for News.

ShareFile adds SEC and FINRA compliance capabilities with Archiving for Financial Services

Posted on April 2, 2013 by in Compliance, Technology

The popular online file sharing service meets regulatory record-keeping requirements with latest archiving functionality

ShareFile Archiving for Financial Services

In a press release today, ShareFile, the online file sharing service owned by Citrix, announced the availability of its Archiving for Financial Services compliance feature.

ShareFile, my 2012 Morningstar Advisor Best Back-Office Technology award winner, has been popular among financial advisers for its online file storage functionality much like Dropbox, Box, SugarSync, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and many more.

But ShareFile’s focus on the specific needs and regulatory requirements of professionals in financial services has helped the company gain a sizable following relative to the generic competition.

According to the press release, ShareFile Archiving for Financial Services helps financial advisers satisfy SEC and FINRA record-keeping requirements “by offering retained, indexed, auditable and searchable records of client communications for the period required or longer.”

Below is a video from ShareFile with an overview of Archiving for Financial Services.

(Click to watch on YouTube)

Consolidating Two Systems

Typically, advisers who use online file sharing services to exchange documents with clients and prospects maintain two separate systems in their back office.

One system is the online file sharing service that does just that; facilitates file sharing with individuals outside the adviser’s network infrastructure.

But most advisers then maintain a second system that satisfies the record-keeping requirements imposed by the SEC and FINRA. Two systems are necessary, because consumer file sharing services (i.e. Dropbox) just aren’t built with the regulatory record-keeping requirements in mind.

For advisers using ShareFile Archiving for Financial Services, two systems should no longer be necessary to satisfy the record-keeping requirements.

A Document Management Solution?

With the addition of Archiving for Financial Services, is ShareFile now a contender among document management providers?

I believe the answer is no.

Archiving for Financial Services is a very useful addition, and it will eliminate the need to run two separate systems to facilitate file sharing and to maintain adequate record-keeping systems. But document management requires more than just indexed, auditable, and searchable records of client communications.

Document management systems offer metadata tagging and document profiling for every record stored in the system, and automated workflow is also frequently supported.

So for advisers who lack a true document management system (and surveys consistently show that there are a large number of such firms), ShareFile combined with Archiving for Financial Services is a convenient way to get two features from the same product.

But for firms already using document management systems with native record-keeping compliance, Archiving for Financial Services is unnecessary.

Nevertheless, ShareFile’s ease of use and mobile device compatibility still makes it a strong contender for online file sharing with clients, prospects, and colleagues.

For more details about Archiving for Financial Services, visit the ShareFile Blog and read New feature allows ShareFile to help financial firms achieve compliance

FPPad Bits and Bytes for April 1

Posted on April 1, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are today’s top stories:

Mikogo Smell Sharing: New Feature “TelSmell” Transmits Scents via PC from Mikogo.com

[Finally, my most-wanted feature in screensharing apps is finally here! Sure, I’ve been a big advocate of financial advisers using screensharing and virtual meetings for years, but these interactive meetings were always missing one critical element of the engagement: odor. Thankfully the innovative crew at Mikogo has figured out the complicated science of transmitting scents over the Internet and has wrapped up this technology in an easy-to-use USB device. I just ordered mine today!] Mikogo, a global solution provider of online meetings, today introduced a new feature providing participants of online meetings and presentations with not only desktop sharing but also the sharing of fragrances. Fresh coffee, summer rain outside the office window or a colleague’s perfume, the smell sharing feature “TelSmell” transfers scents and odors easily between the remote computers in real-time.

Google Nose Beta from Google

[The folks at Mikogo aren’t the only ones experimenting with scents. Google just unveiled its latest search enhancement, Google Nose. This will work great  with my new USB dongle!] The new scentsation in search. Coming to your senses: go beyond type, talk, and touch for a new notation of sensation.

Welcome to Concatually! from Contactually.com

[Another service I’m using daily, Contactually, is also out with news today. However, it’s not news of the innovative variety, but rather the service has been taken over by cats. Oh my! Check out my screengrab below.] You may have noticed something a little different this morning when trying to follow up with your contacts: Contactually has been taken over. And no, not by extraterrestrials. Not by the Alexander the Great, either (although we’d prefer either). We fell subject to an even greater foe: cat sorcerers.

Contactually has been taken over by cats for the day! 

YouTube’s ready to select a winner from Google (see below)

[In another shocker, Google just announced that it is closing its YouTube “best video” contest after 10 years of uploaded content. Now Google’s minions will retreat to a cave for another 10 years to decide which one really is the #bestvideo on YouTube.] Thanks for all your great entries. YouTube finally has enough videos to begin selecting a winner. What do you think is the #bestvideo on YouTube?

Introducing Gmail Blue from Google

[Again, the geniuses at Google are bringing email into the 21st century! It’s all blue!]

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 29

Posted on March 29, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

Here are this week’s stories of interest:

Wealthfront and the rise of the machines from InvestmentNews.com

[There’s some deep reporting by Davis Janowski in this update on Wealthfront, one of the “robo adviser” platforms that aims to democratize the delivery of investment advice. But after you read it, press the button to load the comments, which are just as enlightening as Janowski’s sleuthing. The summary: it’s one thing to design an algorithm to recommend model investment portfolios, it’s an entirely different beast to try and disintermediate a financial planner.] Direct channel technology firms are improving at a rapid pace — what about your tools, Mr. Adviser?

John Norwood Consulting announces the release of CompositeBuilder from Norwood-Consulting.com

[Need GIPS-compliant composite reporting for your Schwab Performance Technologies® PortfolioCenter database? John Norwood just released a new product called CompositeBuilder that does just that, so if you’re a die-hard PortfolioCenter user, go check it out.] CompositeBuilder is a fully integrated add-on application to PortfolioCenter that provides the ability to create and report composite returns. The application is designed to facilitate compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). All calculations are done in a manner that satisfies the portfolio and composite calculation requirements of the GIPS standards.

FPPad Among the 10 Influential Blogs for Financial Advisors

Posted on March 26, 2013 by in General

FPPad.com was just recognized by Financial Planning magazine as one of the 10 Influential Blogs for Financial Advisors.

I’m honored to be among Financial Planning magazine’s 10 Influential Blogs for Financial Advisors!

It is a privilege to be listed among such excellent sites full of rich information and resources for the financial adviser community.

It is also equally rewarding knowing that the adviser community (that means you!) values the technology information available on FPPad, including my recent expansion of video, podcast, and On Air broadcast content.

Go read the article on Financial-Planning.com to find out who else made the top 10 list.

Subscribe for Free!

If you’re not already subscribed to my free newsletter on technology news for financial advisers, sign up now using the form below! You’ll get the best content and updates roughly once every month (no daily deluge in your inbox, I promise!).

 

Congratulations to Redtail Technology on their Ten-Year Anniversary

Posted on March 25, 2013 by in General

My friends at Redtail Technology, creators of the popular web-based Redtail CRM, just celebrated their ten-year anniversary.

Join me in congratulating them!

(click to watch on YouTube)

FPPad Bits and Bytes for March 22

Posted on March 22, 2013 by in Bits & Bytes

I made it! The new FPPad headquarters is up and running in Atlanta (and if there weren’t boxes and papers everywhere, I’d post a photo).

But right now, it’s back to unpacking for me. So here are this week’s stories of interest:

Personal Phones, iPads at Work: Convenience or Cyber Threat? from Financial-Planning.com

[BYOD, or bring-your-own-device, is a growing trend in all businesses, including yours. Do you allow employees (and you, too) to connect to work-related systems with a personal mobile device? It can be as simple as allowing email or contacts to be synchronized to the device. If so, it’s critical you have procedures and systems in place to adequately protect any sensitive data stored on personal devices. This short review from new FP editor Paula Vasan is a timely reminder, plus you’ll get three mobile device management resources cited by me.] Personal devices can pose a serious threat to businesses if strict policies and preventative cybercrime measures are not put in place, according to a study.

Citrix follows Box’s lead by adding content editing and secure synching to its ShareFile mobile apps from TheNextWeb.com

[Dropbox, Box, ShareFile, etc. are common names heard when talking about cloud file storage and synchronization. Dropbox is wildly popular among consumers, Box is a leader in the enterprise, and ShareFile is growing well among financial advisers (it was also one of my picks for Best Tech of 2012). This week, ShareFile enhanced its mobile app by allowing users to create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly within the ShareFile app, as well as allows users to markup and annotate PDF documents. With Box, you can do similar tasks using other third-party apps compatible with OneCloud. With Dropbox, you can’t do this.] Citrix, a cloud, networking, and virtualization technology company, will announce on Tuesday that it is updating its ShareFile file-sharing app with better mobile content editing. What this means is that the service aims to compete against Box and other enterprise-focused file sharing services, hopefully allowing users to be more productive while on the go, even when they are offline.

With a fresh $20M and sharp increase in assets managed, Wealthfront keeps growing from PanoDaily.com

[How is online advice platform Wealthfront fairing? Well, they’re up to $170 million in assets aggregated through the platform. I’d judge by growth in 2012 that the company is on its way to $500 million in assets by the end of 2014. Still, with a fresh round of $20 million raised, coupled with $3 million in Angel and $7.5 million Series A capital, its a significant investment for a questionable return so far. But again, there’s potential here if Wealthfront catches on with the next generation of wealth transfer on the horizon.] Wealthfront, which makes software that acts as a financial advisor for its clients, hasn’t had the easiest road remaking the financial world in Silicon Valley’s image. But it after a name change, a pivot and some key new hires it appears to be growing rapidly.

Erado Announces the Latest Addition to Their Social Media Compliance Solution, Salesforce Chatter from Erado.com

[Erado continues to increase their social media archiving coverage with the addition of Salesforce Chatter connectivity. Smarsh has supported Chatter since October 2012 (see FPPad Bits and Bytes for October 5), and with Erado onboard, I’d expect to see a slight uptick in Chatter use among advisers using Salesforce for their CRM.] Erado, the nation’s leading compliance and archiving firm in electronic communication, officially announced the newest addition to their Social Media Capturing suite, Salesforce Chatter.

 

 

Lead generation for advisers: how to grow a prospect list and increase website ROI

Posted on March 19, 2013 by in Technology

Lead generation means rolling out the welcome mat for website visitors

Lead generation means rolling out the welcome mat for website visitors

Mention lead generation at a financial adviser conference, and you’ll likely be greeted with blank stares.

Since the inception of the financial planning profession, adviser growth has been dominated by referral-based practices.

The problem is that today more and more consumers (and future clients) are visiting websites and social media sites first to learn what they can about financial advisers.

These website visitors may or may not receive specific referrals from friends and colleagues, but they’re still going online to learn as much as possible about advisers and services before they reach out to schedule an initial appointment.

Lead Generation 101

Advisers can spend considerable time and money building an attractive and informative site, but if visitors only read information and never return, the investment fails to pay off.

Lead generation is the mechanism advisers can implement to cultivate a stronger relationship with website visitors by capturing names and email addresses to use for future correspondence.

This month’s column for Morningstar Advisor discusses lead generation techniques financial advisers can follow to realize a higher ROI on their website development.

Follow this link to read Increase Your Website ROI at Morningstar.com.