Compiere Blog

Support Request Action Items for the Compiere User

There are a couple of important action items to note for the Compiere user when using the Compiere Support Request system.

When a user logs a support request, the initial status of the request is "Waiting Evaluation.” Once Compiere support responds to the issue (for more details or questions), the status is set to "Waiting on Customer.” This status means that the user has to take action by responding and setting back the status to "Waiting Evaluation."

If the request is in "Waiting on Customer" status for more than 10 calendar days and no action is taken, the Compiere system will automatically time out and change the status to "Closed (soft)." This status means that the user can reset the status back to "Waiting Evaluation." An email notification is sent to the user when there is a change to the request. In the event of no further action after status is in "Closed (soft)" the Compiere system waits for another 5 calendar days and then changes the status to "Closed (Final)." After this the user cannot reopen the request, and has to log a new request.

For more information about logging support requests, check out Support Requests.

What is the purpose of the Public Support Request window?

The Public Support Request window is a great feature for everyone (community, customers, developers) to take advantage of. The window gives a view of all issues up to date logged by all the partners and customers. This view also includes all the product support, product bugs and product enhancements. The purpose of this window is to let all users see through the reported existing issues. The view of issues window is read-only so it cannot be updated by other users. When you log/report your issue, Compiere Support encourages that you always refer to an existing issue (if there is one standing). This helps Compiere Support understand the depth of the issue and number of users running into the same problem allowing them to address and resolve more the issue quickly and efficiently.

Check out the Public Support Request window by logging into Support Requests using your Compiere Web Store email address and password. Once you are logged in, Click on Main Menu => Requests => Public Support Requests to open the window. You can learn more about logging Support Requests at the Support Request page.

Introducing the Compiere Community Wiki

I'm happy to announce two important and valuable contributions to the Compiere Community.

First, we've launched the Compiere Community Wiki to facilitate collaboration and information sharing across our worldwide 45,000-person community.

Second, we've contributed the entire Compiere User Documentation to the Compiere Community Wiki.

We invite everyone to visit the Compiere Community Wiki at: http://wiki.compiere.com .

Even better than just visiting, please register and contribute! You don't have to be a hot-shot Java programmer or have years of Compiere experience to contribute. Wikis benefit from a wide range of contributors.

Access to wiki content, including the Compiere User Documentation, is free of charge.

Launching the wiki and contributing the user doc are two important initiatives we are taking to strengthen our community and customer relationships.

What status do I use to log a Support Request?

The initial status by default for a Product Support request is 10_Waiting_Evaluation. Compiere Support will review your request and if more information is needed, the request status will be changed to 30_Waiting_on_Customer. If your request is at this stage, make sure to provide additional information and change the status back to 10_Waiting_Evaluation within the following ten days so that Compiere Support can address your request. Requests time out and are automatically closed by the system if there is no activity for ten days.

If Compiere Support confirms that your Product Support request is an issue in the product, the request type will be changed to Product Bugs and the Compiere Development team will address the issue with the following statuses:

1. 20_Assigned (Open): Development is working on the fix.
2. 42_Waiting on QA: Bug fix is being tested.
3. 80_Waiting Release: Bug fix ready to be included in the next service pack.
4. 99_Closed Final: Bug fix already included in the current release or service pack.

For more details on how to log a support request, check out the Support Request page. You can learn more about service packs and other features available through the Compiere Subscriptions here.

Compiere eLearning: New Open Items and Payments

In response to our customer’s learning needs, Compiere is providing a new eLearning Module that covers Open Items and Payments. The latest eLearning module teaches users to quickly retrieve information on the current “Open” or unpaid invoices as well as past due invoices. This module will also cover adding a bank and a bank account, receiving payments from customers, and submitting multiple payments to multiple vendors at once.

The new eLearning module is included in the Compiere eLearning series. You may purchase the entire series or simply purchase the “Open Items and Payments” eLearning module separately.

Learn more about all twelve modules by visiting the eLearning Page. To try eLearning products before purchasing, check out ‘Navigation in Compiere’ free of charge.

Compiere eLearning: New Information and List Reports

In response to our growing customer base, Compiere is providing a new eLearning Module that covers reporting, one of the most asked about capabilites of Compiere. The latest eLearning module teaches users to quickly access valuable information using the information windows. It also teaches users how to search for specific information and print the information.

List Reports in Compiere also provide useful information and Compiere includes several standard reports for that purpose. You may also run more specific reports or simply customize a report to view only the necessary information. In addition, List Reports in Compiere incorporate features such as the ability to drill down to more specific information or drill across to “where used.” You can also export the information to Excel CVS, HTML, XML, Postscript, and PDF or simply archive the information as needed. The “Information and List Reports” eLearning module includes lessons on the various reporting functions and more.

The new eLearning module is included in the Compiere eLearning series. You may purchase the entire series or simply purchase the “Information and List Reports” eLearning module individually.

All of our eLearning modules are available online at eLearning page on compiere.com. To test drive an eLearning module before making a purchase, visit our website today and try ‘Navigation in Compiere’ free of charge.

Better Productivity Through eLearning

Working in the Learning Services Division for Compiere, Inc., I quickly found that with our number of customers and partners reaching across the globe, it became rather important that we provide alternative methods of training to reach as many people as possible. Currently, Compiere provides quarterly, instructor led trainings as well as an array of free product demos. However, as interest in our product increases, so must the provision of educational materials.

In response to our growing educational needs we’ve decided to utilize some of the technology available today and provide a suite of eLearning modules. The ability to educate as many people as possible on our product is not only valuable; it’s exciting to us as well. As a result, it is becoming much easier to reach as many people as possible, especially in an educational format.

Since the introduction of our suite of eLearning modules, we have noticed business partners, customers, and prospects have taken interest and have used the eLearning modules as a tool to fill the gap between our quarterly, instructor-led trainings and the present. We’ve also noticed a higher level of product knowledge in those who have reviewed the eLearning modules.

Our eLearning modules cover lessons from the Initial set up of Compiere to Purchasing Products and Sales. A learner could purchase all of the eLearning modules in one series or simply purchase the individual eLearning modules that best suit their learning needs. Learners will find that each module incorporates interaction as well as quizzes in order to provide a full, engaging, learning experience. Learners may also repeat a lesson or return to the module anytime within 120 days.

So far, we have found the interest in eLearning is increasing and we are adding more eLearning modules to our suite often. We also plan to provide an eLearning option to educate users on every capability within Compiere as we move forward.

All of our eLearning modules are available online at www.compiere.com. We have found it to be a valuable addition to our services and a great way to gain product knowledge as well as useful skills related to Compiere ERP and CRM and ultimately become more productive sooner rather than later. To test drive an eLearning module before making a purchase, visit our website today and try ‘Navigation in Compiere’ free of charge.

Innovation and the Value of Service Packs

A wise person once said “success requires change.” Customers seeking even greater success from their Compiere software, asked us to make changes—and we did. This month we introduced a new software delivery vehicle called “Service Packs.” Service Packs are a highly visible example of the kinds of changes we are making to improve customer success with Compiere.

“Deliver Frequent, Well-tested Improvements Without Requiring a Major Upgrade”
The most common request we’ve heard recently is as old as enterprise application software itself – deliver frequent, well tested fixes to Compiere software without introducing major new functionality at the same time. New functionality, which may require additional user training and other deployment effort, should be packaged and distributed separately.

Service Packs, introduced in August 2007, are our response to this important request. Service packs enable customers to safely apply bug fixes to their production Compiere systems without requiring a functional upgrade to the next release. A Service Pack consists of full source code, binary build, release notes and installation documentation. Service Packs go through a full regression test before release.

Service Packs are the second form of software release from Compiere, joining the “Stable Release.” The first Stable Release of Compiere was made available in 2001. Since that time, the software has been downloaded over 1.25 million times and used in production by businesses around the globe. Stable Releases are broadly distributed and include both new functionality and quality improvements. Factors including business needs, technology changes and the magnitude of enhancements determine the specific contents and timing of Stable Releases. Compiere 2.6.1, the current Stable Release, shipped in May 2007.

Service Packs, which are a fee-based service from Compiere, enhance the ability of our customers and Authorized Partners to maintain a stable, supportable production environment. Compiere makes significant investments to produce both Service Packs and Stable Releases. As such, the contents of Service Packs and Stable Releases are first available to customers with a Compiere Support Subscription. However, others still benefit from this investment at a later date, when Compiere distributes the Stable Release through SourceForge.

“Don’t Stop Innovating”
Service Packs address supportability, not innovation. Compiere remains committed to adding new capabilities, improving usability and increasing the business value from Compiere solutions. Major innovations are typically delivered through a Stable Release. Importantly, all cumulative Service Pack fixes are incorporated into the next Stable Release.

Simultaneously delivering rapid fixes, supportability and product innovation requires additional investments in people, processes and technology. Compiere’s success in attracting and serving customers has enabled higher levels of investment on product innovations.

“Remain Open Source”
Compiere Stable Releases and Service Packs are both distributed under an OSI-approved open source license: GPL Version 2. This means that organizations using Stable Releases and Service Packs have full access to the source code. They have all of the rights and responsibilities that are associated with open source software.

In embracing Service Packs, Compiere ended one rather common practice of many (but not all) open source projects: providing immediate access to unstable builds and source code through “Daily Builds.” The Daily Builds had the disadvantage of introducing data model and dictionary changes, functional changes and code instability from day to day. Service packs provide a more stable way to deliver documented and well tested bug fixes on a regular basis. Service Packs also makes it easier for Compiere to incorporate contributions from the community.

Unprecedented Value and Supportability
In conclusion, Service Packs are a step forward by Compiere towards improving stability and supportability for the large class of customers who want vendor support for their business-critical ERP solutions. They are not a step away from open source licensing for the highly successful Compiere ERP project. Compiere’s practice of providing enhanced availability and superior services to companies who pay a nominal fee for our services is standard practice for commercial open source companies. We are proud to be able to offer these capabilities and services at a small fraction of the cost of proprietary vendors. For those companies that choose to pay nothing to Compiere for support, they may still benefit from Compiere’s investments - but with some delay in availability.

Compiere Expansion

Compiere announced today our expansion into Europe in addition to expanding Compiere's executive team.  Having an office in Germany will allow us to better serve the Europe, Middle East, and African markets with a local presence to focus on sales, support and solution delivery for our channel partners and customers throughout the EMEA region. As general manager of Compiere EMEA, Yves Sandfort will lead efforts to further increase our reach and the productivity of our partner network to our 20+ authorized partners within the EMEA region. With our expansion into Europe, we will also begin holding training classes in Europe again with the first class tentatively scheduled for the June / July timeframe.  We will post more details about the training class on our website in the next few weeks after we have finalized the dates and logistics for the training session.

We also announced the addition of three people joining our executive team in our U.S. corporate office:

• Kyle Rosier, director of sales for the Americas, will oversee channel activities and lead direct sales in the Americas.
• Sunny Gosain, vice president of development and customer support, has global responsibility for product development, customer support and information technology.
• Bill Freedman, director of marketing, will lead outbound marketing efforts globally.

When Compiere had only a few people employees, the number of initiatives we could focus on was very limited. This expansion gives us the ability to focus on a larger number of initiatives including more focus on product development, support, global sales programs, and marketing.

We welcome Yves, Kyle, Sunny, and Bill to the Compiere team!

 

Training and Open Source Business Models

With our February training classes just around the corner, I have been thinking about how training fits into the overall business model of an open source company.  We tend to think about providing support, maintenance, and consulting services to generate revenue for open source companies.  I usually lump training into the broader category of services when I think about open source business models without giving it much thought; however, training can play a significant role for some open source companies.

From a business standpoint, training is a more scalable service than some of the others. The materials can be developed and used several times with only minor modifications and delivered by one of the many experts within the open source company. By contrast, support and consulting services are usually tailored to the unique needs of an individual customer requiring a slightly different approach to each problem.  I always try to look for ways to improve scalability allowing our work to be leveraged multiple times. Training seems like a relatively scalable service that can be delivered to many people in a cost effective manner.

*Caution: Shameless Self Promotion Plug Below*

We still have a few seats left in our February training classes.  The next training class is three months away, so now would be a great time to attend training!

Installation Workshop: February 11, 2007
Intensive Training: February 12-16, 2007
Collaboration Mgmt: February 17, 2007
Technical Training: February 19-21, 2007