posted May 12, 2010 5:24 AM by Alondo McClees
Myself, Alondo and
UBS spoke last week and we believe at this time that it’s in the best interest
of the group to pursue our activities after the start of the new fiscal year.
All localities are experiencing some significant changes recently that we
reasonably expect to last for the next few months. We hope that you are all
doing well, and that Laserfiche is continuing to provide you with long-term cost
savings for your organization.
I apologize for the
short notice – if you know of individuals who were planning to attend that you
don’t see on the email list above, please forward this to them for their
information.
In the meantime, if
you think of any cost-saving items that Laserfiche is being used for in your
organization, please send those potential User Group topics to Paul.Neal@unitysystems.biz.
Thank you!
Debbie Wolff, Records
Manager
City of
Hampton
dwolff@hampton.gov |
posted Nov 20, 2009 4:51 AM by Alondo McClees
10. It’s FREE!
9. Meet folks from all over Virginia
8. Training and demos delivered from your peers, Laserfiche, and Unity Business Systems
7. Meet Fujitsu, Esker, Iron Mountain, LincWare, and Library of Virginia staff
6. PRIZES and free stuff!!
5. Network with fellow Laserfiche users to learn and share how to make the most out of your Laserfiche system
4. FREE LUNCH
3. You can register online (unitysystems.biz/webinars/registrations/usergroupseminar.html)
2. Steven Hackney’s (a Laserfiche Pre-sales engineer) is going to be there doing some of the training
And the # 1 reason to attend this year’s VA Laserfiche User Group Seminar …..
To see Alondo McClees get really excited … about Laserfiche!
But seriously folks… all of the
above are 100% true. There will be 3 tracks
of useful sessions – with topics such as LF Admin & Security, The Art of Searching,
LF Workflow, Online forms, Migration to version 8 and
much more …
Many
thanks to Unity
Business Systems & Fujitsu for making this
meeting financially possible. |
posted Nov 4, 2009 7:12 AM by Alondo McClees
If you haven't heard, we are replacing the quarterly Hampton Roads Laserfiche User Group with the 1st Annual Virginia User Group Conference. It is going to be held on December 1st, 2009 in the Chesterfield Administration Complex in Richmond, and we are hoping to see as many folks as possible there. The question you are probably asking yourselves is, "Why should I make time in my hectic schedule for a one day conference, especially when we have no money in the budget?" Here's the two word answer: It's Free!!!
That's right - the lunch, training, knowledge, information gathering, meeting other users, and freebies - all included and provided by our sponsors. So what are you waiting for? Register by going to this link: I have also included a tentative agenda, but it is still being revised to include MORE! If you have questions, contact me using any of the methods below. See you December 1st! |
posted Aug 13, 2009 7:45 AM by Alondo McClees
You already know the benefits of Laserfiche, but what about other
departments at your organization who are stuck with ‘clunker’ ECM
systems? Well, now we’re offering a stimulus program to help them: the
“Laserfiche Cash for Clunkers” Program.
The recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has created
quite a few stimulus programs, but none have been as popular as the
Cash for Clunkers program, which offers car buyers rebates to junk
their old gas-guzzlers and purchase new, more efficient models. The
program has already had a huge impact, getting a lot of non-performing
gas-guzzlers off the road.
At Laserfiche, we think the ECM marketplace is in need of its own
stimulus plan, because we know there’s a lot of outdated ECM systems
out there. “There are a lot of bloated ECM corpses in many
organizations that were oversold and underperformed. Just like carrion,
rigor mortis has long since set in on these systems. Or such systems
have become orphans as a result of Wall Street M&A hijinks,”
explains Chris Wacker, Senior Vice President of Marketing for
Laserfiche.
Now your colleagues don’t have to keep chugging along with that old,
gas-guzzling ECM system – they can trade it in for a fuel-efficient
Laserfiche system, and realize the same benefits you already do.
Everyone at your organization already using Laserfiche? Let your
colleagues at other organizations know that they can get on the fast
track to success with the Laserfiche Cash for Clunkers Program.
“Using the Laserfiche Cash for Clunkers program to trade in
gas-guzzling ECM systems is a great opportunity for organizations who
thought they couldn’t afford to replace their existing systems, or for
IT directors who are looking to standardize their enterprise on a
single Laserfiche ECM system,” says Wacker.
This program has led to several successful trade-ins already. Last week, the City of Long Beach
approved Laserfiche to replace three ECM systems: two FileNet systems
in the Housing Department and City Hall, and one EMC Documentum system
in the Police Department.
“We realize the City is facing some tough budget challenges right
now and we are glad to be able to help the City save money. This is our
version of the Federal Cash for Clunkers program,” Wacker told Long
Beach City Council members last week. Wacker’s mention of the
successful Federal stimulus program was greeted with both laughter and
applause.
We’re ready to help all the departments in your organization realize
the benefits of Laserfiche. Contact your reseller to get started.
Let’s get those gas-guzzler ECMs off the road! |
posted Jul 30, 2009 7:02 AM by Alondo McClees
[
updated Jul 30, 2009 7:20 AM
]
It's once again time to plan the 10th Annual Fall User Conference in
beautiful Wintergreen,
Virginia!
As a valued member of our community, your feedback is
extremely important
to us as we make plans for the
upcoming event.
As you know, the current economic environment has pinched many travel
and education
budgets. We at Unity Business Systems are aware of those challenges, and
as such
are exploring the viability of this year's Annual Conference. We truly
want to
continue the yearly tradition, but need your help to determine the
practicality
of the event this October.
We have crafted a short, 8 question survey to
garner
as much input from you as possible to help make that determination.
As a token of our appreciation, we will be awarding a new
Amazon Kindle randomly to one of our survey respondents...
Good Luck, and thank you for
your input! |
posted May 5, 2009 5:03 AM by Alondo McClees
[
updated May 5, 2009 6:05 AM
]
Richmond Area Laserfiche User Group Meeting When: May 22nd Time: 10:00 am Location: Chesterfield Public Safety Training Center , Chesterfield, VA
First,
let me introduce myself – my name is Amy Johnson and I am the Systems
Administrator for the Hanover County Commissioner of the Revenue. We are
still relatively new to Laserfiche; however we are very excited about it and
about forming a user group!
Please
make time on your calendars to join us in Chesterfield at the Public Safety
Training Center from 10am – 12 noon. We will be
discussing the goals and desires for the group. Mike Wells from Chesterfield will be
showing us some things on the new release of Laserfiche – which if you haven’t
seen, is very cool. A representative from UBS will be there for support and to
answer questions; however this is a Laserfiche user group so please don’t feel
that you have to be a customer of theirs to attend. And there may even be a few
special guests who drop by. And of course some refreshments will be provided.
Even if you aren’t a Laserfiche client, please come and join us – we all love
talking about our experiences with Laserfiche!
If
you still aren’t sure, here are some words from Alondo McClees, leader of the
Hampton Area User Group, to his group on their first
meeting:
Before you delete this
message, hear me out. By having an end-user led user group, we can talk about
the issues most important to us (best practices, feedback on modules and program
operation, sharing of success stories, etc.). This group of interested
individuals will be able to operate independent of influence from any vendor;
however, we have been getting monumental support from both Unity Business
Systems and Laserfiche (I spoke personally with Nien Ling Wacker, the Laserfiche
CEO, who has loved these ideas). Laserfiche has even offered to give us space on
their website for us to have our own forums, a blog, and eventually have a
knowledge-sharing wiki.
So what can you expect
to gain? How about the support of a whole community who is involved in the same
thing as you! Still not convinced? How about the possibility of some trinkets
and freebies? You never know what may show up!
So
come out and join us. We promise to try and make it worth your time. Please
forward this to anyone who might be interested…
Thank
you! Amy W. Johnson, MDCR phone 804.365.6126 fax 804.365.6111 awjohnson@co.hanover.va.us |
posted May 5, 2009 4:56 AM by Alondo McClees
[
updated May 5, 2009 6:07 AM
]
Central VA Laserfiche User Group Meeting
When: May 7th
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: Albemarle County Office Building, Room 235, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA 22902
Agenda
Mini-Class:
SEARCHING
Learn everything you wanted to know
about SEARCHING and more! Special mini-class on searching in Laserfiche:
template/field search, text searching, other methods, saving search queries,
advanced search syntax, weblink searches and differences in version 8
searching.
Other
business:
Report and information
from Library of VA on electronic records
User group’s google-group for
emailing
USB Fall
Conference
Upcoming training
events
Round-table discussion,
questions
Next meeting, hot
topics
Light refreshments will be
provided.
Email Roz: collins@charlottesville.org or
Elaine: epack@albemarle.org for more
information. |
posted Apr 17, 2009 9:04 AM by Alondo McClees
The meeting on May 7th has been moved back to 10:30 am. The location is still the same.
|
posted Apr 17, 2009 6:57 AM by Alondo McClees
[
updated Apr 17, 2009 7:02 AM
]
Laserfiche
user groups have become DIY workshops for users inspired to maximize
the value of their organization’s Laserfiche investment.
“It’s all about the ROI,” says Laserfiche Luminary Alondo McClees,
co-chairperson of the newly-formed Hampton Roads Laserfiche User Group
(HRLUG) and Technology Systems Coordinator, City of Norfolk
Commissioner of the Revenue.
The HRLUG hosted its first quarterly meeting in February, which
inspired McClees’ co-chairperson Debbie Wolff, Records Manager for the
City of Hampton, to share her tips for little efficiencies.
“My goal for this year is to continue to help people change the way
that they work by changing how they think about their work,” Wolff
explains. “Laserfiche is fundamental in that.”
McClees, who offered his own recap of the HRLUG’s first quarterly meeting in the Laserfiche Luminaries Blog, says user groups are as much a chance to give back to the user community as to learn from it.
“There’s a lot of expertise in the room when you get 60 people
together,” he says. “It can actually be very humbling. I think, ‘Wow,
we’ve really done a lot [using Laserfiche] in four years and there are
people here who rolled it out last week. The efficiencies back then
apply even more now.”
He credits the user group with focusing his time management– even
when he doesn’t think he has the time. “It forces me to make it a
priority.” He’s looking forward to next month’s Q2 meeting and an RME
demo from reseller UBS. “I’m not an expert at all [at RME] but having
it at the meeting makes me spend that time doing the research.”
Keeping Up the Conversation
Users aren’t the only ones benefiting from user groups; resellers
learn as well. “The meeting before last we spent a lot of time covering
best practices in a PowerPoint,” says Bob Cody of Datanet Solutions,
which hosted the San Bernardino Laserfiche User Group last month. “We
had the audience fill out a questionnaire and they told us they wanted
more demonstrations, so this time we only had 13 slides - then three
hours of live software demos.”
For Cody and his clients, user group meetings are a way to address
individual concerns in a group setting. “We can answer specific
questions without getting into the deep weeds. Even if people are
relatively new to using Laserfiche, they still appreciate that the
question was asked. They can all learn something.”
One such user is Patrick Sanchez, Business System Support Analyst
for the City of San Bernardino Water Department. He left the March
meeting with a fresh understanding of how to set up his HR folders. “We
had the folders listed by each employee. Then I saw how you could just
do it by the letter of the alphabet. So instead of 266 folders, you
have 26. It keeps a much clearer folder structure.”
He found the group atmosphere inspiring, he says. “It gives me a
perspective to how other people are using their system. Your
creativity’s really your limit.”
When asked why users should attend user groups, Sanchez offers two reasons.
“First, if you want your system to do something and you don’t quite
know how, just ask. Even though you might be able to figure it out on
your own, you’ll get the best possible answer,” he says. “The second
reason to go is just to see the advances in the next version [of
Laserfiche]. I know with 8.0 people were like ‘Ooooh,’ but it’s been
out for a year, it’s stable and it works.”
He adds, “I’ve been going to different workshops for about four
years and I get as much out of four or five hours of a Laserfiche
meeting than I do from a couple of days at other kinds of seminars.”
Laserfiche-User-Group-In-A-Presentation Inspires Laserfiche-User-Group-In-A-Bag
So, how do you start a user group? Laserfiche Luminary Rosalind Collins, Laserfiche Administrator for the City of Charlottesville, VA, offered an ad hoc how-to manual with her “City of Charlottesville: Forming and Leading a Laserfiche User Group” presentation at this year’s Conference (which is available, along with all the other conference presentations, on the Laserfiche Support Site).
The message: have food, have focus and have fun. Adds Collins,
“Especially at your first meeting, keep a record of who attended and be
sure you get new people’s names and e-mail addresses.”
She’s especially looking forward to “lunch-n-learns” about
Laserfiche 8 that reseller UBS has planned, as well as a “Searching
Tips & Tricks” presentation at her next user group meeting next
month. “Everybody wants to know more about searching - from template to
text, easy to advanced, so I’m working with UBS to put that together.”
Collins was a shining light in the formation of her Charlottesville User Group,
and has been a major inspiration behind the forthcoming
Laserfiche-User-Group-in-a-Bag for new user groups. So far the idea is
to fill a snazzy Laserfiche laptop backpack with templates for meeting
agendas, flyers and presentations, include nametags and other
giveaways, and also provide a leader’s guide with tips, tricks and best
practices for running your own user group. Keep reading the UserNews
for information on when the User-Group-in-a-Bag will be available.
If you’re interested in contributing, or would like to get on the
list to receive the User-Group-in-a-Bag when it’s released, please
e-mail your contact information, ideas or suggestions to
melissa.henley@laserfiche.com or hobey.echlin@laserfiche.com.
We’d also love to hear from you and so would the rest of the Laserfiche user community. You can share ideas, network with other User Group leaders or ask questions on the User Group Forum, located on the Support Site.
In spirit of the Laserfiche community, if you have something to offer, please do, and if you need anything from us, please ask. Published by Laserfiche here |
posted Apr 17, 2009 6:43 AM by Alondo McClees
The budget crunch is upon all of us, and, as a result, we’re all
looking at where the little efficiencies are to stretch our existing
dollars as far as possible. With Laserfiche there are many aspects to
consider when making decisions.
Repositories and licenses cost money. So does scanning. How can we best use our existing resources?
Change your repository settings!
Changing your repository options, specifically the ‘logout
automatically’ option, will prevent your users from becoming license
hogs. That person who logs in and then leaves for lunch will be logged
off automatically, freeing up a license for another user.
In Hampton, we’ve adopted a 1:5 user license ratio for both FX and
RX licenses. Due to the fact that licenses are concurrent, we believe
that it’s reasonable to expect that any user, particularly retrieve or
read-only users, will access Laserfiche, find what they need and then
exit the system.
What kind of scanning devices do you have available?
While scanners are “the” option when it comes to high quantity
document capture, almost all types of copy machines have scanning
capability and can easily scan to e-mail. Ask your IT Department or
manufacturer representative to set the image to either tiff or pdf and
add all users to the email setting.
Even if all of your office staff are not Laserfiche users, being
able to copy/scan to e-mail prevents the proliferation of paper, which
could be another significant cost savings for you.
Do all of your users know, understand and use Laserfiche’s e-mail utility?
This again will decrease the proliferation of paper in your office and to your clients or the public.
Are you fully utilizing your LSAP?
Your time is valuable to your employer and we all pay for software
support. When you have questions, contact your reseller and employ
their assistance with answers and best practices. You don’t have to
figure it out on your own.
What’s in Laserfiche?
If Laserfiche has become the new dumping ground (in addition to your
network, pc’s, and ancillary devices…) then your data – and your server
– could use some basic management.
- Purge your data; set up your Records Management Edition if you have it – practice good records management!
- Check your folder structure.
- Manage your volumes.
- Use your Column Display wisely.
See Laserfiche’s “Performance Tuning for Laserfiche Systems” (available on the Support Site) for more information.
Please share your efficiencies! We all need insightful tips and tricks to maximize our resources. |
|
