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Software developer WBP Systems focuses on core business activities with Google Apps Premier Edition.Download the PDF of this article: here BusinessBen Smith founded WBP Systems on the premise that software should not be confusing, a chore, or require 300-page manuals. Instead, simple-to-use software should be able to accomplish complex tasks with ease, and this philosophy has led WBP Systems’ success. The company is best known for “Heap CRM,” a customer relationship management system for small businesses. However, the company’s mainstay income comes from Smart Apps—an integrated hardware and software platform that WBP Systems offers medium and large organizations needing customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning or supply chain management software. ApproachConsidering that Smith’s mantra is “simplicity,” it’s no surprise that he runs his company using Google Apps. “Maintaining our primary and backup mail servers was one of the things that fell on my shoulders as the business owner,” he explains. “While I have the expertise, I needed to spend my time on more strategic activities like software development, and I wanted the simplicity of not having to worry about email hardware or software to install or download.” Solution
When he realized that Google Apps would enable him to spend his time more effectively, Smith moved his business to it, observing that “Google Apps provides a way for us to have the same or better level of reliability for email and collaboration, plus it is cheaper and we don’t have to worry about setup and maintenance.” Since adopting Google Apps Premier Edition, Smith and his staff have discovered that the decision to move to Google Apps has resulted in other, unforeseen benefits. According to Smith, the Gmail interface has been a tremendous timesaver. He can set up rules, filters, and labels to sort through email so that the most urgent messages come to the fore. “My policy is I don’t leave the office until my inbox is empty—and Gmail makes this possible,” says Smith. “And, it’s just another way that I can spend time developing one of our products or instead of dealing with low-priority email.” WBP also uses Google Docs extensively, especially for updating snippets files capturing customer support questions and answers. In addition, the team uses Google Talk to collaborate with each other and with outsourced resources like graphic designers. ResultsGoogle Apps help WBP collaborate, adding value for them that is key. “We can bring anyone into our processes, either from internal or external sources, and collaborate and prioritize tasks so we can succeed as a small business,” says Smith. “Google Apps are great. For every minute I don't spend maintaining something that Google now does for me (and does it better then I could have), is a minute I can spend developing one of our products or working on custom software for a client. “ About Google AppsGoogle Apps is a suite of applications that includes Gmail (webmail services), Google Calendar (shared calendaring), Google Talk (instant messaging and voice over IP), and a Start Page for creating a customizable homepage on a specific domain. Google Apps offers editions tailored to specific customer needs, including a Standard Edition (ideal for family domains), Education Edition (K-12 schools, colleges and universities), Premier Edition (businesses of all sizes) and Partner Edition (Internet Service Providers and portals).
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