Very Very Very Dissapointed in BCM2003 - Need Help

[Guest]

I was considering ACT!, Goldmine and other software to manage my sales and
account contacts and settled on BCM with Office 2003; I paid close to $400
for this.

The main reason I bought it was the seamless integration to other MSFT
products you toute all over your literature on BCM.

I install it only to find it CANNOT synch all contacts (normal and business)
into my MICROSOFT Mobile Smartphone - are you kidding me? I cannot begin to
tell you how upset and suprised I am. Please comment...I am considering
trying to return the software if there is not a way to download the contacts
- I NEED THIS WHEN I TRAVEL and would assume all other business professionals
would need access to all contacts (normal and business) too.

PLEASE HELP - SOMEHOW

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http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-d0e373f7498e&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.bcm

 

[Guest]

Derek,

You may have to download the "Business Contacts for Pocket PC 2003"
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...18-C310-4599-81D1-558CF385ED88&displaylang=en

I downloaded this software and now have a separate program on my HP4705 that
gives me access to my Business Contacts. Regular Contacts from Outlook are
still synced with Active Sync (v3.8) and Business Contacts are (so far)
viewable only, but they are available on my Pocket PC.

I am not sure how well this software will work with a SmartPhone, but please
keep me posted through this tread or the thread I started here earlier "BCM
Editing on a Pocket PC" dated 10/24/05.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, but I did download that file, however when it tries to download that
file to the phone (windows mobile) the phone says that file is not compatible
with Windows Mobile

I'd even export my business contacts to a different software to sycnch with
my phone if that would work, but am not sure that would work either

 

[Ed Marmon]

youre not trying to sync with wm5.0 are you? the new 5.0 smartphone is ( i
think ) not yet compatible with bcm.

 

[Guest]

I agree with Derek 100%........ This is the most dissappointing piece of MS
S/W I have ever worked with !! My intention to use this s/w to help manage
my small business is now to be revised. After reading all the posts in this
discussion, they confirm my own experience. FYI, my business is as an IT
Consultant and I have a great deal of MS Office experience.......

What s/w did you decide on Derek ( or anyone ) ????

Len

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Hey Guys,

Take a good look a this alternative available at www.avidian.com. This 3rd
party add-in works within the native Outlook application with zero impedence
of the normal Outlook functions. Avidian is very responsive to supporting
their user base. I do not work for Avidian or gain in any way financially
from my comments.

-THP

I agree with Derek 100%........ This is the most dissappointing piece of MS
S/W I have ever worked with !! My intention to use this s/w to help manage
my small business is now to be revised. After reading all the posts in this
discussion, they confirm my own experience. FYI, my business is as an IT
Consultant and I have a great deal of MS Office experience.......

What s/w did you decide on Derek ( or anyone ) ????

Len

I was considering ACT!, Goldmine and other software to manage my sales and
account contacts and settled on BCM with Office 2003; I paid close to $400

[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-d0e373f7498e&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.bcm

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Some additional thoughts for consideration:

Everyone seems to use the concept of CRM very loosely these days and BCM is
indeed an extremely limited and rudimentary designed Contact Manager add in
for Outlook that has some basic CRM function. If one were to do a direct
comparison of features to something like ACT they would not even come close
in their comparison. You would need to compare something like Microsoft's
fuller featured (more expensive & complicated) CRM application in order to
compare similiarly to ACT. The assumption that BCM is similiar to ACT as a
Contact Manager is incorrect because you cannot customize BCM. You cannot
share the database with multiple remote users as easily. The main advantage
for BCM is that it is more Outlook friendly and so the "appearance" of a
seamless experience with the rest of Office sells very well. The reality in
substance though is that being able and willing to use BCM involves numerous
trade offs due to its built in design limitations. Because of its very
limited design the intended user base will always remain very small and
limited. BCM is a very good idea but its implementation thus far after 2+
years just isn't there enough for most small business users or salespeople.

Personally, I am awaiting the imminent release of Microsoft's next CRM
version 3.0 which is being touted as extremely Outlook centric, easy to use
and customize. It will be offered as a web hosted service option similiar to
the Salesforce.com application. If this monthly hosted fee is reasonable I
may be able to justify the leverage into this more fully featured solution
without the IT hardware overhead and hassles, etc. After waiting 2+ years
for Microsoft to make BCM ready for real world needs it seems clear to me
that the committment either just isn't there or there exists an unforgivably
clueless disconnect between the design team and the intended end user base.
One grows weary of reading so many disappointed threads based upon so many
feature and function oversights in BCM. The techies here may marvel at the
quickly cobbled together design of BCM but its shocking lack of adaptability
to so many users' daily needs gives incentive for one to look else where for
a more robust solution. If you're willing to hang in there on the promise of
a more seamlessly integrated Office solution, the CRM 3.0 solution is
expected to be released in early '06. The next BCM version 3 will not be out
until release of the next Office 12 editions later in 2006. Who knows
whether the next BCM upgrade will be worth the wait or not. Based on what
was changed in version 2 after 2 years of waiting I am not holding my breath
because the real world growth needs of my business can't wait for this cute
little BCM beta experiment to continue to painfully unfold as it has done
already so slowly.

Let the buyer beware. BCM does what it is supposed to do. It is just hard
to discern the limitations of what it cannot do until you get sucked into
using it a while. It is a bare bones, no frills add-in for Outlook that has
a LOT of unfulfilled promise yet to be realized. Carefully weigh this fact
in whether you decide to use BCM or not.

The stress of your later to be discovered disappointments will be less or
more accordingly.

Best wishes everyone.

-THP

Hey Guys,

Take a good look a this alternative available at www.avidian.com. This 3rd
party add-in works within the native Outlook application with zero impedence
of the normal Outlook functions. Avidian is very responsive to supporting
their user base. I do not work for Avidian or gain in any way financially
from my comments.

-THP

I agree with Derek 100%........ This is the most dissappointing piece of MS
S/W I have ever worked with !! My intention to use this s/w to help manage

[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]

 

[Guest]

Good reply, thanks a lot.........
For sure I'll not be "waiting" for MS to come up with a workable solution as
the corporation clearly does NOT have this on any priority list. Avidan
Prophet looks good, thanks for the recommendation.

Some additional thoughts for consideration:

Everyone seems to use the concept of CRM very loosely these days and BCM is
indeed an extremely limited and rudimentary designed Contact Manager add in
for Outlook that has some basic CRM function. If one were to do a direct
comparison of features to something like ACT they would not even come close
in their comparison. You would need to compare something like Microsoft's
fuller featured (more expensive & complicated) CRM application in order to
compare similiarly to ACT. The assumption that BCM is similiar to ACT as a
Contact Manager is incorrect because you cannot customize BCM. You cannot
share the database with multiple remote users as easily. The main advantage
for BCM is that it is more Outlook friendly and so the "appearance" of a
seamless experience with the rest of Office sells very well. The reality in
substance though is that being able and willing to use BCM involves numerous
trade offs due to its built in design limitations. Because of its very
limited design the intended user base will always remain very small and
limited. BCM is a very good idea but its implementation thus far after 2+
years just isn't there enough for most small business users or salespeople.

Personally, I am awaiting the imminent release of Microsoft's next CRM
version 3.0 which is being touted as extremely Outlook centric, easy to use
and customize. It will be offered as a web hosted service option similiar to
the Salesforce.com application. If this monthly hosted fee is reasonable I
may be able to justify the leverage into this more fully featured solution
without the IT hardware overhead and hassles, etc. After waiting 2+ years
for Microsoft to make BCM ready for real world needs it seems clear to me
that the committment either just isn't there or there exists an unforgivably
clueless disconnect between the design team and the intended end user base.
One grows weary of reading so many disappointed threads based upon so many
feature and function oversights in BCM. The techies here may marvel at the
quickly cobbled together design of BCM but its shocking lack of adaptability
to so many users' daily needs gives incentive for one to look else where for
a more robust solution. If you're willing to hang in there on the promise of
a more seamlessly integrated Office solution, the CRM 3.0 solution is
expected to be released in early '06. The next BCM version 3 will not be out
until release of the next Office 12 editions later in 2006. Who knows
whether the next BCM upgrade will be worth the wait or not. Based on what
was changed in version 2 after 2 years of waiting I am not holding my breath
because the real world growth needs of my business can't wait for this cute
little BCM beta experiment to continue to painfully unfold as it has done
already so slowly.

Let the buyer beware. BCM does what it is supposed to do. It is just hard
to discern the limitations of what it cannot do until you get sucked into
using it a while. It is a bare bones, no frills add-in for Outlook that has
a LOT of unfulfilled promise yet to be realized. Carefully weigh this fact
in whether you decide to use BCM or not.

The stress of your later to be discovered disappointments will be less or
more accordingly.

Best wishes everyone.

-THP

Hey Guys,

Take a good look a this alternative available at www.avidian.com. This 3rd
party add-in works within the native Outlook application with zero impedence
of the normal Outlook functions. Avidian is very responsive to supporting
their user base. I do not work for Avidian or gain in any way financially
from my comments.

-THP

I agree with Derek 100%........ This is the most dissappointing piece of MS
S/W I have ever worked with !! My intention to use this s/w to help manage

[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-d0e373f7498e&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.bcm

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Len,

Although it is therapeutic for many, I don't particularly like to bash
Microsoft. For what it may be worth however they do need to get your message
loud and clear. I truly wish that BCM were a more flexible app. It does
what it is designed to very reliably. It just didn't get a very thorough
design intent when compared to other Contact mgt. options that have been
around for years. This is rather embarrassing and leads me to believe that
BCM is a "token-bone" tossed together as a good enough, "one-size-fits-all"
enhancement for the already popular but limited Outlook. As I stated earlier,
the real "go-to" app for Microsoft is probably going to be their full CRM
product.

-THP

Good reply, thanks a lot.........
For sure I'll not be "waiting" for MS to come up with a workable solution as
the corporation clearly does NOT have this on any priority list. Avidan
Prophet looks good, thanks for the recommendation.

Some additional thoughts for consideration:

[quoted text clipped - 66 lines]

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

I want to add that I am a FORMER ACT user who left that application behind
because of many technical issues related to the rewrite of the last 2
versions which have caused it to run so very slow. I also wanted to have a
more integrated and seamless experience with the rest of the Office system.
Despite the recent bugs and glitches with most recent version of ACT, this
application had a LOT of customizability and nice real-world features that I
wish BCM would incorporate. My references to ACT are simply intended as an
example to contrast BCM with. Regardless of what competitive options exist,
BCM could be much more robust and adaptable than it currently is.

Maybe someday.

-THP

Len,

Although it is therapeutic for many, I don't particularly like to bash
Microsoft. For what it may be worth however they do need to get your message
loud and clear. I truly wish that BCM were a more flexible app. It does
what it is designed to very reliably. It just didn't get a very thorough
design intent when compared to other Contact mgt. options that have been
around for years. This is rather embarrassing and leads me to believe that
BCM is a "token-bone" tossed together as a good enough, "one-size-fits-all"
enhancement for the already popular but limited Outlook. As I stated earlier,
the real "go-to" app for Microsoft is probably going to be their full CRM
product.

-THP

Good reply, thanks a lot.........
For sure I'll not be "waiting" for MS to come up with a workable solution as

[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]

 

[Guest]

Tim, I'm not a MS basher at all.......... I earn my living from MS S/W and
admire their accomplishments !! That said, there is no excuse for BCM.

I want to add that I am a FORMER ACT user who left that application behind
because of many technical issues related to the rewrite of the last 2
versions which have caused it to run so very slow. I also wanted to have a
more integrated and seamless experience with the rest of the Office system.
Despite the recent bugs and glitches with most recent version of ACT, this
application had a LOT of customizability and nice real-world features that I
wish BCM would incorporate. My references to ACT are simply intended as an
example to contrast BCM with. Regardless of what competitive options exist,
BCM could be much more robust and adaptable than it currently is.

Maybe someday.

-THP

Len,

Although it is therapeutic for many, I don't particularly like to bash
Microsoft. For what it may be worth however they do need to get your message
loud and clear. I truly wish that BCM were a more flexible app. It does
what it is designed to very reliably. It just didn't get a very thorough
design intent when compared to other Contact mgt. options that have been
around for years. This is rather embarrassing and leads me to believe that
BCM is a "token-bone" tossed together as a good enough, "one-size-fits-all"
enhancement for the already popular but limited Outlook. As I stated earlier,
the real "go-to" app for Microsoft is probably going to be their full CRM
product.

-THP

Good reply, thanks a lot.........
For sure I'll not be "waiting" for MS to come up with a workable solution as

[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-d0e373f7498e&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.bcm

 

[Guest]

Avidian Prophet does not seem to support PPC in any flavor.

Hey Guys,

Take a good look a this alternative available at www.avidian.com. This 3rd
party add-in works within the native Outlook application with zero impedence
of the normal Outlook functions. Avidian is very responsive to supporting
their user base. I do not work for Avidian or gain in any way financially
from my comments.

-THP

I agree with Derek 100%........ This is the most dissappointing piece of MS
S/W I have ever worked with !! My intention to use this s/w to help manage
my small business is now to be revised. After reading all the posts in this
discussion, they confirm my own experience. FYI, my business is as an IT
Consultant and I have a great deal of MS Office experience.......

What s/w did you decide on Derek ( or anyone ) ????

Len

I was considering ACT!, Goldmine and other software to manage my sales and
account contacts and settled on BCM with Office 2003; I paid close to $400

[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-d0e373f7498e&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.bcm

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Len,

I agree fully with your dismissive sentiments about BCM. This really is
inexcusable after this much time for development.

Keith,

The Avidian Prophet add-in does indeed support the Pocket PC because it uses
all of the native Outlook contact record items. I have done this seamlessly
for a long time. All of the native Outlook Record items that normally synch
to the Pocket PC (Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Notes) also continue to do so
when using Prophet. There is no requirement for additional SW for the Pocket
PC as is the case when trying to synch the additonal BCM folder containing
the business contacts. Also, Avidian currently has the ability to
additionally synch their Opportunity Record items to a Palm OS handheld.
Pocket PC capacity for synching all of your additional Sales data will be
coming in the near future.

-THP

Avidian Prophet does not seem to support PPC in any flavor.

Hey Guys,

[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]

 

[Guest]

I will take another look at this product - opportunity records items are
vital since I live on my PPC more then my notebook computer. I have a WM 5.0
and options seem limited for software.

Len,

I agree fully with your dismissive sentiments about BCM. This really is
inexcusable after this much time for development.

Keith,

The Avidian Prophet add-in does indeed support the Pocket PC because it uses
all of the native Outlook contact record items. I have done this seamlessly
for a long time. All of the native Outlook Record items that normally synch
to the Pocket PC (Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Notes) also continue to do so
when using Prophet. There is no requirement for additional SW for the Pocket
PC as is the case when trying to synch the additonal BCM folder containing
the business contacts. Also, Avidian currently has the ability to
additionally synch their Opportunity Record items to a Palm OS handheld.
Pocket PC capacity for synching all of your additional Sales data will be
coming in the near future.

-THP

Avidian Prophet does not seem to support PPC in any flavor.

Hey Guys,

[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-d0e373f7498e&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.bcm

 

[Ed Marmon]

as far as i know, you wont be able to sync opportunity records at all, so
you looking again may noyt do much. what syncs is just outlook stuff,
standard outlook stuff, not the added outlook info created and controlled
by prophet. it may be stored in the pst, but i doubt it will sync.

wm5- curious- what device? there are not that many yet, and many of the
sync softwares show no sign yet of being updated for wm5 ( i.e.
companionlink.com etc )

 

[Guest]

I am actually using Windows Mobile 2003 Version 4.21.1088

It doesn't seem to work with that either.

By the way, do you know how/if I can update the OS on my phone to Version 5?

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Keith,

The Outlook Prophet application adds an MSDE database like BCM and the items
created for storage in this db are the Contact, Company and Opportunity
Records. Like BCM, the Company-Level and Opportunity data do not synch over
to the Pocket PC. All of the other native Outlook items do synch though
(including all of your Outlook contacts) just the same as if you were
synching Outlook alone to the Pocket PC without Prophet being involved.
Where some confusion may lie is that Prophet does NOT require you to manually
create a separate Contact record called "Business Contact" as a distinct and
separate record item from the already existing Outlook Contact record. You
are not forced into using an entirely separate folder for your so-called
"business" contacts. The Prophet application automatically writes all of
your native Outlook Contact information into the MSDE db and maintains this
mirror storage (between the Prophet db and the Outlook Contact pst) as you
add or delete contacts all the while allowing you to just continue using the
familiar Outlook Contact record. Is this a better way? A lot of folks seem
to think that this approach is a simpler way for existing Outlook users to
adapt to. With BCM, Microsoft chose a different design approach which
requires the creation and use of separate Business Contact Record items
stored in their own distinct folder within the BCM db which are separate and
apart from the Outlook Contact record pst. You can maintain a duplicate
contact in both native Outlook and BCM but there is no constant auto-synching
relationship between these 2 separate stores.

Again, neither BCM or Prophet currently will synch any of your sales
opportunity data to the Pocket PC but Prophet does do this with their latest
Prophet for Palm edition release. As I mentioned in a previous post, they
plan to have this opportunity synch ability available for the Pocket PC very
soon. Give them a call and you will possibly be able to get more of an
answer to this than I am aware of. I found their pre-sales folks to be very
helpful and knowledgeable.

-THP

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Most of the current mid to higher priced Dell and HP Pocket PC handhelds have
released an upgrade option to the WM 5.0. There have been numerous new
handhelds announced recently with WM 5.0. The enhancements to WM 5.0 were
significant enough that most new buyers are holding out for this availability
in their device of choice. If someone is about to spend $300 to $500 they
certainly want the latest version OS and I can't believe that it is too much
to expect that this new OS jives with the latest BCM version in a somewhat
timely manner.

-THP

Keith,

The Outlook Prophet application adds an MSDE database like BCM and the items
created for storage in this db are the Contact, Company and Opportunity
Records. Like BCM, the Company-Level and Opportunity data do not synch over
to the Pocket PC. All of the other native Outlook items do synch though
(including all of your Outlook contacts) just the same as if you were
synching Outlook alone to the Pocket PC without Prophet being involved.
Where some confusion may lie is that Prophet does NOT require you to manually
create a separate Contact record called "Business Contact" as a distinct and
separate record item from the already existing Outlook Contact record. You
are not forced into using an entirely separate folder for your so-called
"business" contacts. The Prophet application automatically writes all of
your native Outlook Contact information into the MSDE db and maintains this
mirror storage (between the Prophet db and the Outlook Contact pst) as you
add or delete contacts all the while allowing you to just continue using the
familiar Outlook Contact record. Is this a better way? A lot of folks seem
to think that this approach is a simpler way for existing Outlook users to
adapt to. With BCM, Microsoft chose a different design approach which
requires the creation and use of separate Business Contact Record items
stored in their own distinct folder within the BCM db which are separate and
apart from the Outlook Contact record pst. You can maintain a duplicate
contact in both native Outlook and BCM but there is no constant auto-synching
relationship between these 2 separate stores.

Again, neither BCM or Prophet currently will synch any of your sales
opportunity data to the Pocket PC but Prophet does do this with their latest
Prophet for Palm edition release. As I mentioned in a previous post, they
plan to have this opportunity synch ability available for the Pocket PC very
soon. Give them a call and you will possibly be able to get more of an
answer to this than I am aware of. I found their pre-sales folks to be very
helpful and knowledgeable.

-THP

as far as i know, you wont be able to sync opportunity records at all, so
you looking again may noyt do much. what syncs is just outlook stuff,

[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]

sync softwares show no sign yet of being updated for wm5 ( i.e.
companionlink.com etc )

 

[Ed Marmon]

By the way, do you know how/if I can update the OS on my phone to
Version 5?

it all depends on your manufacturer, nothing else. many/most/all handgeld
OS's are tweaked by Dell, etc to best fit their handhelds, so they are the
ones that need to provide wm5. Some at a cost, some free, some will
indicate for certain models "not at all"

 

[boe]

I agree - this product has tremendous potential but is kept in a primitive
state by lack of documentation, training videos, efforts to make it work
effectively with Exchange, OWA, ActiveSync, WM5...

I'm not asking them to make it a full fledged CRM product -but how much
effort would it take for them to make it work wirelessly with WM5, or OWA!?!
They have really dropped the ball on this one and left a HUGE market for
outside developers - BILL - are you paying attention? - Other products are
putting yours to shame - what are all your developers working on - it sure
isn't this or IE7!