The RapidiOnline Blog - Home

What is the RapidiConnector and how to install it?

2010-06-10T15:02:00Z

The RapidiConnector is a small windows service that runs in the background and features the connection between the local system (for example MS Dynamics NAV) and the central RapidiOnline service.

The RapidiConnector: Communication… fast and secure

The RapidiOnline Services run with a unique technology called the RapidiConnector that ensures compressed and secure data transfer between RapidiOnline and the different On-Premise systems. For best efficiency and security the data is compressed and encrypted. Our aim is to provide services that take advantage of this unique technology in order to make it easier and faster for you to get started. Our unique technology ensures that the On-Demand solution is working just as efficient as the On-Premise version.

RapidiConnector: Reduced time and bandwidth

The RapidiConnector resides in your On-Premise network connecting outbound to the central RapidiOnline Service and enables two-way communication between RapidiOnline and your On-Premise systems.

The Benefits

You don’t have to change anything in your network or firewalls in order to deploy RapidiOnline integration.
Very easy to get started.
Your internal systems stay secured and protected.
The connections from the RapidiConnector are all outbound to RapidiOnline. No inbound connections are made and no inbound ports have to be opened in your firewall.This makes it very easy to get started and your internal systems stay secured and protected.

Highly effective data transfer
The communication between RapidiOnline and the RapidiConnector is using a proprietary protocol which is highly efficient in terms of reducing the total amount of data and the number of packages sent and received to an absolute minimum. The protocol first joins e.g. 50 records in 1 package thereby stripping off all Meta information, so that only the relevant data is sent. Furthermore the package is compressed before sending. This results in the most efficient data transfer. This method can reduce the amount of data needed to be sent by a factor up to 50. This means e.g. instead of sending 1000 bytes for each customer record the RapidiConnector only needs to send 20 bytes. This reduces both the time and the bandwidth needed dramatically.

Increased secure data transmission
Because of the proprietary protocol and the compression it is practically impossible to decipher the data transmitted. This increases the security. If extra security is needed the data can also be encrypted.

To install and Setup the RapidiConnector

Please do the following:

Login to RapidiOnline
Select your RapidiOnline Service
Select Configure
Choose the DataSource that you want to install the RapidiConnector for (for example MS Dynamics NAV)
Click the little red arrow in front of "RapidiConnector"
Download and Install the RapidiConnector
Follow the Instructions on the page to setup the RapidiConnector
Verify that the RapidiConnector connects correctly - see the Dashboard

Free Live Webinar:Integrate your MS Dynamics AX with your Salesforce.com

2010-04-25T10:25:00Z

Are you looking for at solution that integrate your MS Dynamics AX with Salesforce.com?

But you don’t want to spend month or even years implementing the integration? Then you should learn more about RapidiOnline – our on-demand data integration platform. Register for our webinars and learn how you easily within a short time frame to a very competitative price can integrate your systems.

View the recorded webinar, where we show you have easy it is to integrate your MS Dynamics AX with your Salesforce.com

Integrating MS Dynamics AX with Salesforce.com from RapidiOnline on Vimeo.

This video is about integrating your ERP systems MS Dynamics AX with your CRM system Salesforce.com

In this webinar we discussed:

- How you easily can get an overview of all sales within salesforce.com with data from MS Dynamics AX
- How you easily can get an overview of all payments of your customers inside salesforce.com with data from MS Dynamics AX.
- How companies are actually using RapidiOnline today - improving their business processes and customer knowledge
- Tactics to help you getting started quickly and easy with RapidiOnline.

How to easily get an overview of your Sales Orders in Salesforce.com

2010-04-01T10:37:00Z

Learn how you easily can get an overview of your sales orders inside Salesforce.com by transferring all the booked invoices from your MS Dynamics NAV to Salesforce.com

Watch our Webinar on the next page to learn more.

How to integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with your Salesforce.com (26.3.2010) from RapidiOnline on Vimeo.

In this webinar we will show you how easy it is to integrate your salesforce.com crm system with your MS Dynamics NAV. We will go through a live demo transferring changed customer information from MS Dynamics NAV to Salesforce.com. Furthermore we wil show you have easy you can get an overview of your business data by having your salesforce.com CRM integrated with MS Dynamics NAV ERP system

How to easily and effective integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with your Salesforce.com CRM

2010-03-29T12:35:00Z

If you didn’t get a chance to register and attend our Salesforce-MS Dynamics NAV integration webinar, you can view our recorded version here:

How to integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with your Salesforce.com (26.3.2010) from RapidiOnline on Vimeo.

Webinar: Integrate Salesforce.com with MS Dynamics NAV: View the webinar

2010-03-24T16:08:00Z

For those of you who didn't get a chance to attend the live webinar about integrating Salesforce.com with MS Dynamics NAV, you can now watch it at any time.

Integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with your Salesforce CRM (22.03.2010) from RapidiOnline on Vimeo.

Do you want to try it out?

Please request a trial or if you have any questions please contact us.

Have a nice day. Your RapidiOnline Team.

Live Webinar: Integrating your MS Dynamics NAV or AX with Salesforce.com

2010-03-15T21:29:00Z

Are you looking for at solution that integrate your MS Dynamics NAV or your MS Dynamics AX with Salesforce.com?

But you don’t want to spend month or even years implementing the integration and furthermore costing you an large amount of money? Then you should learn more about RapidiOnline – our on demand integration platform. Register for our webinars and learn how you easily within a short time frame to a very competitative price can integrate your systems.

Attending the Webinars will give you several Benefits

How to save time and money using RapidiOnline as your integration platform
Knowledge on how to build data integration solutions on one platform
Gain a Competitive Advantage, as you have the possibility – as a RapidiOnline Partner – to offer your customers an even more flexible solution
And a lot more ;o)...

Register for a session below:

Integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with Salesforce.com

Monday 22.03.2010 – 10 AM CET Register >>
Friday 26.03.2010 – 6 PM CET | 9 AM PST Register >>

Integrate your MS Dynamics AX with Salesforce.com

Monday 19.04.2010 – 6 PM CET | 9 AM PST Register >>
Friday 23.04.2010 – 10 AM CET Register >>

Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.

Kind Regards,

Your RapidiOnline Team

Data Backbone Software A/S has become Rapidi ApS

2010-03-09T10:56:00Z

Data Backbone Software A/S is pleased to announce its recent name change to Rapidi ApS. We are exited about this opportunity to have both Rapidi ApS and our sister company based in France Rapidi S.A.R.L operating under the same Brand – RapidiOnline.

RapidiOnline was founded almost 4 years ago with the objective to develop a true Saas-based data integration platform - based on Data Backbone's powerful technology. This platform has now proven its success with many customer installations. It is therefore now time for us to move on to a new era!

Support

We continue to fully support our existing customers, partners and products. For support requests please go to http://www.rapidionline.com/support and submit a case.

New Opportunities for Partners

As a partner you will have the possibility to offer our Saas-based products to your customers. Our existing partners will be contacted shortly regarding these new possibilities. We will also continue to sell, support and maintain the Replicator for MS Dynamics NAV product .

Our Contact Information
RapidiOnline

Rapidi ApS
Sdr. Tingvej 10
6630 Rødding
Denmark
+45 73 84 85 50

Rapidi S.A.R.L
19, Grand Rue
11500 Quillan
France
+33 468 206 200

info@rapidionline.com
www.rapidionline.com
Again, we are exited about this opportunity and look forward to continuing to serve your needs.

Best Regards,

Michael Bock
Managing Director

Webinars: Integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with your Salesforce.com

2009-11-20T11:19:00Z

Are you looking for a user-friendly and cost-effective solution that integrates your MS Dynamics NAV with your Salesforce.com application?
Then you should learn more about RapidiOnline – our on demand integration platform.
Register for our free webinars and learn how easy and within a short time frame can integrate your systems.

Attending the Webinars will give you several Benefits
- How to save time and money using RapidiOnline as your integration platform
- Knowledge on how to build data integration solutions on one platform
- Gain a Competitive Advantage, as you have the possibility – as a RapidiOnline Partner – to offer your customers an even more flexible solution
- And a lot more ;o)...
Register for a session below:

Integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with Salesforce.com using RapidiOnline

Friday 18.12.2009 – 10 AM CET | 9 AM GMT Register >>

Friday 08.01.2010 – 5 PM CET | 11 AM EST | 8 AM PST Register >>

Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.

Kind Regards,
Your RapidiOnline Team

Webinars: Integrate your MS Dynamics NAV with other MS Dynamics NAV Databases

2009-11-20T10:31:00Z

Are you looking for a user-friendly and cost-effective solution that integrates your MS Dynamics NAV with other MS Dynamics NAV databases?
Then you should learn more about RapidiOnline – our on demand integration platform.
Register for our free webinars and learn how easy and within a short time frame can integrate your systems.

Attending the Webinars will give you several Benefits
- How to save time and money using RapidiOnline as your integration platform
- Knowledge on how to build data integration solutions on one platform
- Gain a Competitive Advantage, as you have the possibility – as a RapidiOnline Partner – to offer your customers an even more flexible solution
- And a lot more ;o)...
Register for a session below:

Integrate multiple MS Dynamics NAV Databases using RapidiOnline

Friday 04.12.2009 – 10 AM CET | 9 AM GMT Register >>

Friday 11.12.2009 – 5 PM CET | 11 AM EST | 8 AM PST Register >>
Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar.
Kind Regards,
Your RapidiOnline Team

Using RapidiOnline to get your data loaded into salesforce.com and saving you time

2009-10-15T13:27:00Z

Did you just sign up for Salesforce.com? Do you need an integration to MS Dynamics NAV? Then you can use a RapidiOnline Trial to get your data loaded into salesforce.com. Signing up on RapidiOnline for a free Salesforce.com-MS Dynamics NAV Integration Trial will give you several Benefits as a Salesforce.com Newbee….

Signing up for a free Trial will give you the following Benefits
- Get started quickly with populating your Salesforce.com with data
- Up and running within a very short time frame
- Take care of the loading and integration, so you can concentrate on your business
- Saves you time and money
- And a lot more…
When loading the data into salesforce.com RapidiOnline ensures that all data is transferred correctly. Special characters are inserted correctly in to the system. Using the Free Trial can be used to do an initial data load into Salesforce.com, which ensures that the data in MS Dynamics NAV is linked and visible in Salesforce.com. This will save you some work and time later on in the process.

Sign up for a trial now!

Rapid? yes we are, but that's not our Name!

2009-09-25T08:04:00Z

I recently had a friend over to have a look at our website www.rapidionline.com and she kept on saying RAPID Online instead of RAPIDI Online. This I have noticed with several other people - especially native english speaking people. When they see our logo they some how manage to swallow the "I" in our Brand Name...

I have taken a closer look at our logo and I've tried to figure out why. Maybe it's because the last "I" in Rapidi could together with the following "O" resemble a "D", so that all together the name "Rapid Online"... But then again this does not make sense because where does the "O" in Online come from?
So, we might change the look of our Logo if people still don't understand how it is pronounced or maybe we should put some phonetics in our text....
What about you? Do you also think it's Rapid Online instead of RapidiOnline or is it clear enough for you? We would appreciate some comments on the Logo-Branding Issue and suggestions on what you think is the best thing to do.

Thanks in advance!
Have a nice day!
Regards,
Beate

Business Optimization is the Key

2009-08-05T16:06:00Z

Business Process Automation: a Clear IT Priority. Recent research among CIOs and IT leaders reveals that, with communications as the foundation of automation, enterprises are striving to drive latency and human error out of business processes.
Process Automation tops the IT Team's to-do List
In these competitive times, a keen focus on efficiency is the mantra. And many believe that business process automation (BPA) is the means to that end—despite the cost and complexity issues that have hampered traditional versions of the technology for years. But with the economy still uneven and customer confidence in enterprise still low, is business process automation even on IT’s radar? Apparently so, according to a recent survey by IDG Research Services, in conjunction with CIO magazine, which found that BPA is an IT priority right now. Even in this challenging economy—as enterprises reel against budget constraints and priority shifts—IT and business leaders see the operational cost savings and inherent value of process automation.

In fact, the results of this online survey tell a tale of big payback, especially when it comes to integrating communications within process automation.
The findings conclude that:
- the value of BPa lies in minimizing latency and human error.
- the primary barriers to BPa are the costs and complexity associated with legacy offerings, which are resolvable issues.
- a communications-based approach to BPa is a key to maximizing ROI.
With that ever-elusive goal of ROI on everyone’s agenda these days, process automation is poised for a growth spurt, with communications technology playing a lead- ing role.
Process Automation tops the IT Team’s to-do List

From horizontal processes such as employee onboard- ing and helpdesk support tickets to vertical-specific processes such as insurance claim processing and loan applications, business processes are core to running any successful enterprise. Still, many of those critical processes are manual, siloed and at best merely supple- mented with rudimentary communications mechanisms like email. It’s an approach that has largely proven slow and error-prone, leaving enterprises wanting more.

Change is brewing. IDG Research Services surveyed more than 100 senior IT and business executives in companies of 2,500-plus employees across a range of industries. The results reveal that automation of business processes is critical in enterprises today, with 87 percent of respon- dents saying that process automation is an IT priority. “Business process automation helps keep your organiza- tion honed to improve,” says IDG survey respondent Dwight Fischer, assistant vice president of information technology services at Canada’s Dalhousie University. “When you automate one process and then another, it becomes part of your culture.”

Still, many enterprises have their concerns about auto- mation, which has over the years garnered a reputation for high costs and complicated implementations. Rightly so, as the technology has historically required extensive technical acumen—and often a costly team of external consultants—to analyze, design, develop, customize, integrate and deploy applications.

That history puts enterprises at odds with the level of automation they’ve achieved. Less than a quarter of IDG respondents say they have automated all pro- cesses under centralized governance, while many say that most of their processes are still manual. That said, newer approaches to BPA would remove much of the complexity and implementation costs, and the rewards of automation appear to be numerous, spurring many enterprises to push past those once seemingly impenetrable barriers. Eighty-eight percent of CIOs and IT leaders say that the greatest ROI from BPA comes from minimizing latency and human error.

In business terms, that translates into real business benefits, such as cultivat- ing more leads, handling claims faster, processing fi- nancial loans more accurately and servicing customers more effectively—all the activities that spell success in these competitive times.

“Competition is fierce and businesses must maintain strategic advantages to survive,” says survey respon- dent Blair Christensen, director of information technol- ogy at TranSystems, a transportation provider in Great Falls, Mont. “This requires continuous improvement and increased efficiency through process automation and streamlining.” Enterprises that don’t automate can quickly lose their competitive advantage, he adds.

Communications-based Process Automation raises the Bar

Perhaps most intriguing, the IDG research results clearly demonstrate that leveraging communication technology as the basis for process automation can enable enter- prises to maximize BPA value. The majority of respondents (87 percent) acknowledge the inherent connection between unified communications and BPA. What’s more, 50 percent see where communication technology could be used to automate business processes.

“Competition is fierce and businesses must maintain strategic advantages to survive. This requires continuous improvement and increased efficiency through process automation and streamlining,” says Blair Christensen, director of IT, TranSystems.

Interestingly, most IT executives are ready to board the CBPA bandwagon, agreeing that it can reduce latency and human error. What’s more, 76 percent indicate that these benefits provide a greater ROI than improved communications efficiencies.

That’s because CBPA brings unified communications and process automation together for maximum ef- ficiency. Christensen explains that where the business processes represent the heart and the lungs, directing the workflows to the necessary parts of the business, the communications infrastructure represents the veins and arteries.

cBPA in the reAL WorLd
Here’s how a communications-based process might play out in the real world. Consider a typical insurance claim, first reported into the company’s contact center. With CBPA, the system automatically routes the claim to the appropriate claims adjustor based on that adjustor’s availability and skills—for example, language, experience, certification, and so on. This automated routing continues throughout each step of the process. On the other hand, with a manual process, a physical file may sit on a desk untouched for days if an employee is out of the office. Its claim may be delayed even longer if the employee needs to hand off the file to someone better qualified to handle the claim—tacking days onto the processing time. Contrastingly, once the transaction is under way in a CBPA world, all necessary processes and people are notified, and the work is routed and queued in an automated fashion. A supervisor—who has visibility into queues and workgroups—may spot a glitch in the pay- ment transaction and proactively maneuver the claim. A preset escalation rule might then be activated to au- tomatically reroute the claim around a bottleneck in an overburdened processing center. Additionally, all such activity is recorded and tracked so that when it’s time for periodic audits, the insurance company is covered. In the end, a process that would have taken several weeks, is accomplished in a matter of days while tap- ping all the right resources for the best outcome. And it’s possible because of the underlying technology and its communications backbone. Picture Process Automation by Way of communications Good people are behind every good business process. Of course, those people interact, analyze results and make decisions. So taking a communi- cations approach to BPA is the best path to success. Interaction Process Automation™ (IPA), from Interactive Intelligence, makes that an easy path to follow. It’s the first all-in-one process automation solution borne of the communications industry. The solution provides an automated means of moving work and associated communication interactions throughout an enterprise using proven technologies such as queuing, routing, monitoring, presence and reporting. IPA is a straightforward approach to an otherwise complex, expensive endeavor, enabling the automation of core business processes without heavy customization or teams of consultants. “Over time, we see communications and process automation systems being one and the same,” says Staples. And IPA is the foundation—a complete con- vergence of the two—on which to do exactly that. cBPA in Arm’s reAch With such advantages ripe for the taking, CBPA is more attainable than one might think. “The world that we live in today is clearly one of highly scrutinized IT budgets. CIOs and IT directors are spending money only on those items that have real value for the organization. Fortu- nately, the cost savings from process automation is very demonstrable, and the other obstacles to automation cited by respondents—including cost of implementation and complexity—are resolvable items,” Staples observes, because these concerns stem from overly complex pro- cess automation systems of the past that IT professionals have experience in handling. Today, overcoming such issues is a matter of finding the right fit, for which respondents are on the right track. Eighty-four percent say they are looking for a strong ROI. But what’s more telling, reliability and ease of inte- gration are recognized as the most important influenc- ers. Indeed, CIOs and IT leaders need solutions with less complexity that require little reliance on specialized skill sets and external resources—making for simple and affordable process automation. Finding that perfect fit means zeroing in on a vendor with a proven implementation track record. The re- search by IDG found that vendor attributes such as easy integration, affordable implementation, demonstrable ROI and timely deployments are considered critical or very important. Platform and company reputation are also rated highly. But buyers must beware. Today, there are few vendors approaching process automation from a unified commu- nications perspective. And that perspective is important for enterprises looking to get the most from automation. “If you’ve got people-oriented business processes, it makes sense to look at a vendor with a communications background and the technology to bring that element into BPA,” Staples concludes. Only then can the poten- tial of process automation and unified communications be realized to the fullest. Unified communications: making inroads But still challenged for roi With all its advancement, one thing remains clear, says Staples: “Unified communications, in many respects, lacks a good, measurable ROI, except when analyzed in the context of process automation.” That rings true in the IDG Research results, which reveal that—aside from the typi- cal barriers of a tough economy—being able to prove a strong ROI is a top challenge in adopting unified communications. It can prove difficult for many CIOs and CFOs to quantify the soft-dollar rewards that accompany productivity gains and improved communica- tions. Conversely, they can really get their arms around the ROI for reduced processing time or for increased revenue—which is what CBPA brings to unified communications. Indeed, 63 per- cent of respondents agree strongly or somewhat that “the automation of business processes can deliver the hard ROI sought after by unified com- munications solutions.” To see those quantifiable savings, CFOs calculate the impact of, for example, reducing the time re- quired to process an insurance claim from three weeks to one week. Or reducing the time it takes for a sales lead to be processed and distributed to a salesperson from 28 business hours to two business hours. With hard numbers like those, a strong ROI is more easily visible and relatable.

Webinars: Learn more about RapidiOnline

2009-07-23T14:25:00Z

Are you an existing Data Backbone or RapidiOnline Partner - in either Sales or a Technical Consultant?
Or are you just curious about what RapidiOnline can offer as an on demand data integration platform?

Would you like to know more about our on demand data integration platform RapidiOnline and Replicator 5.0?
Then you shouldn't miss our Free Online Webinars...
Attending the Webinars will give you several Benefits
- Higher Knowledge about RapidiOnline and the Replicator 5.0
- Improved Customer Service to your Clients
- Saves you time, as you know how to implement the product and handle questions
For Sales People:

Get an Overview of RapidiOnline and the Replicator 5.0
- An Introductory Course for Sales People

View the recorded session
For Technical Consultants:
Learn more about RapidiOnline and the Replicator 5.0
- An Advanced Technical Course for Technical Consultants

View the recorded session

Replication of Objects without Limitations

2009-06-12T09:27:00Z

It is now possible to transfer and update all MS Dynamics NAV objects, tables, forms, reports etc. with the latest version of our products.

This will work for MS Dynamics NAV 5.0 SP1 or later.

Before there was a limitation caused by c/front. You could only replicate changes to objects to which your NAV licence file has or had access. This limitation has now been removed for the latest version of MS Dynamics NAV.

Object Replication is especially useful for distributing changes to the MS Dynamics NAV application to a number of subsidiaries or laptops running their own local version of MS Dynamics NAV.

And another great things is: You only have to do a so called technical update of your MS Dynamics NAV to version 5.0 SP1 to use this new feature. Meaning you don't need to upgrade the MS Dynamics NAV application.

Any questions or comments? Please submit them here on the blog. We would be happy to hear from you.

For more info please contact us at info@rapidionline.com.

Reducing Budget and still be able to continue to innovate and deliver new business applications

2009-06-03T15:51:00Z

According to Forrester Research about 63% of IT budgets are spent on keeping the business going. Many CIO’s that the figure should be far higher! I would say this means that 63% of IT budgets are spent on nothing more than trying to sustaining the business.
So hopefully the other 37% are spent on innovating, delivering new applications and helping the business to grow, succeed, be more competitive and so on.

So, what happens when the economy falls into recession? Well, according to recent research from CIO magazine 58% of CIO’s surveyed stated that their budgets have been reduced. The research also showed that CIO’s were cutting back spending on “new” business initiatives.

This is unfortunate, but a regrettably true statement about the health of IT today – surely it is new initiatives that should win, and not maintaining the hairball of IT we’ve ended up in.

Indeed, this should be a massive concern for every CIO and CEO since it is affecting the long term viability and competitiveness of their business – particularly worrying given the recession will end at some point and those who are investing now will thrive.

Lowering the budget to invest in new business strategies

So, have can we reduce the budget and ensure we continue to innovate and deliver new business applications?

- One critical way is through automating all the interfaces between applications that are a manual nightmare to maintain as you upgrade and change infrastructure and application components.

- A second way is to retire and decommission all those applications that are no longer used.

Let’s look at these two areas in more detail:

(1) Lowering the budget to invest in new business strategies: Consider how many applications you have, and how many interfaces exist between those applications. Consider then how often you change things and the impact on the infrastructure.

Think about your IT environment and consider how many applications you have – I bet it’s close to 1,000! If we base it on the 1,000, let’s do the maths: 1,000 applications each with 10 links that each have 5 interfaces. That’s 50,000 interfaces. Let’s assume 100 builds a year, and let’s assume that only half of the interfaces need to be tested. Ok, so that’s about 2,500 interfaces that need to be tested. At 5 hours an interface, that equates to 12,500 hours of testing. Suddenly we are talking over $1million in annual manpower costs just managing these interfaces.

The alternative is automation! By automating these interfaces you remove the manual component of changing, testing and deploying. You also understand the downstream implications without suddenly finding issues in other applications that you’d forgotten were linked downstream.

A data integration platform removes the risk and significantly lowers the cost of maintaining the interfaces. This then allows you to redeploy budget and headcount into new business initiatives to help the business acquire and retain customers.

(2) Retiring Applications: Have you ever considered how many applications remain operational “just in case they’re needed”?

Why are the applications kept available? One reason is that the business may need to get at the data. Yet they cost real money to maintain (storage costs, database licenses, servers, manpower to name but a few). Data archiving – as a part of the data integration lifecycle – gives you a great way of removing all these costs by archiving the data into a secure accessible repository. Suddenly another part of the budget has gone. This can then be utilized elsewhere to help the business attract and retain customers!

Unfortunately, according to the Forrester Research, the CIOs put “attract and retain customers” as 8th in their prioritization. Unfortunately, business leaders put this as 1st on their list!

Mis-alignment? I think so!

Data Integration helps align business and IT by freeing up their business budget to invest in new business imperatives.