For the 2nd time I am not using BCM - reasons explained (long)

[Robert (AAT)]

First installed BCM as part of Office SB, looked at it but really never made
the plunge into it and it fell by the way side.
Then I bought a new computer and re-installed BCM. Set up some accounts and
Business Contacts and realized Business Contacts were separate from regular
contacts because they had to be in 2 separate folders. I thought that was
weird and it felt awkward to have two contact folders: business contacts and
sales reps, vendors, support, and friends/family in another.
Shortly thereafter we upgraded to Small Business Server 2003, and we got
busy with the implemenation of that. The real killer application is wireless
sync with Exchange and a Smartphone. Wow, your inbox, calender and contacts
up to date on your phone. Wow.
Then, I realized that my Business Contact never made it over to Contacts on
the Smartphone. Duh!

It seems like BCM could be practical tool for a pure sales organization. But
I am thinking that if a company needs to decided between BCM and wireles
sync, they will chose the latter.

Am I missing something here?

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

Robert,

I don't think you are missing anything at all. It seems to be Microsoft that
is missing something. Yours is but another real world user example of the
limited design expectations of BCM. The irony is most pure sales
organizations cannot even use BCM as a practical tool without making a LOT of
tradeoffs with its use. Wireless Exchange synch with a smartphone is
something that most remote sales reps would love to use. (And we're supposed
to be excited over the limited Business Contacts info transfer to a Pocket PC)
.. After almost 3 years since its initial release it is entirely comical for
the designers of BCM to sit back and smugly excuse away the reasons for such
limitations. They are not inherent and could be improved upon if there were
more of a will to do so.

-THP

 

[Chris Schatte]

Tommy,
So your here now?

Chris Schatte

 

[David_Praxus]

Hi Robert,

Had same problem and frustration. Found out about microsoft-utility for
outlook 2002 called Pocket Contact Synchronizer. Tried it anyway for my
outlook 2003 in combination with a windows mobile 2002 run motorola. And
-much to my surprise- it works. It copies BCM contacts and other ones you
might have defined to the general contacts folder (you're in control of what
you want to copy there). Those are then easily synchronised to my smartphone.
The utility works for me, is free and made by microsoft - even though they
don't seem to be too particularly aware of that. It should be a standard
feature.

Download at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...F0-B871-49CE-9F96-712A1695E372&displaylang=EN

My personal complaint on BCM is not so much it's uses, as the very limited
how-to that is provided at the sale.

Cheers, David