xTupler #38 | February 2015
Dear Community —
Those of you able to join us for our xTupleCon user conference in October heard me proclaim that 2015 would be the "Year of the Customer."
I'm sure more than a few people rolled their eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Sure, xTuple's a little different, but they're still a software vendor." Right?
Well, here's where we start delivering on that promise.
First, I'm happy to announce that we will continue to offer our popular xTupleU training website at no charge throughout 2015. What's more, you won't even have to register to watch most of the videos. That's how important it is to us to get this training material out to as many of you as we can. There are so many ways that our software can help your business grow — but not if you don't know what's possible. One thing we've been hearing loud and clear from you is that you want access to more training resources, delivered online, on your schedule. So here it is!
Second, also on the topic of training, we'd like to extend a first-come, first-served offer: Anyone who purchases new xTuple Enterprise licenses (whether a current customer or first-timer), gets a FREE seat in the Setup, Configuration and Operations training class - to be held in Las Vegas the week of March 16. So if you've been contemplating an upgrade to Enterprise (see here for all the goodies included), or if you've been evaluating xTuple and just need a little extra incentive... here you go. Again, once the class fills up (and it will), this offer will disappear faster than chips at a $100 blackjack table. Contact xTuple Sales today for your Vegas adventure!
Finally, I want to tell you about the recently-released xTuple 4.8, which is arguably the biggest release since 4.0 for us. There are major new enhancements in the Desktop, Mobile Web, and xTupleCommerce customer-facing website:
- New Quality Management System, which works with both Mobile Web and Desktop clients, built with the new Workflow subsystem, which is available to all three of the primary xTuple client interfaces.
- The Mobile Web interface adds support for mobile barcode scanning within various warehouse transactions, as well as mobile label printing. Warehouse workers can pick, ship, receive, and put away items with a wireless laser scanner.
- As part of this new development, the Mobile Web interface can now print any existing report in the Desktop client using OpenRPT.
Speaking of the Desktop client, we've heard loud and clear that you love it, and don't want it to go away. Maybe we've been a little too effusive about all the new Mobile Web stuff, and gave some people the wrong idea. Don't worry, it's not going anywhere! There are a number of new features in 4.8 for Desktop, and even more planned for 4.9, already approaching beta status:
- We'll do a major plumbing upgrade with Qt 5.4, which features an impressive array of new features, including a completely overhauled set of Web technologies. Qt has come a long way, ironically doing better on mobile platforms such as iOS and Android since breaking from Nokia — much more to come on that front.
- Major user experience enhancements, including Configurable Shortcuts (Favorites) and Home Page, a robust system-wide Search, and connecting a powerful graphing engine to the Parameter Widget.
- Check out the xTuple roadmap page for more.
And, if you haven't seen the xTupleCommerce customer-facing website recently, you might want to schedule a demo with the xTuple sales team - the power of having your ERP and your online sales fully integrated in real time is extremely powerful. We've added a number of new features, including Authorize.net integration, saved shopping carts, related products, the ability for customers to manage multiple accounts online, customer-specific pricing, and Dimensional Weight UPS freight quoting.
It's going to be a great year, and we can't wait to work with you! By the way, if you haven't filled out our customer survey, we'd really appreciate your taking a few minutes and giving us an honest assessment of how we're doing.
Thanks, as always, for your support of the world's #1 open source ERP.
Ned Lilly
President and CEO
IN THIS ISSUE
EVENTS
HOT TOPICS
- Details on 4.8 release, 2015 preview
- Product Roadmap through 2015
- New Developer Scripting Powers
- Installing on Fedora 21 64-Bit
- xTuple ERP 4.8.1 now available
- How do you pronounce "xTuple" anyway?
- How much does a website cost?
xTuple Experience
How are we doing?
Just One Question
What payroll service do you use in your business?
Where's Wally? Cruising Southern California at WestPack
The WestPack show is co-located with Medtech World. Automation Technology West, Pacific Design & Manufacturing, Electronics West, AEROCON (Aerospace - Defense - Instrumentation), Quality in Manufacturing, and PLASTEC West for plastics manufacturing.
Customer Conversations: Romey, Inc., Wholesale Distributor
Dustin Romey is vice president and partner (with his brother) in a company called Romey, Inc., founded in 2005. As a wholesale distributor based in Puerto Rico, Dustin needed to get more information from his business management solutions. Working with QuickBooks®, they had a hard time getting information in and out, and being able to do anything other than just simple accounting, and generating invoices. They wanted more ability to do some reporting and inventory management, all in one system.
See Danielle Kerner, director of partner development, chat with Dustin at xTuple headquarters:
Customers Celebrate 10+ Years of xTuple ERP
Big shout-outs to the following companies who are celebrating 10+ years of experiencing the xTuple difference. These customers are using xTuple software to help their business grow — an afterthought to much of the software industry today.
Cedarlane Natural Foods || General Ecology
Area Inc. || Richart Distributors, Inc.
xTupleR Staffer Features
Job Title: Director of Software Development
Joined: Originally started in 2005. Took a break from November 2012 to May 2014 to finish my Masters of Computer Science (M.S.).
Mission: I’m juggling lots of things these days: Desktop client and OpenRPT bug fixes, database bug fixes and test development, performance analysis, interoperability between Mobile Web and Desktop clients, MW maintenance, developer documentation, providing technical and product history to help guide decision-making, and mentoring.
CV: 2014 MS Computer Science from Old Dominion University (ODU), Norfolk, VA; 1986 B.A. Biology from Reed College in Portland, OR; most of my professional life I’ve been in software but have also been involved in medical research, taught middle school math, tried tax preparation for a season, and was a stay-at-home dad for a few years. (xTuple Management Biography)
Personal: I live in Norfolk just a few miles from the office, so no bridges or tunnels! My wife of 24 years teaches and does research at EVMS. We have one daughter in high school, plus 1 dog and 1 cat. I’ve been a member of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) for a very long time.
Hobbies: Reading - lots and lots of reading. Also gardening and kayaking on the local rivers.
Why technology as a career? I fell into computing almost by accident; turns out I’m pretty good at it. Software is a flexible, very forgiving medium - you can fix a bug, but you can’t uncut a piece of wood - but success still requires a lot of experience, hard work and discipline.
Why xTuple? Experience says that I am most productive in small companies. xTuple provides opportunities to work on lots of different things, both technical and not. I enjoy helping customers, professional services staff, and my fellow developers solve problems as much as I like head-down coding. We use a wide range of technologies, too. As a small company, xTuple gives me a variety of experiences that larger companies just can’t allow.
Social: I try to avoid social media! That said, I can be found online at LinkedIn.
xTuple University: Accelerate your ROI
What do you want to learn today? Learn from xTuple subject matter experts on wide-ranging topics —from setup and configuration to tips and tricks and deep-dive seminars. From the warehouse to the back office, xTupleU delivers training materials for your entire organization. Get started faster, explore complex topics, answer frequently asked questions, and provide dependable training for new employees.
If you are a subject matter expert who would like to contribute to the xTuple University video library, please apply now.
Training Classes in Exotic Locations
Spring Training classes for 2015 are held at xTuple Las Vegas Training Center — 7881 West Charleston Blvd., Suite 180, Las Vegas, NV 89117.
Combine classes for your best training value and save 25 percent off the cost of each class:
- Purchase and attend Setup, Configuration & Operations held March 16-20, 2015 (Monday-Friday)
- Purchase and attend Power User Training held May 11-14, 2015 (Monday-Thursday)
Try xTupleU with these Featured Videos
Instructor: Mike Atherton
Binge watch financial reporting videos in this new six-part series from lead instructor and xTuple's globe-hopping evangelist.
Instructor: Tom Atkins
Learn how to allow imports of TradeService.com data into xTuple, from setup to detailed steps, from our resident wholesale distribution expert.
Instructor: Tom Atkins
Learn about starting with setup of the base configuration for vendor catalog conversion, which xTuple uses to import values for TradeService.com plumbing support.
xTuple Distance Learning
Online 2-day live course || March 10-11, 2015
Instructor: Mike Atherton
Who should take this class? Implementation, financial or operations managers
xTuple Webinars [complimentary]
How to Drive Profitability with Inventory Management
February 18, 2015 || TRACK — Business Management Solutions
Anil Cherian, Ph.D., President, SDG Consulting, Inc.
How to Relieve Excessive Inventory Problems in Manufacturing
March 4, 2015 || TRACK — Technology Solutions
Will Bralick, Ph.D., Paladin Logic
What is Killing Your eCommerce Conversions, and How to Fix Them
March 18, 2015 || TRACK — eCommerce Joe Hill, eComm Accounts, and Josh Fischer, Manager of Web Services Group
How to Integrate eCommerce and Marketing for Competitive Advantage
April 8, 2015 || TRACK — eCommerce
Josh Fischer, Manager of Web Services Group
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits are available for every training event offered by xTuple, unless otherwise noted, authorized by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).
Learn more about the xTuple Knowledge Series and view past events on xTuple's YouTube Channel.
About xTuple
Best of Open Source Awards 2015: xTuple named InfoWorld's top pick in open source business applications — they're the engines behind every modern business. Read more about BOSSIE Awards.
Grow Your World® with the world's #1 open source ERP — the award-winning provider of commercial open source business management software for small- to mid-sized companies. Connect with the company, including the developer and partner community, at xTuple.com.