Installation and Configuration Phase

Establishing Remote Connectivity

Since Tour de Force is installed remotely on the client’s server by the MRH Environment Consultant, a high quality remote connection needs to be established. During the process of implementation and while providing post implementation support, having direct access to the client’s servers for the installation, configuration, and support of the Tour de Force application is very important for The MRH Technology Group. If a client chooses to restrict the remote access capabilities of The MRH Technology Group and requires The MRH Technology Group to coordinate all remote connectivity through the client’s IT department, the implementation timeline needs to be extended. Also, ongoing support will be hindered.

The MRH Technology Group realizes that network environments vary in configuration and The MRH Technology Group certainly supports components running on different computers. However, The MRH Technology Group recommends that the Tour de Force Administrator Console and the supporting Microsoft applications are installed on a single server.

Before the Base Installation and Configuration mileston of Tour de Force can begin, a few tasks may need to be performed by the client. These items may include installing software, creating user accounts, and configuring remote access settings on the network.

The MRH Technology Group Environment Consultant works closely with the Client IT Administrator to ensure the a quality remote
connection is established.

Base Installation & Configuration

The Base Installation of Tour de Force is performed remotely by the assigned MRH Environment Consultant of The MRH Technology Group.

Once Tour de Force is installed, the MRH Business Consultant can log into the system of the client remotely to configure the folder structure and forms associated with Tour de Force according to the Implementation Questionnaire.

During the initial remote set up and configuration of Tour de Force, the MRH Environment Consultant works closely with the MRH Business Consultant to insure that the initial installation and configuration meets the goals and objectives of the client. The MRH Business Consultant uses the information provided in the Implementation Questionnaire to complete the Base Configuration of Tour de Force.

Following the Base Configuration of Tour de Force, the MRH Environment Consultant trains the Client IT Administrator on the process of installing Tour de Force on the laptops and workstations of the Client Project Team in preparation for the Review and Discovery Phase of the project.

Installation and Set Up of BSI Connector and BSI Sync

Once the Base Installation and Configuration milestone of Tour de Force has been completed, the BSI Connector and BSI Sync is installed and configured on the client’s system in order to fully populate the database with all Account and Contact records from the Business System. During the process of setting up the BSI Connector, MRH also populate all of the sales data that is available through the BSI Connector in preparation for the MRH Business Consultant arriving on site for the Review and Discover Phase. During the initial set up and configuration of the BSI Connector, MRH does not expect the sales data to balance or reconcile to the existing sales reports that the client is accustomed to viewing. When the BSI Connector is initially set up, the process of compiling sales data will not take into account any of the client’s specific business rules that impact how sales numbers are reported. Final reconciliation of the sales data will take place after the MRH Business Consultant is onsite during the Review and Discovery Phase and is able to spend time with the Client BSI Specialist walking through the business rules that impact the reporting of the sales data

Define Conversion Source for Accounts, Contacts and Other Data

The data conversion milestone of the Tour de Force implementation contains many variables. This milestone of the implementation is the only milestone that The MRH Technology Group invoices based on the actual time spent performing the work. In many cases, the time required to perform the data conversion milestone of the project is largely dependent on the level of participation by the client. There are also many cases that require the data conversion to be performed multiple times throughout the project due to the discovery of additional data sources, typically Contact records, which are discovered throughout the project.

In general, all Account records that need to be imported into the Tour de Force database are imported automatically, based on a set of comprehensive business rules, set up within the Tour de Force BSI Account Sync. If the business system is also the primary source of Contacts, then the BSI Contact Sync also imports the Contacts into the Tour de Force database. Once The MRH Technology Group completes the initial set up of the BSI Sync, it is critical that the client take the time to validate the information that is created by the BSI Account and Contact Sync.

One of the most common mistakes clients make is assuming that everything is correct at first glance and not taking the time to closely validate the accuracy of the information before going live with Tour de Force. Over time, as changes occur in the business system and additional fields from the business system need to be mapped to the Account and Contact records in Tour de Force, the MRH BSI Consultant will work with the client to make modifications to the BSI Sync mappings to properly reflect the changes requested.

In cases where the BSI Account Sync is not being used by the client and a legacy database(s) are being used as the source data, more variables exist that may impact the time required to perform the data conversion phase. In most cases, clients perceive the integrity of the source data to be much better than the data actually is. As a result, in most cases, only Accounts and Contacts end up being converted from these legacy databases and the time required to properly cleanse the source data is more extensive than when the BSI Sync is used with your business system.

The MRH Technology Group provides services for converting data from legacy systems into Tour de Force.

Legacy databases that have been converted into Tour de Force include:

• ACT!
• Microsoft Outlook
• Goldmine
• Maximizer
• Microsoft CRM
• SalesLogix
• Telemagic

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