Sunday 17 February 2013

Jasper Reports - What Differentiates Them?

Custom Jasper development is done by a lot of companies these days owing to the increased use of Jasper reports by end users. The more the number of companies opting for Jasper reports the more the number of vendors or companies which provide the development service. India is no exception either; there are a substantial number of companies in India who offer custom Jasper development services as well.

Let’s delve a little deeper and try to understand what makes Jasper reports so useful and relevant to business users. Some of the advantages it has over other similar tools, like Crystal reports, is that in Jasper user (developer) can easily plug-in custom java code for processing business logic of the returned data using Scriptlets. Takes less time to implement changes and provides the ability to generate reports on the fly. Like this the list is endless. To know more about the different services that are available check Mindfire Solutions, a company based in India which provides custom Jasper development services, some sample projects done by them in Jasper.

Coming back to our earlier discussion about companies who provide custom development services for Jasper, we know by now that it is gradually picking up momentum and a large number of software companies have started developing expertise to deliver projects in Jasper. Whereas this is good news for the community (increasing of developer base) it has a flip side to it as well. Amateur developers are also making tall claims about being good and experts in
Offshore Jasper development and in the process taking up projects from end users. Mostly the businesses who are not so technically sound tend to get carried away by the glib talk and end up spending money and getting a bad application built. This is one thing which the community should keep an eye on as well, since in the past there have been technologies which died, not because they were not good but because too many bad developers started building applications using it. What happens then is you have a lot of business houses which are not satisfied with the work/technology.

The reason for mentioning about this is to alarm the reader on the pitfalls of blindly giving work to companies, especially in case of outsourcing, without ensuring whether they are actually so good technically or not. Few things to look out for are:


Ask for client references – preferably someone from your country/area.

Check for work details or case studies. Based on the samples given check whether anything comes close to your requirement. And then ask for a demo of that application – this would give you a clear picture of what you need vis-à-vis what can be delivered.

Of course there would be companies which might not have good client references but would have good developers – so in those cases you can talk to the actual developer who would be working in your project. Have someone with sound technical knowledge lead the discussion so that you have a fair idea on the expertise of the person who is going to work.

To know more about our Custom Jasper development company and to Hire Jasper developers, please contact us at sales[@]mindfiresolutions[.]com or call 1-248-686-1424. We will be glad to help you.

Thursday 14 February 2013

Salesforce Customization - Enabling UI Settings

Every organization wants customized applications for their business. Organizations using Salesforce CRM want their Salesforce-CRM to be customized so that it best fits their business processes, their scenarios, and their users. Although advanced Salesforce customization requires code changes involving Apex and Visualforce (and typically help of a Salesforce development services provider), most basic configuration and customization can be done through Salesforce-CRM's intuitive point-and-click admin interface.

A Salesforce Administrator has the required permissions and privilege to configure and customize to fulfill many common needs. Through "Personal Setup", all users can update their personal information like My Personal Information, Email, Import, Desktop Integration, and My Chatter Settings. However, if you are a Salesforce Administrator, you have many additional options at your disposal to configure and customize Application Setup and Administration setup.

App Setup:
App Setup is your doorway to Customize, Create, Develop, Deploy, Installed Packages, AppExchange Marketplace, and Critical Updates. You can customize a lot of things. One Salesforce Administrator may have the following Customize options in their Salesforce CRM: Tab Names & Labels, Home, Activities, Campaigns, Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Quotes, Forecasts, Cases, Self-Service, Call Center, Contracts, Solutions, Products, Partners, Ideas, Answers, Assets, Users, Console, Content Deliveries, Tags, Reports & Dashboards, Search, Chatter, and User Interface. For example, if you wanted to customize user interface for your organization's Salesforce users, you can get started from Admin User > Setup > App Setup > Customize > User Interface > ... you get the idea, right?

Administration Setup:
Similarly, Administration Setup provides a host of options. One may find options to Manage Users (Users, Roles, Profiles, Public Groups, Login History, etc), Company Profile, Security Controls, Communication Templates, Translation Workbench, Data Management, Monitoring, Mobile Administration, Desktop Administration, Email Administration, Google Apps, etc.in a typical organization's Administration Setup.

Enabling User Interface Settings:
The following are some common Salesforce customization (user interface) done by an Administrator:
User Interface Node: This enables or disables features for all users. You may want to enable Hover Details to pop open a small balloon containing the most important information while hovering over links of records. You may to allows users to collapse or expand sections containing fields relevant to them through Collapsible Sections. You may want to allows users to double click on to a field and change the information contained therein instead of editing the whole page through Inline Editing. Or you may want to allows users, through Enhanced Lists, to change multiple records at once, to change columns, to see how many pages of records we have, etc.
Profile Permissions: This determines how one sees Salesforce and what they can do in Salesforce. Not all profiles are created alike. You can control Tab visibility, Page layouts, and System permissions (like Report Builder) through Profile permissions.
Chatter: Enabling feed tracking will place a Chatter feed at the top of an object page. Some of the fields (account name, account owner, opportunity name, etc) are automatically enabled when you turn on Chatter, but as an Admin you can add additional fields, too.


The above are simple examples of enabling user interface settings. Real-life
Salesforce crm customization goes much beyond adjusting layouts. Expert Salesforce development service providers can help you customize and/or extend almost every aspect of your Salesforce-CRM to make it fit your way of doing business.

Mindfire Offshore Salesforce Development Services
Mindfire Solutions is a top offshore Salesforce development services provider with a fully-certified Salesforce development team and a strong track record of serving customers across diverse industries and business needs.

If you need to hire salesforce developers or you are interested to know more about our Salesforce salesforce development services, please contact us at sales[@]mindfiresolutions.com or call 1-248-686-1424. We will be glad to help you.