Happenings August 16, 2024

    In this issue:

• National Day Spotlight
• Acumatica User Tip
• ISV Spotlight
• Managed IT Services Tip
• Behavioral Psych 101
• Events, Blogs, Movies
• Webinars, Community

The purpose of a newsletter is an opportunity for the ASWi team to provide you and the rest of our clients with information on all the new ASWi an Acumatica related things (or “happenings”) that you may not otherwise be aware of.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any/ all of your team. Pease let me know if anyone on your team who would like to be added to the mailing list for the next issue and removed.

You can always have a look at back issues of Happenings on ASWi’s web- site at: https://aswiblog.wpengine.com/category/customer-newsletters/

“Laughter heals all wounds.” Kevin Hart

Today, we celebrate National Tell a Joke Day, so dust off all your corny Dad jokes, one-liners and funny stories to share with your family, friends and work peers.
Enjoy listening to their jokes and share some laughs together.

Celebrate National Tell a Joke Day by learning some new jokes, attending a comedy show, or stream the “pros” comedy specials at home.

About the photo: Pam, Tessa and Ethan enjoying the Dad Jokes listed below.

Q: What do you call a fish without eyes?
A: Fsh.

Q: What do you call an alligator private detective?
A: An investi-gator.

Q: Why did the scarecrow win an award?
A: Because he was outstanding in his field.

Q: What’s the difference between bird flu and swine flu?
A: One requires tweetment and the other requires an oinkment.

Q: If athletes get athlete’s foot, what do Santa’s elves get?
A: Mistle-toe.

Q: What’s brown and sticky?
A: A stick.

Q: What did the yoga instructor say when the landlord tried to evict?
A: Namaste.

Q: What do all the mushroom’s friends say about him?
A: “He’s a fungi.”

Email notification templates can be created in Acumatica Cloud ERP to personalize emails. Your team can use these templates to save time and have their signature blocks added to the bottom of the emails to add a personal touch. The best of both worlds!

To replicate the signature block in Acumatica Cloud ERP that you are using in your email application (in my case, Microsoft Outlook), you can click on your name in the upper right hand corner of your Acumatica Cloud ERP screen, then click on MY PROFILE from the drop-down list that appears.

Next click on the EMAIL SETTINGS tab on the User Profile screen that opens. Make sure to designate whether you want the signature block to appear in both new emails and replies/forwarded emails, then enter your signature block.

For my signature block within our Acumatica Cloud ERP instance, I copied/pasted the signature block I am using within Microsoft Outlook. After resizing the graphics, I was ready to go!

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know by emailing him at keithw@aswius.com or call him at (717) 581-1226 if you would like to learn more about personalizing the email capabilities of your Acumatica Cloud ERP instance.

Velixo has announced an annual training program for Velixo Reports and Velixo Writeback.

Velixo Reports
Velixo Reports is a Microsoft Excel add-in that adds over 60 functions designed specifically to work with Acumatica Cloud ERP’s General Ledger, Project and Generic Inquiries. It features Smart Drilldown, Smart Refresh, consolidations and advanced security.

Velixo Writeback
Velixo Writeback enables Excel data to be seamlessly imported into Acumatica Cloud ERP using any predefined Import Scenario.

Velixo Annual Training Program
The Velixo Annual Training Program offers:
– Unlimited access to a classroom style training curriculum.
– 3 Training course webinars, using use cases and examples.
– An unlimited number of your staff can sign up.

Delivered as a series of live classes throughout the year, the Annual Training Program offers a comprehensive view of Velixo, its features, and scenarios.

For users of any Excel level, in any function, and businesses of any size and industry, it is the best way to achieve full proficiency with Velixo and remain up to date with new functionality.

With the Annual Training Program, you can:
– Master every core feature of Velixo
– Learn through examples and real-life scenarios
– Stay up to date with every new functionality within Velixo
– Ask any question

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know by emailing him at keithw@aswius.com or call him at (717) 581-1226 if you would like to know more about the Velixo Annual Training Program.

“TLA” is a three letter abbreviation for “three letter abbreviation”. Unfortunately, we are inundated with TLAs in every walk of life. The world of cybersecurity is no different. Below are some common cybersecurity TLAs and their definitions.

EDR – Endpoint Detection and Response
An EDR (endpoint detection and response) security solution uses real-time monitoring and automated responses to protect against cyberthreats. EDR collects data from endpoints like desktop and laptop computers, servers, mobile devices and IoT devices, then it analyzes that data for evidence of cyber threats. It can then automatically respond to prevent or minimize damage from the threats it identifies.

EPP – Endpoint Protection Platform
An EPP (endpoint protection platform) is a comprehensive security solution deployed on endpoint devices to protect against threats. EPP solutions are typically cloud-managed and utilize cloud data to assist in advanced monitoring and remote remediation.

EPP solutions employ a broad range of security capabilities, but at a base level include prevention of file-based malware, detection of suspicious activity using techniques ranging from indicators of compromise (IOCs) to behavioral analysis, and investigation and remediation tools to handle dynamic incidents and alerts.

MDR – Managed Detection and Response
In response to a growing portfolio of security products, organizations turned to Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) to manage these devices, update and patch systems, aggregate information, and provide frequent reporting.

MSSPs manage devices, whereas customers also needed a service to manage alerts, investigate threats, and contain attacks. MDR provides a turnkey combination of tools and security expertise to protect clients from cyber threats.

MDR vendors can vary in their detection capabilities and response services. Detection is limited to the specific set of sources from which they pull security
data. Response services can range from simple alert notification to containment at the network traffic (TCP/IP or DNS) level, endpoint (in conjunction with an EDR/EPP), or cloud gateway (as available with their cloud access service).

XDR – Extended Detection and Response
XDR (Extended Detection and Response) collects security data from network points, operating systems logs, application logs, cloud services, endpoints, and other logging systems, to correlate information and apply threat detection analytics to this data lake of information.

XDR platforms can identify threats and streamline response proactively. Security teams use XDR cloud-based platforms to automate or accelerate detection, enhance investigation capabilities, and respond using Security Orchestration and Automated Response (SOAR) services.

The ASWi Managed IT Services team can discuss the potential value of each of these cybersecurity options with you.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know by emailing him at keithw@aswius.com or call him at (717) 581-1226 if you would like to learn more about these cybersecurity platforms and whether they would provide sustainable, scalable and system Substantial Value for your organization.

By Bri Williams

How long do I put up with this?

I’ve been having serious computer issues recently – repeated crashes and lots of frustrating downtime.

The immediate cause is iMovie, the video editing software I use. I’ve been putting up with these problems because I know how to use the software and all my videos are stored there.

However, this isn’t just a technology issue; it’s a behavioral one. I’m sacrificing productivity and sanity for the comfort of familiarity. By clinging to what I know, even though it’s causing problems, I’m prioritizing my status quo over finding a better solution.

What issues are you blaming on technology when it’s really your reluctance to change the technology that’s the problem? What are you putting up with in your life that you know you should change? Where are your eyes?

It always surprises me that our eyes are half way down our face. I tend to draw them a little higher, and it turns out I’m not alone. It’s called “eye placement bias”. This is our tendency to place the eyes higher than the halfway point. While more pronounced in younger children, the effect seems to stay with us as adults. This despite us seeing faces all around us, everyday.

There are various theories as to why, one being the value we place on eyes. We spend over 50% of our time looking at the eye area, so when it comes to drawing a face we tend to overstate their prominence.

It’s another example of how knowing about something is one thing, applying it is different. I’ve seen it in my clients. They might know intellectually what the behavioral science tells them, yet they resist using it because it doesn’t “feel” right.

We have a deeply ingrained, though distorted perception of how behavior works. With training and repetition, we can “feel the new kind of right”. The best time to re-engage customers

Have you ever experienced that bittersweet feeling when you are watching a TV series or reading a book you love? You don’t want it to end but you also can’t wait to see how it does. Our  customers experience this too. It’s called the One-Away Mere Completion effect. In short, people feel most engaged in something just before they complete it.

This is exciting, because it tells us two things:
1. Pay attention to what completion means. For example, would buying this item complete a set for them? Does their purchase process end not with delivery, but with their product review instead?
2. The time to re-engage our customers is BEFORE they complete something, not after. That’s when they will be interested in continuing to work with us.

By Bri Williams

Sick of being told the status quo?

You know what I’m sick and tired of being told to do? Challenge the status quo!

It’s seen as a power move. Leaders do it. Heroes do it.Enshrined in vision statements and implored from the keynote stage, challenging the status quo is what we need to do to succeed, right?

Easy to say, hard to do.

Pointing to what needs to change or setting a vision for what a changed state looks like is the easy part – it’s hypothetical. Actually embedding change is a behavioral influence exercise, which requires significant time, money and effort.

One Empty Desk

When real estate legend Barbara Corcoran advertised for new staff in the competitive New York market, she wrote three simple words. “One empty desk”.
Not only did this differentiate hers from the pages of ads seeking “sales person”, it hit a major psychological button. Scarcity. In a world of content abundance and scant attention, how can you make what you do, who you are, scarce?

Don’t Do This

I share a lot of ideas about what you SHOULD do to influence behavior, but there are things you SHOULDN’T do, as well. Here are three things not to do, along with examples of each:

1. Make things pretty
Focus on making things effective, not pretty. Salience over esthetic.
Example: Following your company’s guidelines and making your website’s Call to Action button match the rest of the page will result in it not standing out to your prospective customers.

2. Normalize inaction
Don’t try to shame your prospective customers into taking action by normalizing inaction.
Example: “97% of Australians aren’t eating enough vegetables each day” will be received as “Great! If no one else is worried about this, I won’t both either.”

3. Don’t ask why
Instead, ask “What?”. “Why” questions result in our prospective customers to rationalize their actions/decisions. “What” questions provide you with context of their actions/decisions that you can react to.

Nearly every weekday, a motivational quote is posted on X/Twitter by @ASWiDelivered and on LinkedIn by @ASWi.

• “Google and Apple were built by amateurs while the Titanic was built by professionals.”
• “The antiquity of a wrong is no excuse for its continuation” Dr Samuel Johnson
• “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, just wait until you hire an amateur” Red Adair
• “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t” Jerry Rice
• “A Satisfied Customer is the Best Business Strategy” Michael LeBoeuf