Qvidian Proposal Automation Advantage: The Pragmatech Migration Opportunity This document describes the primary benefits that Pragmatech clients receive by migrating to Sant Suite 9, which through its recent software release (SR1), is now known as Qvidian Proposal Automation. Qvidian Proposal Automation delivers the functionality, technology, and cost of ownership benefits that make it the leading proposal and RFP response automation system on the market today. Qvidian has been updated with a fresh, new user interface designed to deliver unrivaled user experience, and functionality that has been driven by feedback collected from our customer base which delivers industry leading productivity benefits. Functional Advantages of Qvidian Proposal Automation Fast & Easy Content Loading Qvidian Proposal Automation provides several options to help you accelerate the population of your content database. You can either: Browse out and identify multiple files, which the application will then load simultaneously, applying all relevant metadata for example, content owner, expiration information, comments, etc. Load a single file containing multiple content items. Qvidian will automatically separate these items into separate records in the database. This feature is invaluable for populating the database with content derived from past RFP responses. In both of the above cases, Qvidian will automatically index the content loaded, so that it is instantly searchable; no key wording of the content is necessary. Page 1
No Need to Use Keywords Unless You Want To! Qvidian Proposal Automation automatically indexes all content when it is loaded to the database. This means that content records are instantly searchable, without the need to associate them with keywords. However, if you wish to leverage keywords you can! And Qvidian has no limit to the number of keywords, or keyword aliases, that you can associate with content item. Auto Answer Function One of the most time consuming and repetitive tasks is responding to standard or consultant RFPs, containing the same questions, from different sources. This is where Qvidian s Auto Answer function comes into play. By maintaining a pool of answers to the standard questions that appear in these RFPs, Qvidian can automatically retrieve the relevant content into your RFP in a matter of seconds, providing you with a first draft of your response. You can then use the remaining time available to polish your response before returning it to the client, instead of expending most of your time retrieving answers manually. Version Control Advantage Qvidian Proposal Automation permits you to create drafts of RFPs, or other documents that you may be creating, at any desired time. The system can store these drafts in its database, so that you can revert to any previous version, if required. This is, invaluable for those clients operating formal RFP review cycles, that need to determine what changed from one version of their response to another. Page 2
Intuitive Search Functionality We frequently hear from our clients that they want our search functionality to work in the same way as the internet search engines they use on a daily basis. That is why Qvidian s search functionality employs basic and advanced search modes just like Google, Bing and others in combination with other features including: Index based searching Search within search results Hit highlighting Unlimited Number of Directory Folders and Subfolders Qvidian Proposal Automation has no restriction on the number of folder levels and sublevels that you can create for the storage of content. This means you can organize your content in as simple, or as sophisticated fashion, as appropriate to your business. Powerful Reporting Capabilities Qvidian Proposal Automation s reporting engine can query any field in the database to create reports that meet your needs. As standard, we include over 30 common reports that have been derived from customer feedback. In addition, you can create an unlimited number of custom reports to meet the needs of your business. Offline Content Editing Qvidian Proposal Automation s technical design permits you to download content for editing without needing to be connected to the system. Content editing can be performed when and where you choose, and once complete, one click is all it takes to upload the revisions to the database. Content Revision History Every time a piece of content is edited, or superseded by a new version, Qvidian Proposal Automation will automatically preserve the previous version in the database. Users can access any of the previous versions, and use the compare function to illustrate the differences between that version and the latest revision. Page 3
Compare and Update Qvidian Proposal Automation will proactively inform users who are responding to an RFP of the existence of newer versions of answers that may have been accepted into the response on which they are working. Users can compare the version of the answer that they used originally with the latest version, in order to make an informed decision as to whether they wish to replace their answer with the most recent version. If they so choose, users can automatically replace the old version of the answer with the new version. This feature is extremely beneficial for those clients who need to update standard or consultant RFPs on a frequent basis, as it will instantly highlight those answers in the response that have changed. You can then make an informed decision whether or not to replace the old answer with the newer version. Collaborate with Co Workers With Qvidian Proposal Automation, RFP responders can collaborate to divide and conquer RFPs. You can assign individual questions or entire sections of the RFP to team members, and notify them automatically by email that they have a work assignment. With Qvidian s unique database driven approach, team members can work on their assigned sections simultaneously without risk of overwriting one another s work. Save Final Proposals and Other Documents in the Database You can save the final versions of proposals, and other sales and marketing material in Qvidian Proposal Automation. Users can search the application to quickly find previously submitted proposals and RFP responses if required. Operates within Microsoft Office Qvidian Proposal Automation outputs the documents it creates in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint file formats. These files can be edited by the end user in the native Microsoft Office applications. In addition, system administrators can choose to lock documents created by Qvidian end users so they cannot be edited by users without a password. Qvidian Proposal Automation supports Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010 versions and can successfully operate in a mixed environment. For the ultimate in security, documents can be configured so that they can only be output as PDF files. Page 4
Simple, Intuitive Wizard Interface for End Users For the creation of customized documents and presentations including sales proposals, statements of work, contracts and presentations Qvidian Proposal Automation leads the enduser through a series of screens and provides choices for the most common answers. After completing the wizard, Qvidian assembles the final document in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, as appropriate. Alternatively, you can choose to output the completed deliverable to PDF. Create User Defined Screens One of the most powerful benefits of a proposal automation tool like Qvidian Proposal Automation is its ability to output documents that are personalized for the recipient by merging values into fields within the content used in those documents. Qvidian permits you to create unlimited custom Data Screens through which end users can enter this information. In addition, many proposal and RFP centers need to capture information for management reporting purposes, for example, RFP tracking data. All the fields in these Data Screens are customizable and values entered into these fields may be aggregated and presented as reports. Store Virtually Any File Type The Qvidian Proposal Automation database can store everything you need to make your RFP responses, proposals, presentations, and other sales communications look professional and create the right impression on customers. Virtually any file format, including the Microsoft Office applications, PDFs, and most graphics formats, can be stored in the Qvidian Library, making it a highly effective content repository for your organization. Link Related Records for Content Maintenance and Enhanced Searchability Managing multiple content items that are related in some way for example, by subject matter or language variants, can be a very challenging task. That is why Qvidian Proposal Automation permits you to link content items together, so that you can easily manage related items in parallel, greatly reducing the administrative overhead. Page 5
Customizable Home Screen The Qvidian Proposal Automation home screen provides displays information for each end user that puts their individual key tasks and functions right at their fingertips. From accessing recent proposals or RFPs, or staying on top of content management tasks, the flexibility of the home screen is greatly appreciated by our clients and provides another example of how Qvidian focuses on the differing needs of users. Business and Ownership Benefits of Qvidian No Software Installed on the User s Computer Qvidian Proposal Automation is offered as a cloud computing solution that is fully web based. Housed in our SAS 70 Type II compliant data center, all users access the application via their Internet browser, eliminating the need to for clients to install or maintain software on users computers. Software upgrades are fully automatic, with minimal downtime to disrupt your work schedule. Security Permissions and Single Sign On Designed primarily with our larger customers in mind, Qvidian Proposal Automation contains sophisticated role based application and content access permissions. You can apply security permissions to each user to determine their access level within the system. Content access can be controlled right down to the individual content record level, or alternatively, limited to the folders within which the content resides. In addition, end user accounts may be managed directly within Qvidian Proposal Automation, or clients can leverage our Active Directory or LDAP integration and access Qvidian after accessing your corporate network, without the need to sign on again. Integrate with Third Party Applications Qvidian Proposal Automation provides out of box connection to leading CRM systems, including: Salesforce.com Microsoft CRM Oracle on Demand Page 6
The CRM connectivity permits users look up, retrieve and merge contact and other data into your proposal content. For more complex integration needs, you can leverage Qvidian s Business Logic Web Services (BLWS) Integration module to connect with any other system that leverage web services. Automated Migration Tools and Services for Pragmatech We have successfully migrated over 70 companies from Pragmatech to Qvidian. To achieve this, we have developed utilities to automate the migration from Pragmatech to Qvidian, and services that will orientate users quickly and effectively to the application, minimizing the risk of downtime. Ask your account manager for more information. Vibrant Product Roadmap While continuing to innovate, the Qvidian Corporation, the combined companies of The Sant Corporation and Kadient, Inc., remains committed to our roots as a provider of proposal and RFP response automation applications. The organization pursues a well defined product roadmap, with typically release 2 3 new versions of our solution every year. And the great majority of the new capabilities to be found in the software are derived from within our customer base, via enhancement requests and focus group activities. Customer Community Qvidian Proposal Automation customers can access the online Qvidian Community where it is possible to perform a wide variety of activities, including: Manage support cases Communicate with other Qvidian customers Submit product ideas Browse support solutions Download product documentation and best practices Watch product tutorials Register for web orientation classes Page 7