This Seamless Opportunities Product Update brings news of the latest features we have added to both Seamless Opportunities Lite and Foundation, and further information on an important security update for our users.
Our ongoing commitment to product improvement
We have been working hard over the past few months on improving Seamless Opportunities for all our customers. The improvements we have made are not just functional enhancements that give greater control over how users can do quoting in Act!, and extract information, but also, in line with our ongoing commitment to looking after our customers’ data, offer enhanced security.
Even more features for free
Today’s Seamless Opportunities release includes the following new features:
- Merge with Microsoft Excel, as well as Word, in Lite and Foundation
- Central or team quote numbering, in Lite and Foundation
and in Foundation
- Quote segmentation for grouping quote lines with sub-totals
- Categorising of products for easy searching and price updating
Check out all the latest features of Seamless Opportunities here.
We are also proud to be announce the forthcoming launch of a new product to the Seamless Opportunities stable – Seamless Opportunities Elite. Elite will allow Act! users to work with products, service items, and bills of material. Look out for further information and webinar invitations over the coming weeks.
Why the need for a security update?
Seamless CRM takes the security of data very seriously and we keep a close eye on where there are potential vulnerabilities to attack. When a user logs into an Act! database our Seamless Opportunities add-on starts and connects to our server, to check on the status of the Seamless Opportunities licence. We use the same technology that is used in banking and payment services systems like Sage Pay. This encrypts the small piece of data (the licence key) sent from the user’s PC and/or server to our server – to check that the key is still valid and has not expired. The technology we use is called TLS, which stands for “Transport Layer Security”. We have updated this on our servers recently to TLS version 1.2, as have some other Act! add-on providers, like Handheld Contact.
What this means for Seamless Opportunities users
Seamless CRM uses TLS in its licensing validation process, to check that user licences are valid. The upgrade to this service required us to make changes to Seamless Opportunities and release a new version, to ensure that the check continues to work. As a result all Seamless Opportunities users need to upgrade to the new release by 24 July, or sooner if they are licensing new software or new users. All of our customers and Partners have been contacted directly about this.
More about TLS
Since the early days of the web, the SSL protocol and its descendent, TLS, have provided the encryption and security that make modern internet commerce possible. The decades-long history of these protocols has been marked by continuous updates that aim to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated attackers.
TLS basically works by creating a secure connection between a client and a server, for example, a company’s website. All this is done before any important information is shared – like personal data, credit card information etc.
The TLS protocol encrypts internet traffic of all types. The most common is web traffic; you know your browser is connected via TLS if the URL in your address starts with “https,” and there’s an indicator with a padlock telling you the connection is secure. But TLS is also used by other applications as well, including e-mail.
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