14 DAY TRIAL // Human kind has always striven to make work easier and the results ? better. This has inevitably led to progress. We live in an era where time is no longer our ally. Time is our most valuable tool in this crazy race towards who knows what.
We are continuously looking for more efficient and easier to use tools to help us rise above our competitors. The IT age has begun, and we are trying to make the most of it. Thus, we have now softwares that help us enhance the pictures we so clumsily have taken, hide the obvious flaws of our voices, record every move on our computer and even control our home.
It's quite clear: we have shifted into the automatic gear. Having this in mind, imagine how much time is lost in a company registering all the orders via e-mail. The person in charge has to read the electronic requests and then enter them in the database. Some of you do not realize how much work there is in creating and maintaining a database.
Imagine a software capable of taking all the e-mails and automatically make relevant entries in the database. No need for that, because it has become reality. Parker Software has come with such a solution for the companies. The name of the software is Email2DB and costs $175. I know you think it costs a lot, but think of the benefits it brings to the company. How much time does it take you to convert the emails into database records without such a tool? Irrespective of your answer, I am sure that it is too much.
The Explorer-like interface suggests the easiness of using the software. Actually, you do not need too much training to transform an email into a database record. But if you want to get the most out of this software you will have to be familiar with regular expressions and SQL. But you can also learn all these from the Help menu of the application, which is - in fact - a complete manual of the software.
The software provides the Administrator with some samples of triggers (a set of conditions the application will check for in an email), but you can create your own or modify the default ones to fit your needs.
Every "trigger" has a user-defined name and it will display the e-mail address it was found in. At the beginning, I thought the software will support information snatching only from one account, but you can add as many accounts as you have in your email client. All you have to do is configure the Read Email Messages correctly, so that Email2DB can take the messages.
The triggers can be customized for each account, and if you configure them properly there won't be any problems. You will have to specify the e-mail addresses to look in, the receiving date and the words/phrases contained in the Subject or Body of the message.
The Field Extraction tab in the triggers properties requires a little experience with regular expressions, but if you are not familiar with this, there is no problem, as the software provides you with enough information for you to become accustomed with the syntax.
Email2DB will update your SQL database or CSV files and even your Outlook Contacts (you need Outlook 2003 or higher).
The Other Actions tab will provide you with options like adding sounds (WAV files), Send SMS (properly configure the SMS Server first), Run Processes, Run Script, Popup Message, Send Emails (the schedule feature will prove to be really useful in some cases) etc.
The Good
The software is amazing. With just a few clicks, you can scan your messages for the keywords and you can skip reading unnecessary data. Updating your database is made easier and more accurately. The options available are absolutely relevant for a company: schedule sending an email, manage accounts, specify the email addresses for the triggers to look in, etc.
If you have any problems, you can contact the developer via the Internet, by accessing the Live Help. I couldn't talk to anybody on my first attempt, but on my second I talked to a representative ready to offer me whatever help I needed.
The Bad
It took me a while to get to creating an account. You have to go up one level in order to get there. You may want to fix that.
The Truth
A company that respects its customers should consider using such a utility. You will notice the payments made towards you faster and will record them in the database easier.
Not even the price seems too much to me, if I think of how useful the application is. $175 is a lot of money for a home user, but what will a home user do with a software designed for web companies?
As it is designed for companies, the software will receive 5 stars.
Way to go guys!!!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
