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The Communication Release - May 2021
James
6 min read
··Updated: Jun 9, 2021
It's been a couple of months since our last release. That was our marketing release where we launched the website builder in an entirely new technical infrastructure. I'm happy to say that several websites have gone live / are in build across the community. I've seen some great uses of the solution, from pre and post tenancy questionnaires to some brilliant content. If you are interested in adopting the website builder, do get in touch with your account team.
Of course, the Konnexsion product team have not stopped in their relentless push forward with new features that we all hope will continue to drive value across your operations.
I have the pleasure of announcing our latest release, The Communication Release. Over the last few development cycles, we have, behind the scenes, been making changes to our messaging solution. Combined with the capabilities that our web-builder infrastructure has brought us, we are finally able to show you the results.
Looking back to my first customer engagement after we released integrated SMS messaging, I can distinctly remember the initial response.
"This looks great, but can it do WhatsApp?"
And, it is a question that I've heard many, many times since.
In the dark planning rooms at Konnexsion HQ, we don't like outstanding customer requests that we feel will bring significant value across our whole community. The WhatsApp challenge has been one of those and it's been a particular challenge for a number of reasons.
- 3rd Party Products are only allowed to build integrations with WhatsApp for business
- The setup is quite manual
- There are very specific opt-in obligations in order to communicate via WhatsApp.
Anyhow, we think we've cracked it. The setup is not automated, and you do need to request your account team to have WhatsApp enabled. But the results we hope you'll like. We've used automation to minimise the effect of the opt-in messages and it will feel completely transparent to you when sending these messages.
As part of this implemented we have entirely re-worked mobile messaging from within your inbox.
- Messages will appear similar to how you see them on your mobile phone in a conversational type way.
- You can easily see the thread of your recent conversation.
- Messages are of course still fully integrated into our Case file for tracking and audit in the future.
We've also built, what we think, is some additional pretty cool stuff.
- We've enabled what we call 'send email by', allowing you to create an email exactly as you would normally, but then send it via SMS or WhatsApp.
- Your recipient will receive a link to a fully formatted email containing both the message and attachments.
- This message can be read, of course, on their mobile phone.
I think you're going to have to give it a go and experience it yourself.
Secure Messaging
Another open request from many of you has been the ability to send emails with large attachments. Of course, it's not atypical to want to send images and large drawings when dealing with property. Our outbound email limitation of 10MB has caused challenges at times.
As with all our solutions, we wanted this to come with a more comprehensive set of benefits. We didn't want a quick fix but something powerful, secure and versatile.
We believe that Secure Messaging by Konnexsion does precisely this. When sending an email, you will now have several sending options.
- 'Send secure mail' (authenticated & non-authenticated)
- 'Send attachments as link' (authenticated & non-authenticated)
If to select any of these options, we will not physically send the message by email but instead replace it with a templated message providing a secure link to our servers.
Your recipient will click on the link and view the message and read/view any attachments. If you've ever been concerned about sending personal documents by email because of their confidentiality, you now have an alternative option. A message that remains encrypted until the point that your recipient reads it.
Inbound and Outbound calling
Communication isn't always in the written form. It can also be a voice. We've upgraded what you can do with your Konnexsion registered number. Many of you already forward inbound calls to alternative numbers or send them to voicemail. Now you have more options:
- You can connect using a VOIP client and both take and receive calls. Yes, you can make calls now either from your computer or your VOIP app on your mobile phone.
- We allow you to configure multiple inbound numbers both in a parallel (call all at once) or serial (try this number first)
If you are interested in these features, contact your account team, and we will get you set up.
Signable Templates
Have you ever wanted to host a Signable Template on your brand new Konnexsion Website? A pre-defined form that, when submitted, will be sent to your Konnexison mailbox. You can, now. Look out for our setup video on the forum in the coming week.
Purchase Orders & Approvals
Another regular request from our larger customers is the Purchase Order Approval.
- So you want to arrange a plumber for a bathroom leak at one of your landlord's properties.
- You want to ensure funds will be available to pay this bill when it is received.
Create a Purchase Order and send it to your landlord for approval.
- This Purchase Order will appear on your landlord statement, enabling you to hold back rent on the client account for when the invoice arrives.
- Using our secure email mechanism, your landlord can approve this order on his mobile phone.
Behind the scenes, as always, we have been making improvements, resolving issues and generally responding to your feedback. Your feedback is the best source of our passion and resilience, so please don't stop letting us know how you are getting on or letting us know where things could improve further.
Konnexsion was upgraded overnight to The Communication Release, so as you log in today, all these features should be available to you.
On behalf of the Konnexsion team, I hope you, your team and your family remain safe and well. The last year has been challenging for many of us, and in fact, significant struggles remain across the globe, including India, the home of the Konnexsion Engineering team. I remain inspired and grateful for the efforts of the team despite many environmental challenges.
James
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