FranConnect Fully Integrates Leading Franchise Management Software with Gmail and Outlook
In the franchising industry, there’s one franchise management software and technology solution that’s managed to make a name for itself as the one to beat: FranConnect Sky. Since its launch nearly two decades ago, the company has been actively living out its mission to help franchise concepts streamline their businesses by providing them with its unparalleled, comprehensive software. That, in turn, has been helping FranConnect’s client base—which is currently comprised of over 700 franchise brands and 140,000 franchisees—manage their businesses throughout the entire franchise lifecycle. And now, FranConnect is making a major improvement to its system.
In an effort to streamline its processes even more, the company has introduced a new program called FranConnect Where You Work, a family of solutions that brings the power of FranConnect to popular applications and devices. The latest solution in this family is an integration with Google Gmail and Microsoft Outlook with the goal of simplifying both franchise development and franchisee support initiatives.
Mike Morper, Senior Vice President of Product Marketing and Management at FranConnect, said, “The idea for this program first came about because we’re living in a digital-centric world. People aren’t tied to a specific office anymore—instead, they’re glued to their phones and working whenever and wherever they want. So, we decided to find a way to integrate our software with the email platforms that people use the most, Gmail and Outlook. Now, our clients have all of their FranConnect Sky data right at their fingertips when they go to send an email. Rather than having to pull information directly from the FranConnect Sky, users can now access that same information in one place.”
FranConnect Where You Work makes it possible for a brand’s corporate team members and franchisees to access and manage information through their inboxes. A franchise salesperson, for example, is now able to pull information straight from an email and add it to FranConnect’s system when a new lead comes in and view information and history about an existing lead without leaving their email application. All of the information that’s stored in FranConnect Sky will automatically populate, instead of having to track data in two different places. And in the case of Microsoft Outlook, this new integration also extends beyond the desktop and is compatible with both Android and iOS versions too.
The new FranConnect Where You Work program is far from the only enhancement that the company is making to its market-leading franchise management software suite. The company is also in the middle of completing a critical transition that started in the fourth quarter of 2017. By the end of this quarter, all FranConnect Sky customers—and their data—will be stored in Amazon’s Web Services Cloud (AWS). The move to a new environment brings higher performance, general user improvements and additional data redundancy.
“We’re confident that FranConnect Where You Work is going to be a game changer for our company—and our clients—going forward. It’s another example of how dedicated we are to ensuring that our clients are receiving the best possible support and service,” said Morper. “We’re committed to making 2018 a strong year for our customers, and this new program is an excellent sign of what’s to come. We’ve got some really cool stuff that’s going to be coming out over the course of this year, and it’s going to take our platform to the next level.”