The report consists of user feedback regarding overall customer satisfaction, system performance, vendor performance and functionality performance. 

To order the research report, Applicant Tracking Systems 2006, visit the publications section of www.ere.net.

To order the research report, Applicant Tracking Systems 2004, visit the research section of www.ere.net.

Due to the continuing strong demand from The Fordyce Letter readers for information on recruiter databases, I have been trying to review an ATS each month. This month I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to review a database I had heard of but had never seen: cBizOne by cBizSoft. It is one of the most complete and comprehensive systems I have reviewed to date. That, combined with speed, ease of use, and a very familiar "Windows" design make for a solid system.

 This product is a web-enabled client-server application that can be used either stand-alone or networked.  Your database is also accessible from anywhere using the Internet. cBizOne can be hosted on your desktop or network or hosted by cBizSoft or a third-party hosting company. For virtual companies and remote users, regardless of hosting model, they utilize data replication to continuously update information back and forth from your desktop to the server.  The beauty in this configuration is that you always have access to your data, regardless of whether you have an Internet connection. When you are connected, your data is synchronized with the server so it can be shared with others in your office, or, if you run a solo shop, you can have access from multiple PC's. When you are not connected, the system if fully functional, and all your adds and changes are synched up with the server the next time you are connected.

 There is no main screen, per se. You start the program and get a two-pane view with all your folders on the left and all the data in those folders on the right. They have folders for Companies, Contacts (hiring managers), Candidates, Requirements, a Calendar and Sent Mails (there is a built in email client that works hand in hand with your Outlook program). Once you select the folder you want to look at, all your data appears on the right in a datasheet view. One very handy feature is the (patent-pending) Live Search Bar, at the top of each data page. You simply type in a few letters in the text box above the field you want to search (Name, State, Skills, etc.) and you are able to locate almost any contact or candidate within seconds.

 Adding a new candidate is easy. You can add new records either singly or batch up many together and by using the GrabIT feature. It can create new records extracted directly from emails, folders or web pages. Once you add your new candidate record, all activity and correspondence with that person is recorded. The good part about that is that on each candidate record you have information on all your email correspondence, what requirements/companies they have been submitted to, all interview and placement activity, plus all the standard fields for contact information, job history, skills, education, etc.

 The database is highly customizable. New records can be created using a set of fields to capture data in a Win-Form, which can be completely customized by the user to include industry, company-specific or any other fields of your choosing.  An example might be custom fields for certifications or licenses. Also, you can create a web form that can reside on your own website. Candidates can enter their profile/resume into your web page and the candidate will be automatically added to the database.

The Companies folder allows you to link all your clients within a company and the linking information lets you see all your Requirements and Submittals for that company. The Requirements form is very straightforward and similar in functionality to the Candidates form in that it also captures data via custom fields or can be entered via your website.

Once your Candidates, Companies, Contacts and Requirements are in the database it’s time to do some searching. This is accomplished in any one of several ways. I have already mentioned the Search Bar, a great feature to find data fast. You can also use the Advanced Find (a comprehensive search against the Candidate records, notes and resumes) and/or the Document Find (a text search against your hard drive or server) features. A nice touch is the highlighting of your keywords in the search results.

Once the search is complete, time to make some submissions. A few clicks and you're there. On sending the Candidate to your Contact, the Candidate is automatically linked to the Requirement, Contact and Company. They offer a highly customizable email template, including your logo that really makes your submissions stand out from the competition.  A copy of the sent email is logged to the software and your external email client. Tracking the candidate through the placement is made simpler when the components are linked and easily accessible. 

A unique feature of cBizOne is its direct integration with Outlook. Through an Outlook toolbar AddIn called cBizBar, you can use GrabIt, parse resumes, directly add clients to cBizOne, link emails to any database entry, etc.

I could go on but I'll stop here for now. Having said all of the above, they have the lowest monthly fee for this type of service that I have seen to date. Their standard, published fees are $30 per month per user. There are no fees for setup, support, upgrades, training, or data import. Unheard of up to this point. Also, there is no minimum contract. Service is billed month by month. For $10 more per month you can get a SQL Server based system (as opposed to the Access based system) if you have a larger office.  Hosting and remote administration services are also available.

They offer a free 60-day trial of their software that can be downloaded from www.cbizsoft.com. My thanks to Bob Nelson, cBizSoft, Inc. Director of Marketing, for his help with this review. Anyone with any questions or comments can reach Bob via voice at 972-713-3888 x 24 or via email at bob@cbizsoft.com. I would strongly encourage anyone that has any interest in a solid, versatile, comprehensive ATS should definitely put this software on your review list.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 23, 2004 – Staffing, recruiting and consulting firms of all sizes are seizing the opportunity to try a combined solution which includes cBizOne, a staffing software and application tracking system and Subcontract.com, the leading staffing exchange for subcontract and split placements.

For the next 60 days, all Subcontract.com customers are able to try out a state-of-the-art applicant tracking system, cBizOne, recently dubbed “…the prototype of things to come”, by The Electronic Recruiting News and all cBizOne customers will be able to try Subcontract.com, which was recently cited by The Wall Street Journal as “the leading medium for subcontract staffing”.

As an added bonus, cBizOne has implemented Subcontract.com’s API called exchangePORTAL. This move makes using both products more convenient by automating most Subcontract.com tasks from within cBizOne. For example, blinding and posting candidate inventory and posting jobs to Subcontract.com can now be done with a single click right from cBizOne.

Interested customers can register to try cBizOne for a 60 day trial and a receive a limited access account on Subcontract.com by registering at either www.subcontract.com or www.cbizsoft.com

(March 16, 2004) - We had an interesting conversation with the folks at cBizSoft. At $30/month, they appear to be carrying the low end of the pricing spectrum in the ATS market. Licensed software with embedded update functionality, the product evolved from the company's early history as an IT contracting shop.

With 1400 users (and growing fast), cBizSoft 2.0 is not enterprise class software and doesn't try to be. It's a multifunctional tool for seasoned recruiters. While the tool has strong individual based marketing and CRM capabilities, you'd never use it in a Fortune 50 setting with high demands for collaboration. Their market is staffing firms and operations with four or five recruiters. It would be a great launch tool for a new search firm.

We're moving quickly into an era where XML driven, web services based tools are custom assembled to meet the functionality needs of a given client. One look at Peoplesoft's declining license revenues suggests that big box computing has reached the limits of the market. Mass customization of software and associated services is an idea that is emerging quickly.

That process will begin with the rapid spread of small, lightweight, low maintenance tools in the small to medium business sector. The basic idea of XML/web service is the deconstruction of large packages into small bits of useful functionality, so we're expecting a rash of micro vendors, built along the lines of cBizSoft, who integrate customer service and updates into an online feed.

The interesting possibility in all of this is the evolution of new consulting companies that serve as the 'outfitters'. With broad ranges of choice and incremental value developed from the assembly of small tools, someone is going to have to keep track of who's who and what's what. The implication for large enterprise houses is a fairly rapid shift into service delivery as a prime contractor with lots of minor pieces from small shops.

It would be useful to get to know cBizSoft. Sleek (in terms of cost and organizational structure), they are the prototype of things to come.