A quick look at some of the new features and benefits found in V-Connect 3.0

V-Connect 3.0 is the latest version of Vertical's dealer intranet.

Designed to work with the latest web browsers and mobile devices, you'll find all the information you need to maximize your knowledge of and sales success with Vertical products and services. V-Connect gives you instant access to Vertical University for online sales and technical training; technical publications for the latest Vertical product documentation; V-Commerce for creating sales proposals and placing orders (Wave dealers only); Vertical's Marketing Resource Program for the tools and materials you need to market Vertical products through your business; and much more.

Built on a more advanced "social by design" structure, the latest version of V-Connect incorporates many new, time-saving features including bundles where related information on a specific Vertical product, such as brochures, training, promotions and case studies, is bundled in a single folder so you don't have to go searching for the information you need. You can also receive automatic notifications when new files, events, or bundles are added to the system and join groups to follow conversations from your inbox. Viewing, managing and finding files is faster and easier, too, with the ability to preview Portable Document Format (PDF) files without downloading, bookmark files, start/cancel/resume downloads and so much more.

V3 was developed to operate on any media device and any browser* so you can access the wealth of information available here, whether you are on a PC, Mac, cell phone, iPad, MSIE, Safari, Chrome, FireFox, or IE.

*Internet Explorer 6.* is not supported.

The majority of information is organized around Dashboards and Pages. The new V3 environment was enhanced to fully support group-based access to content based on permission rights of one or more groups. In addition, the system has introduced page-level ACL (Access Control Lists) security, enabling access for a select group to specific pages (for example, pages with pricing).

We have developed the filing system from the ground up. The new hierarchical categorization makes file organization easier to understand and navigate. Users can now look though all files (they have access to) or find files in their specific Dashboards and/or Pages.

• Type keywords to search for files
• Preview and scan Portable Document Format (PDF) files without opening and downloading
• Bookmark ("Like") files
• See files based on when they were added (today, 7 days, 2 weeks, month)
• Search for files with ease. by filtering by dashboard, category and more.
• Share files with others via links or email.
• Comment on files.

Bundles are one of the newest and most exciting features to be found in V3. Now you can find related information on specific Vertical products — such as brochures, training courses, promotions and case studies — bundled into a single folder so you don't have to go searching for the information you need. For example, when a new product version is available all the important files can be unified in a single bundle for quick and easy access. Bundles take into consideration security access (Groups and Roles) different audiences see only what they should see.

Vertical University enables single sign-on access to all Vertical courses and classes. Classes are divided into two categories: online and instructor-led. Registered users can immediately view all courses and register online for those they have access to. If an online class test is available, a registered user can take the test and get instant results. If passed, (the user is then granted access to more advanced) classes they can take (for example, Wave Advanced Factory Training). Vertical University is 100% integrated into the V3 ecosystem, giving users a seamless experience.

V3 is a major upgrade to the current V-Connect 1.3 release. At the heart of the system are significant improvements in content creation and storage. Additionally, there has been emphasis on the activation of the items or content within V3. The system includes many new social elements for the Vertical community. Users can share files, bookmark items, review collective product feature requests and much more.

We have extensive plans for the V-Connect system. Many of these are being defined; however, some efforts have begun:

• Social groups — the creation of integrated public or private group discussions throughout the system, including moderation, invitations and information searching.
• Advanced search.
• Integration with various 3rd-party services
• Knowledge Base enhancements.