gmail contacts sync in ofbiz SFA

[aswath narayana]

Hello All,
I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.

Following are the steps.
* A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
* The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
* The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
* User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
* Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail contact
is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
either in Leads or Contacts.
* OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against Gmail
contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets created.

Please provide your inputs.

-Aswath

[Michael Xu (xudong)]

hi Aswatch,

I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:

1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user profile. Then
users don't need to input input/password everytime.

2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from gmail.)

3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task which can
sync automatically.

4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more business
sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/thundbird. Then
users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can install
some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook and
gmail.

--
Regards,
Michael Xu (xudong)
www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: [phone]
9807 | Fax: [phone]


On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana
<[hidden email]>wrote:

> Hello All,
> I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
> Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
>
> Following are the steps.
> * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
> * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
> * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
> * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
> will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
> * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
> OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail contact
> is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
> contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
> either in Leads or Contacts.
> * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against
> Gmail
> contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets created.
>
> Please provide your inputs.
>
> -Aswath
>

[Vince Clark]

A bit off topic, but calendar sync would be nice also.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Xu (xudong)" <[hidden email]>
To: [hidden email], "aswath satrasala" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 2:49:10 AM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: Re: gmail contacts sync in ofbiz SFA

hi Aswatch,

I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:

1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user profile. Then
users don't need to input input/password everytime.

2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from gmail.)

3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task which can
sync automatically.

4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more business
sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/thundbird. Then
users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can install
some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook and
gmail.

--
Regards,
Michael Xu (xudong)
www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: [phone]
9807 | Fax: [phone]


On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana
<[hidden email]>wrote:

> Hello All,
> I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
> Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
>
> Following are the steps.
> * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
> * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
> * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
> * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
> will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
> * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
> OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail contact
> is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
> contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
> either in Leads or Contacts.
> * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against
> Gmail
> contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets created.
>
> Please provide your inputs.
>
> -Aswath
>

[Deyan Tsvetanov]

Hi Aswatch,

there are some indications that Google are working on SyncML support for
contacts. I searched around and found some articles, rumors, etc. If
this is true than syncing could be easily done with sync4j / funambol
which is already integrated in opentaps and will require some fine
tuning and a scheduled job to initiate the sync process.

-- deyan


On Wed, 2009-05-06 at 16:49 +0800, Michael Xu (xudong) wrote:

> hi Aswatch,
>
> I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:
>
> 1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user profile. Then
> users don't need to input input/password everytime.
>
> 2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
> doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from gmail.)
>
> 3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task which can
> sync automatically.
>
> 4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more business
> sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/thundbird. Then
> users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can install
> some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook and
> gmail.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Michael Xu (xudong)
> www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: [phone]
> 9807 | Fax: [phone]
>
>
> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana
> <[hidden email]>wrote:
>
> > Hello All,
> > I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
> > Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
> >
> > Following are the steps.
> > * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
> > * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
> > * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
> > * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
> > will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
> > * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
> > OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail contact
> > is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
> > contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
> > either in Leads or Contacts.
> > * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against
> > Gmail
> > contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets created.
> >
> > Please provide your inputs.
> >
> > -Aswath
> >

[Anil Patel-3]

License used by funambol is not compatible with Ofbiz.

Regards
Anil Patel

On May 6, 2009, at 7:21 PM, Deyan Tsvetanov wrote:

> Hi Aswatch,
>
> there are some indications that Google are working on SyncML support  
> for
> contacts. I searched around and found some articles, rumors, etc. If
> this is true than syncing could be easily done with sync4j / funambol
> which is already integrated in opentaps and will require some fine
> tuning and a scheduled job to initiate the sync process.
>
> -- deyan
>
>
> On Wed, 2009-05-06 at 16:49 +0800, Michael Xu (xudong) wrote:
>> hi Aswatch,
>>
>> I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:
>>
>> 1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user  
>> profile. Then
>> users don't need to input input/password everytime.
>>
>> 2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
>> doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from  
>> gmail.)
>>
>> 3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task  
>> which can
>> sync automatically.
>>
>> 4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more  
>> business
>> sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/
>> thundbird. Then
>> users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can  
>> install
>> some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook  
>> and
>> gmail.
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Michael Xu (xudong)
>> www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: (86)  
>> 135 0135
>> 9807 | Fax: [phone]
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana
>> <[hidden email]>wrote:
>>
>>> Hello All,
>>> I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
>>> Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
>>>
>>> Following are the steps.
>>> * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
>>> * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
>>> * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
>>> * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and  
>>> password
>>> will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
>>> * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads  
>>> in the
>>> OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail  
>>> contact
>>> is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the  
>>> OFBiz
>>> contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to  
>>> be put
>>> either in Leads or Contacts.
>>> * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked  
>>> against
>>> Gmail
>>> contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets  
>>> created.
>>>
>>> Please provide your inputs.
>>>
>>> -Aswath
>>>
>

[aswath narayana]

Hello Michael,
inline...

On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 2:19 PM, Michael Xu (xudong)
<[hidden email]>wrote:

> hi Aswatch,
>
> I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:
>
> 1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user profile. Then
> users don't need to input input/password everytime.

I think it may not be a good idea to store gmail passwords in the OFBiz user
profile.   A better idea, in the long term, is to do SSO to Google Apps.

>
>
> 2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
> doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from gmail.)

Current plan is to sync interactively, hence the user can skip the private
friends.

>
>
> 3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task which can
> sync automatically.

Sure., if we can address 1) & 2) above

>
>
> 4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more business
> sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/thundbird. Then
> users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can install
> some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook and
> gmail.

Agreed.

>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Michael Xu (xudong)
> www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: (86) 135
> 0135 9807 | Fax: [phone]
>
>
>
> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana <
> [hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> Hello All,
>> I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
>> Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
>>
>> Following are the steps.
>> * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
>> * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
>> * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
>> * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
>> will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
>> * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
>> OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail contact
>> is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
>> contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
>> either in Leads or Contacts.
>> * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against
>> Gmail
>> contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets
>> created.
>>
>> Please provide your inputs.
>>
>> -Aswath
>>
>
>

[BJ Freeman]

Might I suggest you consider using Apache James mail server to fetch the
emails and process them. Then hook ofbiz to James
Look at thier mailets.

aswath narayana sent the following on 5/6/2009 7:00 PM:

> Hello Michael,
> inline...
>
> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 2:19 PM, Michael Xu (xudong)
> <[hidden email]>wrote:
>
>> hi Aswatch,
>>
>> I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:
>>
>> 1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user profile. Then
>> users don't need to input input/password everytime.
>
> I think it may not be a good idea to store gmail passwords in the OFBiz user
> profile.   A better idea, in the long term, is to do SSO to Google Apps.
>
>>
>> 2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
>> doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from gmail.)
>
> Current plan is to sync interactively, hence the user can skip the private
> friends.
>
>>
>> 3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task which can
>> sync automatically.
>
> Sure., if we can address 1) & 2) above
>
>>
>> 4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more business
>> sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/thundbird. Then
>> users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can install
>> some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook and
>> gmail.
>
> Agreed.
>
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Michael Xu (xudong)
>> www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: (86) 135
>> 0135 9807 | Fax: [phone]
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana <
>> [hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello All,
>>> I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
>>> Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
>>>
>>> Following are the steps.
>>> * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
>>> * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
>>> * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
>>> * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
>>> will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
>>> * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
>>> OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail contact
>>> is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
>>> contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
>>> either in Leads or Contacts.
>>> * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against
>>> Gmail
>>> contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets
>>> created.
>>>
>>> Please provide your inputs.
>>>
>>> -Aswath
>>>
>>
>

--
BJ Freeman
http://www.businessesnetwork.com/automation
http://bjfreeman.elance.com
http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=1237480&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro
Systems Integrator.

[Michael Xu (xudong)]

Hi Aswath,

Please see my inline comments.

--
Regards,
Michael Xu (xudong)
www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: [phone]
9807 | Fax: [phone]


On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 10:00 AM, aswath narayana <[hidden email]
> wrote:

> Hello Michael,
> inline...
>
> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 2:19 PM, Michael Xu (xudong) <[hidden email]
> > wrote:
>
>> hi Aswatch,
>>
>> I like your idea. Anyway, I have some points:
>>
>> 1) It might be better to maintain gmail account info in user profile. Then
>> users don't need to input input/password everytime.
>
> I think it may not be a good idea to store gmail passwords in the OFBiz
> user profile.   A better idea, in the long term, is to do SSO to Google
> Apps.
>
>>

As I know, only enterprise version supports SSO, right?


>
>>
>> 2) Need to considering both one-way and two-way sync. (As sometime it
>> doesn't make sense to sync your private friends info into CRM from gmail.)
>
> Current plan is to sync interactively, hence the user can skip the private
> friends.
>
>>
hmm...but does that mean every time the user has to manually uncheck those
private friends? It might not be that user friendly.

>
>>
>> 3) Besides the sync button, You can implement a scheduled task which can
>> sync automatically.
>
> Sure., if we can address 1) & 2) above
>
>>
>>
>> 4) Considering not all users are using gmail, it might make more business
>> sense to sync lead/account/contact between SFA and outlook/thundbird. Then
>> users can access those info in offline mode. Furthermore, users can install
>> some tools (like google outlook sync tool) to sync between outlook and
>> gmail.
>
> Agreed.
>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Michael Xu (xudong)
>> www.wizitsoft.com | Office: (8610) 6267 0615 ext 806 | Mobile: (86) 135
>> 0135 9807 | Fax: [phone]
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 4:34 PM, aswath narayana <
>> [hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello All,
>>> I plan to write the sync between Gmail Contacts and OFBiz Leads and
>>> Contacts.  I will be using GData API to accomplish this.
>>>
>>> Following are the steps.
>>> * A sub tab menu item - 'Sync to Gmail' is added to SFA
>>> * The user presses on 'Sync to Gmail' tab
>>> * The user is prompted for Gmail userid and password
>>> * User enters the Gmail user id and password ( Gmail userid and password
>>> will not be stored in the OFBiz system)
>>> * Gmail to OFBiz : Each Gmail contact is checked against the Leads in the
>>> OFBiz using email address as the primary comparison.  If the Gmail
>>> contact
>>> is not found in OFBiz leads, then it will be checked against the OFBiz
>>> contacts.  If it is not found then, the user will be prompted to be put
>>> either in Leads or Contacts.
>>> * OFBiz to Gmail: Each OFBiz lead and OFBiz contact is checked against
>>> Gmail
>>> contact, and if it is not available in Gmail, a Gmail contact gets
>>> created.
>>>
>>> Please provide your inputs.
>>>
>>> -Aswath
>>>
>>
>>
>