Court Hammer

Testimonials

SME Gateway adopted the JobTrack system from stSoftware

SME Gateway adopted the JobTrack system from stSoftware in October 2012. Since then the SME Gateway staff has increased by 40%. There are usually 50 concurrent projects under management. A typical month would see more than 30 jobs priced and bid.

JobTrack is used to coordinate the workflow to achieve these throughputs. The iCAL interface provides an intuitive, real time interface to the status of all jobs and bids to available everyone, wherever they are. The Apple calendar, we use also allows us to directly link to the quote or job and add material or notes at will.

We chose JobTrack in the first instance because it gave us operational flexibility. As a dynamic business, we don’t want to be tied to the office or isolated from our businesses processes and information when on the road.

You might think the iCAL interface is icing on the cake since JobTrack already provides access to our data from any browser, anywhere, anytime; but it is more important than that. People need to proactively access data when using the browser; with iCAL it is brought to their attention when it needs to be and provides them with immediate access to the data they need to act on. We are not limited to one Calendar. JobTrack allows us to create Calendars which support specific functions and roles. For instance, there is a Calendar to support bidding, one that supports invoicing, one for general administrative tasks.

Importantly for us, with JobTrack our data is also secure. JobTrack’s Access Control Lists (ACLs) ensure that staff have access only to the particular data they are authorized to access, every change is logged, including the identity and time of access, and all transactions can be reversed if required.

While JobTrack is a solid foundation, the real gem is the support we get from the people at stSoftware. When we need to use the technology in very specific ways, stSoftware will not only make it happen quickly, they can do so affordably.

Geoff Casey
Chief Operating Officer SME Gateway Limited ABN 51 106 981 560
Suite 3, 6 Kennedy Street,
(PO Box 4194)
Kingston ACT 2604

Independent Education Union NSW/ACT

stSoftware's expertise is in converting legacy systems to web-based (Cloud) applications, enhancing the critical core business functions and sustainability of our clients operations.

Independent Education Union NSW/ACT
Legacy System Migration
Challenge

The client, the NSW ACT IEU, is a union for all staff working in non-government schools and private business and English colleges, and for teachers working in private and community-based early childhood centres throughout NSW and the ACT. A twenty-year-old legacy system was being used to manage memberships for their 30,000 members.

The legacy membership system was a critically important asset, underpinning the membership process, data storage and revenue management for the organization. The system had many limitations however. It was incompatible with new technology, expensive to maintain and at increasing risk of failure. It was straining to handle the demands required of it and regularly failing, which was frustrating for staff and adversely impacting productivity. It also required separate installation on each desktop computer and when problems occurred, there was a heavy reliance on the one developer who knew how to maintain the system. The availability of ongoing support for maintenance of a system of this kind was also dwindling.

The existing system held twenty years of membership data and preservation of this was a paramount concern. Many members of the NSW ACT IEU move in and out of employment and it is vital to retain long-term information to ensure data is complete and to avoid the complication of inadvertently creating duplicate records. The NSW ACT IEU also sought to minimize change management issues and wanted any new system to be comfortable for existing users to work with.

NSW ACT IEU approached stSoftware in late 2009 seeking a solution.

Solution
  • stSoftware’s expertise is in converting legacy systems to web-based (Cloud) applications, enhancing the critical core business functions and sustainability of our clients’ operations.
  • By being cloud-based, its system is accessible from any location using any internet-enabled device.
  • In early 2010, stSoftware began working on tailoring a solution. This solution also included successfully migrating two decades worth of data to the new web-based membership system.
  • The new cloud membership system also replaced many other disparate IEU systems, centralising all data into one easily accessible resource.
  • The new system was launched in April 2011.
Result

A survey conducted with primary users in September 2011 indicated that converting their old legacy system into stSoftware’s Cloud based technology had generated significant improvements. These included:

  • The ability of staff to access and process data from any location via a browser was a significant improvement over the previous office based system. This feature enables staff working out in the field or from home to access and update data as needed.
  • The new system has captured all data recorded in the old legacy system and presented it in a new, easy to access format. The system also enables staff to roll back data to a specified date to assist with audit checks.
  • By being based in the cloud, there were no desktop installation requirements which meant staff could be up and running straight away. It also eliminated the potential for technology incompatibility that could occur with the former legacy system and newer local computers.
  • Maintenance issues can be dealt with remotely which has also speeded up response times.
Summary
  • A robust membership system that has been built using the latest cloud technology. By using stSoftware’s proven cloud technology framework, IEU is able to enjoy the benefits of ongoing innovation and improvements that come from web-based technology without worrying about it being out of date
  • A system that is scalable and simple to maintain
  • Easy access from internet-enabled devices, including iPads and smartphones which is particularly beneficial to off-site staff
  • Access to a reliable and responsive support team who can address any questions quickly, and customize and add extra functionality remotely to suit user requirements.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc

Smith Barney uses the ST Software Engine to develop its Equity Research Database Platform.

Independent Education Union NSW/ACT

Smith Barney uses the ST Software Engine (Cloudblocks Framework) to develop its Equity Research Database Platform. Designed as a single unified global system this database will be deployed to over 1,500 concurrent users in more than 50 different locations around the world.

Our decision to use the ST Engine as the foundation for our system proved to be cost-effective both in terms of development time and resources. ST enabled us to meet our aggressive production schedule and allowed us to rapidly deliver our new product line to market.

Further, the scalability, data processing speed and ability of the engine to handle complex business rules and multiple security levels has given us a major edge over our competitors. The journaling, archive and audit capabilities ensure that we comply with all requirements of regulatory authorities. And the consistent look and feel, across the more than 400 screens of our application, has dramatically reduced the implementation and training time required for each of the system users.

We also found the staff at ASP Converters (parent company of stSoftware) to be extremely intelligent and highly competent. Their ability to understand of our system needs from concept right through to implementation ensured that nothing short of a world class system was delivered.

I would be happy to recommend the ST Software Engine and the staff of ASP Converters to any potential customers.

Gavin Skinner
Director Global Head of Database
Smith Barney Equity Research

Solutions IE Pty Ltd

ST Software's Job Track application has provided us with the necessary tools to effectively manage client work

Independent Education Union NSW/ACT

Solutions IE Pty Ltd is a serviced based business with a central call/administration centre and a distributed workforce. ST Software's Job Track application has provided us with the necessary tools to effectively manage client work requests from the initial inquiry through to completion.

Customer service can instantly retrieve up-to-date information for a client using any relevant information. A full history of previous communication with the client along with details such as Quotes, Jobs, Invoices, are all available at a glance. Further details of a particular item can be retrieved with a single click of the mouse

The web base access allows immediate real-time data to be viewed by our team of specialists at anytime wherever there is access to the Internet. ST Software's Job Track application allows them to check their work from home each afternoon. This is ideal as our specialists are based throughout Australia.

ST Server's alert mechanisms inform the appropriate user when work is required at each stage. The escalation facility ensures that management is aware of any potential issues. This improves on overall performance including cash flow.

ST Software knows our business and has worked with us to tailor a system that is specific to our requirements.

Joe Sultana
General Manager

Fusion Marketing Design Print Media

st Software's job track is a phenomenal tool that any business can benefit from.

Independent Education Union NSW/ACT

Fusion Marketing Design Print Media

I am writing this letter to congratulate you on a first class product that has streamlined our business in our sales and production procedures and enabled Fusion to run more efficiently. Being a Marketing and Graphic Design Agency we were constantly looking for ways to improve our sales tracking and production flow.

We looked at many different systems including CRM’s from many different companies, all of which proved to fall short of our requirements. ST Software’s job track is a phenomenal tool that any business can benefit from.

The flexibility ST Software offers fits Fusions needs like a glove.

Thanks again for the great product.

ST Software knows our business and has worked with us to tailor a system that is specific to our requirements.

Paul McClenahan
Director