With the Summer buzz already well underway for the AV Integration industry, we thought it would be best to touch on some recent and important updates to the SI platform that are designed to make life easier for our users.
While we are always striving to enhance the SI user experience, some aspects of usage standout more so than others and that’s what we’ll strive to focus on here for you today. It is always our mission to bring our readers the most helpful tips to improve their use of SI and stay on top of the latest features.
What are the latest developments in SI’s v23 that can ease daily burdens for integrators?
Well we’ve certainly mentioned it here (as well as in other marketing and press releases) but it bears repeating here again too…
– The Multi-office feature:
The multi-office feature capability has been a long sought feature addition, and after long last, it is here.
What makes this mechanism so interesting is the top down structure it offers for teams that have multiple offices, locations, or are a parent company with subsidiaries underneath them.
This is exactly the usage model for this feature that many teams have longed for since their initial deployment of SI.
So whether you’re setting up a new office in another city or establishing a hierarchy of your existing subsidiary, SI’s multi-office feature has got you covered.
In the SI Control Panel, select the Multi-Office Data Sync section:
From there, just enable your parent office and set the child locations accordingly. Always verify the IP details as well:
For the child offices to sync appropriately, just open the same window from the Control Panel in the child instance of SI (seen above here) and select Child Office:
Once this structure is established, your Multi-Office Publications and Subscriptions need follow accordingly.
Publications will determine what data is available from the Parent office to the child locations.
Subscriptions will determine what data is available in the Child SI Server.
This enables the top down flow of data as directed by the Parent office.
Keep in mind there are some other factors for consideration in this process but essentially the selection of the Parent office sets the stage for your SI multi-office feature mechanism.
- Expanded Custom Fields
While customization of any software is always key to any user’s success with it, SI has continued in its ever-growing expansion of external data storage by increasing and enhancing Custom Fields across the platform.
Whether it’s Service Orders, Tasks for Work Orders, Projects, Clients, or even Service Plans, customization is an area of major focus in v23.
The SI platform now supports up to 75 custom fields for items such as products, labor items, and packages. This is a significant increase from the 26 in previous versions.
Now our users can get creative in, not only the data they add to any Custom Field in SI, but how they use that data. Such examples could include the addition of the data from a Custom Field to a custom report or using the Calculated Custom Fields to derive a value from a Project’s data.
Multiple possibilities for leveraging this feature are now available to our dealers who use SI as a unique data and information repository for their Project bids. This is the type of adaptive flexibility that delivers for the diverse needs of integrators across multiple industries.
- Partial Project Approvals
Another potentially revolutionary feature addition in v23 is the partial Project Approval. That’s right – finally it is live on the SI platform.
Since the addition of Project Approval in SI, our users have asked for this enhancement. And, now our team has finally brought this usage scenario to bear.
In order to use this feature, one simply needs to follow the path of regular, full Project Approval and select the new option on the resultant window:
At the bottom of that screen, you will see the selection box to Approve Project Partially. From there you then actually select the items that will be Approved and the remaining bill of material items will then transfer to a Pending Change Order.
You’ll notice in this next window that you have full access to all Layouts (including your custom ones) so filter for the appropriate group for approval can easily be done by Location, System, Phase, etc. Nice and convenient.
Upon selection of your Approved items, a Pending Change Order will appear on the lower tab directory of your Project Explorer list:
This is a real breakthrough for most of our users, and we hope it is beneficial for you as well.
- Expanded Project and Change Order Management
Of course, many of our users are familiar with Project Management and Change Orders in SI. Nevertheless, there is still a large number of users that are not wholly familiar with effective management tools for Projects and Change Orders in SI via the Workflow Rules and Business Analytics.
The recommended path here for those unfamiliar with these tools is to explore the Workflow Rule mechanism in the SI Control Panel and review the available discrete data fields that can alert appropriate team members about the status of any Project or its resultant Change Orders.
These can be viewed on the Criteria tab and offers some very interesting and specific Triggers for actions of mechanism regarding process flow.
Custom Fields are available here as well further enhance the usage of this dynamic mechanism in SI. So, whether you rely on internal data within the platform or the addition of external data, SI has got you covered with Workflow Rules.
With the appropriate designations (such as Project Status) added to your team’s Workflow Rule notifications, Business Analytics becomes an ever more useful tool when seeking quick, high-level data about the specifics of any Opportunity, Project, Change Order, Task Work Order, or Service Order.
Now a separate window in SI, you can leave this dynamic presentation screen open to effectively get instant updates as data changes in SI throughout the day.
That is to say nothing of the ability to park some of these Analytic presentations on your SI home screen so that you get an opportunity to review the most updated data every time you open the platform.
Just click on the Home Page Analytics icon in the ribbon.
From there, you simply select the specific data analytics you want to see and click save (in the lower right corner).
Interestingly enough this mechanism will allow the mixing of differing types of presentations on the SI Home Screen.
So whether you prefer to see your data in the formats of a Column, Bar, Pie, or a List, you can pack them all on your SI Home Screen to enable ease of data consumption as you need:
This unique capability sets SI apart as it provides the ability for our users to become hyper aware of even the most subtle data modifications in a Project (or other entity) with the corresponding real-time data presented in an easy to consume format.
This synergy alone should be evidence enough for your team to engage in such usage of SI, post haste.
Looking Ahead: SI V23 and beyond
The last few years have seen tremendous updates and enhancements to the System Integrator platform. With each successive development and addition, D-Tools has shown itself to be fully engaged in bringing to market one of the most effective software platforms available.
Further, the updates in v23 (and prior recent releases) reflect our commitment to addressing the real-world challenges faced by system integrators. In addition, what’s to come will not disappoint.
With that in mind, D-Tools System Integrator v23 is more than just a software update—it’s a strategic partner for AV integrators navigating a complex and hectic industry landscape. By combining robust multi-office settings with seamless data synchronization, v23, not only empowers businesses to operate with unprecedented efficiency, but also offers the flexibility most teams need to craft a custom software environment to suit their needs.
Are you ready to experience SI v23? Then visit the D-Tools’ website to request a demonstration of these features or explore the full range of utilization with our PSG training and implementation team. With V23, as your ally, your business will be poised for a brighter and more profitable future.
Be sure to tune back in here for future installments on SI’s v23 and beyond.
Our team is continually evaluating ways to improve and enhance your team’s usage of and experience with our SI platform. Therefore, it behooves you and your team to explore these (and other features) as well by securing time with our Professional Services Group of SI and integration industry veterans in order to maximize your team’s ability to succeed with the software.
In closing…
For more information on these and other features of SI, please see this link: D-Tools v23. You can also review our other videos and our usual support documentation.
You can also get more detailed information about v23 via our upcoming webinars and by enrolling in SI training with our PSG team.
And don’t forget, that’s why we are here…to ensure your success with our product! Be sure to check back here next time for more on v23!!!
