IBM i Forms Software for the future
As we continue to look ahead for ways to remain the leader in IBM i Forms Software (also called iSeries Forms Software and AS400 Forms Software) we continue to find additional ways to leverage output from the IBM i, iSeries and AS/400 and we have some great news. We will be releasing an update to our Forms software FormFlex V7.0) soon. This new version includes too many enhancements to go over in this short article so I will only cover a few of the major ones. What we have found from our customers that have converted from their legacy IBM i Forms Software to our FormFlex product is that the their old software was too cumbersome/time consuming to use. Some even said they feared making any changes for fear it would stop working! Our ongoing feedback from our customers show that we continue to improve our forms software by adding new features AND at the same time maintain/improve it’s ease of use..
We maintain ongoing conversations with our customers to find their pain point and come up with a solution that works for everyone. We consider software development a two-way street and truly appreciate the open relationship we have with customers to tell us what is on their wish list. In fact, we are always rewriting and modifying our software programs based on customer feedback.
Software is only as good as how useful and helpful it is to customers and the feedback we get helps us stay in alignment with the real-world challenges and opportunities our customers handle on a daily basis.
One major enhancement in our IBM i Forms Software FormFlex was making it possible to Print, Email, Fax, output to PDF and Archive all from within a single Form Definition. With FormFlex there is no need to make copies of a form multiple time in order to be able to Print and PDF and Email etc. FormFlex also has tables that allow information on the form to be defined outside of the Form Definition while printing is controlled by spool data values.
Another major enhancement is the ability to specify the level of security to use when creating a PDF file. In this case, we had some customers asking how they could improve performance and speed up processing time. They tell us that they are converting more and more of their printed document processing to automatic distribution on their IBM Power Systems running IBM i, iSeries or AS400. This increase in use turns seconds of use into minutes of valuable processing time. We are happy to have found the answer to make processing even more efficient and look forward to releasing the update in the near future.
Another part of keeping software current is to closely monitor the latest technology IBM offers us. It doesn’t make sense to be selling software created 10 years ago because it is technically outdated and it wastes valuable processing cycles on the IBM Systems (AS400, iSeries or IBM i). As your software provider, It’s OUR job to be laser focused on both what are customers are experiencing and the most recent IBM i updates, so that you can stay focused on core business. We take this role very seriously and it’s exciting to keep pushing the envelope to find new ways to make our software even faster, better, and relevant to customer needs.
As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, there is more pressure than ever for IT to get in alignment with business outcomes. This was a trending story in 2013 and it is likely to continue to resonate in 2014. Because IT is now so intricately linked to the success of virtually every business goal, every efficiency and productivity issue looms larger.
Well-designed system i software helps companies reduce cost and reassign the employee’s role to spend time on more mission critical projects. But it’s not just about design. It’s about support. As we’ve written before, it is essential for customers to be able to pick up the phone and know that they will get fast and knowledgeable help on any questions or challenges that may arise. I want to share with you a note we received a few weeks ago. We are fortunate to receive a lot of positive feedback from customers and it never gets old. Here is one from a senior technical analyst that uses our SpoolFlex solution for her company.
To Whom It May Concern:
I hope this email finds you and yours well.
I wanted to acknowledge the exceptional technical support
we receive from your technical resource, Anna. Anytime I have picked up the phone
or sent an email to your technical support department, I get
a fast and CORRECT response to my issue with SpoolFlex.
Anna is quick to diagnose our issues or tell us how to set
up something new that we haven’t used in the past.
I only wish all of our technical support resources were as
good as Anna!
These emails make our day. So do the ones asking for more functionality. When you have an open relationship with customers, great things can happen.
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