Prepress
EFI Previews Enhancements to Pace MIS at PRINT 09, Announces Hosted SAAS Option
Tuesday 15. September 2009 - Next Version of Management Software Available Late September Includes Productivity Enhancing Features to Further Streamline Customer Workflows
EFI (NASDAQ: EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, is previewing forthcoming enhancements to its EFI Pace management system with new options and tools aimed at streamlining workflows to improve productivity for print providers. On display in booth 2500 at PRINT 09 (through Sept. 16th at McCormick Place), EFI Pace offers end-to-end print shop and production management for mid-sized commercial and specialty printers.
A new Apple iPhone interface is one of the new features on display at PRINT 09, and available in the next version. This is a true iPhone application, not just a browser viewer, designed with sales people and executive managers in mind. The interface will enable users to estimate jobs, review the status of jobs, review customer accounts and track shipments, all from the palm of their hand. It allows for texting, calling and mapping locations of customers and contacts, as well as the ability to use integration within Pace to seamlessly handle communications and updates from the management system from anywhere using the iPhone toolset and interface.
The next Pace release will extend already robust integration with the broader EFI solution set, adding the Fiery Central workflow solution to the list to provide a better digital workflow in fewer steps. The next version also has new internationalization features to address the needs of the growing international customer base. These include native language support and currency and date format options by locale.
“The upcoming release of Pace, version 22, has many customer-requested features combined with a new EFI integration that elevate the offering to the next level,” said Jay Farr, general manager of EFI Pace. “Its especially important in todays environment for print providers to get the most from the systems they have in place, which is why weve loaded this version with productivity-boosting features and new cool tools like the iPhone app.”
Tathwell Printing of Charlotte, N.C., is a long-time Pace user. President John Rawlins said: “EFI Pace allows us to do more work with less people, from initial customer inquiry through estimating, order entry, production and invoicing. EFI Pace runs the show; we would almost be out of business without it. We look forward to the powerful new features of the upcoming version, which will bring more productivity to our operation.”
EFI Pace is also now available as a hosted solution, giving customers the option to have EFI manage the system with back-up services and full 24/7 maintenance. This option minimizes customer IT costs while increasing online performance availability.
“Since Pace has always been browser-based, it was a natural next step for us to offer it as a hosted solution,” said Marc Olin, senior vice president/general manager, EFI Advanced Professional Print Software (APPS). “We already host over 2,000 customers in our EFI hosting center with our Digital StoreFront and PrinterSite offerings, so we have the infrastructure ready for the robust, secure environment that is needed for a hosted MIS solution.”
EFI Pace includes software modules for estimating, scheduling, production, accounting, sales management, and e-commerce, and uses an appliance model that allows for installation and training in a fraction of the time required by other solutions. This advanced, secure system architecture is customizable, XML driven, JDF and ODBC compliant and allows browser-based access from Mac and PC platforms to better leverage emerging technologies that are defining the digital workflow process.