I have not been this excited in a long time.
By the end of February, we should be in our new building. Sixteen thousand square feet of renovated space to hold the growing company. Big windows and lots of room and heat and AC! Our current place has served us well, but I am not going to miss the 20 foot icicles (that look more like stalactites) hovering over your head as you walk in and out of the building. Or the fire alarm going off for no reason on a regular basis – to the point the fire department just might not come any more. I will not miss having to pry open the elevator doors to pull people out when it stops running. And, we will have to say good-bye to the squirrels living in the ceiling too. There is nothing like being startled when a big fuzzy tail drops out of the vent in the ceiling. Priceless.
In March, I have the pleasure of heading to South Africa for what will be the “InfoEd Annual Meeting”. South Africa has done an exceptional job of rolling out Research Outputs to over 11 institutions, as well as completing the initial implementation for another nine InfoEd Modules that will be rolled out to a number of institutions this year. I cannot wait to meet some of the key people and stakeholders who have not been able to make it across the pond to see us. I look forward to shaking hands with others I have already met too.
SPIN 2.0 will be released. This is a brand new user interface with a 2011 high performance engine. The best database in the world will now have the best user experience as well.
Our first round of educational materials will be released. I am excited about filling this long-time gap.
We have re-enforced our documentation team; doubling the staff there to ensure we provide the best we can.
In April, Edith Cowen University (ECU) will be hosting the next semi-annual Australasian ICAG meeting in Perth, Australia (Western Australia). ECU as you may or may not know, lit up five new modules last year. PD, PT, AT, ESA, and Enterprise. Currently they are working on implementing the HS Compliance modules. Western Australia is also the home of the University of Western Australia and our own Damian Davini.
Then we need to get ready for the U.S. User Group Meeting in Saratoga, New York. This is about twenty miles north of last year’s U.S. UGM. Saratoga is a great historical city with lots to do and see and all within walking distance. Many attendees of last year’s UGM wished that there was more to do within walking distance, so we have moved the meeting to a beautiful location which offers an significant amount of activities and entertainment including ghost tours, wine tasting and casino night. The famous flat track in Saratoga does not start up till August of this summer so you will not be able to play the ponies, but the harness track is right around the corner, so you should be able to parlay your Universities F&A to help pay for some new lab space.
Then we are looking at the release of Version13 which includes new eForms, dramatic performance improvements, new “lightning fast” budgeting in PD/PT, new compliance development wizards, etc etc. Version 13 is going to be a great release for sure. We are coining this release the “PI friendly release.” Version 13 release will also be the first release to see us use Automated testing as an integral part of our regression testing.
At some point we are looking to again do another UK/Ireland User Group Meeting. The last one was well attended and we hope we can get another one going again this year.
ORBIS (which will be renamed when released) will also be unveiled this year. At some point, we will share what this is going to do. I would tell you now, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise!
Some of you have already become aware, but we have created a new role in InfoEd that we call the Customer Care Representative. Over the coming months, Julia will be reaching out to our current customer base to check in, introduce herself, and tell you how we have created her position to keep an eye on our clients and ensure that you have a voice within our organization. When she reaches out to you, please spare a few moments for an introductory meeting so that she can get to know you and make your InfoEd experience a positive one
So much more is coming too… but enough writing… time to go get it all done!
Thanks again for everyone’s continued support. We have grown because of you and the relationships with you. As always, if your InfoEd experience is not living up to you expectations, please let me know ASAP.
Eddie
