Hollywood, FL – March 22, 2011 – “Down Under” is getting a big thumbs up from ScheduALL, the global leader in resource management and collaboration software for the broadcast and media industries.
Australia, New Zealand and the entire Asia/Pacific region are key areas of focus for ScheduALL, whose clients include most of the area’s largest broadcasters. ScheduALL is continuing to commit significant resources, staff and attention to building and enhancing relationships and expanding its footprint throughout the APAC region – and to “Making Genius Possible” Down Under.
In March, Sydney, Australia was the setting for two lively strategizing and networking events uniting members of ScheduALL’s management team with executives and product users from major APAC broadcast organizations. Both events were facilitated by Joel Nirenberg, the company’s Vice President of Product Management, and Stefan Nied, Vice President of Worldwide Operations.
“As a global supplier of media, our presence on the ground in Australia is very important to ScheduALL and crucial to the success of our relationships in the region,” said Nied.
The first of the two APAC events, the Pacific Users Group was attended by 31 broadcast professionals who are hands-on users of ScheduALL’s core scheduling system – the gold standard of the industry – and related products and technologies. This event was followed a day later by the Pacific Executive Summit, which brought together 14 top strategic leaders of several of the company’s largest broadcasting organizations, all current ScheduALL clients.
Both meetings were the latest in a series of Users Groups and Summits that ScheduALL has conducted around the world over the past year to foster dialogue and deepen relationships with its global client base. These invitation-only events serve as open forums where leading broadcast, production and transmission executives and users of ScheduALL products can freely discuss ideas, industry trends and business challenges, as well as how the company’s products are helping them meet their goals.
Attendees at both events also had the opportunity to preview the company’s newest technologies, designed to significantly improve resource management, workflow, interoperability, connectivity and collaboration across the global community. They also learned new ways of maximizing the benefits of ScheduALL’s product line to help them meet their business challenges and obtain desired outcomes.
The valuable feedback provided by clients also benefits ScheduALL, which uses their comments and suggestions to help the company continuously refine its offerings and develop new products that help clients remain competitive and successful, despite ever-changing challenges and market conditions. By always striving to reach the next level to help foster success throughout the industry, ScheduALL is proving the passion and conviction behind its tagline: “Making Genius Possible.”
“We are continuously exploring new ways to help our client community enhance their abilities to collaborate, so it was very worthwhile to share our product roadmap and get direction on our long-term product profile,” said ScheduALL’s Nirenberg. “In turn, the executives provided valuable feedback that will help us strategize industry-specific solutions to their issues and concerns, and move our products forward in the most beneficial way possible for their organizations,” he added.
At the recent Pacific Users Group, the 29 hands-on product users and two prospective clients in attendance work in systems, technology and product management at the region’s leading broadcast companies, including Australian Broadcasting Corporation, DPS Broadcasting, EFILM/Deluxe, Foxtel, Frame/Set/Match, Globecast, Global Television, Network Ten, Nine Network Australia, SBS, Television New Zealand and WinTV.
The event’s unique focus and informal setting encouraged peer-to-peer discussion, networking and interaction. The group enthusiastically discussed their experiences using their ScheduALL systems, with members freely sharing suggestions and advice with their colleagues for getting the most out of the company’s products.
In addition, lively and informative presentations were given by three of the product users in attendance to help inform and educate their fellow ScheduALL product users. Bradley Fisher, who works in Systems Research and Development at the Australian Broadcasting Company, described how ScheduALL’s email technologies help make communication more efficient between users. John Mulrennan, Business System Manager at Television New Zealand, described the benefits of ScheduALL’s Timekeeper module. And long-time product user Justin Rowley, Broadcast Planning and Projects Manager at Foxtel, entitled his presentation “Don’t be Afraid: 15 Years of Growth with ScheduALL.”
“All of the members of the Pacific Users Group were very enthusiastic about ScheduALL’s products and eager to learn all they could from their peers,” said ScheduALL co-facilitator Nied. “The event also stirred up a great deal of thought and interest and encouraged participants to explore new ways that ScheduALL can help them do business.”
ScheduALL also held a Pacific Executive Summit, which attracted 14 broadcast executives from companies that currently utilize ScheduALL’s core scheduling product to manage resources, automate workflow and maximize ROI. In addition to networking and discussing industry concerns, challenges and trends, attendees discussed the various ways they were using ScheduALL products throughout their organizations to achieve their goals. They were also interested in learning more about ScheduALL’s newest collaboration technologies, which enable users to connect and share resources across the global supply chain in real time.
“I found it very valuable to have the opportunity to broaden my knowledge of future directions we might go using ScheduALL products,” said Summit attendee Pauline Evans, Business Systems Manager of SBS, a division of Special Broadcasting Systems. “It was also great to meet the ScheduAll team face-to-face in our own time zone and network with other regional broadcasters who use ScheduALL products.”
Her comments were echoed by Donna Reid, TV Services Director at Premier Media Group, Australia’s leading sports producer and broadcaster. “The Summit proved useful in helping us understanding the client base of ScheduALL in this part of the world. It highlighted the talent behind the product and gave attendees invaluable insight into the future, both in terms of industry trends and breakthrough workflows. It was clear that such initiatives will deliver real time efficiencies and a greater level of transparency across end users. That transparency, when applied to multiple sites, has the potential to carve out a new path in the sharing and collaboration of information, facilities and human resources.”
These capabilities are delivered by ScheduALL’s ground-breaking collaboration platform, which is comprised of ERMa (Enterprise Resource Management Application) and AVvA (Accurately Verify Vendor Availability). Together, these technologies are bringing businesses, facilities and resources together in unique new ways.
ERMa delivers true business-to-business resource management connectivity and productivity by enabling users with ScheduALL systems to communicate and collaborate with their partners across the global supply chain. Users can quickly and accurately locate resources, view available inventories and book needed resources directly through their ScheduALL systems, resulting in significantly improved project management and maximized ROI.
The AVvA platform complements these collaborative capabilities by empowering broadcasters and other enterprise users to use their ScheduALL systems to locate, book and integrate independent contractors, freelancers and third-party providers directly into project workflows in real time. Vendors appear as internal resources on users’ ScheduALL systems, with up-to-date information on availability, price, location and quality.
“Many of the concerns expressed by the APAC executives at the Summit align very well with the types of products we are developing – especially ERMa and AVvA, which address their desires for stronger and more interactive connectivity and collaboration across the global community,” said ScheduALL’s Nirenberg.
Added his colleague Nied, “The Pacific Users Group and Executive Summit were both resounding successes, with strong attendance and vested participation making for highly productive sessions. Both events offered valuable information exchanges between ScheduALL and our client partners, and provided forums for local media executives and product users to compare notes on our technologies, where their industry is going and what they need from their partners and ScheduALL to keep moving forward.”
About ScheduALL
ScheduALL is the leading global provider of Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) solutions for the broadcast, satellite/transmission, media, and entertainment industries. As a market leader with a 20-year track record of success, ScheduALL is clearly recognized as the partner of choice for operational management solutions with over 1,200 installations in more than 39 countries. The modular approach and scalable product sets provide a collaborative platform for users across multiple environments. ScheduALL clients include all of the major U.S. broadcast networks and BBC, FOX News Network, The Associated Press, Intelsat, SES World Skies, Turner Studios, Mediaset, Technicolor, Deluxe, CBC, ABC (Australia) and RTL.
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