Innovations Abound at AVAware in 2015!

“Move forward or wither away.” While this same “truism” can be applied to many industries, it holds especially true for technology companies. At AVAware, we believe that constant innovation is the key to both our longevity and the continued success of our valued clients.

AVAproject 2015

AVAproject users saw the development of several exciting new technologies in 2014 and the evolution of even more existing features. Building upon the powerful new cloud-based capabilities introduced last year, this year’s AVAproject is more feature rich than ever before. One look at the extensive ‘release notes’ will reveal just how much AVAware’s development team has packed into this single update. In fact, it is the largest single update ever released in the history of the product!

Enhancements have been made to nearly every aspect of AVAproject, the following is only a brief list of some of the exciting new additions:

• Expanded reporting and data collection features.
  
  

• Two-level project security with multi-factor authentication and industry standard encryption.
  
  

• Supplement the Submittal Package with pages extracted from any PDF file. – Perfectly rendered & scaled with standard page borders and numbering.
  
  

• Powerful new tools for managing and maintaining your catalog library.
  
  

...and so many more!!

In fact, the ‘Release Notes’ for this version of AVAproject are longer and most feature-packed than those of any release since its first! As impressive at this is, however, it is only the beginning... many more powerful features and additions are planned for 2015, and are already being worked on by AVAware developers.

AVAproject Fusion 2015

This most recent addition to AVAware’s software lineup has been garnering attention that exceeded even our greatest expectations. Far more than merely another “line of business” application, AVAproject Fusion competes head-on with mainstream ‘business intelligence’ and reporting applications – and comes out ahead every time!

AVAproject Fusion is actually two powerful software applications in one. To begin with, its report creation and generation capabilities are absolutely second-to-none. Fusion features a revolutionary user-interface and allows anyone to manage and exploit their data like a professional. Begin by creating complex SQL-type queries and filters – even using programming elements such as variables – even having no experience whatsoever. Use those queries and filters to build a virtually unlimited number of columnar reports and pivot tables – analyzing and displaying your project data like never before.

Users can now share their Fusion creations with others – from the same company or not – made even more convenient by AVAware’s new cloud-based platform. Others can benefit from your creative expertise and apply your filters and report designs with their own data.

If that wasn’t enough, Fusion doesn’t stop there! AVAware has introduced, new for 2015, the “Fusion Integration Kit”. This powerful set of features and tools are designed from the ground up to organize and prepare project data for live integration into your accounting/ERP package of choice. This is accomplished through the use of one of our growing collection of Integration Plug-Ins, that allow AVAproject Fusion to exchange data with many popular accounting/ERP systems – all live, with no importing or exporting required.

AVAwire Newsletter

AVAwire readers may have already noticed that we have adopted a new format for our newsletter - beginning with this issue. The AVAwire layout has been dramatically streamlined, laying to rest the multi-column articles of the past and moving towards a modern ‘content management system’. Brief summaries introduce feature articles that can then be summoned ‘on-demand’. We believe this makes for a far more “readable” layout, which offers convenience access to articles without putting nearly as many miles on your mouse’s scroll wheel.

Product Catalogs

AVAware is committed to providing not only the largest, but the most comprehensive and content-rich product catalogs available anywhere.

In 2014, we announced several new innovative features that were added to the underlying technology used to create our industry-leading catalogs. Our users will be pleased to know that we haven’t announced everything... there are even more powerful features yet to be released this year, and all of them were made possible by those very innovations.

We refer to our new catalog format simply as “Rev 3.0”. As new catalogs are released they will be systematically updated to the new format. As such, users will be required to upgrade to the latest version of AVAproject to take advantage of them.

AVAproject users can log into the customer portal at www.AVAware.com to see the complete list of new features and enhancements to both of these exciting products… or for that matter – just download them and see for yourself! Everyone else is invited to contact us to arrange a demonstration... and see how AVAproject and AVAproject Fusion can change the way you do business forever!

Add Your Own PDFs to the Submittal Document

Regardless of how much rich content is provided in the AVAproject ‘Submittal Document’, users often have additional material they would like to see added to it. The latest release of AVAproject now makes this possible.

AVAproject does an exceptional job of creating a ‘Submittal Document’ from beginning to end, using the information provided in any given project. Between the concise reports, the beautifully rendered architectural drawings and the supplementary data provided in the form of ‘Catalog Cuts’ and ‘Attachments’ – the software has pretty much covered all the bases. Despite all this, there is invariably additional information that users would like to have included with their submittals. Often such material can include text documents, drawings created using applications such as AutoCAD and cut sheets for products that do not appear in AVAware catalogs.

In the past, users were advised to install a software product such as Adobe Acrobat (full version) to add the necessary sheets and intersperse amongst the ones created by AVAproject. This process does work and it “gets the job done”, but what it doesn’t do is create a perfectly consistent document...

» Click here to read full article...

Catalog Cuts that are Simply... A 'Cut' Above

Many detailing packages may offer some form of catalog cut feature.. but AVAproject has taken this popular feature to an entirely different level.

The addition of ‘catalog cuts’ to the hardware section of a ‘Submittal Package’, or to supplement a ‘Hardware Schedule’ is a staple in the architectural openings industry. In terms of a software feature, what could be simpler.. add some cut sheets to the end of the document. AVAproject’s treatment of ‘catalog cuts’ is a perfect example of how thoughtful design and brilliant execution can result in something extra special.

Delivering this seemingly “simple” feature is no simple matter, however. Certainly, not when done the AVAware way...

» Click here to read full article...

All Businesses Are NOT Created the Same!

Everyone knows that every business is different.. everyone except those software vendors that try to push the same accounting solution onto everyone. Some people just don’t get it.

Whether you’re running your own “Mega” corporation or are bidding jobs from your basement, your business is your own and there isn’t another quite like it. It’s for this reason that AVAware created AVAproject Fusion, now featuring the “Fusion Integration Kit”. The powerful suite of features is all about choice – your choice of which accounting/ERP system bests suits your own “Mega” business...

» Click here to read full article...

Share Projects Easily... and Securely!

AVAproject has always made is easy to share project files amongst team members or with your vendors. New security features make it possible to do so with complete confidence that your confidential information will remain confidential.

The advent of cloud-based technologies has raised awareness – and concern – for data security like never before. Modern software has made it easier than ever to share information whenever one likes, with whomever they like. With all this exciting new capability comes an unfortunate consequence. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the mainstream business and technology press, knows that there has been a great deal of emphasis placed on security and privacy in recent years. Whether it be unwanted surveillance, hackers having fun, or competitors trying get a peek at your data – the overall concern remains the same; How to make information convenient and accessible, while keeping it safe from unwanted eyes.

In the security trade, it’s generally held that convenience is in direct opposition to security. Put differently, “as convenience increases, security diminishes”. AVAware believes we found the perfect balance; project security in which you can be completely confident, but your co-workers need not even realize is being used! Sound too good to be true? Not for AVAproject 2015...

» Click here to read full article...

Stay 'in Touch' – With Social Media

A wise man one said, “In this age of communication – if you’re out of touch... you’re out of business”. AVAware has made it easier than ever to stay “in touch”, by extending our presence on several popular social media services.

Since its launch in 2010, the AVAwire Newsletter has been used to keep AVAware clients, and the industry, up to date on news and events related to their products and activities. In 2015, the world has changed and for many, email is no longer the mechanism-of-choice for communication over the internet. For them, social media has picked up where email got left behind.

It’s for them and others that have embraced the social media tsunami, that AVAware has established a presence on four of the most popular services.

Beginning in 2015, all news and updates relating to the release of software and subscription content will be broadcast via the four supported social media services. All AVAware clients (and other interested persons) are strongly encouraged to “connect”, “circle”, “friend” or “follow” – on at least one, if not several, of their preferred social media services.

Believe us when we tell you... you’re going to want to know about what’s coming throughout this year!