Headquarters: Longmont, CO
Employees: 1– 5
Industry: Trade Events
Western Winter Sports Representatives Association is a not-for-profit organization that sponsors trade shows for active winter lifestyles and outdoor industries. As a company perpetually on the move, where often events are held on the side of a mountain (at times in a blizzard), it’s critical that their technology solutions sync data and work both online and off.
“We loved working with Codence. The team supported us across the board – from advice about our business down to the nitty-gritty of how our FileMaker app should work.”
– Cami Floros-Garrison, Director of WWSRA
Challenge: Get Your Data, Even on a Mountain
When people sign up to attend or present at a trade show, they register their information through the WWSRA website. The website then stores this information in an SQL database, and the team needed a flexible platform for offline devices: they couldn’t depend on always having access to their website. FileMaker serves as the perfect go-between as an onsite app with the power to integrate with their SQL-based backend.
WWSRA must also check people in on laptops in areas without Wi-Fi. After an event, once they have connectivity, the WWSRA team can tap a button and all of the information automatically syncs across laptops, FileMaker, and their SQL-based website.
WWSRA’s original FileMaker solution allowed them to interact with shadow tables from their website’s SQL database and manually import data from their offline laptops; however, ever-changing business demands meant that WWSRA needed to find someone to help take their solution to the next level.
Next Steps – Insight
The Codence team investigated the backend SQL changes and implemented an elegant solution with FileMaker ESS. The sync mechanisms Codence built resolved conflicts and become a one-click solution that required no fuss.
In addition to updating WWSRA’s outdated data sync approach, Codence designed intuitive reports of meaningful information from field data. WWSRA can now easily see which retailers attended the show, along with their related attendees. The reports demonstrate vendor performance and a range of attendee data from a variety of perspectives.
Further, they needed a team available who could respond during events – either to urgent unplanned requirements, or to some technology problem that imposed itself.
“Codence saved us. In the beginning, we had a lot of urgent issues with our prior database. They came on and during our busy winter season, totally stepped up.” – Cami Floros-Garrison, Director of WWSRA
Reliability, Availability, and Security Anywhere
As a result of their partnership with Codence, WWSRA is able to use their updated FileMaker solution with or without Wi-Fi, anywhere they need to be. After WWSRA gathers the information, they can view succinct reports, share them with stakeholders, and make meaningful business decisions. Whether on a mountain top demonstrating ski equipment, or at a convention center trade show checking in vendors, WWSRA knows that FileMaker’s Workplace Innovation Platform will keep the team over their skis.
If you’d like to explore how to sync data from your offline app, hosted solution, or website give us a call. We’d be happy to lend a hand, Contact us today for a free consultation!
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