In this new feature, we profile an Equinox developer, looking at the service and its market position. This month Optinet’s General Manager, David Longley, discusses its management solution for optician's practices.
Part of the National Eyecare Group, the UK's largest purchasing group for independent opticians, Optinet is well established, introducing its first solution in 1989 running as a DOS program before making the switch to Equinox in 1995. Since this time, Optinet has increased its user base to 300 with an ambitious target of reaching 600.
Longley explains the reasoning behind the switch, "At the time we were frustrated by the development cycle of the bespoke system we were using; we were tied to their restrictions, which meant long lead times for changes. Personally, I wanted more from the product but the funds weren't available to support the development time needed and the supplier didn't have the resources. Equinox proved to be the answer."
An engineer by profession, Longley taught himself the skills required for development, citing a key strength of Equinox as being simple to learn. Prior to developing in Equinox, Optinet looked at other Windows-based tools but questioned their reliability. Equinox was chosen because it gave control over in-house development, ensuring that they could shape the product to their own time scales.
Optinet's in-house development has provided a highly functional product and the ability to incorporate innovations that give their solution a unique position in the market. Longley speaks proudly of his development of a touch screen cash register that has complex calculations behind many of the visual buttons, complicated by opticians' status as partially VAT exempt. Additionally, he implemented a very complex tool that only accepts orders for products that are currently in range, keeping the entire ordering process electronic and, therefore, more efficient.
Summarising Optinet's experience with Compsoft, Longley comments that having a UK based provider has given them an ability to quickly fix critical issues when they have arisen; recently, an upgrade to a popular browser caused the product to falter. Being able to meet Equinox experts quickly ensured that the issue was rectified without unnecessary inconvenience to Optinet's customers, "I have been pleased with Compsoft's support over the years. The strength and stability of both the company and the software wins the day for my company and its product."
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