Idu-Concept Version 5

idu Software introduced the new and improved Version 5 of their flagship product idu-Concept at the idu User Conference held last week. The new version has built on new technologies that allowed greater coding flexibility which in turn resulted in substantial performance gains. It also has cross-browser compatibility and allows asynchronous programming and speeds up events for a better user experience.

 “The new design features faster data retrieval; faster updates; spreadsheet-based design for familiarity; colour scheme contrast allowing the user to quickly identify editable rows; and a more flexible, interactive front end,” says James Smith, co-founder, director and IT and tech guru at idu Software. “The capture screens are more intuitive with less drill down using in-line editing, and budget types are grouped together to speed up capturing similar accounts.”

There have been some fine-tuning tweaks such as allowing multiple browser tabs for easy toggling and working on more than one module at the same time, and adding a dropdown box to the search function. There has also been the addition of the Context Menu, the “right click” option all PC users will be familiar with, which provides a shortcut list of available functions specific to the row or cell being edited. A few other updates include auto save, column resizing and even context sensitive help, allowing the help document to open to where the user is currently in the system.

“One of the stars of the new system is In-line editing on all budget types,” says Smith. “It allows the user capturing budget or forecast values on the main screen where the values are seen, rather than having to first drill down into the account in order to capture the values, reducing the time required. Thanks to the in-line editing functionality, multiyear budgeting has also been extended to all budget types.”

Keeping the customer and their evolving needs front of mind has also led to the extension of the off-line functionality. With increased need to be able to access their information from anywhere while maintaining its security and where network connectivity is poor or does not exist, data from all budget types can now be exported from client, worked on off-line and then re imported at a later date.

“Using new technologies enabled us to change the look and feel of idu-Concept,” says Kevin Phillips, co-founder and Managing Director of idu. “The focus was to enhance the user experience by speeding up processes and providing more user-friendly, intuitive screens and functionality, and the team has gone a long way to meeting all of these goals with Version 5.”