Enex transitions to farmerswife
Ralph Joachim, manager of systems & development at Enex, shares how the cooperative global news provider has maximised the potential of farmerswife’s API and how the tool was customised meet the organisation’s specific requirements.
What was the reason behind your decision to search for a new system?
One major challenge we faced was our reliance on ScheduALL, a hardware-based booking system housed in our data centre, which required multiple servers. It was imperative that we eliminated this hardware and find a solution that was more accessible and flexible. Additionally, ScheduALL was not cloud-based, making it incredibly difficult for remote access. This became a significant problem during the COVID-19 pandemic when many of our employees had to work from home. We had to establish complex remote VPN connectivity to ensure at least one colleague could connect to the booking system. Furthermore, extracting and synchronising data from the system to our custom invoicing and processing app was a highly customised process. We had to establish a connection to the database using traditional methods, and the application had to be run in-house to obtain the necessary permissions. These restrictions and security constraints prompted us to seek a more flexible solution, particularly during the API era.
We were determined to find a hosted platform that could handle the updating and maintenance of our system. As the hardware and licences became outdated, we needed a reliable system where the creators could assume responsibility for maintenance and hosting. This is precisely what farmerswife offers. It is a scheduling application that closely resembles our previous system’s excellent timeline experience, but without the heavy burden of constraints. However, there were some challenges with granularity, which we addressed during our testing phase two years ago with the help of farmerswife’s developers. They made significant efforts to add the missing features and improve the overall user experience, resulting in version 6.8, which introduced these changes. I was actively involved in the beta program, providing valuable input to ensure the system met our requirements.
Since switching to farmerswife, the system has functioned smoothly, although there are still some desired features. The ability to synchronise data between farmerswife and our custom app has been crucial, allowing us to work seamlessly from any location. The well-structured API, although initially missing a few methods, was quickly improved by the developers.
How is the API experience?
The API experience was a major factor that initially drew my interest to farmerswife. Upon visiting the farmerswife website, I noticed the excellent documentation and how closely it aligned with what I was searching for. However, there were a few minor issues that prevented us from immediately making the switch. Thankfully, the developers at farmerswife were incredibly helpful and responsive, promptly addressing our concerns and adding the necessary elements to enhance the effectiveness of the API. This level of communication spanned over a long period, allowing me to thoroughly test the API and provide detailed feedback on what needed to be improved. The good news is that farmerswife implemented these changes, not just for our benefit, but also for the benefit of other clients. One particularly significant update was the ability to change the granularity of the timeline, as initially it was limited to 15 minutes. This adjustment, which can now be set to five minutes or even one minute, greatly improved the usability of the API. Although this change was the most visible, there were other subtle enhancements as well.
How is the API being used?
The API plays a crucial role in ensuring that we always have a copy of the data on our side. The synchronisation process is seamless, occurring automatically every 10 minutes. This level of reliability is essential for us, especially since the application operates on the cloud. We have never experienced any downtime or disruptions since implementing farmerswife, and even if there were a server issue, we would still have access to the bookings and know who is where. This provides us with peace of mind and allows us to wait for any downtime to be resolved without being blind to the important booking information. The API functionality is invaluable to us as it ensures that we always have the data on our app, regardless of any server issues. It provides a redundancy that is crucial for our operations. We are extremely satisfied with how well the API works, including the structure and the changes that have been implemented based on our requests. Our app displays data from farmerswife but with additional modifications and references. Our colleagues love the flexibility and convenience of working from home and accessing the bookings app from anywhere, even if there were initially missing features.
The API has exceeded our expectations and provided the flexibility and convenience we were looking for.
What other apps have you integrate with API?
The API is utilised at various stages within our internal app, allowing for seamless integration with other APIs. For example, in addition to farmerswife, we also use APIs such as Mailchimp for automatic mailing and communication. These APIs serve as a remote control, enabling us to efficiently utilise the data obtained from different platforms and send it out as needed. Our team app integrates several APIs, including our own CMS for video content, a calendar productivity app, and a mailing campaign platform. We even have connections with Twitter.
It’s important to note that these other APIs are separate from farmerswife and serve different purposes. While there was an initial idea to automatically send bookings from farmerswife, we opted for manual control and verification to ensure accuracy and reliability. This means that confirmations are still sent manually after the necessary verification process.
What was your experience with the onboarding process?
The implementation of farmerswife software was not originally intended to cover the specific requirements we had. However, we had to find a way to make it work due to the interest and need from our team. It was a challenge to transition from our previous application to farmerswife, as it required significant effort and expertise to build the necessary modifications and integrations. While it may not be a plug-and-play solution, we are satisfied with the results and the flexibility it provides.
Despite the additional work required, being able to access and utilise farmerswife from anywhere has been a game-changer for us. Additionally, the ease of maintenance and upgrades has been a major improvement compared to our previous system, which was plagued with downtime and complicated procedures. The seamless and quick updates provided by farmerswife have exceeded our expectations and ensured that we are always up to date with the latest version. This has been a significant advantage for us, as it allows us to focus on our work without worrying about the maintenance and compatibility issues we faced before.