New features bring easy productivity

A quick glance inside the new ShoWorks 2016
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But therein lies the catch; by moving your
data storage and processing offsite, you are
also putting all of your faith in the company
that not only stores your data on
their servers (Amazon, Google,
Dropbox, Apple, Microsoft), but
also the companies that provide
transport to that storage location
(your Internet Service Provider).
One small hiccup and your entire
fair is on hold causing a crippling
effect if Murphy’s Law raises its
head on check-in, judging, or
auction day.
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dormant in the four years since. The wait for ShoWorks 2016
reflects careful placement of the new technologies in just the
right places.
Running the entire fair in the “Cloud”?
A familiar buzzword that has peaked in today’s conversation is
the term “cloud”. For those unfamiliar with cloud computing,
it generally is a metaphor for the Internet, but specifically
refers to the online storage (and sometimes processing) of
your data. The cloud offers benefits by offloading the need for
substantial hardware investment while staying accessible
from practically anywhere, anytime, from any device. But
therein lies the catch; by moving your data storage and
processing offsite, you are also putting all of your faith in the
companies that not only store your data on their servers
(Amazon, Google, Dropbox, Apple, Microsoft), but also the
companies that provide transport to that storage location
(your Internet Service Provider). One small hiccup and your
entire fair is on hold. For example, outages last year afflicted
all of those companies for at least several hours and on one
occasion, almost an entire day. Given the nature of a fair that
packs an entire season into only a matter of days, such
interruption – even as simple as an Internet outage – could
have a crippling effect if Murphy’s Law raises its head on
check-in, judging, or auction day. One simple example, have
you ever been to a large gathering such as a football game or
concert and tried to depend on decent Internet access? The
bandwidth allocated to cell towers and even land based
connectivity is engineered on expected average demand
across the entire year, not when Miranda Lambert performs
on the night of your auction.
Even more so is the ever mounting concern of privacy. With
your data in the cloud, you are basically trusting that the
hosting company has the controls in place to deter a
compromise of your data. Preventing compromise is a holy
grail at best, and we can only hope as we have seen just
about every company hacked at one time or another. The
new saying is “If you don't hold your data, you don't own your
data” and the courts have begun to prove this. Cloud
providers have a strong claim to data that has been created
on their cloud servers versus that which was simply uploaded
from the owner’s device. Facebook and Instagram have
already made us aware that they have an enormous amount
of power and say in what they do with “our” data.
Amidst these fears, let’s not forget that storage in the cloud is
usually more reliable and less prone to data loss than the
single hard drive you have in your dusty fair office. The
bottom line is that there is no perfect single solution and its
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best to know when and where to apply cloud technology.
ShoWorks 2016 tackles the cloud dilemma with a hybrid
approach: use the cloud in non-urgent functions while keeping
local processes at the heart of operations. The mantra in
ShoWorks’ cloud philosophy is to make sure the show goes on
when (and we mean “when”) Internet access is hindered. For
example, non-time-critical tasks like backups, temporary
storage, registration and transferring/synchronizing users to
and from mobile devices and web browsers are a perfect
match for the cloud, while running the auction or generating
reports are best left for local processing on your computers.
ShoWorks has used this method for years in online entries
and judging results, but the new ShoWorks 2016 version
advances accessibility to your data via any web browser.
Using the new ShoWorks Cloud, administrators can search,
view and even update any entry, anytime, anywhere – from a
smartphone, tablet, or laptop. These changes are sync’d back
to the master copy stored locally on your machines just as
reliably as online entries have been for many years.
Livestock traceability and RFID
New features bring easy productivity
The very core of the new ShoWorks 2016 upgrade reflects
many smaller slices of features that seasoned ShoWorks
users have requested over the years. A complete list of these
can be found on the website www.fairsoftware.com under
“What’s New”, but let’s take a look at some of the highlights.
the scanning of an entry QR code or RFID ear tag as they exit
the fairgrounds, further adding to traceability and theft
prevention.
View uploaded photos and PDFs
Additional livestock-focused improvements include breed lists
and in-program livestock document display such as health
papers and livestock photos uploaded during the online entry
process. A new spreadsheet wizard now allows for importing
multiple columns at the same time (formerly just one column),
enabling users to update data from a simple Excel
spreadsheet. Sale enhancements include more wizards for
billing and add-ons, as well as the ability to quickly publish
beautifully formatted sale results to the cloud, which integrate
seamlessly into your own website, Facebook, Twitter and
Saffire hosted websites.
Static entry tags are now printed faster thanks to batch
printing and new preset reports have been added, just to
name a few of the finer touches in the new version.
Though static (home arts) and other non-animal entries have
always made up the bulk of ShoWorks records, this new
upgrade pays particular attention to the processing and
traceability of livestock. Electronic ID and Premise ID have
been added, allowing identification based on global standards
and easy scanning with compatible ear tags and an Allflex EID
(RFID) Bluetooth reader which pairs to the ShoWorks iPad
app, similar to the existing QR (barcode) capability that static
entry tags in ShoWorks have enjoyed for years. Exhibitor Back
Tags have been improved, allowing a simplified and reduced
printing process which also includes a large QR code so that a
superintendent can capture the entry into the show ring (or in
the same way, use the new Bluetooth RFID reader/wand to
read the animal ear tag). A new “check- out” feature allows
Responsive online entry
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The ShoWorks iPad app (free in the Apple app store) has
enjoyed a nice overhaul as well. In addition to placing entries
with a swipe of a finger, users can now move entries into
different divisions and classes, as well as update other
attributes like weights, breeds, special placings and more.
Recognizing the time-saving impact that kiosks have
streamlined the entry check-in process (think the new and
large iPad Pro), the fair can now control which data is
collected by specifying required fields and let the exhibitor
reprint receipts, entry tags and back tags right on the spot
from an iPad mounted in a kiosk stand. Exhibitors can also
use their mobile device to check-in, much in the same way the
trending public boards airplanes.
A new “Trends” chart shows the current day-to-day online
activity and graphically compares this to last year’s activity in
the same period, providing a forecast of upcoming demand.
And probably the most asked for online entries feature has
finally been implemented – limiting entries per exhibitor per
division and/or class as well as division and class “caps”
across the entire fair. If there is a second most asked for
feature, then it would be the ability to download and locally
print entire batches of online receipts – now possible with the
new upgrade.
Getting a grip on your online entries
For the first time, a major overhaul of the ShoWorks online
entries system coincides with a new release of the ShoWorks
client. Behind a beautiful new responsive design that adapts
to any sized device, exhibitors are treated with a much cleaner
and easier step-by-step entry process that has proven
success.
Personalization with themes
A ShoWorks personalized for you
Online entry feedback and ratings
How is that known? A new “Feedback” page enables the fair
to have a 5-star rating mechanism to easily see how exhibitors
feel about the new site and event. In the few months since
the release alone, over 32,000 exhibitors across North
America have given the ShoWorks online entry system a 4.5
out of 5 stars with comments which the fair can login and
read specifically posted by their own exhibitors.
Online trends and stats
And finally, the look and feel of the new ShoWorks 2016 is
amplified by tripling the number of themes, which allow the
user to work in a beautiful environment that reflects their own
personality. In addition to the many preset themes and
wallpapers, users can also choose from their own photos to
give ShoWorks their own personal touch. From the lessons
that Apple and Microsoft have given us, software doesn’t have
to be boring!
The takeaway from the new ShoWorks 2016 announcement
is this: Cloud, iPad enhancements, RFID, traceability, lots new
tools for both livestock and static/home arts, and increased
productivity are a guaranteed time-saving success with this
packed new upgrade. Still not convinced? Take a walk
through the new ShoWorks at its debut at the IAFE Convention
this November in Las Vegas! We hope to see you there!
–Michael Hnatt is the owner and founder of Gladstone,
manufacturer of the ShoWorks software which has been
providing software to fairs since 1994. For more
information, visit www.fairsoftware.com