ePS Pace

Suite products not equal, making in-house support challenging

Comments: Overall, although much has been done to integrate Pace with Process Shipper and Printstream (products we use every day), there are still software issues, especially with Printstream and Process Shipper. I appreciate the products in the suite and the effort that is being made to enhance the integration within the suite, and I feel EFI is on the right track and committed to making the suite better and stronger.

Pros:

Pace's user interface and overall navigation is intuitive. We especially appreciate the file structure. It allows us to import, export and enhance system data easily using PaceStation query and the Universal Importer. Pace customer support is another strength.

Cons:

It was more difficult and time-consuming to implement than we expected. Training could have been better. We were spoiled by Pace. It would be wonderful if all the products in the suite (especially Process Shipper and Printstream) could be supported the same way as Pace. With Printstream especially, obtaining support takes longer and often techs need to access files and tables we can't even view, to change a variable or status.

EFI Pace - Good results in first 2 years

Pros:

The flexibility of the software to achieve whatever goals we have in mind. The ePacestation module, Questionnaires (with Item Templates), and the API module have been very key for us and returned lots of value.

Cons:

Historically, when some core functionality has been identified as having an issue or a bug, there have been delays in getting stuff functioning correctly. Most notably, we've had trouble getting consistent/accurate results from Metrix and from the CRM Outlook plug-in.

Alternatives Considered: Lift

Reasons for Choosing ePS Pace: printIQ had severe and unacceptable performance issues that were not resolved over time.

Switched From: printIQ Core

Reasons for Switching to ePS Pace: At the time, it seemed like Lift wasn't as mature a product compared to Pace. Given our experience with unstable technology via our previous MIS provider, our decision biased consistency and reliability over other qualities/attributes.

In need of improvement

Comments: Overall I don't think this system is at its peak. There are some fundamental issues that need to be worked out before release of a version and more time should be spent making sure the initial release of the latest version is fully stable and working in a real world environment before being sent out to all. On a personal note all of these trials and errors have been a great learning experience for me which although frustrating has definitely added to my personal growth.

Pros:

There is a lot of flexibility in your capacity to read from the database. The database structure is pretty clearly laid out and accommodates the needs for customization well. The paid customization options have allowed our company to build in the features that were most important to us while adding features that made many users jobs much easier.

Cons:

The constant battles to resolve small issues have been very frustrating. The bigger battles to resolve accounting and inventory problems has been very frustrating as well. We also are a Printflow user and have found the integration was not well executed and left us regretting our decision to use the two programs in tandem. Support although many times very helpful can also be very unhelpful especially when the only thing they can say is that maybe some day the development team will get to fixing our problem.

My Pace Review

Comments: Overall experience is a 7 due to lack of help from service

Pros:

I like all the features that Pace has to offer. The ability to write xpath's and event handlers has been very beneficial to the company and production.

Cons:

Lack of adequate white papers or examples on the items mentioned above, xpath's and event handlers. The amount of time spent on producing these is cumbersome in some instances. Also the fact that we pay for service but service does not include help, it only looks at broken items. I have installed several MIS packages over the years and this is the only one that I know that does not include help in its service plan.

Pace with additional modules

Comments: Overall we are very excited about the opportunities the additional modules will provide us to streamline and smooth out our workflow.

Pros:

The software has a ton of functionality built into it. I like that it is all self contained within the Pace Suite of software.

Cons:

Parts of it take alot of time to navigate. There are multiple clicks through several pages that are required to input and/or access information. It could be more streamlined.

Alternatives Considered: LIFT

Reasons for Choosing ePS Pace: functionality, all in one approach, ability to access and review the data to judge performance.

Reasons for Switching to ePS Pace: The Pace product was further developed. We didn't feel like we would be developing as we went, just adapting the software to our process.