The second generation (APEX Meeting and Event Toolbox launched in 2005) of time-saving APEX event management tools debuted in August. Developed by DataApp, in cooperation with the Convention Industry Council, the Web-based tool benefits both planners and suppliers. PowerShop expands the scope and functionality of planning software—in audience and user capabilities—and complies with APEX best practices. Industry conferences and webinars will include PowerShop demonstrations in coming weeks.
PowerShop allows planners to streamline the planning process while making fewer errors.
According to APEX, its features include:
- Auto population of forms across events, which reduces data entry cycles when creating new events based on previous events
- Forms output in XML as well as MS Office documents. Can be used as a front-end for working commercial software; XML easily allows output data to be stored and re-entered as input
- An interactive database that saves information for reuse at any time
- A network capability that enables team members to access all pertinent forms through a network, thereby increasing efficiency because all team members can work on different segments of an event and have all of the information merged automatically
- An FAQ section that enables users to share lessons learned or questions answered through an interactive knowledgebase
“The APEX toolbox application is useful for casual planners or small independent planners who don’t have a lot of technology access but want to send some data,” says E.J. Siwek, chair of the APEX Technology Advisory Council and a consultant with Flashpoint Technologies. “Toolbox works with MS Office templates. There is no core database to allow a user to pull up information to populate a new form. PowerShop does have a database, so the planner can pull up an RFP—this goes across all APEX forms—to get basic data and optimize efficiency when they are planning the same meeting as last year with few changes.”
PowerShop also allows users to place information on a portal, he says, and authorize vendors to access it via passwords, similar to FTP sites.
