About Syncler
Syncler Redesign: Improved User Experience and New Features
Many companies deal with the topic of the product life cycle in one way or another. It is important for business success to know which phase my product is in. Only then can I align product and marketing activities accordingly. Everything that is modern today may no longer be up to date tomorrow. Customer expectations are changing, demands are rising and disruptive technologies are conquering the markets.
The topics at a glance:
- The starting point
- Reasons for the redesign
- Our goals for the redesign
- New features and future extensions
- What had to be considered?
- The result: Syncler with a new look
The starting point
With the introduction of the “Sellmore Integration Server (SIS)” product designed for data exchange in 2015, this was available in on-premises environments. Functionally, this comprised exactly one interface between Sage 100 and Sage CRM. The interface was purpose-oriented at the time of introduction. Work was carried out with Windows Forms masks. This laid the foundation.
The product has undergone numerous enhancements over the years and has matured into a fully-fledged integration platform. In 2019, the decision was made to rename SIS to Syncler and make it available in a cloud environment. This involved a modern web front end and a cloud architecture in the background. From now on, however, there were also two environments to maintain and manage.
Reasons for the redesign
In the long term, maintaining two surfaces that differ technologically is neither economical nor customer-oriented. For this reason, the decision was made in 2023 to merge both surfaces into one. This meant nothing less than a complete change of technology.
The topic of user experience was particularly important to us, which is why we also incorporated external perspectives into the design. After just over six months of intensive development work, the new interface was finally ready.
Our goals for the redesign
With the new interface, we are providing a modern, high-performance user interface (UI) that is independent of the operating environment. This significantly increases the value of the Syncler in terms of user experience (UX). Users will find a tidy interface that clearly provides all the necessary functions. In addition, the number of clicks is significantly reduced thanks to shortcuts and a pin and history function. The configuration structure is the same across all components. When entering data, additional and input-supporting information is displayed so that typing errors are minimized. Syncler is based on the modern Blazor web technology. The use of this technology in the current implementation leads to an increase in performance and optimizes the security level of the application.
New features and future extensions
The new interface offers the following new features:
- Configurable dashboard with shortcuts
- Simple operation and clear user guidance
- Setup wizard for systems and syncs based on preconfigured no-code templates
These features will be available in the near future:
- Export function for protocols (logs)
- Wizard for evaluating process-related transactions
- Provision of standard mappings
- Provisions of transformation proposals
- Preview of the mail merge function in the quotation process
What had to be considered?
When redesigning a web interface, there are several aspects that need to be taken into account. The new design should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also functional and user-friendly. The most important points are listed below.
1. Understand user needs
In order to optimally understand user needs, we have collected customer feedback over the years and developed buying personas from this. This allowed us to tailor the design to the specific requirements and behaviors of our target group. In addition, we used external perspectives to further improve the customer journey and offer our customers the greatest possible benefit.
2. Define goals and requirements
We essentially pursued two goals: improving the user experience and standardizing the “old” interface. In terms of functional requirements, we built on a solid foundation and added useful enhancements in a targeted manner.
3. Information architecture
We specifically optimized the structure of the web view to ensure intuitive navigation so that users can quickly find what they are looking for. When organizing the content, our focus was on creating a clear and harmonious interface that increases user-friendliness. The content is easily accessible and understandable.
4. User experience (UX)
Our motto for interaction design is: simple and intuitive. Unnecessary complexity has been removed, making the important actions easy to perform. Shortcuts allow you to quickly switch between the core components.
5. Aesthetics and branding
We have chosen a modern and appealing visual design for the new interface. Since the external presentation is important to us, we paid attention to consistent colors, clear typography and a well thought-out visual hierarchy. The redesign reflects our branding and ensures brand coherence.
6. Prototyping and feedback
We worked with wireframes and interactive prototypes. This allowed us to visualize the design and obtain feedback at an early stage.
7. Technical implementation
At the beginning, we decided on Blazor when selecting the technology. This web technology is a current and future-proof choice. To improve performance, we made changes to the architecture. More cache, fewer direct database queries. This allows us to make Syncler faster and shorten the loading time. Graphics, scripts and other resources have been optimized to ensure a fast and smooth user experience.
8. Testing and optimization
As part of the development process, we have carried out extensive testing as far as possible. However, feedback from our customers remains an essential part of continuous product optimization. We have tested the design on different browsers and devices to fix any bugs and ensure that it works flawlessly everywhere.
9. User guidance and support
To support our users in the best possible way, we have developed a comprehensive training concept for onboarding. This is aimed at beginners as well as advanced users and developers. Contact us if you are interested in a training course or would like to find out more.
10. Communication and launch strategy
When releasing the new interface, we opted for a soft launch in which our cloud customers were given access first. The interface was presented in a webinar in advance to prepare users for the changes. Our on-premises customers have one year to switch to the new interface, as the redesign only affects the interface and has no impact on the database content. This offers a comfortable transition. To accompany this, we have developed an appropriate communication strategy to prepare all users for the new design and allay any concerns.
This thoughtful approach to redesigning the web interface ensured that the changes were well received and that the user experience was noticeably improved.
The result: Syncler with a new look
Syncler is a highly functional integration platform that now also boasts a modern interface and an appealing design. The interface has a uniform appearance in all operating environments. The application supports medium-sized companies in accelerating their business processes through automation across system boundaries.
With the redesign of the entire application, we have successfully reached the next milestone in the product life cycle. Together with our customers, we look forward to successful projects and the next challenges. Our product roadmap is well filled and has promising enhancements in store.
