In the world of management information systems for print, 23 years is a very long time. Yet that is exactly the amount of time that TharsternSQL has been at the forefront of print MIS technology Represented in Australasia by Mosaic MIS Limited, and with a growing customer base in the local region, TharsternSQL has more than 700 users around the globe. The reason for the company’s strong global presence has been the maturity of the software solution; its dedication to the print environment; and integration with other vendor based products to create powerful and customisable solutions.
While TharsternSQL is developed in the UK, Mosaic is a New Zealand-owned company. Mosaic sales manager Tim Clark says the company has been increasingly active in recent times as it has introduced the solution to Australian printers.
“There seems to be quite a gap in the Australian market for an MIS solution that is well established and able to service a five user site or a 200+ user site without compromise – which is where TharsternSQL sits perfectly,” he says.
“We have also noted that Australian printers appear to compete with one another on a slightly different basis than in NZ or the UK. It is evident that there are companies who have major competitive potential in the marketplace, but who aren’t maximising opportunities through a suitable MIS.”
The benefits of TharsternSQL extend from reaching the customer through an Internet-based e-commerce solution, right through to JDF integration on the shop floor, data collection through touch screens and an extensive reporting infrastructure that comes standard with the system. Ultimately, Mosaic and TharsternSQL are well recognised as being instrumental in improving customers’ businesses through a unique service and software configuration.
“The base MIS is all about internal efficiencies and how to maximise throughput, information and profit,” says Clark. “And it is exceptionally strong in that area. It’s globally recognised as the first true Windows solution – and extremely advanced in JDF development.”
The TharsternSQL suite comprises of nine primary modules – allowing users to begin with a foundation for the package that will address the needs of all manner of print requirements: commercial litho, roll label, continuous web offset, packaging, digital and screenprinters. This can be built upon with additional users or modules to link, for example, front office sales with real-time production scheduling, with actual costs. There is also full accounts integration and integration with the Customer Relationship Management module, Goldmine.
For printers, as for any industry, the Internet has rapidly become a crucial aid to business, and TharsternSQL is providing a key for printers to unlock the door to profitable web-based business. Printers are increasingly demanding an internet-based ordering and artwork solution for customers, according to Clark.
TharsternSQL’s e4Print Online Internet-based solution replaces what has been known as Customer Online, providing the additional ability to customise the interface to match another website – and therefore emulate a customer’s brand. With artwork builder functionality, reporting, stock order and tracking, e4Print provides a channel not only for customers to interact with their print company remotely, but for a print company’s own sales and management teams to do the same. This powerful functionality is rapidly being embraced in New Zealand.
“e4print offers completely different value in that it is the way that printers communicate with their customers, add value with a lateral offer and build loyal relationships through a service that they can’t get anywhere else, and often didn’t even appreciate was possible,” Clark says.
With increasing complexity in printing businesses, more equipment, more automation and more software (both in the office and the pressroom), there is a clear need for printers to find the most effective way to manage that complexity. And what works for one company may not work for another, a fact that Mosaic recognises.
“With TharsternSQL, printers can create a equation particular to their business and that of their customers,” says Clark. “The idea is unlocking choice for customers – so they can mix and match to get exactly what is needed at any time in the development of their business: unlimited, easy-to-use, feature rich and flexible.”
That flexibility and ability to choose is backed by the strength that is behind TharsternSQL in terms of research and development out of a large UK development team, creating a powerful product and moving it ahead to offer progressive solutions to satisfied customers at all times.
