D-Tools will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at CEDIA Expo 2023 by showing off its D-Tools Cloud and System Integrator Version 20, an expanded D-Tools Cloud Service Management Suite, and a partnership with Modus VR.
“Naturally, CEDIA Expo is an event that holds special meaning and significance to our entire D-Tools team,” says Tim Bigoness, D-Tools CMO. “It’s here, at this annual trade show, that we introduced our business management platform 25 years ago to the integration industry, built our base of dealer customers, have won numerous awards, and today continue to support the business success of our valued partners.”
D-Tools’ New Service Management Suite
D-Tools is also marking the milestone with new features to its Cloud-based software, including a new service management suite designed to help integrators create, sell and manage service plans. With recurring revenue and service becoming more important in an industry where hardware margins are becoming slimmer, D-Tools wants its platform to help integrators generate service revenues and improve the client experience.
Service plans can be designed in advance or configured on-the-fly and presented as an option on a project proposal or sold as a separate contract, the company says. Users can schedule resources, document the problem found and work performed, track their time, invoice and even collect payment right on-site, all from a mobile device.
D-Tools’ web-based, multi-OS solution also facilitates communication and collaboration across an integrator’s workforce with the inclusion of a chat feature that allows for real-time communication.
According to the company, D-Tools Cloud expedites the generation and throughput of proposals to help integrators close deals faster by facilitating engaging multimedia proposals and browser-based visual quoting.
System Integrator V20
D-Tools is also announcing the 20th version of its System Integrator (SI) software, which the company calls a suite of new sales, project and field service capabilities designed to improve operating efficiency for integration businesses.
According to D-Tools, SI v20 supports integration with Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory for enhanced security and Single Sign-On functionality. The new version of the platform includes improvements to Pricing and Labor, such as the ability to add multiple vendors and labor types to products. The new version also boosts capabilities of Purchasing and Field Service management, along with better performance of features including projects, tasks, checklists, workflow rules and more.
Modus VR for Virtual Reality Walkthroughs
D-Tools will also be showcasing a new partnership with Modus VR, providers of virtual reality technology for designers, architects, integrators and space planners to create spaces in real time with AV and technology.
Through the partnership, integrators can include virtual reality walkthroughs of project designs in their D-Tools Cloud client proposals with the Modus360 software. The software offers 360-degree views to help customers envision the end results while helping installers plan. Modus 360 landscapes can be output and embedded in D-Tools proposals, allowing both integrators and end users to access them.
In a statement, Bigoness says helping customers envision how their homes will look when technologies are installed is one of the most exciting parts of the job.
“Modus VR adds an interactive component to dealers’ sales strategies that’s easy to add to a D-Tools proposal and helps land more deals,” Bigoness says.
