Today, I’m thrilled to announce the Preview release of a new product called Stratus Desktop 2014! This is a huge step forward for us in our cloud strategy. StudioPlus Stratus now includes three unique ways to access your data – the Stratus Web App, the Stratus Mobile App, and now the Stratus Desktop App.
We had several goals in mind when we began developing Stratus over three years ago. First, we wanted Stratus to be a first-class business management AND digital workflow solution, just like Spectra. We knew we didn’t want to compromise on features just to gain mobility. Second, for existing customers that may want to migrate from Spectra to the cloud-based Stratus, we wanted to make that transition as easy as possible. So, we made sure the learning curve was low and that all Spectra data would convert.
In 2013, we began introducing Stratus by releasing the Stratus Web App and the Stratus Mobile App. The web portal and mobile app are great tools and meet many needs, but we knew they couldn’t fully meet our requirements for a first-class business management AND digital workflow solution in the cloud. That’s why we’re launching Stratus Desktop 2014!
Stratus Desktop is a Windows-based desktop application – installed on your local PC – that connects directly to your Stratus database residing in the cloud. Stratus Desktop brings the 17 years of feature development that has gone into our flagship Spectra product to our cloud-based Stratus solution. There are now three unique ways to access your data, the Stratus Web App, the Stratus Mobile App, AND the Stratus Desktop App, providing a combination of solutions for the unique and mobile nature of your business. Imagine the following scenario:
At your studio location, your employees are running the full-featured Stratus Desktop App on all their workstations. Meanwhile, you decide to get some extra work done from home, so you’re also running the Straus Desktop App at your home. One of your photographers is en route to an on-location photo shoot but has forgotten the address. She pulls out her iPhone, views her schedule with the Stratus Mobile App, and clicks the map button to get some immediate help getting to the shoot. Finally, your sales rep is meeting a client at a local coffee shop and logs in to the Stratus Web App to create an order and process a credit card payment from his tablet or laptop. The beauty of Stratus is that all these people are working real-time from the same cloud database!
Let me tell you a little about how we developed Stratus Desktop. As I mentioned, we’ve spent 17 years developing the award-winning Spectra software. To create Stratus Desktop, we took the entire Spectra code-base, gave it a new name and a new color, and then changed some of the magic in the backend to connect the software directly to a database hosted in the cloud (instead of on your local network). Other than that, it’s exactly the same product! This announcement is a major step forward in cloud-based solutions for the photography industry. Studios like yours can now have all the benefits of a cloud-based solution, including global access to your data and images, as well as the relief of not having to manage your database or infrastructure. But now there is no need to compromise on the features you’ve come to love in a robust management software like Spectra. Stratus is truly a no-compromise solution and we’re very excited to bring it to you!
In the weeks to come we’ll be releasing more information and demo videos. However, you can see Stratus Desktop in action by watching my keynote address at the StudioPlus Connections 2014 User Conference. Click here to watch.
Best of all, the Stratus Desktop App comes at no additional charge! It’s included in your existing monthly subscription. To learn more about Stratus, click here.
Finally, we are also announcing that a Professional version of StudioPlus Stratus is now available, which includes our fullest set of features. If you’re an existing Stratus Standard or Express user and would like to upgrade, give us a call! To download the new Stratus Desktop, click here.