We’ve Gotten a Little Facelift, and Some New Tools Too
April 2nd, 2007 by mattFor those of you who frequent the front page of our site, you’ve probably noticed that things look a bit different. We undertook a “significant re-design of our home page”:6 in an effort to increase the functionality and content that we expose to visitors. The goal was to provide more ways to engage with the marketplace, yet still offer a clean, simple user interface.
!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/home_500.png!
Beyond that, we’ve also launched two significant additions to our site: The “MarketView Index”:4 and a micro-site dedicated to “all things Vista”:5.
h2. MarketView Index
The “MarketView Index”:4 offers a comprehensive look at the OnForce marketplace. Whereas “Explore the Marketplace” enables users to get granular information about the providers or work orders in a specific location, MarketView offers a top-down perspective of industrywide trends on a state-by-state and category-by-category basis. You can use MarketView to see how each state and work order category stacks up in terms of average work order price, median time to acceptance, and average hourly rate information. We’ve already gotten glowing reviews of this exciting tool from “TechIQ Magazine”:2 and “eWeek Channel Insider”:3.
!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/marketview_500.png!
h2. Vista Upgrade Center
The “OnForce Vista Upgrade Center”:5 is a resource that we created for all members of the OnForce community. We aggregate Vista-specific articles and information from all corners of the industry and put it in a single convenient place, including the latest information about product updates and certifications. We’ve also made it easier for buyers to choose the version of Vista that’s right for them, determine if their system is Vista-ready, and create well-defined work orders with our Vista Upgrade Wizard.
!http://blog.onforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/vista_500.png!
As always, we welcome “your feedback”:1.
[1]http://www.onforce.com/contact
[2]http://techiqmag.com/2007/03/29/onforce-your-google-map-to-it-engagements/
[3]http://www.channelinsider.com/article/OnForce+Opens+the+Kimono+on+its+Wealth+of+Pricing+Data/204256_1.aspx
[4]http://www.onforce.com/marketview
[5]http://www.onforce.com/vista
[6]http://www.onforce.com
May 2nd, 2007 at 7:50 am
I have to say great job in the new look. It’s very professional, and the layout is great for first time buyers (I would say from my point of view). The MarketView Index is still a bit complex. It might be good to expand on this section, and possible even build predictions of of how the market is in this time of year.
May 3rd, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Thanks for the kind words, Tyler. Your comments about MarketView are very insightful and timely, as we are looking at ways to further refine this tool in the future.
Let me pose a question to you and others: are there any columns of data in the MarketView Index (www.onforce.com/marketview) that you do not find useful? We want to make it less complex and easier to scan, and I’m wondering if there are data points that we could remove without reducing the value of MarketView.