ShowMgr.com
Enabling Visibility and Accountability into Production Processes

Kevin M Rosen, a deep-rooted software architect enjoys innovations, particularly Microsoft’s cloud offerings for the media industry. “The production of media content is an incredibly dynamic process so it is vital to not only automate, streamline and manage those dynamic processes but to also provide measurable accountability and accurate visibility into the processes,” says Rosen, Founder and CEO, ShowMgr. com, Inc. The California-based enterprise-widecloud solution automates all of the operational, logistical and financial processes associated with content creation. This completely web based system extends its reach well beyond the traditional boundaries of an organization using automated notifications via email and text messages as well as its dedicated webportals and mobile applications for freelance crew, industry vendors, unions, etc. “Our story is within the power of weaving together and tracking the client’s budget with their resource scheduling and logistics,” says Rosen.

ShowMgr.com’s configurable ERP platform allows easy managing of client’s work, resources, documents, assets, facilities, media and business processes. The firm’s unique role-based workflow engine manages simple as well as complex processes and is flexible enough to be configured to just about any client’s dynamic workflow. “Our configuration engine is built in such a way that, without any development, we are able to quickly and easily adjust to meet the evolving needs of an agency, production, studio or post-production business,” says Rosen.

Leveraging on its partnership with Microsoft, ShowMgr moved to Microsoft’s new Azure API Management Portal. “It was a game changer because our customer base was able to take any industry product and quickly integrate with our REST API. Additionally, our customersare able to use standard Microsoft Excel to hook up to our API resulting in dynamic real-time Business Intelligent reporting crafted by the hand of our users,” says Rosen.
When Microsoft Production Studios, was contemplating on the need to improve productivity and reporting options in addition to necessary integrations with accounting and invoice systems, ShowMgr.com initiated a complete technology overhaul.

Our story is the power of weaving together the client's budgetary tracking needs with their scheduling logistics

A redesign of the unique work flow with their large producer base all the way through to their editors and crew, deeply binding their operational and financial processes, created a single cohesive system. “Our system has been operational for almost five years and is delivering tremendous results out of the integration with SAP system and a tightly woven interaction with the crew,” affirms Rosen.

From a high availability and disaster tolerance hosting perspective, ShowMgr. com leverages the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to provide its collection of integrated services within an enterprise-grade infrastructure. “Appropriate Microsoft Azure technologies create a multi-layered approach, to effectively host, monitor, secure and manage our infrastructure,” adds Rosen.

“A lot of our innovation is centred on understanding the way money is being spent, in terms of visibility into a real-timeburn or “hot cost”. To gather this information, we are innovating in the areas of improved deployment of mobile technologies, and integration with third party systems, to create real-time cost reporting,” adds Rosen. Additionally, ShowMgr.com is envisioning on further enhancing the spectrum of features that deepens its market position as the only true production focused ERP system and to leverage its deep knowledge of the industry to build its new Media Management tools that includes a Review and Approve module,” says Rosen. On the anvil are also innovative plans to achieve industry benchmarks in the area of average production costs that can be used for more accurate budget and forecasting using Big Data techniques.