Trend achieve market leading report generation with Transparity
- 250+
- App Innovation
- Manufacturing
About Trend
Headquartered in the UK, with international offices and an experienced global team, TREND Networks has approximately 20,000 customers globally. TREND Networks manufactures and supplies a range of industry-leading and dependable test equipment. This includes cable certifiers, data cable testers, cable verifiers, cable qualifiers, fibre cable testers, and more.
In addition to their test equipment range, TREND networks also now empowers users through the TREND AnyWARE™ Cloud, in addition to their dependable technical support, product training, service, calibration, advice and other resources.
The challenge
TREND Networks were looking for an industry differentiator in addition to their dependable product quality to set them aside from other testing devices on the market. To this end, the application was planned with its connection to the cloud. Usually, the only result is what you see on the screen of the hand-held device, so adding software for an engineer to be able to make a report that takes it from the device to the app, to the cloud, and then over to the end customer is a big leap. In the end, it is vital as it shows the end-user customer that the testing has occurred.
TREND had an existing development partner and CSP but was looking for a relationship with a new Microsoft partner for application development and additionally:
- A partnership relationship – expertise and insight from the partner to help develop the best solution
- A proactive partner – identifying and bringing ideas to the table
- Development of an ECOSYSTEM supporting all of TREND’s future testers – consistency, reliability, performance and security
The solution
The existing portal and desktop application were first transferred to Transparity for ongoing support and development. Phase one was the enhancement of these applications. Particularly focussing on the PDF report generation time which initially was taking over ten minutes. With the refactoring, an incredible 500-test report generation time of three minutes has been achieved. The fastest PDF report generation in TREND Network’s marketplace.
Development of a New Mobile App
Phase two was the development of a new mobile app. This app is intended to support two of TREND’s specific devices: the VDV II Series and the PoE Pro testers. However, the app and the cloud interfaces were built to take into account support for additional testers that will be added in the future so that these can be easily become Cloud enabled.
The app was built using a suitable platform to allow most of the code to be shared between the iOS and Android versions, and so reducing the overall development time required. The app will capture and store test data while offline, and a sync feature was implemented to allow the user to push data to the AnyWARE Cloud later when network connectivity is re-established.
After capturing data from a TREND device, the app enables the user to add supplementary information and attach a photo to be stored alongside the network test, which is then visible within the report after synchronising with the AnyWARE Cloud platform.
Built for Android and iPhone with Bluetooth and ten languages. The release version of the app is available for free on the App Store (iOS) and Play Store (Android).
The outcome
The TREND AnyWARE™ Cloud App based test management system launched in November 2022, making managing, editing and sharing reports easier than ever for installers and technicians using TREND’s POE Pro tester. The next stage of release will be to launch this on the VDV II Basic, VDV II Plus and VDV II PRO.
The TREND AnyWARE™ Web Portal is used by TREND Network’s clients for uploading and analysing their test results. The system displays charts to allow users to analyse the test results and provides fully detailed test reports in a downloadable PDF format. Transparity were able to achieve a 500 test report generation time of three minutes. The fastest PDF report generation in TREND’s marketplace.
A desktop version of the portal is also available for clients whose security requirements do not allow them to upload test results into the internet. This version is installed locally at each client, runs as a desktop application with a local database, but otherwise provides the same functionality.
A big factor is its simplicity to use. The new device arrives with a screen protector that contains a QR code to take you to the appropriate app store, where the software can be downloaded for free. Once set up, you only need to press a button on the device for two seconds and the result then appears on your app, where from there it can be pinged to the cloud. Minimising complexity enables the technicians using the device to get their results to the cloud very simply.
"We launched the POE Pro in November 2022 and it’s been working very well. We have had no problems with the application or the Cloud. “Knowing the launch for the other testers was upcoming, everything was relatively straightforward, only a few further changes to the application were carried out by Transparity engineers and they have been easily incorporated. With the large project complete, our in-house engineer is now carrying out all of the ongoing updates. A key help has been the support from Transparity while our engineer builds up her skills base in the cloud. Having the backup of this experience while she makes that transition to the cloud is very useful. Going forward we can do most work in-house but still have supervisory input and support from Transparity when we need that expertise.."