How Do You Define ‘Better’?

Despite official definitions, word meanings change slightly depending on the auditor or reader. Context often injects nuances into words, shifting them into a grey area while still retaining the same basic meaning. As I write this post I have one such word in mind: better. It’s still early in 2017, but I am proud to confirm that Ytria is sticking to our version of a “New Year, New Me” resolution with our fresh new tagline: “Enterprise Tools to Build Your Better.” And if you’re attending IBM Connect 2017 in San Francisco, you’ll see us sporting the new tagline live—come by booth 440 and say “Hi!”

In this post, I’d like to talk about what better* means to us at Ytria, and why that is inextricably linked to whatever meaning you may attach to it.

*In this post, I’ve used definitions found on https://www.merriam-webster.com to define better.

Adjectives, of course, describe nouns. And when we hear from users describing our tools as helping them work through their daily tasks in a more effective of advantageous ways, be it through a conversation or a nice email, we know we’re on the right track. And we take this as both a great compliment and achievement. This usage of the word better, while capturing a very appreciated message, still depends on the opinions of satisfied users for its weight. A very nice compliment indeed, though!

EZ Suite has changed a lot over the last year. Version 16 introduced the unique data scanning and display engine the flexYgrid. Then, the advancements in version 16.5 brought users a fully fleshed-out automation command language that they can use to extend the scope of most any task. We take great pride in each release; our dev team works hard to push and extend the limits of the tools with every iteration. We do our best to make sure each release is better than the last.

Adverbs can dial up intensity of an action, or dial it back­. A driving force behind the conception and development of Ytria’s tools is the desire to give users the means to work better than would otherwise be possible. Through centralized tools that condense into one place information often found in disparate locations throughout a software platform, user touchpoints are reduced and work just becomes simpler. Add in the power of flexible data manipulation through core features such as list sorting, grouping by category, and various filters as well as a large inventory of built-in tools, and processes that were once frustrating and impractical, or even impossible, become “doable” in only a few clicks. It’s process improvements like this that make Ytria users happy, and we’re grateful for any praise.

EZ Suite is comprised of 11 different software tools, each providing a wide range of features for administrators, developers, or, in many cases, both. While the actual number of features and options within any given tool could be counted, it is often the flexibility in how users can apply these features that offers true practical advantages that surpass the sum of their many parts. We want our users to have as many choices as possible, and we strive to provide the best materials to let them forge their own favorite process flow—to help them work better.

A noun is roughly defined as a person, place, or thing. In our case, we see better as an ideal. Let’s think about that a bit… What do you consider better to be? Is it a process that takes less time? A task done more precisely or completely—or the ability to even carry out a task at all? Perhaps all the above apply. Our goal at Ytria is to offer users powerful, non-confining solutions. We want our users to have the freedom to decide on best practices for themselves. By giving users enough richness, we offer them a sort of “blank slate” on which they can design their own best practices. This is why we work to build as much functionality as possible into our tools. Regardless of what you want to accomplish, we at Ytria want to help you build your better through powerful, flexible, and expandable tools.

Ytria has long focused on providing tools for IBM Notes and Domino professionals, and we look forward to more years of helping administrators and developers get the most out of their environment. We are very grateful to have you as our loyal and skilled user base; your input helps us immensely.

A question remains, though: what if the bottlenecks that nag IBM Notes admins and devs are universal for the most part? Could it be that users across most enterprise software platforms share similar concerns and desires? What we do know from our experience and investigations is that most platforms DO tend to have gaps that need filling. In an ideal business software environment, native clients and solutions would work just as users desire, always, right out of the box. But we know that this isn’t the case: central access with broad vision is an approach often lacking due to the breadth of the software’s architecture. So we at Ytria are readying to face the promising new challenges out there in the wide world of enterprise software.

If there is one thing that unites all users that care about performance and efficiency, it is the desire to continually up their game, to find better ways to perform processes, to work better, to ultimately construct their better—whatever that ideal may be—out of the resources available to them. And we will continue to do our best to make sure we provide the tools needed to do so.