by Sarah Smithies | Jan 17, 2014 | Press Release, SDS News
Rawlco Radio’s 18 stations centralizes operations with SDS
Toronto, Ontario – January 28, 2014 – Centralized radio station operations was what leading Canadian broadcaster Rawlco Radio, was looking for to increase the efficiency of its operations. The Saskatchewan-based company found the solution in an innovative, unified broadcast management system provided by Specialty Data Systems (SDS).
Rawlco Radio has announced that it has installed SDS’s flagship broadcast management software, SDS Symphony, at all 18 of its radio stations, based in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The software centralizes information, across all departments and all Rawlco markets.
“We had been working in a semi-centralized manner before, but each station functioned in its own database which made it very difficult to work efficiently”, explained Ian Koturbash, CFO of Rawlco Radio. “Redundancy of data entry and effort was commonplace, so we needed a better way.” Koturbash said.
SDS Symphony provides broadcasters with the ability to instantaneously share information between various markets, stations and departments – from CRM, sales, traffic and programming to operations and accounting – eliminating the need for data re-entry and cross-verification.
“Now with Rawlco Radio coming on board, over 400 stations across N. America have partnered with SDS and we are proud to have the team from Rawlco as a customer. I am confident that our SDS Symphony product will yield better clarity and control of their business,” said Dave Cole, President of SDS, explaining that the result is a more efficient and streamlined operation.
“Now, with SDS, all our stations are together in one database which enables streamlined administration, simple and efficient enterprise reporting and rapid process improvement, which will play a vital role in the growth in the efficiency of our radio operations and employee morale”, Koturbash said.
Established in 1993, SDS is a leading North American provider of broadcast management software, specializing in the development of a proven, unified approach to broadcast sales, traffic, programming, operations and accounting. A mid-sized company with more than 400 television and radio station clients representing a billion dollars in advertising revenues, SDS is independent of broadcaster ownership and remains an agile and customer-focused company. For more information, visit www.sds.ca.
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by Sarah Smithies | Apr 18, 2013 | Press Release, SDS News
For Immediate Release
SDS Adds 49 Canadian Radio Stations to its Growing Broadcast Management Customer Base
Toronto, Ontario – April 18, 2013 – Specialty Data Systems (SDS) Inc., a leading North American provider of innovative broadcast management software, continues to extend its market reach in Canada with the announcement of four new broadcasting accounts totaling 49 radio stations.
“After focusing our growth strategy in Canada for much of 2012, we’re pleased to announce that our efforts have paid off,” said Dave Cole, president of Toronto, Ont.-based SDS, adding that the company is on target to increase its installed base to more than 500 radio and television stations across North America by fourth quarter 2014.
The new accounts include: Acadia Broadcasting Ltd. (10 stations), based in Saint John, N.B.; Harvard Broadcasting (11 stations), based in Calgary, Alta; Maritime Broadcasting System (24 stations), based in Halifax, N.S.; and Fabmar Communications Ltd. (4 stations), based in Melfort, Sask. All four selected the company’s flagship product, SDS Symphony, for its unique ability to unify disparate business systems, allowing broadcasters to work better and faster. They will also benefit from a newly-launched Customer Relationship Management (CRM) component of the SDS system, called SDS CRM, which delivers a consolidated view of critical reports and performance indicators across an entire organization, including support for mobile devices and smart phones.
“Choosing SDS Symphony and SDS CRM has enabled us to streamline our operations,” said Jim MacMullin, Vice-President of Acadia Broadcasting. “Before, we had three separate systems that didn’t talk to each other – Sales, Traffic and Corporate Reporting – and our reporting was entirely manual. Now, we have one unified, automated process for accessing the critical information we need to run our business and anticipate the addition of SDS CRM to take it to the next level.”
With SDS, we’re working smarter, not harder,” said Ken Singer, Vice-President, Broadcast Operations at Fabmar Communications. “Previously, our sales reps in three markets spent a great deal of time handling paper orders that were handled again by our traffic managers creating a lot of unnecessary processing time. Thanks to the remote capabilities of SDS, that’s no longer the case.”
Equipped with a common database to integrate sales, traffic, programming, finance and operations data, SDS Symphony gives broadcasters the ability to instantaneously share information between stations and across departments, regardless of location. Its automated approach eliminates the need for re-entry and cross-verification of data, and formats information according to specific user needs, whether they’re programming airtime, booking orders, scheduling promos or producing sales and commission reports.
New in 2013 and included as part of SDS Symphony at no additional cost, the SDS CRM component takes account management to the next level by supplying continuously updating alerts and reports on everything from revenue, accounts receivable, inventory and pacing, to budget, key performance indications and sales projections. Features include a dashboard of key operational data with drill-down reports; automatic notification whenever pre-determined conditions are met, such as missing copy or past-due receivables; client summaries; and, customizable reports.
About Specialty Data Systems
SDS, established in 1993, is a leading North American provider of broadcast management software. More than 360 television and radio station clients have unified sales, traffic, programming, operations and accounting with the SDS Symphony suite of products. It is independent of broadcaster ownership. For more information, visit www.sds.ca .
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