You’ve signed up to Symphony, configured your event, set up an online booking form, started collecting your first delegate registrations and put the kettle on for a cuppa, but uh-oh, here’s captain paranoia.  Where is all that data stored?  Is it secure?  Are your precious delegate details going to fall into the wrong hands with you getting the blame?

The answer is of course no!  Symphony is built with security in mind.  All data is stored inside a secure data centre with industry standard firewall protection and the Symphony application itself uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to ensure that all communication to your web browser is encrypted.

All well and good, you can put the kettle on..., but what about those nefarious hackers?  Don’t they know all about breaking firewalls and encryption ciphers?  That’s where penetration testing comes in.  Penetration testing is where the nice hackers (the ones who have the force but use it for good, think Obi-wan Kenobi) can be employed to test your system for vulnerabilities.

Penetration testers perform a barrage of tests against your servers, probing for vulnerabilities.  Any that they find are duly reported and action taken to rectify the matter.  Symphony systems have been penetration tested many times and have always come out with a good report.  This attention to security has allowed us to host events for information sensitive clients like the government’s Information Assurance 2009 event.

So you can relax, your data is in good hands.  Yes, you can put the kettle on now.

When Richard came bounding through the office door one lunch time this week clutching his new iPhone 4, the talk in the office soon turned to which apps he was going to download first. It really does seem like there is an app for everything nowadays, from the ever so annoying Vuvuzela app to the ever so handy Shop Discount Percentage Calculator (great when hunting down bargains in the sales!).

And it’s not just apps that are making our lives that little bit easier; having constant access to the internet via your phone has its bonuses too, and, I’m sure you would agree, this is especially true for those who work in the events industry.

Did you know that you can access our Symphony software on any internet browsing device including your phone? You can download your event reports, check delegate signup numbers, make changes to your online booking form or website, and even send email campaigns. How amazing is that!

I am sure that like most people, there have been times when you have been on the train, in a meeting, or at an event venue and thought “I wish I could get my hands on that report!” or “I wonder how the event signup numbers are going”. The fantastic thing about having access to Symphony on your phone, is that all this information can be available at the touch of a button without having to lug your lap top around with you (which we all know can be a bit of a pain!).

So it’s official! You really can control your online event registration and delegate management from the palm of your hand. Get involved! Give me a call on 0114 2794994

Oh, and in case you were wondering...

...we are thinking of doing some cool specific phone apps too - so watch this space!

Allow me to introduce myself - my name is Richard and I have worked as part of the Symphony Technical team for a year, delivering registration forms and websites to our clients in addition to developing the latest version of the Symphony application.

Since Symphony began, all registration forms and websites have been custom built by web developers from a client's requirements brief. However, event managers can now create registration forms and websites themselves within the latest version of the Symphony application. Event managers can also update existing websites and registration forms and publish any changes to their live site at the click of a button. This new functionality keeps website and registration form development costs to a minimum and provides a great deal of flexibility for amends.

The new website and registration form builder may sound quite daunting, but it is very simple to use! Content for websites is easily applied using our simple interface to add formatted text, hyperlinks, images, documents and much, much more. If you cannot quite get the result you are looking for, we can offer assistance and custom code for complex content layouts. We can also add any custom functionality to websites, to give your website a more dynamic and eye-catching appearance.

The Symphony form and website builder also includes templates, which have customisable colours and images (e.g. header logos) to apply the same style to each page on your website. We offer a service to build custom reusable templates to create a professional look and feel for your events. Once built, these custom templates are available under your company's templates section in the Symphony application, which is especially useful for frequently occurring or roadshow events that have similar branding and layout. These custom templates also function in the same way as standard templates, by allowing their colours and images to be edited.

Within the Symphony application itself, we can add any custom functionality you require to assist the effective management of your events. By offering these services and more, we aim to supply all of our clients with the most effective, affordable and appropriate solution for all their event management needs.

If you have any questions about the services you can expect from Symphony or would like to request a demo, get in touch with Jessica Penny on 0114 279 4994 or via jpenny@symphonyem.co.uk.

The way that event managers organise events has changed a lot in recent years. The days of a mountain of paperwork on the desk are long gone...well for most anyway.

Back in 2003 Quba director Darren Bristow had an idea; why not create a piece of software that organises the common tasks those event managers do every day, saving them time to concentrate on more important things. Five months later the very first version of Symphony rolled off the production line. It may not have been the first piece of event management software, but it was certainly the most innovative; with its simple to use web interface, cool features and unique pay as you go pricing, it really did shake up the event management software industry.

7 years on and hundreds of thousands of registrations later we’re now launching version 4. The all new Symphony has been designed from the ground up. Built with the input of event managers for event managers, the new product simplifies the process of running events. Furthermore you have control to market your events with our built in website build and email marketing tools, not to mention a host of other great new features.

In recent months I have had the privilege of taking over the running of Symphony, what for me is one of the most exciting challenges in recent years. I would like to thank the Symphony team, a dedicated team of professionals, for their commitment and hard work and our clients for their support over the years.

If you would like to find out more about what Symphony can offer you then why not give me a call on 0114 279 4990, I would love to hear from you.