A look back on 2020 with our CPO, Boyan Tanchev.

Around about this time last year l sat down with my Product Team. Together, we brainstormed and plotted out what we thought was a promising 2020 Product Roadmap. Little did l know that in a few months time l would be having conference calls with governments across Europe, presenting fast tracked solutions on how to schedule mass testing of citizens for Covid-19, and rolling out vaccination scheduling apps.

This year has changed how we interact with each other. The impacts are life changing, and they’re still unfolding. As creatives and developers, we responded how we know best: we knuckled down and built solutions.

As we sit together again and review our 2021 Roadmap, we’re filled with gratitude and optimism. Gratitude for the support and input our customers gave over the last 12 months: it’s given us a direction in a landscape of change. Optimism, as we know with absolute certainty that whatever gets thrown at us, we’ll figure it out: as a team. 

I want to finish this note by pointing you to our Top 5 Features of 2020, below. I've also dropped in a few of the features we're planning to release in early 2021. I’m curious to see what the new year will bring…and what our Top 5 Features for 2021 will be.

For now, my team and I wish you a peaceful Christmas and a good start to the New Year.

Boyan Tanchev

CPO, TIMIFY.

Our Top Five Features of 2020

1. The Fast Booking Widget.

As someone who is guilty of having a calendar crammed full of meetings, this tool helps me find slots really quickly. We also use the widget to fix team meetings across the multiple time zones we work in.

2. The Statistics Dashboards.

I strongly value facts and figures. With all the changes happening around us, l'm relying on data more than ever. This feature took the team a lot of work to get right, but we think the results are worth it: huge amounts of data distributed across six dashboards: so you can monitor trends and plan ahead accordingly.

3. Three Conferencing Apps

We’re all on home office at TIMIFY, and like so many of you, we rely heavily on video conferencing. This year we launched GoToMeeting and Zoom integrations, plus our in-house conferencing app, TIMIFY MeetMe. Our app is the only one that drops a booking straight into your calendar. The apps are available in our marketplace. (TIMIFY MeetMe is currently only available for select key account clients - but it should be available in the marketplace soon!)

4. The TIMIFY Survey app.

We received many requests for a new feedback app; with the specific demand that it should be flexible and customisable. I'm pleased with what we delivered: you can use the app to build different surveys, attach them to your relevant services, and have automated emails go out to customers with a link to the survey following on from their appointment. If you need convincing on how important getting customer feedback is, then have a look at this blog article.

5. The TIMIFY Branch Manager: Globals.

This new feature means Branch Manager users can manage all local branch data on a global level, with minimum effort. You can define the settings, services, data fields, and even the customers you want to populate your branches with, in a matter of clicks. We’ve got more features planned for 2021 to really ramp up our Branch Manager Tool - so stay tuned!

What does 2021 have in store?

We're focused on three areas for 2021. First off, building features that empower businesses - in particular retailers - to connect more effectively with their customers. Secondly, growing our tech partnerships so we can offer customers the best digital experiences. And thirdly, delivering more productivity tools that save our users time.

1. The TIMIFY Q App

Another in-house app that we're developing with our retail clients in mind. This virtual queue management software means walk-in visitors to any retail space - or any "waiting room" space - can simply scan a QR code, select a service, and join their virtual queue: all while maintaining a physical distance. 

2. The Google Reserve App

Everyone at TIMIFY is excited for this launch: soon your customers will be able to book your services straight from your Google business profile and from Google Maps. 

3. Global Public Holidays

This is going to be really impactful for our customers who have locations and/or resources across the globe: the TIMIFY Calendar will soon offer regional and national holiday resource subscriptions. It makes planning around public holidays as effortless as possible.