Exceptional product and very user friendly

Overall EMS Event Management Software is very easy to use and tracks data very well. The reporting options that are available are very helpful to get out to our staff and tracking events and billing is very easy to do.

Pros

I really enjoyed all the capabilites EMS has with its event booking software. It is very customizable and easy to book and track events. It made event planning very easy when we manage thousands of events per year.

Cons

There isn't much I do not like about this software. EMS does have a bigger software that allows you to customize for different user groups who oversee different venues within the operation but I do wish they had a smaller version of this.

EMS Software

Overall it's very powerful and wonderful to use. Implementation wise it's piece-mill. I would highly recommend before any University purchases it, they get buy in from campus leadership about unifying scheduling policies on campus before moving forward. Don't be cheap, get everything you need up front. Implementing it piece by piece is terrible especially if you have to engage multiple areas on campus to implement anything like we do. It's like herding wild buffalo... and that is because we didn't know better up front and we're staggering along with a ton of legacy issues because of it.

Pros

I love using and training ffolks in the software. It's robust and generally anyone who feels comfortable using a PC will enjoy it. We host the database, and the test and dev environment on our own servers in our computing center on campus rather than the cloud offerings by Accruent but a smaller university can really benefit from that service. It is an amazing and very flexible software, easy to train users on it and set up spaces and special use facilities fantastically .

Cons

Does not work for Apple OS, Web Client is not updated to keep up with newer versions of EMS Client so can cause template bugs and issues in teh client if items are created in the Everyday users admin tools. The mobile application is not really viable or working properly on the platform services, and the UIX is terrible according to any of my users who are trying it out. . They both seem to be the ugly step child of the client software. Support is more generic ticketing and less helpful and frustrating to engage with. It used to be one day turn around on solutions to an issue, it takes forever now. usually gets lost in ticket system hell, and they nickle and dime licenses under "professional services" outside of the paid for service agreement under accruents ownership these days. They close tickets before solving the problem to keep their "ticket" stats looking good I guess for potential buyers of the product it seems. Obviously it frustrates me as I've used the product since 2008 and loved it until the purchase of it by accruent.

Ok, but not as good as previous

Managing Rooms for events

Pros

Very powerful software and it can serve your organization regardless of size (and can expand with you as you grow. They have moved into the online presence very well and we have used them as a company with close to 100 rooms with little complaint.

Cons

We've used EMS for years and i would brag that there software was my favorite to use as a systems admin. easy to deploy and do monthly updates. However, that has dropped off severely in the last year or two. While it is not bad, it does not rise to the quality that I have come to expect from them.

Lots to Offer, Lots to Learn

EMS is very complicated up front because of everything that it offers. There are so many different uses and parts of the software, so it does have a steep learning curve. However, once you learn the system and its shortcuts, it is very useful and offers a lot for your organization.

Pros

I appreciate all of the different functions that this software offers. I use the reporting, calendar, and billing systems almost daily, and could not do my job without them. I am lucky that my designated customer service rep is knowledgeable in EMS, and can quickly guide me through any questions that come up.

Cons

Before switching to EMS Campus, the biggest issue we had was that only two users at a time could be on the software. Our team was too big for this, but once switching to Campus, it has been resolved. With EMS Campus, my biggest pet peeve is that everyone on our umbrella account has their own information in each drop down menu throughout the system, so it is difficult to keep the system clean and overly personalized for our office.

Complex, yet easy at the same time.

We used EMS for internal and external events within our organization. We recently switched to Communico and I'm desperately missing EMS, which seemed built for our needs. We could easily tell what events were internal and which ones were external, what was a meeting and what was a special event.

Pros

EMS let us view all of our events happening in one day on one easy-to-view screen. I could easily sort via a drop down and insert things like furniture, a/v needs, and other information by copying it over from another event. I also liked the ability to copy an entire event without having to do much work. Reports are easy to read. I liked that I could see who created each event so I knew who to contact if I had questions.

Cons

There's a lot going on with this software. It seemed as though some ways of doing things were convoluted, but once I figured it out, it was easy. It was a little slow at times, but we DID have an outdated version.