DRAGON in the 'Year of the Dragon' 2012

We concluded 2011 with the thought: "We wish that the 'Year of the Dragon' 2012 will be creative and successful, and that in collaboration with DRAGON Venue users, we will continue setting new milestones in the development of modern ticketing in Slovenia, whose pace we have been setting and whose content we have been co-shaping for more than 20 years." And the 'Year of the Dragon' 2012 was truly generous, presenting us with many and varied challenges.

Among the highlights of the year, we include receiving the Silver Plaque of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Postojna Regional Chamber, for the best innovations of 2011, which was awarded to the teams of Postojnska jama and Programski atelje A&Z for the project "Implementation of DRAGON Venue in the Postojnska jama business system". The award represents not only recognition of the work accomplished, but also confirmation that we are on the right development path in terms of ideas and concepts, and that we need to continue along it. Only in this way will we continue to co-shape development trends in the international electronic ticketing industry and strengthen the international competitiveness of the DRAGON Venue system platform and brand recognition.

NEW DRAGON VENUE USERS AND PLATFORM EXPANSION INTO NEW SECTORS

An increasing number of stakeholders in the fields of culture, tourism, sports, and entertainment are realising that traditional methods of promotion and marketing no longer work and that something needs to change. Unfortunately, most learn from their own mistakes, which is unpleasant and also expensive. But apparently, that is the price that must be paid to finally recognise the actual value of basic ticketing programmes and admit that these no longer meet even daily needs in the current conditions and tightened market environment, let alone developmental challenges. The gap between the wishes and expectations of target audiences, the needs of users, and the functional capabilities of basic programmes is growing year after year. This is frustrating for users, and eventually they seek a solution suited to themselves and their needs. It is precisely this dissatisfaction with basic programmes that is probably the main reason we saw increased interest in the DRAGON Venue solution in 2012 and witnessed a significant increase in new users.

We are also pleased that years of investment in developing multi-functionality are bearing fruit and that the DRAGON Venue platform is opening its way into the tourism sector. The solution is already used by almost all stakeholders that are key to shaping the Slovenian market for tourist attractions: Postojnska jama, Predjamski grad, Ljubljanski grad, Blejski grad, and Park Skocjanske jame, and they have been joined by some who are still developing their tourism products and positioning their own brand. Examples of this include the Park of Military History in Pivka and the Cultural Centre of European Space Technologies (KSEVT) in Vitanje.

A similar model is developing in Croatian Istria, with key roles played by the Istria County and the Istrian Development Tourism Agency (IRTA). It is interesting that the needs and challenges of platform users on both sides of the border are very similar, which leads to considerations about opportunities for connectivity and cooperation on the technological foundations of the DRAGON Venue information platform. With some optimism, we venture to announce that the first steps in this direction will be taken soon.

We believe that in the environments where we invest most in spreading professional knowledge and raising stakeholder awareness, the recognition of the advantages of system solutions will gradually mature, and those who currently do not yet recognise the added value brought by the use of the system platform will also decide to adopt DRAGON Venue.

PROJECTS

Among the projects in 2012, we would like to highlight:

-- the upgrade of the automatic access control system at the Ljudski vrt stadium in Maribor and its operation during NK Maribor's European matches;

-- activities connected with Postojnska jama, including: the upgrade of DRAGON Venue Access Control automatic access control and installation of new terminals for ticket validation, the upgrade of DRAGON Venue Analytics & Business Intelligence, which is an indispensable working tool for management, and the beginning of implementation of DRAGON Venue Human Resource Management (HRM);

-- the successful execution of a professional conference at which we presented global development trends in the electronic ticketing industry;

-- the upgrade and design overhaul of the web portal www.mojekarte.si, which is increasingly establishing itself as the main gateway to Slovenian culture, entertainment, sports, content for children, young people and families, and other leisure activities;

-- sales support for "Istra Inspirit", which signals strategic shifts in Croatian tourism and seeks to change visitors' motivations for coming to tourist micro-destinations in Croatian Istria through innovative approaches. Four awarded recognitions for innovation, including the "Golden Goat" of Istria County and "Simply the best" from the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), indicate exceptional interest and a positive response from the professional public, and Istra Inspirit has the ambitious goal of becoming the umbrella brand for cultural tourism in Croatian Istria.

DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESSFUL INTRODUCTION OF NEW INFORMATION TOOLS

As in previous years, the intensive development of the platform continued in 2012, and the results are promising.

DRAGON Venue Analytics & Business Intelligence is an advanced software tool for dynamic data analysis and data modelling, which gives users in-depth insight into their data and the ability to perform dynamic and comparative data analyses. Using the solution requires knowledge of Excel, which is the standard tool for working with spreadsheets, so users can quickly acquire the skills needed for effective work. Processing is fast even with large volumes of data, and numerical and graphical data interpretations ensure comprehensibility, informativeness, clarity, and user-friendliness, enabling a new approach to decision-making processes and raising them to a higher quality level. The tool shows particular strength in event forecasting, as predictions of future events become increasingly reliable as the amount of collected and processed data grows. On such foundations, planning the resources needed for a given time frame in the future (e.g. a specific day, weekend, week, month) becomes very precise, at least compared to the results produced by traditional planning. DRAGON Venue users gain with this tool a quality source of data and a basis for optimising their operations.

DRAGON Venue Human Resource Management (HRM) is a software module for supporting the planning of human resources by workplaces and work tasks, as well as recording completed work activities and time spent. Automation of planning and consistency of computer-generated plans are ensured by a system of logical parameters whose values can be set according to users' wishes and needs. The comprehensible, simple, and user-friendly interface is adapted for work on touch-sensitive screens, making work with the programme fast and easy, with only a short adaptation period for end users. In-depth data processing from DRAGON Venue HRM is enabled by the DRAGON Venue Analytics & Business Intelligence module, where data can be cross-referenced with data from other modules.

DRAGON Venue Retail is software support for the retail trade activity and comprehensively covers work processes from procurement, receipts and calculations, through warehousing and inter-warehouse operations, consignment operations, stocktaking, all the way to sales, reporting, and data exchange with material and financial accounting. The comprehensible, simple, and user-friendly interface is adapted for work on touch-sensitive screens, making work with the programme fast and easy, with only a short adaptation period for end users, which is an important competitive advantage for those users who hire seasonal workers for their shops. In-depth data processing from DRAGON Venue Retail is enabled by the DRAGON Venue Analytics & Business Intelligence module, where data can be cross-referenced with data from other modules.

SOME ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR 2013

Judging by the start of the year, we are in for a dynamic and development-intensive 2013. Already in January, two software modules will go into use at Postojnska jama. DRAGON Venue Retail will replace the programme that Postojnska jama used in previous years, thereby integrating the retail activity into a unified system information platform. The DRAGON Venue HRM module will, after more than 100 years of manual planning and recording of the work of tour guides and other cave workers, introduce planning and recording with the help of a computer programme, and the traditional duty logbook will be replaced by its digital version. At Park Skocjanske jame, a replacement of the older system version with the new platform is planned, and at the Park of Military History in Pivka, an upgrade of the existing solution and the introduction of an automatic visitor access control system. The introduction of the DRAGON Venue platform is also planned in Rijeka, where it will replace the third-generation SI Ticketing solution, which has been working excellently since 2004.

In the coming year, we are also planning the development of new modules, and the DRAGON Venue platform will soon offer users even more e-tools for effective work in promotion, marketing, and sales. With their introduction, the modernisation of work processes in the events and related sectors will continue, along with their gradual transition to a new quality level brought about by the introduction of e-business, while simultaneously abandoning stereotypes and ingrained habits from the previous millennium.

The DRAGON Ticketing & Mojekarte.si team