20 years, a long road travelled

When 20 years ago we wrote the corporate mission statement – ebusiness company open to the world, where we grew up together – little could we have imagined getting this far… ebusiness has become Digital Business, we are still open to the world, and obviously we have grown up together, now that we are 20 years old we can only feel deeply grateful.

Grateful, because we keep the initial illusion intact, we have accumulated a lot of experience, innovation inspires us and our commitment to our client guides us. This is a very important anniversary for us, with many new features that you will soon discover.

For the moment, before looking to the future, we would like to take stock of what 2023 has meant for our company:

Grateful, because we keep the initial illusion intact, we have accumulated a lot of experience, innovation inspires us and our commitment to our client guides us. This is a very important anniversary for us, with many new features that you will soon discover.

For the moment, before looking to the future, we would like to take stock of what 2023 has meant for our company:

1. We facilitate contacts at the Mobile World Congress.

Once again this year we worked for the smooth running of the MWC. Our Lead Retrieval app made it easy to manage contacts before and after the event, just by scanning a QR.

2. Consolidated partners of Akeneo

The French company that manages the eCommerce solution for product catalog management celebrated its 10th anniversary. It also presented Akeneo PIM Flexibility v. 7.0, a new version of its software at Unlock 2023, its annual event.

ASM Web Services is an established Akeneo partner and we continue to train in this technology. For example, Rodrigo País and Valeria Romero obtained a new certification from Akeneo, the “Product Experience Advisor Certification”, which confirms them as experts in Product Experience consulting on the platform.

Although it is a user-friendly platform, its implementation is complex due to the amount of information that must be added and all the actors involved. Successful implementation is based on advice, adapting the product to the specific needs of each client and sector.

3. Implementation of VTEX, new service

In 2023 we have started working with VTEX Spain to implement this digital commerce platform. Our experience in the creation of eCommerce and the advantages offered by VTEX have led us to develop very interesting projects. For example, the new project of Embargos a lo bestia, which combines online and offline stores, and VeryAgro, a company dedicated to revolutionize the way agricultural professionals acquire supplies for which we have created a B2B Marketplace.

VTEX is a SAAS platform, one of its main advantages. Everything is in the cloud and requires no upgrades. In addition, it favors omnichannel, as it allows seamless integration of the offline and online channels and customers get a very satisfactory shopping experience.

4. Record time integration of Werfen and Immucor

In just three weeks, the ASM team achieved data integration between the two companies, which were previously using Office 365. One of Microsoft’s new features was activated and worked very well. This is Cross Tenant Synchronization, which allows synchronizing users from one company with those from the other, so Werfen users enter the Immucor system and vice versa.

5. Application integrated with Akeneo and Cloudinary for Roca.

The goal was to generate the Unified Water Label for their products – the one that identifies water consumption – in a simpler way. A button was created on the Akeneo product page to generate the UWL label.

All you have to do is add the values of a couple of parameters: flow rate and energy consumption. With these data, the application itself generates the label. In addition, it also allows customization of the generated labels. Thus, the manufacturer can add both the brand and the model code to each label and give more information about the product.

6. ASM, supportive and sustainable

This year we have managed to be a little more supportive and sustainable. We have developed a solidarity online store for eshoplidaria.org, we are reforesting the world with Tree-nation, creating forests for our team and for customers to offset the CO2 generated; and we help those who help, the team of Caritas Castelldefels, updating and solving technological and computer problems that arise.

And here we are, ready to eat 2024, with 20 years behind us. Thanks to the team and to all the companies and professionals who have made it possible to get here.

Developed an application integrated with Akeneo and Cloudinary for Roca

ASM Web Services has collaborated in the development of an application integrated with Akeneo and Cloudinary. The project is for the company Roca and the objective is to generate the Unified Water Label for its products -the one that identifies water consumption- in a simpler way.

What has the project consisted of?

A button has been created on the Akeneo product page to generate the UWL label. All you have to do is add the values of a couple of parameters: flow rate and energy consumption. With these data, the application itself generates the label.

In addition, it also allows customization of the generated labels. Thus, the manufacturer can add both the brand and the model code to each label and give more information about the product.

The labels are built from images that are stored in Cloudinary and are accessible with Akeneo. Once the label has been generated, it is saved in a new Cloudinary folder.

The Unified Water Label

The international standard for water efficiency is a classification equivalent to the system previously used for household appliances with the letters A, B, C, D and E. This standard is intended to provide consumers with a clear and uniform reference for evaluating the water efficiency of different devices and products.

The classification is based on a letter scale, where category A represents the highest level of water efficiency, followed by categories B, C, D and E, which indicate a progressively lower level of efficiency. With this international standard, consumers can make informed choices and opt for products that help conserve water and reduce environmental impact.

ASM works on the integration of Werfen and Immucor

A few months ago, the acquisition of Immucor by Werfen was completed. With this acquisition they were looking for the full integration of both companies, and for this they counted on ASM Web Services. For this union to work properly, it is necessary that, internally, there is also a complete integration, and that is where our team participated.

Integration in record time

Werfen’s goal was to achieve the integration of the two companies without having to migrate data from one system to the other. Before the integration, both companies were using Office 365 as an email solution, Teams, etc., which made the work easier.

In just three weeks, the ASM team achieved the integration. One of Microsoft’s new features was activated, which worked very well, although it is still in beta. This is the Cross Tenant Syncronization feature, which allows users from one company to be synchronized with those from the other, so that Werfen users enter the Immucor system and vice versa.

More facilities with Cross Tenant Syncronization

Thanks to this functionality, a Werfen user can easily find an Immucor user or vice versa. For example, you can send e-mails to another person without knowing their address and only with their first or last name. By entering this data, the system gives all addresses that correspond to this information, regardless of the company to which they belong.

This function also facilitates the organization of meetings, since the availability of all users can be consulted when scheduling a meeting, streamlining the process and allowing users from both companies to meet seamlessly.

In addition, Werfen’s intranet was also synchronized. Prior to the integration, they had this intranet for internal communications, company news, HR, etc., and the Werfen intranet was also synchronized with the Werfen intranet. HR, etc., and they wanted all Immucor employees to be able to access it.

To achieve this, an AD (Active Directory) integration was made, i.e. the employee databases of both companies were integrated. With the same user, Immucor employees gain access to this intranet, without having to create a new user to access the Werfen intranet.

A large company in the healthcare sector

Both Werfen and Immucor are companies in the healthcare sector offering different services. Werfen is a leading company in specialized diagnostics, in the specialties of hemostasis, acute care diagnostics and autoimmunity. Immucor, on the other hand, is a world leader in transfusion diagnostics and transplantation products. The merger of the two companies represents the expansion of their market presence and the broadening of their services.

ASM team is certified as Azure Gold Partner

The digital sector is evolving faster and faster and we want our company to keep pace. One of the best ways for ASM to grow and evolve is through training.

By expanding the knowledge of our team, we manage to improve results and meet all the needs of our customers. Therefore, we are happy to announce that our team has been certified as an Azure Gold Partner.

Azure and ASM Web Services

Last February we already achieved three Azure Solutions Architect Expert certifications, which accredits us as Azure expert solution architects and, therefore, that we have expertise in designing cloud and hybrid solutions running on Microsoft Azure, including aspects such as process, network, storage and security.

Thanks to these 3 certifications, today we can celebrate being Azure Gold Partners. Our company has been working for years with other companies in their transition to the Cloud. This certification is a great recognition of our experience and expertise in this service.

Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform

Azure is a Microsoft platform that consists of more than 200 products and services in the cloud and pay-per-use, where you can compile, run and manage these applications in a global network of Microsoft data centers.

We would like to thank all the customers who have trusted ASM to improve their processes. And welcome all those to come.

Meet the Digital Kit

In ASM Web Services we have been certified as digitalizing agents to grant the Digital Kit to SMEs and freelancers. But, what is the Digital Kit?

The Digital Kit is a financial aid, up to 12,000 euros, to boost the digitization of those who may find more obstacles in the way of digital transformation: SMEs and freelancers.

This aid is born from the great crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The European Union launched the Next Generation European funds, endowed with 750,000 million euros, of which 140,000 were for Spain. This led to the creation of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which includes the Digital Kit for the digitalization and technological promotion of SMEs and the self-employed.

What services can I use it for?

In ASM we offer many digitalization services that your company can benefit from using the Digital Kit:

  • Website and internet presence
  • Customer management
  • Electronic invoicing
  • Cybersecurity
  • E-commerce
  • Business intelligence and analytics
  • Virtual office services and tools
  • Social network management
  • Process management
  • Secure communications

Application deadlines

In March, the program opened for the first segment of beneficiaries: companies with between 10 and 49 workers. As of this July, it is now open for micro-SMEs with between 3 and 10 workers. For the self-employed or small companies with between 1 and 3 workers, the turn will be between September and October (depending on the forecast).

Requirements to benefit from the Digital Kit

In order to benefit from the Digital Kit your company must meet the following conditions:

  1. Be a small company, a micro-company or a self-employed.
  2. Not be considered a company in crisis.
  3. Be up to date with tax and Social Security payments.
  4. Not to incur in any of the prohibitions foreseen in the General Law of Subsidies.
  5. To be registered in the Census of businessmen, professionals and resellers of the State Agency of Tributary Administration or in the equivalent census of the Foral Tax Administration.
  6. Not be subject to a pending recovery order following a previous decision of the European Commission.
  7. Not to exceed the minimum aid limit (€200,000).
  8. Have the Digital Maturity Level assessment according to the diagnostic test on the Acelera Pyme platform.

Want to know more? You can learn more here or contact us to solve all your doubts.

Professional athletes also use Open Trail Races

The Open Trail Races mobile app allows you to run verified races at any time, competing against your best time or against others. This, added to the possibility of discovering new territories where to train, is one of the reasons why athletes like Silvia Puigarnau or Eduard Hernández use this application. In addition, they have the assurance that the trails that appear in the app are safe and in constant maintenance.

Among the races that you can find in Open Trail Races whether or not you are a professional athlete are those of Tenerife, with an ideal territory for the practice of trail running, and also those that you can find in Terres de l’Ebre that have been incorporated this year. Among them highlights the Cursa dels Biberons or the Cursa OTR Trencacims, all included in the Winter Championship OTR Terres de l’Ebre.

The collaboration of ASM Web Services with OTR

Open Trail Races (OTR) is a project we are especially proud of. The ASM Web Services team developed the Open Trail Races app for the company The Trail Zone. The aim of the app is to boost tourism and promote the practice of sports in the natural environment. The covid-19 restrictions showed the usefulness of this system, when races could not be organized. We are very happy to incorporate new races to the app.

To use it, the user installs it on the device with which he/she will follow the route, registers and downloads the race track. The routes require the help of a GPS device, as they are not specifically marked for environmental, ecological and respectful reasons. The OTR application also allows for competitions between runners comparing times and rankings to encourage participation.

 

Facilitating contact management at the Mobile World Congress 2022

App Lead Retrieval

App Lead Retrieval

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the mobile world and, very importantly, a source for making new contacts. And this is where our contribution to this great event comes in: Fira de Barcelona’s Lead Retrieval application. Developed by the mobile apps team of ASM Web Services, last year it already gave great results in contact management.

With NFC technology and QR codes, it allows contacts to be managed in real time. Goodbye to cumbersome business cards that tend to get lost when we look for them after the congress or trade show. The app allows you to scan the QR of the visitor’s pass and the contact is archived with all the data contained in the person’s profile.

The saved contacts can then be filtered and exported to Excel, making it easier to contact potential customers to send more information or schedule a meeting to present our project.

VIP Drop Off App

Also developed for the Mobile World Congress, the mobile apps team at ASM Web Services developed the VIP Drop Off app. It is used to manage the parking area. Thanks to a sticker placed on the front window of the vehicle, the person who manages the parking area has information of each car entering or leaving just by bringing a mobile device with the VIP Drop Off app close to the sticker.

 

ASM Web Services coming of age with many changes

The new ASM Web Services offices in Barcelona

The new ASM Web Services offices in Barcelona

Is coming of age in technology companies celebrated at the age of 18? At ASM Web Services, yes, we like celebrations and we are happy because we have been making our clients’ technology projects a reality for 18 years. And if we take into account the last two years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s almost worth double. We have always been committed to renewal and change, and this last year has left us with a lot of them.

2021 was an important challenge to assess the company’s growth trend. After a minimal stagnation in 2020, we have overcome it with a growth close to 15%, reaching a total turnover of more than 4 million euros.

This milestone has again been thanks to our customers, who continue to bet on us. It is worth highlighting two tremendously revealing data: 60% of sales in 2021 have been to customers with an antiquity of 5 years. But even more relevant is that 29.56% of sales were to customers who have been with us for more than 10 years.

This growth has undoubtedly been thanks to the dedication, commitment and sacrifice of a team of people, who despite having numerous job offers, have been loyal to this business model that 5 technicians founded 18 years ago. Today we are more than 50 professionals, with an average seniority of almost 7 years, involved and fully aligned with our mission: to be an ebusiness company open to the world where we grow together.

Teleworking and talent distributed throughout the territory

10 years ago we opted for teleworking and geographical dispersion in search of the best talent. We wanted professionals from all corners of the Spanish geography, from Barcelona to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, favoring family reconciliation.

It has been a tremendously demanding year, where with this small team we have been able to meet the growth in demand from historical and new clients, such as ILSA, Lladró, Kid&Us, Laboratorios Echevarne, Prysmian Cables, ESHOB, JumboDiset, Gonzalez Byass (through Minsait), etc. All this with the best will to add value, with endless working days, with production start-ups in highly complex environments, and always with the best and most praiseworthy attitude.

 

Reunión de parte del equipo de ASM Web Services en las nuevas oficinas de Barcelona

Meeting of part of the ASM Web Services team at the new offices in Barcelona.

Back to Barcelona: the culmination of an evolution

One of the changes of the last twelve months is that ASM Web Services has returned to Barcelona, where we started our business journey. The new headquarters are located at Avenida Madrid, 95, in a very central and well-connected area.

The objective of this move is to facilitate the proximity with our customers and partners such as Magento or VTEX, and also with our employees when it comes to combine face-to-face work and teleworking. Working from these new offices in Barcelona will facilitate the integration of the new Mobile Apps development company, which is also located in the same city.

This change of headquarters is the culmination of a process of evolution of ASM Web Services. At the beginning of 2021 we implemented a new operating model that involved the creation of tech hubs. The company now has two highly specialized development centers: one in Barcelona, focused on the development of Mobile Apps, and another in León, dedicated to Software Engineering and Pricing Optimization Tools.

New projects marked by Covid-19 prevention

The ASM Web Services team is a powerful, flexible team that adapts to the needs of each moment to offer the best solutions to our customers. And this year, it has responded to requests to create solutions in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are a few examples.

After a year of forced absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mobile World Congress returned to Barcelona in 2021 and bet on two technological solutions developed by the mobile apps team of ASM Web Services: the Lead Retrieval and Vip Drop Off applications.

Lead Retrieval is a mobile app for real-time contact management that uses NFC technology and QR codes. Its use avoids physical contact between Mobile World Congress attendees, in addition to controlling access to the event. In the case of a Covid-19 positive among the attendees, it allowed the traceability of this person’s contacts.

It also has other interesting functions for exhibitors, such as having instant information about visitors by scanning the QR of the pass, obtaining contacts by bringing the cell phone close to the pass via NFC and viewing them later in reports with different filters.

Also developed for Mobile World Congress, the VIP Drop Off app is used to manage the parking area.

 

Tiketblok es una app que permite organizar eventos seguros en época CovidTiketblok is an app that allows you to organize safe events in Covid period

Tiketblok: an app for ‘Covid-free’ events

One of the great challenges during the pandemic has been to be able to concentrate people in an enclosed space to enjoy live music. Some clinical studies were carried out, such as the concert in May of Manel in La Mirona de Salt. A thousand people were able to attend and enjoy without security distances. The Tiketblok app was key.

This application, created by the start-up of the same name and developed by the mobile apps team of ASM Web Services, acts as an intermediary between attendees and events. It allows the entire audience of a large event to be identified through their cell phones.

All attendees had to prove that they were people with very low contagious capacity (MBCC), and have the ICC AOKpass virtual health certificate. The Tiketblok app connects anonymously with official health certificate issuers to include in the ticket itself whether the ticket holder is an MBCC person.

 

La aplicación OTR permite realizar competiciones virtuales entre corredores durante todo el añoThe OTR application allows virtual competitions between runners throughout the year.

https://www.asmws.com/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=17585&type=image&TB_iframe=1

Open Trail Races: year-round races in spite of Covid

Covid-19 has forced people to sharpen their wits so that they can enjoy the activities they used to do safely. One example is the races. For several months they were cancelled, but technology offered the possibility of doing them alone through an app. And now both types of competitions coexist.

This is the case of the Open Trail Races app. Apart from calendars and marathons, it allows you to compete throughout the year. The runner has to install the app on his cell phone, register and download the track of the race he wants to run. It allows virtual competitions between runners comparing times and rankings to encourage participation.

The OTR racing application has been developed by the ASM Web Services team for The Trail Zone, a company dedicated to sports tourism that creates and designs unmarked trail stations and competitive circuits 24/7 with the application. It currently has more than 130 races, championships and stage races throughout Spain.

The most powerful version of Akeneo PIM

The French multinational Akeneo, of which ASM Web Services is an official partner, launched a renewed version of its product information management system, its most powerful version: version 5.0 of Akeneo PIM software in Enterprise and Community editions, which we are implementing in 2 new customers.

These are some of the projects completed this year, which we can share with all of you.

Finally, I would like to give my sincere thanks to all of you who have made this possible.

Justo Soria

CEO ASM Web Servies

 

 

Tenerife, new trail running destination for the Open Trail Races app

Open Trail Races (OTR) allows trail running all year round.

Open Trail Races (OTR) allows trail running all year round.

There are more and more followers of trail running throughout the year, without the need to wait for a specific competition. For all of them, here comes great news. The racing app Open Trail Races (OTR) incorporates Tenerife as a new trail running destination.

Tenerife has a series of conditions that make it ideal for this sport: altitude, varied terrain, many trails and an optimal climate throughout the year. For this reason, Tenerife Tourism has decided to include it in the OTR app. It has counted on the collaboration of trail runner David Lutzardo to select the best trails on the island.

ASM and Open Trail Races

We are very happy to see that the app is growing. The ASM Web Services team developed the Open Trail Races app for The Trail Zone, a company dedicated to sports tourism.

To use it, the user installs it on the device with which he will follow the route, registers and downloads the race track. To follow the routes, a GPS device is required, as the routes are not specifically marked for environmental, ecological and respectful reasons. The OTR application also allows virtual competitions between runners comparing times and rankings to encourage participation.

 

We developed a PWA for Petit Celler’s eCommerce.

 Petit Celler's new eCommerce in progressive web app (PWA) format.

Petit Celler’s new eCommerce in progressive web app (PWA) format.

Online wine sales grew by 60% on average in Spain during 2020. This is the figure that emerges from a study conducted by ProWein, the international reference fair for wines and spirits organized in Germany. This upward trend in online wine purchases is an opportunity for growth and opening up new markets for the wine sector that should be taken advantage of. In this favorable context, Petit Celler has just launched its renewed eCommerce in progressive web app (PWA) format.

The distributor, which sells wines from different Spanish and international appellations of origin, as well as cavas and spirits, commissioned us to develop its new eCommerce. After analyzing the characteristics of the project, the ASM Web Services team proposed to implement a PWA for eCommerce, developed with a new Front End in ReactJS, and integrated with a Back End with Magento 2.

The PWA increases browsing speed

Progressive web apps (PWA) are a solution based on the traditional web that incorporates some particularities that make it look like a native app for cell phones and tablets. PWAs provide experiences that are consistently fast. In addition, they allow operation, either partially or even fully, despite no or low quality internet connection.

One of the main advantages that the use of PWA technology in its eCommerce, combined with the application of Javascript (ReactJS), has brought to El Petit Celler is a great increase in the speed of navigation within the online store. Page loading is almost instantaneous. Website speed is a crucial factor for both Google ranking and user experience (UX). 53% of users abandon a website if it is too slow.

In addition, to carry out the development of the new Petit Celler it was necessary to migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2, the most used eCommerce platform worldwide for the creation of online stores. In turn, the Magento platform has been integrated with its shipping management system and management software. As a result, all shipping and invoicing management has been automated, as well as warehouse management and parcel services.