Invenias

More than 3 years ago I founded an Executive Search Firm, Total Executive Search. Prior to this I had been working on a proprietary database owned by HVS Executive Search which was web-based and thus inaccessible when offline, as well as being incredibly inefficient owing to an archaic user-interface . When I left HVS and founded Total Executive Search, we began with Dillistone's FileFinder. After several months of working with that product, we found it to be cumbersome, counter-intuitive, slow, and inefficient.

A friend recommended Invenias and I arranged for a demo. We were blown away by the personalized demo, the professionalism of the staff, and the product itself is far superior to any other similar product on the market. We contacted FileFinder and provided the company with a very detailed summary of all the areas where their product fell short of what we had expressly communicated that we needed in a product, and we successfully broke the contract with no penalty. The bulk transfer of our data from FileFinder across to Invenias was very quick and easy and thus there was no significant impact on our workflow. Learning to use Invenias proficiently was mind-blowingly easy as it is extremely intuitive and the training resources are exceptional. Our productivity was at least doubled and we were able to execute search assignments in less than half the time that it had taken us before.

Almost two years later when we were enticed to return to HVS Executive Search, one of my biggest frustrations was having to readjust to the proprietary database - comparable to having won first place in a Ferrari around Circuit de Monaco and then getting into a standard 1967 Volkswagon Beetle and taking on the Dakar Rally. With one flat tire and no tool kit.

The customization options that are available in Invenias are exceptional, the product is way ahead of the game, and the the customer support is extraordinary - on the rare occasions that it is needed. I have no hesitation in recommending Invenias, and I would go so far as to say that after you have seen a demo, you'll probably want to ditch whatever system you're using now like a hot potato!

We use Invenias for most of our daily ops for both Executive Search and Consulting in general. We also run events and other projects with Invenias. Although it's not a 'do-it-all' system, it satisfies most of our data and management needs out of the box. With its new API support, we have also integrated Invenias with our other business apps to provide across-the-board user experience. Being an intuitive system, Invenias has significantly reduced the amount of training for new staff. Being cloud based, it also means our staff can use Invenias wherever they want on a variety of devices. Lastly, the continuous improvement and innovation with Invenias's development is crucial for our continued use of the product knowing that it will satisfy our future needs as well.

As a small-sized retained executive search firm (20-25 consultants in the US), we found exactly what we needed in the partnership with Invenias. The product offers a very easy to navigate embedded system that has made our daily workflow so much easier. The time we are saving compared to the other tools we have had in the past, enables us to focus on our core business activities. Their tool saves time and money, for sure. And it strengthens the quality of the searches and process management.
Besides that, the implementation and migration team, the user-training and customer support team all have been nothing but stellar. We went live at the end of 2016 and couldn't have been more pleased with our choice.

On Mac terrible, on PC good.