GRAND RAPIDS – A recent meeting with longtime Open Systems Technologies client Herman Miller provided the inspiration that led to a strategic partnership between OST and leaders of the Grand Rapids office of Sweden-based Configura, maker of space-planning software.
The collaboration agreement calls for OST to serve as a formal Implementation Partner for Configura’s CET Designer software that is heavily used in the contract furniture industry worldwide.
As a result, OST has launched Configura Services, with six employees and two full-time contractors. The team offers design, development and support for companies using Configura’s software. The company’s first project is supporting Herman Miller’s CET Designer implementation.
Herman Miller – one of the world’s largest office furniture manufacturers – signed with Configura for a CET Designer Extension in 2015 and is among the customers now collaborating with OST for further development of its CET Designer Extension, expected to launch in 2017. It was a meeting between OST and Herman Miller in late 2016 that sparked a conversation about CET Designer and the company’s need for implementation support.
“What started out as an ideation session at Herman Miller quickly evolved into a full service, custom configuration offering from the OST and Configura teams,” said Jeff Kurburski, Chief Information Officer at Herman Miller. “In today’s digital world it is partnerships like these which help us succeed; ones in which we not only ideate together, but drive to solutions which are mutually beneficial and create value for all parties.”
OST Marketing and Communications Director Michael Lomonaco said the new practice is built around designing, developing and supporting CET Designer Extensions.
“OST’s close partnership with Configura, combined with a close proximity to Configura’s U.S. office located in Grand Rapids, uniquely positions us to be a strong, value-added partner to both Configura and the entire ecosystem that the company serves.”
Manufacturers partner with Configura – and with Configura partners like OST – for CET Designer Extensions in order to make selling their products fast, easy and extremely accurate. The highly visual software enables 2D and 3D design, photorealistic renderings, fly-thru videos, instant bills of materials and installation documents, and now, virtual reality experiences.
The OST partnership will help Configura to expand into new industries. Although Configura’s CET Designer software is widely known in and used by the global office furniture industry,
“With current customers wanting even more from CET Designer, and with many new manufacturers adopting our solution, we need Implementation Partners like OST to help us serve our rapidly expanding base of customers,” Configura Vice President Peter Brandinger said. “With our OST collaboration, we can develop and offer more Extensions, products and functionality to our manufacturer customers and end users. Any manufacturer and dealer that makes and sells configurable products can benefit from our solution.”
More information at www.ostusa.com
