What’s new at IQGeo - Product release roundup August 2023

As our customer and the market needs continue to evolve, the IQGeo product management and engineering teams pay close attention to what solutions will best meet these needs. We’ve been working diligently to deliver the software enhancements that drive productivity, optimize work processes, and prepare our customers for the networks of tomorrow. I’m excited to recap the many releases and updates to the IQGeo product suite over the past several months.

Telecommunications, electric utility and gas utility operators are “Building better networks” with IQGeo’s award-winning software solutions. The ability to powerfully model any network requirement, integrate every system and data source, and support field and office teams with continual innovation is helping operators create the networks of the future. Our solutions ensure greater cross-team collaboration and process efficiency throughout the network lifecycle, from planning and design to construction, operations, and sales.

Below is a summary of the latest product releases and updates that we believe will help our customers address the challenges they face in this changing landscape.

Network Manager Telecom – editions release

Fiber and broadband customers have consistently informed us that managing their networks from a single platform, with a common user experience, enables them to operate much more quickly and efficiently. At the same time, these operators differ widely in the scope of their networks, the number of users, IT resources, and the maturity of their processes. That’s why we have evolved Network Manager Telecom to be available in three distinct editions:

Insight: a cost-effective, packaged fiber network solution
Example profiles: municipalities, educational and corporate campuses, transit authorities, utilities

Professional: a configurable fiber network management solution

Example profiles: commercial broadband and fiber network operators, DOTs / Intelligent Transportations Systems

Enterprise: a customizable hybrid network management solution

With the introduction of Insight, Professional, and Enterprise editions, organizations from private fiber network owners to large broadband and telecom operators can now begin with the edition that fits their current network management needs and seamlessly upgrade as their network requirements change.

Network Manager Electric 2.1

The foundation for adaptive grid management, Network Manager Electric enables utilities to easily realize value from network data and flexibly model any grid scenario. With the release of 2.1, we’ve helped electric utilities optimize processes and save time through:

• Enhanced Point & Span wizard – allows users to quickly create downstream segments with a streamlined input workflow, saving time and reducing input errors
• Electric circuit objects – promotes situational awareness, planning and safety by allowing users to visualize and compare as-built sub-networks
• Design markup tool – improves process efficiency by allowing field and office users to provide additional information regarding specific design or as-built changes
• Automatic boundary redraw for designs – improves conflict resolution during design and saves time when creating initial design

Comsof Fiber 23.1

By automating the fiber planning and design process, Comsof Fiber can reduce your end-to-end planning time by up to 90%. The new reporting and optimization enhancements include:

• New Report Module - Users can automatically generate graphical splice schemes, tabular splice reports, microduct connectivity reports and drawings, saving time from manual updates.
• Aerial design improvements - A new algorithm allows users to mix underground and aerial connections in a single cluster, resulting in better designs and performance.
• Additional underground drop options - Users can drop points on the same side of the street and cluster between junctions, saving valuable design time.

Workflow Manager 2.1

Workflow Manager digitizes every step of your work order and monitoring progress from a single dashboard. New ticket and shift functionality includes:

• Assign existing features to a new ticket - Users can select features on a map, such as cables or poles, and create a ticket that includes the geometries of those features.
• Create tickets from the field - Field Techs can now create tickets, start and end their shifts, and filter by ticket type.
• Improved shift management - Through a new Admin Interface, users can quickly edit shifts, add and remove users, and generate status reports.

Network Manager Telecom 2.6

Prior to the release of Network Manager Telecom editions, we also upgraded the product by integrating Comsof Fiber and more time-saving enhancements:

• Comsof Fiber integration - Network Manager has been updated to include a built-in integration of automated planning and design.
• Path Finder tool - Users can now automatically identify available fiber paths from user-defined start and end locations.
• UX enhancements - It's now easier to add aerial and underground structures to the map as well as being easier to distinguish new or existing spliced fibers.
  

Platform 7.0

IQGeo Platform is a proven geospatial software platform that provides critical network situational awareness, mobility, and enhanced collaboration for telecom and utility operators. As the foundation for Network Manager Telecom and Electric IQGeo Platform is a critical component of the portfolio and we recently made the following upgrades to focus on the security and simplicity of operations:

• Security updates - The SQLite database used on devices running Anywhere is now encrypted at rest.
• Technology upgrades - We have upgraded the underlying libraries (Python, Open Layers, node.js) to maintain secure deployments.
• Deployment changes - We have simplified and accelerated system deployments with the adoption of containerized deployments.

What’s next on the IQGeo product roadmap?

To learn more about these new capabilities and to discuss the benefits of an integrated approach, talk to our industry experts and see how you can take your fiber network planning and grid management to a new level of efficiency.