IT company Agresso creates software that handles financial transactions for major companies. The solutions compete with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) offerings from the likes of SAP and Oracle – although Agresso’s software often provides greater agility and value.
The company needed to promote its services and solutions both to prospects and to existing clients, to help them get more from the software.
I was asked to write all of the editorial for their magazine Inform which goes out to their existing customers. The magazine provides information on training, upgrades and product development. It also highlights important new customers that are joining the Agresso community. I researched the project extensively, talking to senior executives at the company as well as important clients and partners. I then turned the information into a series of compelling, readable but highly informative articles.
I went on to write a major series of articles and case studies for two more magazines – ‘Agile’ and ‘Advantage’, the former sent out to major corporations and the latter to public sector organisations.
Subjects tackled included general news, new clients and issues affecting the target audiences – for example Government initiatives and new legislation for the public sector, and developments in best practice for the private sector. Many of the articles needed to tackle complex technical subjects in depth in order to properly explain the full benefits of the software.
To achieve this I interviewed senior people across the company, based in the UK and Holland. Creating the articles required a balancing act between making them readable and compelling for a lay audience while not dumbing down on the financial, regulatory or IT complexities. Technical terms and ideas needed to be explained while keeping the articles highly relevant and focused on the benefits for the end user.
I was also asked to create a range of self-standing case studies for the company. This involved extensive liaison with Agresso’s own clients and the users of the software. The case studies told the story of how people use the software to get things done, save money and be more efficient. These are big claims, often made by software developers. It was vital in this case to show the software in action, hearing the authentic voices of the end-users extolling its virtues and explaining in detail how it improves their financial management and operations.
