SirsiDynix has been undertaking a strategy to modernize its product suite since 2013 through a new platform and set of web-based interfaces branded as BLUEcloud. This strategy takes a hybrid approach of deploying new applications and interfaces via a modern multi-tenant platform even as libraries continue to use one of the SirsiDynix ILS products, Symphony or Horizon. (See Smart Libraries Newsletter, May 2013 and August 2014.)
Some of the BLUEcloud modules previously released include:
- BLUEcloud Cataloging, released in 2014, has been implemented by more than 300 libraries.
- MobileCirc, offering selected circulation functions through a mobile interface optimized for smartphones or tablets.
- eResource Central, a product to manage the acquisition and delivery of e-books and other digital content.
- BLUEcloud Circulation, in development and planned for release in 2016.
- BLUEcloud Analytics, replacing two earlier products oriented to statistics and reporting, Directors Station and WebReporter. Released in 2014, it has been implemented by 225 libraries.
- BLUEcloud Visibility, released in 2015, provides a service developed in partnership with Zepheira to expose library collections as linked data to facilitate discovery on the web by Google and other search engines.
- BLUEcloud PAC, a web-based online catalog intended to replace earlier products such as eLibrary, iBistro/iLink, and HIP.
- Enterprise, a full discovery interface with faceted navigation and relevancy-based results.
- BLUEcloud eRM, an electronic resource management system based on the open source CORAL software originally created at the University of Notre Dame, entered testing as a pilot release in February 2016.
Adding to these modules, SirsiDynix has announced its progress in the development of BLUEcloud Acquisitions. This module has been created in partnership with the South Australia Public Library Network, which had created its own acquisitions system that was in service for the past two decades. SAPLN, which includes all of the public libraries in the state of South Australia, has implemented SirsiDynix Symphony as a shared system for all its members.
BLUEcloud Acquisitions will manage the selection and procurement of library materials, whether made centrally through the network office or by the local library. The module will include standard acquisitions functionality, such as budgeting of collections funds, invoice processing, and collection development support. A set of workflows will be available to optimize processing in large library systems or consortia. BLUEcloud Acquisitions will operate in conjunction with both Symphony and Horizon and is expected to be implemented for SAPLN later in 2016 with general availability to follow.
Through the creation of the BLUEcloud platform, SirsiDynix has been able to embark on an ambitious path to providing web-based interfaces and new functionality without forcing libraries using its Symphony or Horizon ILS products into a disruptive migration process. Most data continues to reside in the ILS, even as interfaces and functionality shift to the BLUEcloud products. For new clients, SirsiDynix offers a hybrid model of Symphony and the available modules of the BLUEcloud platform. SirsiDynix reports that more than 1,700 of its library customers have implemented at least one of its BLUEcloud products.
