Soon to be inclusive functionality within Woodstock, Integrator introduces new possibilities for automating model updating and model data manipulation. In this post, Director of Analytics Solutions, Marie Eve Fillion, shares her thoughts on the many benefits of Integrator.
I am very excited that my first Remsoft blog as Director of Analytics Solutions is about one of my favorite Woodstock features: Integrator!
Previously a separate module, with the next release Integrator functionality and its many benefits will be available to all Woodstock clients current on maintenance. If you already have and use Integrator, you know it is a great way to make model building and updating more efficient. If you’re new to the world of automation and scripting, then consider this an introduction.
Integrator is all about working smarter, not harder
If you are a multi-tasker, filling the role of planner, professional forester and/or analyst, you have large volumes of work that only get larger. Another logging season is just around the corner. Another annual budgeting cycle will start soon. There’s a land investment opportunity that needs to be analyzed in a timely fashion.
While project timelines and deadlines are out of your control, what you can control is your modeling process.
Automating modeling workflows
As a long-time Woodstock modeler, I’m a strong advocate of automation – and taking every opportunity to automate model updating or model data manipulation. If you handle multiple models for different locations, lack of standardization has a cost. When you complete specific modeling processes once a month or possibly once a quarter, it’s an effort to remember each step, each of the checks and balances, every time. This also carries risk and has a cost. Loading model coefficients, with multiple cut and paste from Excel, will introduce errors.
Aside from the inefficiencies, there’s the time that these repetitive tasks consume. Updating and scenario preparation takes up a lot of valuable time and it leaves little time for performing sensitivity analysis and due diligence on your models.
This is where Integrator comes into play.
With Integrator functionality, you can:
- Templatize and link models to external data
- Streamline and update models easily and repeatably
- Eliminate time consuming and repetitive syntax
- Produce timely results and intelligence from models
- Improve workflow and provide more effective analyses
It’s not an overstatement to say, and I know every Remsoft Analyst would agree, that Integrator has completely changed the way we build, maintain and even run models for the better!
With its ability to automate and simplify, Integrator is also a powerful feature for delivering Woodstock optimization to non-modelers in your organization.
If you’re new to model integration and dynamic data connectivity in Woodstock, we have online training courses that can help you get started. Our clients in South America will have a great opportunity to participate in training sessions on Incorporating Automation into Model Building and Updating at the User Group Training Workshops in May.
To see Integrator in action, watch the video.
In my new role, I look forward to engaging with you to understand how you use our analytics products and features, including Integrator, and where you see value or new possibilities – within our current functionality and future development. I’ll be reaching out soon, and you can always connect with me if there’s something on your mind!
Meanwhile, we are hard at work on the next release. Stay tuned for the March update announcement.
