When was the software launched and who is it targeted at? Switch 10, as the name suggests, is the 10th incarnation of Enfocus’ popular workflow automation tool. It is used across many industries and clients include law firms, ad agencies and even hospitals. However, Elli Cloots, director of product management at Enfocus, says Switch and the applications it automates are very much focused on print. "We see it pop up in other industries – mostly those that have a lot of files that need to go from one end to another end – but our main market and sales channel is print," she says.
 
What does the software do? The brainchild of Enfocus founder Peter Camps back in the mid-noughties, Switch was designed to capitalise on the potential for metadata to dramatically increase the level of automation in a print workflow. "The core of what it does is to automate repetitive tasks in a consistent way," explains Cloots. "The way it does this is via an application that not only automates these tasks, but also integrates with many of the other software applications you have. We don’t come in with Switch and try to replace everything you already have; we protect your existing investment and optimise it by automating it."
 
How does it work? When a file comes in, Switch gives it a unique ID and creates an internal XML job ticket that goes with that ID and traces everything that happens to it. The file is scheduled through whatever steps it needs to go through. These file flows are set up using a simple drag-and-drop interface. "You drop a folder here, you drop another one there, you draw a connection in between and you say ‘only allow PDF files’, for instance," says Cloots. "Then it will check every file that comes in and, if it’s a PDF, it allows it through the connection and moves it to the next step and the job ticket will track all of that." Switch can automate anything from file conversion to imposition via any of the third-party applications it has configurators for (see www.crossroads-world.com).

What’s its USP? Switch’s biggest USP is its openness. It is both format- and vendor-neutral, meaning it will accept any file type and integrate with any application, including those from competitive vendors. This means that it links to and automates your existing applications rather than replacing them. "Instead of reinventing the wheel, we integrate with the applications used in our industry," says Cloots. "We sometimes see Switch being put in front of high-end workflows just to get the files in, filter them out and make sure that everything’s handled properly before they send them to the system. Once you’re in the system, RIP time is limited, so you want to almost pre-prepare all these files before they’re handed over."
 
How does it compare to other workflow-automation tools? Switch doesn’t have any direct competitors. Originally described by Camps as a "workflow backbone", it uses ‘configurators’ to interface with the many third-party applications a printer might use. The closest thing it has to a rival would be, at one end of the scale, home-made workflows that use a mix of hot folders and scripting to provide automation (but lack the ability to provide things like error logging and application restarts), and at the other end, high-end workflow systems that provide a high degree of automation but come at a high cost and replace existing applications. "You’ve got solutions that have some overlap with Switch, but their focus is always to get the file printed, move it through a RIP and post-process it," says Cloots. "Our focus is different. We acknowledge that whatever you’re doing contains repetitive tasks, so let’s take those tasks and automate them."
 
What improvements have been made? Switch 10 comes with an improved core engine, which is capable of handling multiple simultaneous processes. "We now have an engine for the future," says Cloots. "Now, if your FTP is causing problems or you have a third-party application that’s causing a problem, it will not affect other tasks – everything will continue to process independently." Enfocus also revamped Switch’s user interface, introducing a dashboard-style Workload Visualiser that shows how heavily Switch is being used and flags up potential problems in advance. Other new features include support for secure FTP and a SwitchProxy module for FullSwitch and PowerSwitch users.
 
What level of support can users expect? Cloots says a lot of time has been spent on the user interface so "normal users" can set up the usual workflows themselves. She adds that even a complete novice should be able to set up a flow that will pull files in, filter them and then send them through a couple of applications before archiving them again. Training is available through the company’s network of resellers and there is a growing community of users who provide advice on the CrossRoads website. Support is available from resellers but Enfocus does offer a maintenance contract that includes upgrades and priority business support, within one business day, via its support team (support@enfocus.com). Enfocus also provides free support for users without a maintenance contract, where customers can expect an answer to problems within two business days.

SPECIFICATIONS
Platforms Mac OSX 10.5 or 10.6 (desktop and server editions), Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 2003 Server, Windows 2008 Server, Windows 2008 Server R2
Price
PowerSwitch: £5,455
FullSwitch: £2,727
LiteSwitch: £818
Contact Enfocus +32 (0) 9216 9211 www.enfocus.com

USER'S VERDICT
"The simplicity of the flow design process impressed us from the start, together with its ability to seamlessly link third-party applications such as Callas pdfToolbox and Adobe Creative Suite" (4.5/5)        
Robert Banbury Production project development specialist, The Economist Newspaper

ALTERNATIVES
There are no direct rivals to the Switch range that offer a simple visual tool for automating third-party products into a single workflow.

Using scripting offers an alternative route to achieving the automation of Switch, but it requires specialist knowledge, and removing the need for those skills was one of the main reasons Switch was developed.

Automated pre-media workflows from the major vendors are not considered direct competitors to Switch, due to their inability to automate a far broader spectrum of the tasks required in print and publishing.

In addition, Switch is available at a much lower cost and due to its flexibility, may fit a user’s exact needs more precisely than an off-the-shelf system.