OpenWater Application and Review Cloud Reviews & Product Details

We regularly use the email/communication function in OpenWater to stay in touch with our cohort of applicants throughout the year. While the formatting can feel a bit clunky at times, the ability to pipe in application data is excellent. We especially appreciate being able to add additional contacts to the CC line. The option to create and maintain unique links that allow non-users to download data reports is also incredible. In my experience working with two other comparable application/review platforms, OpenWater really stands out as the exception when it comes to this tool. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Formatting in OpenWater’s outreach tool can feel clunky. It would be much easier if we could match the tool to our organization’s style and brand—fonts, colors, and similar elements—without having to manually customize everything.

My biggest complaint, though, is the lack of bulk application management options. In our program flow, we include an optional form, and when applicants leave it incomplete, our team has to manually finalize and complete it for every person who didn’t submit. With a group of 500+ applications, this ends up taking roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Also, the OpenWater feature that hides applications older than 120 days creates more problems for us than it solves. Our program runs for 13 months, and applicants log in and see “0” applications even though they know they previously submitted two other forms. That creates a lot of confusion and anxiety, and clearing it up takes significant staff time that could be better spent elsewhere. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We use OpenWater to manage our application process, and it has significantly streamlined our operations. The platform allows us to maintain our organization's branding while providing a seamless experience for applicants - they simply click a link on our website and are directed to our customized application portal.

What I like best about OpenWater is its comprehensive functionality. We can collect applications, process payments, and conduct multi-stage reviews all within one system. The filtering and sorting capabilities are particularly useful when handling large volumes of applications. Being able to generate detailed reports about submission status and reviewer progress has made tracking much more efficient. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some of the default terminology doesn't align perfectly with our specific needs, which required additional training for our team to get everyone comfortable with the system. We've also noticed that the portal can occasionally run slower when processing large amounts of data. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have been using Open Water daily for more than 5 years and I will continue to do so. For the moment, I haven't found a reason to stop doing it. Due to my frequency of use, I consider that I know the software very well.

The judging process is probably my favourite feature. In our review process, we involve over more than 80 internal and external experts who review more than 1600 session proposals. We divide the experts according to program categories. Open Water allows you to assign by category, which is super helpful. It also lets you decide how many sessions each expert should evaluate and other features. It is very personalized to the experience that you need. Sessions can also be assigned randomly at first, and then easily moved between judges as needed, ensuring that the right expert evaluates each proposal. I believe this part is super important in case you want judges to review specific proposals according to their expertise within a general category.

One of the best aspects of OpenWater is its library of resources, for example, their onsite training. I do it every year before we begin our review cycle just to remind myself. There is always one feature that you forget that you can use to make better. If you are not DIY, which I am, their customer service is amazing. They are always there to answer any question that you need or to help you come up with an answer to a problem that is bothering you. In summary, the platform offers an excellent balance between responsive customer support and comprehensive resources for self-learning. Briefly, ease of use and ease of implementation is guaranteed.

This has allowed us to implement new features each year that improve our workflow and make the system even easier to use. I now only contact customer support when I encounter a significant issue, and their responses are always prompt and direct me to helpful resources. On this point, ease of of implementation is guaranteed. I must admit that customer support is amazing. I love working with our account manager.

In terms of value (money), Open Water is great. I like that it does not charge per application or participant. This makes it very flexible. Also, depending on your package, you can have different programs. We use several and this is great. It really allows us to have a program for each of the different needs we have.

While OW is often used for grant or scholarship management, we use it to collect session proposals for a conference focused on technology and human rights. The overall process is quite similar, and we collaborate with OW to refine our evaluation process to fit our needs. The number of features really is in line with our needs.

The integrations hub also works pretty well. I would suggest getting it if your organization needs it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I believe that Open Water could enhance its dashboard features. It can be difficult to follow all the key data points of your program. For instance, seeing how many sessions have been submitted, completed, or are still in process is not always straightforward.

Nevertheless, the reporting features is amazing. It is really tailored to any report that you need and you can have them customize.

As for the interface, it may have looked outdated until recently, but they are currently working on a redesign, which I am very much looking forward to.

I also feel like OW could upgrade its look and feature, however, I am aware that they are working on this with strong efforts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I used to collect our scholarship applications by paper copies that were mailed in, and then I had to scan everything in. After that I had to save applications for our judges to access and they had to fill out paper forms. OpenWater has saved our team hundreds of hours; our scholarships look cleaner than they did before and we can make sure applicants are supplying the information we need with the required fields! Applications often came in with missing information, which disqualified them. Collecting the information for payment has also been made a breeze! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One of the downsides to the platform is where some of the items are located; there are several spots for judge information or what limitations you want to have on your application. With having multiple locations for different things, it takes a little longer to set things up. I absolutely love the customer service in terms of how quickly they respond and assist with any questions- when they go on vacation there is always someone else to help. But some of the things that I have felt should be intuitive are not, which results in me reaching out and having to get assistance when it could have been right there. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are many things I like about OpenWater. Before using OpenWater, our organization did everything via email. When you have 400 or more students and businesses applying via email, that gets very overwhelming and becomes inefficient. OpenWater has allowed our organization to streamline every one of our programs and application processes. Not only that, but creating the applications and procedures on OpenWater is clear, straightforward, and efficient. On the user side, we've been told that the software is easy to navigate. Lastly, the customer support has been stellar! Once we began using OpenWater, we've worked exclusively with the Director of Customer Support, and she's been amazing! She answers every question or concern I have. It's felt very much like a collaborative process as my coworkers and I learn to use the platform. OpenWater has gone above and beyond for our organization. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have yet to find a downside of using OpenWater. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Overall, the program is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The customization options are limited, which makes it harder to create a smoother, more user-friendly interface. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like using OpenWater Application and Review Cloud for its data tools that allow me to accomplish multiple tasks. I also appreciate how everything can be saved, so I can return to my work at a later time. The initial setup was very easy too. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find that settings can get bungled, especially the settings related to sending automatic notifications to applicants. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Great customer service and quick response times. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We've experienced several "bugs" (more than we think is acceptable) as well as other not so great standard features that have affected our own processes as well as our applicants'/reviewers' experiences. (For example, in the review form, when going to the second page, it does not take the user to the top of the form, it starts them in the middle. We've been told that this is just the way it is... But we keep getting complaints about it because it makes our reviewers' jobs harder.) This is just one example of a standard feature that we are not happy with. The amount of bugs we have experienced has also been frustrating.

The overall look and feel / user experience of the software could also be improved. (Just looks outdated and is not always very user friendly). I know you are working on updating this, so we are hopeful it will improve soon.

Also, this is probably our biggest issue, but only one person can own and fill out a form— others can't log in to complete their own sections. We wish it were possible for multiple people to enter their individual information into a shared form, with everything connecting to the same place. I know you said you were working on adding this too, so we are holding out hope! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the ability to clone the programs annually in OpenWater Application and Review Cloud. The Online Gallery is very helpful for directing attendees who need an agenda. I find the tech support to be very timely, which is reassuring. Building our own reports is also a great option to have. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find the integration with other systems difficult sometimes, and certain import features are not available. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We have been using OpenWater for 5-6 years now to assist with our Emerald Awards program. It has significantly streamlined not only the back end process, but the front end for our members. We had to do some custom development to make the system work like we wanted but the development team was great. Because we're only in the system 1x per year, it's hard to remember all the necessary steps and their customer service is fantastic. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There is some functionality that didn't work as we hoped so we did need to spend some additional money for custom development. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.