RENTAL SOFTWARE
31
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014
ACCESS, LIFT & HANDLERS
New Year, new features
Software companies are
rolling out products and
updates that further enhance
users’ abilities when it
comes to working in the field
or behind a computer.
Lindsey
Anderson
rounds up the latest.
A
good 10 years ago, if someone asked
you to save your data to ‘the cloud,’
you’d probably ask if they were crazy.
Today, however, the cloud is as synonymous
with business – and personal life – as e-mail.
In the progression of the digital age, companies
are offering all sorts of cloud solutions, but one
such firm, rental software company InspHire, is
moving beyond just storing data in the cloud.
InspHire is launching a “pure” cloud software
solution that has been written “from the ground
up” to operate via Internet-enabled computers
and portable devices.
Chris Branson, InspHire’s CEO, says that he
and a team of programmers have been working
on the project for two and a half years, and that
it will launch later this year. Some early adopter
customers are already trialing the software.
Branson drew a distinction between ‘hybrid’
cloud systems, which take an existing rental
software system and put it on a remote server
maintained by a third-party company, and the
‘pure’ coud solution that has been developed by
InspHire.
“It’s a better solution and which has a longer
technology life...,” Branson says. “[With a
system designed for the internet], the web
pages are more responsive and it’s designed for
use with portable devices. It will run faster – the
application is designed to work on the web. It’s
a completely different product, like moving from
DOS to Windows.”
Cloud systems offer several advantages over
traditional systems, with rental companies
not required to invest in servers and extensive
IT infrastructure in their own offices, instead
paying a monthly subscription to have the
software held on a secure, outsourced server.
“From a technology point of view we’re
looking further down the road,” Branson says.
“Cloud computing is becoming more prevalent.
We are building a product for when customers
are ready to migrate. There are many, many,
years life left in our core product. What we are
offering is a choice.”
InspHire Mobile allows users to control data anywhere and offer immediate response to issues that may be happening on another site,
effectively minimizing downtime and improving bottom line.
InspHire is launching a pure cloud software
solution that has been written “from the
ground up” to operate via internet enabled
computers and portable devices.
