IRN JANUARY 2014
Hosting your rental
software on the Cloud -
also called Software as
a Service (SaaS) - offers
rental companies real
benefits, as Murray Pollok
reports.
T
he momentum behind Cloud computing
continues to grow. It is easy to see why
because its benefits are many and varied: no
investment in your own IT infrastructure; software
management by an expert; hardware and software
upgraded by the Cloud supplier; data security and
back-ups performed by a specialist; and accessibility
to the system from anywhere at any time.
Add to that the particular benefits for a rental
business with many locations, with the Cloud
offering the same solution everywhere and in real
time and with the ability to integrate a mobile
workforce, and you have a potentially powerful
solution.
There are wider potential benefits as well, as
Paul Chapdelaine, president and founder of RMI
Corp in the US, explains; “The ability to control
the environment in which its software is running
is making software companies…much better at
delivering the benefits that are inherent within
their software solution.
“In the past, we had to rely upon our customers
to maintain adequate infrastructure and supporting
software (updated operating systems etc.). Now
that we can control the environment I think that
customers will see improvements in the ways that
they operate their business coming into play at
a much faster pace. That may, in the end, be the
biggest benefit gained by rental businesses that
move to the Cloud.”
Obsolete IT?
The Cloud also helps to minimise the risk that
investments in IT become obsolete. Ramesh Babu,
chief delivery officer at Ramco Systems, the Indian-
based company that offers a rental ERP Cloud
solution worldwide, points out that technology
is moving rapidly; “the Cloud insulates the user
from such obsolescence by constantly refreshing
the application/technology. Unlike in their rental
business, where they can sell off used equipment
and refresh their fleet, the CapEx investment in IT is
a sunk cost and can’t be recovered.”
Such is the potential that many of the world’s
rental software suppliers are already offering Cloud
variants, either ‘pure’ Cloud solutions, with software
developed to operate via internet browsers and
hosted offsite, or ‘hybrid’ solutions, where a third
party will take a rental company’s existing software
and host it on their own servers.
Chris Branson, CEO of InspHire, the UK rental
software company, tells
IRN
that the majority of
its installations are still traditional on-premise
solutions, but that prospective customers are
increasingly looking at the hybrid or pure Cloud
model.
In response, and in the belief that Cloud solutions
are the way ahead, InspHire is now launching its
first Cloud solution, written “from the ground up”
to operate via internet enabled computers and
portable devices.
Mr Branson and a team of programmers had been
working on the project for two and a half years, with
the system being launched throughout 2014. Some
‘early adopter’ customers are already trialing the
software.
He tells
IRN
that the ‘pure’ option offers
advantages over the hybrid; “It’s a better solution
and which has a longer technology life...[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.
“From a technology point of view we’re looking
further down the road”, says Mr Branson, “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”, he adds, “What we are offering
is a choice.”
'Hybrid' Cloud option
One option within the ‘hybrid’ Cloud model, says
Jonathan Dawkins, head of sales at Ardent/
Waterdale group – which sells a Microsoft Dynamics
AX rental ERP system developed by Annata Dynamics
– is for a rental company simply to give their own
servers to a third-party company to manage on
their behalf. This takes the hassle out of managing
regular back-ups, provides a dedicated environment
for the servers and also security of data.
Mr Dawkins makes the point that siting servers at
a dedicated IT centre may also help in connectivity,
with internet connections to a central IT centre –
which tend to have contracts with several different
telephone companies - often more reliable and
faster than links to wherever the rental company’s
head office happens to be.
Guy van der Knaap, managing director of MCS,
another UK rental software specialist, says the
Paul Chapdelaine, president and founder of RMI Corp, says the
Cloud will help rental companies exploit the full benefits of their
rental software.
“Cloud computing is becoming more prevalent. We are
building a Cloud 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.”
CHRIS BRANSON, InspHire
Cloud benefits
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RENTAL PRODUCTS SOFTWARE
