26
RENTAL PRODUCTS SOFTWARE
IRN JANUARY 2014
company has been preparing for the Cloud for
many years – it developed its first mobile working
application 10 years ago; “In the last year or so
dramatically more customers are talking about it.
Now, prospects are saying ‘What options do you
have on the Cloud?’”
The company is offering an all-in-one solution
to its customers, using its own servers to host the
software. Mr van der Knaap also says the Cloud
option is proving popular with some international
customers, including rental companies in China, the
Middle East and Nigeria, where there are attractions
in having software and hardware outsourced.
“We had a start-up a few years ago – a small
company that wanted to expand internationally
through franchises. That has allowed them to have
connections to Australia and the Middle East without
them having to worry about the IT infrastructure.”
Only some applications?
For companies interested in going down the Cloud
route, are there particular applications that lend
themselves to implementation on the Cloud?
Wayne Harris, president and CEO of Point-of-Rental
Systems in the US, says; “Five years ago, if I were
asked this question, I would reply that only some
types of applications are viable for Cloud.
“In the past few years though, with better internet
connections and modern browsers it seems that
any application can be delivered via Cloud. It is
now common to see point of sale systems with pure
Cloud delivery, and that was one of the last hold
outs. If you look at the success of Cloud vendors like
Salesforce, Google Mail, Microsoft Office 365, etc.
you can see all kinds of systems are being delivered
via the web.
“Very few large scale organisations have moved
to a Cloud system for point of sale, but for early
technology adopters it is getting common. The
next five years will likely bring many more cloud
delivered applications of all types.”
Jack Shea, general manager of Solutions by
Computer in the US – which offers SaaS versions
of its Enfinity and CounterPro systems – says that
two of the big strengths of the Cloud are on-demand
access and information sharing; “These are relevant
to almost every area of rental operations. If I had to
point to one area, it might be sales, due to how the
customer environment is becoming more mobile-
enabled. Customers are coming to expect instant
gratification when it comes to inventory availability,
pricing, delivery status and other information. The
Cloud can facilitate that.”
RMI’s Paul Chapdelaine takes a straightforward
approach; “It is our goal for the entire rental
business to operate within the Cloud computing
environment. It is through this approach that we are
able to eliminate the need for in-house computing
infrastructure while delivering all of the benefits
available through the Cloud.”
RMI offers its customers four different users
levels, each with their own price points, ranging
from Full System User, to Mobile/Lite users, Office
Worker (e-mail, Office and Outlook functionality)
and CRM User. This latter level, being introduced
in the first quarter of this year, includes Microsoft
CRM with built-in connectivity to RMI’s Advantage
solution.
Bring everything across
Jonathan Dawkins at Ardent/Waterdale Group,
selling as it does a complete ERP system, also
favours taking across the complete software
package. “For every one of our customers [taking
the Cloud route] we bring everything across.”
Is there an argument for introducing the Cloud bit
by bit? Jack Shea at Solutions by Computer says
that as a general rule of thumb it is easier to control
a migration in stages; “although ultimately this
should be dictated by what is best for the operation.
Rental operators are very focused on minimising
downtime and disruption. When we convert one of
our customers from server-based to SaaS-based, we
do it in one seamless process.”
Wayne Harris at Point-of-Rental says there are
“The Cloud insulates the user from IT obsolescence”, says
Ramco’s Ramesh Babu.
“The customers of rental
companies are coming to
expect instant gratification
when it comes to inventory
availability, pricing,
delivery status and other
information. The Cloud can
facilitate that.”
JACK SHEA, Solutions by Computer
