Progress ASPen Program Allows Property Management Companies to Rent 'Access' to Top Technology

Business Wire, Dec 11, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 2001

Jenark's Subscription-based Access Application Quickly Gives DARO

Realty the Same Functionality as Larger Competitors; No Up-Front

Investments Increases Affordability

The Progress Company, a business unit of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq:PRGS) and a leading supplier of technology for building e-business solutions, announced today that DARO Realty, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate management company, has lowered their operating costs by subscribing to a Progress ASPen(SM) Program member's application. Jenark Business Systems, a leading provider of Real Estate Management software, ASP-enabled and deployed their Access Property Management application, which is based on the Progress(R) OpenEdge(TM) e-business platform (see press release http://www.progress.com/releases/2001/112701.htm). By offering the Access application through the ASP model, Jenark can give smaller companies like DARO Realty access to the same technology used by their larger competitors, yet at a lower cost and with no up-front investments.

Jenark Business Systems has been a Progress Independent Software Vendor (ISV) for over 13 years, and an ASPen program member for two years. Their Access Property Management application is installed in approximately 150 property management companies throughout the United States and is comprised of 22 different modules of software ranging from general accounting to ones that are specifically purposed to the various segments of the real estate management market. Their latest product offerings include an ASP-enabled version of Access, a hand-held interface for work orders, and a community portal based on Progress technology.

Originally, Jenark achieved success with medium- to large-sized companies that had existing IT departments, and could easily afford to purchase the application along with the hardware necessary to run it in house. Jenark became an early member of the Progress ASPen program, realizing that ASP was an approach that could open the door to new customers. ASPen gave their sales reps the option to offer Access on a subscription basis to smaller companies like DARO Realty, who needed the functionality that the application offered, but could not justify the overhead of buying a server and employing an IT staff to manage it, in addition to the cost of the software.

"The ASPen Program has been very beneficial to both Jenark and its customers," said Mark Jennings, vice president and owner of Jenark Business Systems. "OpenEdge has given us more tools, so we can develop more applications to meet market needs, and in turn, attract more customers. ASPen has given us the means to share that technology with a whole new segment of the real estate management market. For instance, we have been able to develop a hand-held interface that we can offer our customers on a subscription basis. Companies that previously could not afford the investment to develop these types of applications, can now benefit from our product, which is already specifically tailored to their industry needs."

DARO Realty, a small real estate company that owns and manages their own units, has been subscribing to Jenark's Access application for over a year. Originally, DARO had out-sourced their financial reporting to a local company, which went out of business because their systems were not Y2K compliant. In its search for a replacement, DARO quickly realized that they needed a more modern approach to handling the overall management of their properties, as well as real-time information, and began evaluating their options. They had learned about Jenark from a competitor with 23,000 units, who had purchased the Access application.

David Meit is the portfolio director for DARO Realty and was involved in evaluating the Jenark application. Meit also sits on the board of the local Property Management Association and is an active member for the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and the Apartment and Office Building Association (AOBA) and was aware of the infrastructure required by an in-house application.

"We looked at all the best application players in this market, including Jenark, and fully expected to have to purchase an application, and everything that goes along with it," said Meit. "We have never had an IT person or department, and this was really becoming a daunting task. Then we learned more about Jenark, and realized that they were the only ones who were offering us the option of renting exactly what we needed, without the huge capital investment. Surprisingly, it was going to cost us less than what we had been paying to outsource."

"Installing the Access application was so easy, I can install it faster than Microsoft Office and I still don't have an IT person," Meit added. "If we had purchased the application, we would have had to deal with maintaining and managing it. Because we are online with Jenark, we were up and running in a few days, and upgrades are seamless; we just go in and it's there. No muss, no fuss. I spend less time trying to compile reports so I can get my arms around what's happening, and more time managing and improving my business."