RER spoke with Alex Kress, general manager of operations, Texada Software, about the company’s upcoming FleetLogic product, it’s Online Community, user data security and more.
RER: What is new technologically with your company’s software?
Kress: We are always exploring new technologies, we have been providing a zero-deployment configuration to our users for the last two years in our SaaS environment and we continually look for ways to improve the user experience. The next few releases of SRM will see new integrations with preferred partners, a re-designed Web Portal product and upgraded reporting and dashboard tools.
Is strengthening the mobile functionality an important current emphasis? What are your company’s capabilities and strengths in that area?
Texada Software started a new product, FleetLogic, and is on track to have this ready for users in the fall of 2015. Paperless technology and mobile user processing is very important for the next generation of any software company. Keeping our customers costs down while streamlining the process with a mobile device is our focus with FleetLogic. Our first release will support iOS with Android following quickly behind. Our design and development team has spent several months working directly with users in the field to determine what they need and how they would use a mobile application.
What are some of the advancements your customers are calling for that you’re working on?
Our users have really started to dig more into the data they are capturing and what they can do with this information. Texada’s partnerships with Rouse Analytics, SmartEquip, BIPros and other key firms creates a large amount of visibility and options in SRM. We have also launched our Online Community which is an extension of our Online Support tools. The Community allows users to share tips and tricks, reach out to our Support team and vote on ideas for the SRM application.
What about payment by smartphone, how is that capability progressing?
This functionality still has its issues, as you still see questions about “How secure are these tools?” Users can implement this functionality at their counter if they choose, however they should really do their research on the correct payment merchant to use. We are currently working on providing the ability to process payments through the Customer Portal which we can provide a higher level of security and control to users.
Are customers concerned about the safety of their data, protection against hacking or other invasions of privacy and information theft? What is your company doing to protect your customers?
If customers aren’t concerned, they should be. Safeguarding their data and protecting that asset is one of the most important discussions they should be having. For users that are still using On Premises solutions this means ensuring their networks are secure, constantly executing security audits, and most importantly testing the disaster recovery process (data backups). For clients using SaaS (Cloud delivered), Texada manages the network security, executes backups and tests the Disaster Recovery plan, providing total peace of mind. We also recommend that clients use the “Strong Password” functionality for SaaS which, when combined with the double layer authentication, keeps their data safe.
Our clients should also take some time to educate their users, they shouldn’t share user names, give other co-workers their password, write their password on a sticky note beside their computer, and they should be cautious of suspicious emails. The best protection against these threats is educated users.
How important is it to be able to integrate with other types of software, for example, integration with SmartEquip and other software-related service providers?
Integrating with other applications has always been possible with SRM. Ten years ago everything was passed around with text files, today we use XML and Web Services to make integrations easier and more effective. Partnering with the right software providers that positively complement Systematic Rental Management to give the user experience the best possible experience continues to be a key focus of Texada.
How can your software help a rental company better analyze its cost structure and determine which equipment is profitable and which isn’t? How can your software help a rental company determine at what point a piece of equipment becomes unprofitable and should be sold?
The most important aspect to aspect of SRM is that is will track everything about the asset, from purchase to disposal. Capturing all the revenue and hours on rent is not enough, users have the ability to associate multiple depreciation schedules, track every repair be it internal maintenance or customer damage, and understand the best possible selling price when de-fleeting is the option. We know that there isn’t one simple calculation that tells you when to dispose, users can also take into account the dollar and time utilization over any give period to understand if this is the best time to dispose of the unit.
How about fleet inspections and diagnostics/interface with telematics systems, what is your functionality in this arena?
Fleet Inspection is part of the FleetLogic application and can be executed with a mobile device during delivery, pickup, during an onsite service call or even in the yard. As AEMP is becoming mainstream and the telematic device providers are standardizing we are looking into incorporating an integration with these devices in the next couple of months.
