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1. What does ASG Development do?
ASG Development Inc. is based in Meriden, Connecticut and specializes in the development and management of multi-million dollar commercial apartment buildings. We've been in business for over 30 years. The company has ten full time employees. Most of our business is in the Northeast in four states: New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
2. What's a normal business day like?
Like any small business, we tend to run lean and mean with everyone juggling a lot of responsibilities and projects. A normal day would include discussing maintenance issues with property managers, going over real estate taxation appraisals with lawyers, discussing the day-to-day construction, remodeling and rehab work with contractors on-site, and talking with clients on the status of building projects. Most of our communication is by phone, e-mail, and video and data conferencing.
3. When did you begin to consider using real time collaborative technology?
Years ago. Anyone who runs a company in an industry like mine is on the road a lot. When the Internet emerged, I jumped at every available new product to ease that burden. In the past, I used to travel 15 days a month; today, I'm on the road about five days a month.
4. What's been your experience with real-time DATA collaboration software and services?
Over the years, I've tried everything: NetMeeting, Webex, Groove and a host of other products and services that are long gone. Some worked better than others. For data conferencing, I found Webex to be expensive and cumbersome. Groove had a complex interface, lacked real time capabilities and was pretty much a fancy FTP service. There also was no coordination, meaning if I turned the page, the guy on end couldn't see I had turned it on his computer screen. NetMeeting was completely bandwidth dependent, which proved to be a nightmare with bulky CAD drawings and plot files that we use a lot in our business.
For me, there have always been three major hurdles to real time data collaboration: cost, complexity and connection speed. As a business stretching every dollar, where we work with lots of individuals with varying levels of computer skills and connection speeds, and rely heavily on bulky and complex files, nothing really fit the bill until eZ came along.
It has the lowest bandwidth requirement, a pricing structure that's highly affordable, and it's tremendously versatile. Its mark-up tools far exceed anything on the market and it's truly designed for a range of on the fly production and data sharing.
5. How long have you been using eZ and how much money has it saved the company?
I have used other Sigma Design products, specifically its BuildersCAD and ARRIS systems, for years. I was one of the early testers of the core technology that eventually became eZ. All tolled, I've been using it for three years. Our investment in eZ software has been about $2000 over the years. It easily saves the company $500,000 annually. As for time, it personally saves me 3-4 hours a day.
We ask all our clients to get set up with eZ. There's a free trial version that they download at www.eZmeeting.com. After a specified period, they can purchase it or it just stays on as a free viewer.
If our clients don't get eZ, we'll even go and get it for them. That's how important it has become to our business. It's a competitive industry and eZ lets us push the edge of technology and provide real value to our customers. Sometimes, however, getting people to invest in a philosophy is difficult, not because they don't want to, they just think it's going to be too hard.
6. Do you use eZ mostly for large groups?
I've used it with one or two or with as many as 15 people. I tend to use it frequently as a quick visual communication aid when I get on the phone. I call someone and say, "What do you think of this?" and instantly we are both on the same page at the same time. Whatever I do to the data on my computer displays instantly on everyone else's computer screen and vice-versa.
We really use it with everyone: investors, city officials as part of the planning process, insurance adjustors, bankers, contractors, builders, architects, engineers, and property managers, etc.
7. What are the most compelling reasons for using eZ?
In addition to the obvious time and costs savings, it lets us:
Better Service Our Clients: In our business, projects are dynamic and can change on a dime. Because collaboration is so instant and easy, eZ helps us keep clients better informed, greatly minimizing stress and miscommunication. They feel like they have more control over projects and total access.
For Disaster Recovery Response & Documentation: eZ let's us manage actual field conditions in greater detail with property managers and contractors. It helps us avoid costly mistakes and improve our turn-around time and decision- making particularly in emergencies.
We recently had a situation where a bad downpour knocked out the electrical system in one apartment building for three days. We took digital photos of the damage and repairs and brought them into an eZ and instantly reviewed them over a distance with local fire officials to show we had the situation under control and were working on it. The documentation was used time and time again with our insurance adjustors and everyone involved in remedying the situation.
As A Universal, Shareable File Format: When a meeting isn't required, I'm able to e-mail CAD documents in the eZ format to hundreds at the drop of a hat. Everyone who has eZ can view and mark-up these designs without having the specific and expensive CAD application that created them. This is a huge breakthrough.
To Better Market Our Rental Units To Prospective Tenants: We are in the process of using eZ as a marketing tool for prospective tenants. When a tenant comes looking to rent an apartment, we are using eZ to show them 4-5 different ways that the apartment can be done to their specification in terms of color schemes, carpeting and furniture placement.
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