DESIGNA

Dealers wanted! - DESIGNA seeks distribution partner in the USA

"Parking in a changing world" is the theme of this year's "International Parking Conference and Expo" which runs from 17th - 20th May 2009 in Denver, Colorado. DESIGNA is taking this important industry gathering as an opportunity to acquire a new local partner for its US business.

In line with the show's theme, with its successful PM ABACUS system DESIGNA will be presenting a future-ready parking management system whose reliability and user-friendliness are particularly impressive, and which is also setting standards in integration and networking capability. The system uses universally recognised hardware and software standards, offers open and transparent interfaces, and as a result is almost unlimited in terms of scalability. Above all, the fully integrated license plate recognition system (LPR) and new ASP server concept should meet with considerable interest.

In principle, "Application Service Providing" is nothing new. After all, many companies are already taking advantage of the opportunity to outsource entire areas of their administration and procedures outside of the company through ASP services, in order to concentrate more fully on their core skills.

"The use of the most up-to-date technologies and databases, and many years of experience in utilising networked system structures are now providing DESIGNA with the opportunity to offer the ASP service model to car park operators," says DESIGNA's Sales Manager, Stefan Koch. Be it an individual hotel garage or major worldwide networked project, "Application Service Providing" is suitable for any kind of car park.

The reasons for using ASP are clear:
In comparison to conventional server structures, with which each parking facility is controlled by a separate server, with ASP it is possible for the first time to network every facility together via a central server. Through this efficient and reliable data centre, car park operators have access to the most up-to-date software applications, which are made available and retrieved over the internet.

This service offer is intended to help car park operators to achieve greater cost efficiencies and time savings in future. The costs for personnel, updates and maintenance, as well as downtime in the event of server malfunctions, are reduced or entirely done away with. At the same time, the customer benefits from our specialists' many years of experience.

If we consider the total costs that are incurred for the initial acquisition of a server in the event of a new installation, plus those that arise during day-to-day operation from expenses for support and resolving recurrent faults, then just part of the overall savings potential of ASP becomes clear. "Even for large operators who are interested in networking several car parks, ASP makes it possible to grow more quickly than their competitors," says Stefan Koch. "Due to the centralisation of the server, only the necessary terminals need to be installed on site in the event of a new installation and, on the software side, be activated from the centre. The question of scalability of the system is superfluous, as this is guaranteed by DESIGNA."

With DESIGNA as the "Application Service Provider" car park operators also benefit from the fact that all systems have access to the same (state-of-the-art) software, since all updates are automatically carried out for all connected systems. This saves time, and above all money. Moreover, as a result of the centralisation it is possible to monitor every connected facility worldwide at the same time. The data from the car parks is collected in a central location and made available to the user as operating information. The decision regarding the number of control stations and their setup in the form of fixed workstations or mobile terminals can be left up to the car park operator himself.

What remains is the question of security. Above all, centralising the system means security for the operator. It means that manipulation of the system will no longer be possible, since the company's own personnel on site are unable to intervene in the server's technical functions. Furthermore, all data is secured via a central backup system, meaning that the facilities' smooth operation is guaranteed at all times.

Anyone who wants to invest in the future and also become part of the DESIGNA success story should contact the DESIGNA trade show team. They will be easily recognisable thanks to their "Dealers Wanted" T-shirts!

Visit DESIGNA at the IPI in Denver (Colorado, USA) from 17th - 20th May 2009, Stand 445 and see for yourself how the PM ABACUS system works.