Black Silhouette

It was already 12:45 when I arrived at my boarding house from a very exhausting class. I have to fast-track my actions in order to cope up and not to be late in the COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS DISTRIBUTORS AND DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (COMDDAP) Expo.


We took a jeepney and arrived 1:30pm at the Apo View Hotel. The ambiance is filled with many people and it makes me feel uneasy, for the fact that we are registered in a 1-2pm session. As we go inside the exhibit area, we noticed that many of our co-USePians were not yet in the seminar area, so I and my colleagues opt to wait the session to start and decided to roam around and observe some of the exhibits.

Majority of the spectators were students coming from different schools in the city. There were also businessmen and visitors who were present in the exhibit. I was amazed by the state-of-the-art gadgets that have been put on display such as computers, printers, cameras, notebook computers, motherboards and etc. Moreover, some freebies and souvenirs have been given away to the spectators.

The clock strikes 1:45pm and its time for the session which is the ERIC DMS - Dealer Management System. We hurried up and find our most comfortable place in the session room. As the session started we noticed that the speaker Mr. Celmer Santo was attractive and a candy in the eye, which motivates us to listen to his deliberation. His topic was attention-grabbing because it talks about their database system which is also tackled in our previous database subjects.

ERIC DMS - Dealer Management System is under the Jupiter Systems which is a Philippine based IT Services company dedicated to delivering solutions for medium to large companies. We offer services covering the entire range of business activities- from marketing and promotion, procurement/supply chain management, manufacturing, distribution, financial reporting, business intelligence, and even IT infrastructure security and maintenance.


A keen understanding of business and operational objectives, two decades experience in industry best practices, creative talent, and the technology/skills to implement winning solutions for:


• ERP/Business Software Development
• Business Intelligence
• Web Design and Development
• eCommerce and Internet Media/Internet Marketing
• Network, Server and Storage Infrastructure Services
• Telephony Infrastructure Services


Furthermore, he elaborated about The ERIC Dealer Management System (DMS) which is an end-to-end software solution for automotive sales, parts and service businesses. ERIC DMS covers the full range of dealer activities-from marketing to sales and services.


Aside from core business operations, DMS includes a full ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and completely automates and integrates back office operations all the way to financial reporting.


In addition, with ERIC DMS, you can have full visibility over all operations. Achieve total control over your car dealership business today.


• Schedule prospects for test drives and follow up on appointments
• Monitor and increase sales
• Delight customers with gentle reminders for appointments
• Manage vehicle inventory
• Deliver impeccable service
• Control parts & consumables cost
• Monitor and correctly implement warranty for parts & service
• Report your financial bottom line


DMS Process Flow



ERIC Dealership Management System (DMS) A complete, end-to-end solution for vehicle dealers, distributors, and service providers


ERIC DMS is composed of three core modules to manage dealer Operations. These modules are:

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Vehicle Sales and Administration (VSA)
• Service Management (SVM)


Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

ERIC CRM captures and tracks information for sales and marketing from walk-in prospects to sale, and even post sales appointment scheduling. All appointments are visible to the appropriate account manager- from sales to follow up calls and service.


Vehicle Sales Administration (VSA)

With VSA, dealers will be able to automate the business cycle of vehicle selling: customer quotations, sales ordering, vehicle allocation, invoicing, vehicle purchasing, and vehicle receiving. The system also keeps track of vehicle inventory.

Manage your inventory of vehicles. Powerful import shipment features keep track of shipping costs as you order from your manufacturer.

Service Management (SM)

The Service Management module records and controls the full range of operations when delivering service requests. This includes:


• Booking and creating repair orders (ROs)
• Approval and assignment of ROs to a mechanic
• Parts and materials request
• Mechanic's time monitoring
• Final control quality checklisting
• Service operations monitoring for efficiency and materials consumption


All of the above capabilities depend on ERIC SVM's integration with the core ERP modules for purchasing, crm, inventory, and accounts receivable.
Develop a reputation of reliability by keeping track of warranty and applying these to the appropriate repair orders.



After he talk about and present his product, he entertained some of questions regarding on the system. He ends the session with footprints of knowledge on the young intellectuals.


Immediately, the next session proceeded which is the HP Thin Client. He start the conference with announcing that he will be giving some gifts such as 2G and 8G flash drives, t-shirts, and optical mouse to those who can answer the questions after his presentation, which gives an adrenaline rush to listeners and induce them to listen.




I am captured by the tag-line of HP Thin Client which is “Think big- Go thin” which also catches the attention of everybody.


I have noted some of the important keywords about his product the HP Thin client. It comes from a variety of HP thin clients which includes the HP t5145, HP t5540, HP t5545, HP t5630 and HP t5630w models which offers the customers a range of performance options and choice of Windows® CE, Windows Embedded Standard and Linux operating systems.

Thin clients are computing devices that function as an access device on a network. These solid-state devices connect over a network to a server where the bulk of the processing takes place. Thin clients have no hard drive, allowing for more secure storage of data and applications on the server. In fact, keystrokes, mouse events and screen images are all that is sent between the client and server. This makes the device much more secure than a standard desktop or notebook computer.


With no hard drive, fan or other moving parts, thin clients have a much longer lifespan than standard computers and use significantly less power. Lower maintenance costs are another benefit as software application updates, virus scanning and patches can be executed on the server. Deployment costs are also reduced as thin clients can be remotely configured and do not need to be set up individually. Break-fix simply requires replacing the thin client.

Why should I consider a thin client solution?

You need to learn more about the HP thin client solution if your business is faced with issues such as:

• Desktop replacement costs
• Network security
• Data access to mobile or remote workers
• Supporting application software on diverse hardware, or
• Ensuring your data remains accessible and secure


Thin clients are ideal solution for today's healthcare, industrial, retail, financial and education industries offering a number of benefits to your business.

Enhanced security

Unlike a traditional desktop or notebook computer, no applications or data are stored locally on the thin client. This makes them easy to replace if lost, stolen or damaged. Thin clients are an ideal choice for businesses that are facing increased regulatory compliance laws such as HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley.


Easier manageability

Thin clients are managed at the server, located within the data center. The client hardware has fewer points of failure and lacks a hard drive for storage providing protection from viruses and malware. Thin clients connect to servers via web browsers or remote desktop software. Depending on the functionality the user needs, client desktops can be very simple single-application kiosks or a flexible and familiar Windows environment.

Thin clients can be set up out of the box in less than 10 minutes allowing easy deployment to new users or remote locations. HP thin clients can be remotely configured and managed via management software included at no extra charge.


High reliability

With thin client access devices, business continuity is a given in the event of a natural disaster, as the data and applications are not resident on the client device. Because of their solid state design, thin clients have an extended product life of up to 5 years and can be cost effectively replaced if needed.

Thin clients are ideal for environments unsuited for traditional desktop computers like dusty, remote or space-constrained environments. They can be mounted invisibly behind a flat panel monitor, under the desk or just about anywhere with the optional VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)-compatible HP Quick Release.


Increased energy efficiency

Thin clients offer significant savings in power usage over traditional desktops. This is realized not only in energy costs but reduced air-conditioning costs in some cases. With their long lifecycle thin clients allow companies to achieve energy savings targets and reduce the need for replacement equipment.


Lower total cost of ownership

The increased security, reliability and ease of management contribute to a lower total cost of ownership for your client computing devices. With a longer useful lifespan, thin clients contribute to cost savings.


According to a study by Gartner (TCO Comparison of PCs with Server-Based Computing, June 2006) thin client TCO annual savings have been measured as high as:

• 79% less downtime cost per user
• 16% capital cost savings
• 34% less in maintenance
• 19% less to operate
• 48% overall lower total cost


HP's Client Virtualization Solutions

HP offers a complete solution of thin client devices for essential, mainstream, flexible or specialized computing. HP can also provide all the related products and services for remote client computing or desktop virtualization including blade PCs, storage, networking and servers.


The HP Thin Client is a leading server-based computing solution designed to make business leaner and more efficient. Centralized management means new applications and upgrades need only be installed once. Deployment is cheap, quick and easy. Users will enjoy more desk space, not to mention the terminal’s sleek looks and agile performance. And the speed, flexibility and security of your network is guaranteed.


Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded and CE.NET combined with HP t5000 Thin Clients result in a true end-to-end Terminal Services installation for a truly end-to-end Terminal Services installation for Server Based Computing and cost-effective enterprise integration.


If your business is thinking big, it's time to go thin.


After the presentation, everybody was eager about the question and answer portion. Everyone is very attentive and animated because they don’t want to squander the opportunity. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the gifts but what matters most is the learning and knowledge that I gained which cannot be replaced by any material thing.


I have been EXPOSED on the variety of topics in the areas of technology, trends, applications, and information management which gives me understanding and awareness of the up-to-date devices and paraphernalia’s.

I have EXPLORED the diverse and dynamic world of technology. and...

I have EXPERIENCED to go beyond, not only dependent on the teacher’s knowledge nor confined to what is available inside the classroom.


References:
http://www.jupitersystems.com.ph/product.aspx?prod_id=1#
[url=http://www.jupitersystems.com.ph/sm.aspx]http://www.jupitersystems.com.ph/sm.aspx
[url=http://www.jupitersystems.com.ph/itservices/about.aspx]http://www.jupitersystems.com.ph/itservices/about.aspx
[url=http://blogs.zdnet.com/virtualization/?p=974]http://blogs.zdnet.com/virtualization/?p=974
http://h20426.www2.hp.com/campaign/thinclients/au/en/