Jack Parker Corp, uses IBS database. (Technology Update).

The Jack Parker Corporation, a diversified property owner and manager headquartered in Manhattan, has made history as the first user to begin Alpha testing IBS 10.0i, announced Robert Entin, president of Integrated Business Systems (IBS). The company "went live" recently with the IBS 10.0i Prospect Database program, which represents the first fully operational component of the new, browser-enabled version of IBS's property management and accounting system.

Based in Fairfield, New Jersey, IBS is recognized as a premier provider of real estate business solutions. With a 23-year development history, the IBS software contains more than 1,700 programs that address virtually all property management, accounting and construction management tasks. In early 2002, the firm launched a multi-million-dollar effort to browser enable its system to meet the future needs of its user base. The firm currently serves more than 120 prominent real estate companies.

"The IBS 10.0i Prospect Database program is running at The Jack Parker Corporation via an Intranet," Entin explained. "It is integrated and working with the firm's existing, network-based IBS system, which continues to handle the company's enterprise-wide property management and accounting activities." The Jack Parker Corporation will incorporate additional IBS 10.0i capabilities as they become available.

The Jack Parker Corporation is employing the marketing database to track prospective tenants for its 10-building, 3,000-unit multi-family portfolio in Manhattan. The program provides The Jack Parker Corporation with the ability to follow activity from source standpoint -- including brokers, print advertising, referrals, walk-ins and others -- to gauge the success level of various marketing methods. It also enables the firm to track leasing activity at its buildings and instantaneously access information on apartment availabilities for qualified applicants.

"The program is a tremendous asset," noted JeanPierre Vaganay, chief operating officer of The Jack Parker Corporation. "It provides us with information about what the market wants, which gives us the ability to better offer services to prospective tenants."

Previously, The Jack Parker Corporation maintained its marketing information on a separate database from its IBS system. "The integration made possible by the Intranet delivery provides access to all of our records," Vaganay said. Because the Marketing Database is a Windows application, it is extremely user friendly with dropdown menus and tremendous reporting capabilities."

According to Vaganay, The Jack Parker Corporation is looking forward to installing additional 10.0i components as they become available. "We are eager to begin using the general ledger application and other programs as they roll out," he said. "In the meantime, we are pleased to be part of this initial testing phase, which allows us to help work out any bugs and put the finishing touches on the program."

The full development of IBS 10.0i will be completed by the third quarter of 2003, Entin said. "Several additional users will convert during the next several months," he noted. "To date, the entire IBS commercial and residential subsystems have been converted to the browser-based front end, featuring complete pull-down menus, extensive drill downs, and pop-ups."

Users have the ability to query and search across portfolios, and drill into a tree structure on any Group, Super Entity, Entity, Property or Tenant. All IBS reports generated from IBS data can be presented for review in Excel, HTML or Adobe Acrobat (PDF files) -- suitable for emailing. IBS 10.0i is a J2EE-compliant model that adheres to industry standards. The browser-based product can be run as an Intranet within a firewall and corporate network, or over the Internet via an Application Service Provider (ASP) model. It has been designed so that it can be configured in a variety of ways, with as many systems and web servers as needed for the individual user.