Since 1932, Norris, Beggs & Simpson (NBS) has been shaping the landscape of the Pacific Northwest through commercial real estate. Committed to the communities of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Northern California and Nevada, NBS is focused on developing strong ties with its neighbors.

Today, NBS is also shaping the real estate technology frontier as a NetSource application hosting client of Intuit Real Estate Solutions (IRES). Application hosting, a form of technology outsourcing, is the smart solution for real estate management organizations who want to focus on the needs of their clients and communities. As a NetSource client, NBS can focus on their clients rather than spending time worrying about internal IT hassles.

Easy access to powerful IRES solutions

“Whether you’re small or large, an Application Service Provider (ASP) arrangement can be very valuable to your business,” says Norris, Beggs & Simpson. “For us, we chose IRES and NetSource for a combination of factors – resource issues, security, hardware, peace of mind, data accessibility, access to IRES' expertise and innovations, and our desire to work with the proven leader. It all came together.”

IRES' NetSource application hosting service provides online, real-time access to the IRES real estate and asset management suite, managed by IRES' experts and housed on IRES' servers at the company’s secure data center. IRES is the industry’s oldest and largest application service provider.

“With NetSource, we can choose the right combination of software applications for our business for one monthly service fee,” says Norris, Beggs & Simpson. “We liked the ability to be exposed to all modules and take advantage of the complete IRES suite, including solutions like ViewPoint, IRES' powerful executive information system (EIS).

“As an example, we manage multiple projects for some of our clients. Thus we’re concerned about data consolidation and the ability to generate reports that reflect our business,” Norris, Beggs & Simpson continues. “The IRES' ViewPoint executive information system will prove a valuable tool in that regard.

The industry standard

“We also know that many institutional clients are using IRES. We see IRES as one of the industry’s leaders. Strictly a third-party asset and property manager, we want to have the reporting and analysis power of IRES to meet the demands of the industry and our clients.

Beyond access to the premier IRES suite, NetSource provides many more business benefits for NBS.

The many advantages of NetSource application hosting

“With NetSource, we can alleviate a lot of the challenges that come with an in-house system, so we can stay focused on our clients,” says Norris, Begss & Simpson.

“The ability to start up quickly is a tremendous benefit. There are no hardware headaches and no configuration problems to deal with. It’s all in IRES' capable hands. The upfront investment and hassle is greatly reduced in the NetSource environment.

“Another advantage of the NetSource system is the ease of connecting all of our offices to our IRES data,” Norris, Beggs & Simpson says. “Using NetSource will provide easier, more flexible access for our multiple offices without the responsibilities of a Terminal Server or Citrix.

Making the decision

“Choosing an application hosting solution is an individual choice, motivated by factors unique to each organization,” continues Norris, Beggs & Simpson. “Yet there are many universal issues that should be considered. In many instances, application hosting could be the best business decision you can make for your business.

“I would recommend to anyone considering a new solution to begin by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their internal IT department. It is also hard to pass up guaranteed uptime. IRES' NetSource experts are always on the job, so we’re always able to focus on our clients.”

IRES' support, implementation and training experts make a difference NBS has been an IRES client using DOS for nearly a decade and wanted to continue that relationship when moving to a Windows solution. As Norris, Beggs & Simpson explains, “IRES tech support has always been very helpful and responsive.

"In the past, we ran two DOS products, IRES and another provider’s. If you called the other provider with a case and the other provider called back into your voicemail, when you called back, you were at the bottom of their list again. It was very frustrating. With IRES, after your original call, you work with a specific individual who understands your problem and takes care of you until your needs are resolved.

“IRES' commitment to client satisfaction is one of the reasons we’ll be converting 100% of our properties to NetSource and IRES. As an added advantage to NetSource, all of our support will be handled by IRES' dedicated NetSource team,” Norris, Beggs & Simpson says.

“Working with IRES over the years, I have also found the documentation to be accessible. I can always find the information I need,” says Norris, Beggs & Simpson.

“The implementation team is great. We’ve developed good relationships with IRES' implementation experts and enjoy working with the same people on a continual basis. We’re also excited by the quality training programs offered through NetSource and by IRES,” Norris, Beggs & Simpson says.

About Norris, Beggs & Simpson

Norris, Beggs & Simpson, in business for over 69 years, is a regional real estate brokerage, asset and property management, and mortgage financing firm with offices in major cities in Oregon and Washington. It is affiliated with the New America International, the Nation’s largest organization of independent industrial and commercial real estate professionals. For more information, please visit their website at www.nbsrealtors.com.