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The Importance of Updating Your Software

In the landscape industry, using spreadsheets for job proposals, designing with paper and pencils, and tracking timesheets with punch cards is considered to be an outdated way of doing business. It’s also said that landscape software is the solution to improve efficiency, while also speeding up many of the processes landscaping businesses perform each day. By using landscape software, you can move away from this outdated routine and start to really scale your business.

What happens when your software becomes an outdated way of doing things? If you’re using outdated software, it may be time to consider upgrading/updating to something that’s current.

When you update/upgrade your landscape business management software, you get:

  • Moving to a web-based or cloud-based delivery system
  • Automatic software updates
  • Secured data
  • Greater support for today’s technology
  • Adding mobile applications to your workforce

So let’s take a better look at the features offered with an updated software system:

Web-based or cloud-based system

You only have to look at a new laptop today to see that the world is shifting away from CD-style software; laptops don’t even have a disc drive built into them anymore. A new system has taken over the business software industry – cloud-based systems.

These systems are entirely web-based and are accessed through a website rather than a software installation to your local hard drive. This revelation in software delivery has created applications that are accessible from anywhere, by anyone with proper access. Whether on a laptop at home or work, in the airport, on the road at a conference or trade show, or at a customer’s residence, you can access your landscape software simply by logging in through the cloud or web-based entry.

Consider how the old system worked; you would install one CD-based software onto one computer and could only access that software on one machine. Today, cloud-based software allows for multiple people to access the same business software and stored data from any computer, tablet or mobile device of their choosing; as long as you have an internet connection, you have access to your account.

DynaScape’s Manage360 is a cloud-based application, allowing users to access it through a web portal from anywhere in the world. No more local installation of software, or managing space on a shared office computer. Instead, it’s a web-based system that enables users to conveniently access it from wherever they happen to be.

Regular software updates

One of the greatest benefits to using a cloud-based system for software delivery is that updates are made to the cloud, not to individual CDs or downloads like before. Think about what you had to do every time an update came out for your old software: you either had to spend more money to purchase the updated version, or download the latest patch and install it on your machine.

With DynaScape’s Manage360 Landscape Business Software, updates are just part of the everyday life of our landscape business management software. As our development team enhances Manage360’s offering, those new enhancements are automatically available to you without the need for updating to the latest version or purchasing a new license for your software.

A secure hosting platform

One of the other major benefits of web-based or cloud-based software is that hosting is generally done on a server that is regularly backed up. Compare that to how often you back up your own personal computer, and the files you create and edit to ensure they don’t get erased. A computer crash can wipe out years of data that has never been backed up, and if you’re not constantly doing backups, you are at risk of losing the vital data of your business.

The servers that power DynaScape’s Manage360 are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and are backed up daily to ensure the highest performance and data security. With an immense amount of data going into your system, you can rest easy knowing that it’ll be secure tomorrow and is safe from physical threats in your own office, such as floods and fires, as well as theft from outside sources.

Old software can’t work with new technology

One of the major constraints of some software is that it was built for the time in which it was created; it can’t run on today’s platforms or browsers. Remember there was a time when Internet Explorer was the browser of choice for most PC users; however, today Google Chrome is the heavy favorite, and older software simply isn’t compatible with it.

The same can be said for different versions of Windows. Older versions of Manage360 are only compatible with Windows 7 or lower, which Microsoft no longer supports. If you require help with Windows 7, you’re flying solo. Similarly, the legacy version of Manage360 only integrates with the desktop version of QuickBooks. If you’ve transitioned to using QuickBooks Online, you won’t be able to integrate your older software.

Taking your landscapers mobile

Another enhancement is the use of mobile technology. Mobile technology is connected through the internet to servers where it can upload information. Sound familiar? With an older version of software on a single computer, you can’t connect mobile devices, such as the DynaScape Mobile Crew Tracking App, as information from the app needs to flow into a server to be used in the cloud-based Manage360. To be more accurate in your crews’ timesheets, jobs, and tasks, the mobile app is a great way to track your clock-ins, materials used, and take notes while on-site.

This means increased accuracy and a paperless environment, as everything is connected in the cloud. It’s also a faster way to do business when data collection is automated which leads to faster job costing, invoicing, and analytics capture.

Keep up-to-date with your software

Having the latest software is important for the long-term success of your business. As new features come out or the core product is enhanced, you’ll want to have access to those products and features, which you can only get by moving to a cloud- or web-based software delivery system. At DynaScape, we want you to stay in line with industry demands as we continue to improve our software based on the industry’s needs. Consider moving to the newest version of Manage360 and take your landscape business to the next level.

Contact us today to learn more about how DynaScape can help you upgrade to a cloud-based business management system.