DAYTON, OHIO – October 22, 2007 - The Reynolds and
Reynolds Company, a leading provider of software and services
to automotive retailers, is continuing plans to phase out
dial-up modems as a means of communications with dealership
management systems (DMS). The transition away from modems
will occur deliberately as alternative Internet connections
are put in place for customers. Reynolds expects to complete
the majority of changeovers in the next 12 to 18 months.
“The change will happen as we put the technology in
place to support it,” says Bob Schaefer, technical director
at Reynolds. “Our number one goal is to best serve our
dealers and their business, which is the reason we are moving
to a more advanced connection. We continue to communicate
and discuss the process with third party vendors, CPAs and
service providers so the transition causes little to no disruption
to a dealer’s business and provides a faster, more secure
method of exchanging data.”
With the new connections, dealers will continue to be in
control of who can access their system. Reynolds is establishing
a process for granting authorized, secure access to the Certified
Public Accountants (CPAs) and other service providers with
whom dealers choose to do business to support their dealership
operations.
As technology and the methods of exchanging important information
have changed, Reynolds has been aggressively pursuing a more
secure, persistent connection to provide dealers with a better
way to transmit sensitive data. With better connections, Reynolds
can deliver more advanced technologies, such as web-based
applications and enhanced Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) tools, and provide faster, more secure ERA® and
POWER dealership management system administration. The move
also is designed to eliminate the need to change dealership
access phone numbers and to improve protection of a dealer’s
DMS from ex-employees or terminated third parties.
“This is an important advancement for dealers using
Reynolds ERA and POWER systems,” explains Trey Hiers,
vice president of Corporate Marketing at Reynolds. “The
new Internet-based connection will be much more efficient
for everyone involved and help ensure that our customers’
important business interactions are not hindered.”
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