hmis newsletter winter spring 2012 final draft
hmis newsletter winter spring 2012 final draft
hmis newsletter winter spring 2012 final draft
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the<br />
HMIS Cloud <br />
HMIS Celebrates 25 Years in Business<br />
Spring <strong>2012</strong><br />
HMIS, INC<br />
25<br />
1987-<strong>2012</strong><br />
HMIS, Inc. proudly celebrates its 25th anniversary on March 1, <strong>2012</strong>. HMIS was<br />
founded in 1987 by Frank Hanlon. Following graduation from college, Frank<br />
went to work at Wang Laboratories in Lowell, Massachusetts<br />
developing software to run Wang’s VS 300 line of computers. At its peak in the 1980s, Wang employed over<br />
33,000 people. During his time at Wang, Frank realized the large corporate environment was not what he wanted,<br />
and in 1987 Frank left Wang to become an independent consultant. HMIS’ first customer was Mt. Calvary<br />
Cemetery of Manchester, New Hampshire. Mt. Calvary engaged Frank to assist in the selection of a software<br />
solution to run the cemetery. Discovering that no suitable cemetery management product existed, Frank<br />
decided to build his own product. To launch the project, Frank invited brother Mike Hanlon to join the company.<br />
Mike had also worked at Wang as a programmer and as a COBOL programmer for a credit card processing<br />
company working off the VS 300 platform. According to Mike, who is now President of HMIS, “Frank handed me a<br />
napkin with some specs scribbled on it and a RealWorld Accounting Software manual and said ‘build me a<br />
cemetery module to run inside the RealWorld accounting package.’ That was the beginning of my tenure at HMIS<br />
and the birth of our DOS product.”<br />
HMIS Relocates Hosting Operations<br />
(Continued on page 5)<br />
In December 2011, HMIS completed a multi-phased relocation and upgrade of its ASP (application service<br />
provider) hosting operations from Albany, New York to primary and secondary data centers located in Bedford,<br />
New Hampshire and Boston, Massachusetts. The primary data center serves as the main hosting operation, and the<br />
secondary data center serves as a back up and disaster recovery (“DR”) site. The new data centers are housed in<br />
secure facilities managed by ColoSpace, Inc. ColoSpace is a leading regional provider of data hosting and<br />
managed services, operating five data centers in New England. The ColoSpace data<br />
centers are SSAE 16 Type II audited to provide an industry-leading level of<br />
performance, reliability and security. The data centers offer N+1 redundancy of major<br />
systems. The power supply is protected by backup battery UPS systems and on-site<br />
diesel generators which are tested on a regular basis. Multiple ISP providers and fiber<br />
optic networks provide redundant internet connectivity. Our specific hosting<br />
infrastructure includes a Layer 2 Network for direct connectivity between our primary<br />
data center and the<br />
Bedford, NH Data Center<br />
The Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory Software Solution.<br />
©<strong>2012</strong> HMIS, Inc 1.888.891.4647 • 603.883.5695 • www.<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com • nancys@<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com<br />
(Continued on page 2)
2<br />
2<br />
2<br />
Data Centers<br />
(Continued from page 1)<br />
secondary DR location to assure rapid deployment of the secondary DR<br />
site. Remote hands support is available on-site at both locations to<br />
provide immediate support assistance to augment regular server<br />
monitoring. Security includes multiple levels of controls, including<br />
biometric fingerprint scanners, video surveillance, and 24/7 on-site<br />
security at our DR location. Advanced temperature and humidity<br />
systems and monitoring protect hardware and media at ideal operating<br />
conditions. Advanced fire and smoke detection and suppression<br />
features include leak/water detection and dry-pipe pre-action and<br />
inergen fire suppression systems.<br />
Our new data centers and upgraded disaster recovery infrastructure are further installments toward our<br />
investment in building a superior hosting platform for our Web-based offering. The ColoSpace data centers<br />
undergo rigorous SSAE 16-Type II audits to verify operational and disaster recovery integrity, and offer a high<br />
quality infrastructure to assure performance, reliability and protection of customer data. During a record<br />
breaking snow storm we experienced last October local power was out for nearly three days, but the ColoSpace<br />
data centers in both New Hampshire and Boston experienced no downtime owing to their<br />
power generating capabilities.<br />
Data Center Interior<br />
Tech Tip<br />
Cafe<br />
For HMIS customers who now self host, our cloud-based offering allows users to preserve<br />
capital by eliminating IT hardware and internal support costs. Once on our hosted platform,<br />
your data will reside in a distinct (not commingled) and secure database accessible to your<br />
staff 24/7 from any computer having access to the Internet. Moreover, a single monthly<br />
subscription fee includes not only software licensing and hosting services, but maintenance<br />
and support as well. HMIS releases and upgrades occur automatically on the HMIS hosting<br />
servers, with no need to install software on your local computers.<br />
If you would like more information about the HMIS hosted offering or our new data centers,<br />
please contact us.<br />
Did you know that field labels can<br />
be customized at the location<br />
level? To customize a field label,<br />
right-click on the label and then<br />
left-click “Customize Label.”<br />
You can then use the Label<br />
Override screen to create custom<br />
field labels:<br />
The Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory Software Solution.<br />
Somerville (Boston), MA Data Center<br />
©<strong>2012</strong> HMIS, Inc 1.888.891.4647 • 603.883.5695 • www.<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com • nancys@<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com
Tech Tip<br />
Advantage<br />
Did you know there’s an easy way to<br />
get data from any HMIS report into<br />
Excel? Simply save your report as XML<br />
and then import the XML file into<br />
Microsoft Excel. You can either<br />
configure your report to output the<br />
data as XML in Report Header Code<br />
Maintenance, or, you can save the<br />
report as XML after it is generated on<br />
your screen as shown. Then you can<br />
import the XML file into Excel.<br />
The data displays as an Excel<br />
Database:<br />
HMIS to Release CafeAdvantage<br />
Due to the overwhelming customer response to our 'Cafe Funeral' user interface, HMIS in partnership with Stewart Enterprises,<br />
Inc has made a decision to transition the entire 'HMIS Advantage' interface to the new and more user friendly interface of<br />
Cafe. This project will be phased in over the next two years, and we expect that the entire HMIS Advantage application will<br />
be converted by June of 2014. The new product will be know as CafeAdvantage. The first phase of the project, Cafe<br />
Cemetery, is scheduled for release in June of <strong>2012</strong>. This project phase includes moving the ‘Cemetery’ module of HMIS<br />
Advantage as well as eliminating duplicated tables in Cafe for improved efficiency and performance. Here are a few key<br />
features and benefits of Cafe Cemetery:<br />
3<br />
�� Cafe is an ASP.NET, 'Cloud' based Web application designed for funeral homes and cemeteries.<br />
�� Cafe's user interface is similar to Microsoft Outlook, designed for ease of use, flexibility and performance.<br />
�� Funeral and cemetery sales and administrative users of Cafe will share a common user interface.<br />
�� Cafe is fully integrated with Cemecad, HMIS’ premier mapping system.<br />
�� Improved form and report printing and accessibility.<br />
�� Fully integrated and easy to use mail merge functionality utilizing Microsoft Word.<br />
�� Cemetery contacts utilize Cafe's Template/Option functionality to improve accuracy and speed of contract entry.<br />
�� Cafe allows sales counselors and funeral directors to make arrangements with customers.<br />
The next phase of the project, Cafe Contracts, is scheduled for release in June of 2013. This project phase will include moving<br />
the 'core' functionality of HMIS Advantage contracts to the Cafe user interface. The <strong>final</strong> phase of the project is scheduled<br />
for June of 2014 release and will include all remaining<br />
modules and functionality of HMIS Advantage. HMIS is<br />
excited about the release of our new Web based<br />
user interface, and we will continue to provide<br />
updates and sample screens in future <strong>newsletter</strong>s.<br />
The Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory Software Solution.<br />
©<strong>2012</strong> HMIS, Inc 1.888.891.4647 • 603.883.5695 • www.<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com • nancys@<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com<br />
.<br />
3
4<br />
4<br />
4<br />
Customer Spotlight<br />
Nelsen Funeral Home & Crematory<br />
Nelsen Funeral Home & Crematory, exemplifies the qualities which make a funeral home<br />
business a community institution. Nelsen Funeral Home and<br />
Crematory, founded in 1892, operates<br />
6 locations in the Commonwealth of<br />
Virginia. Their focus is on providing<br />
families and the community with the<br />
knowledge and services to prevail<br />
through one of life’s hardest<br />
Blair H. Nelsen CEO<br />
challenges, the loss of a loved one or<br />
cherished pet. President and CEO Blair<br />
Nelsen understands and practices the<br />
vital principles of business management at an extraordinary level.<br />
He is recognized as a mentor and progressive minded leader not<br />
only by the community and his patrons, but by his peers in the<br />
industry. His accolades are many, including service as Trustee of<br />
the Funeral Service Foundation,<br />
Director of the International<br />
Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral<br />
Association (ICCFA) and President<br />
of both Preferred Funeral Directors<br />
International (PFDI) and the<br />
Independent Funeral Homes of<br />
Virginia (IFHV). His progressive nature truly lends itself to employing<br />
Web-based technology to promote his values and offerings. Blair<br />
selected the HMIS cloud-based hosted offering, but he did not stop<br />
there. He then developed the first iPhone Cremation app launched in<br />
December 2011. HMIS is delighted to be the management<br />
software solution selected by the Nelsen Funeral Home &<br />
Ashland, VA location<br />
Crematory. Blair Nelsen chose HMIS not only for the value of the<br />
management software but our support services. Blair stated “The<br />
HMIS support staff is fantastic. Their response to any issues which<br />
might arise is always quick and thorough; their training of our staff<br />
was comprehensive and handled patiently.” HMIS extends our best<br />
wishes to Blair and his superior staff for continued success. We salute<br />
his creativity and ingenuity in embracing software technology<br />
advances to propel his business to the cloud, and are proud to have Nelsen as a valued<br />
customer of HMIS.<br />
The Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory Software Solution.<br />
Richmond, VA location<br />
Williamsburg, VA location<br />
©<strong>2012</strong> HMIS, Inc 1.888.891.4647 • 603.883.5695 • www.<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com • nancys@<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com
(Continued from page 1)<br />
An important milestone occurred in 1999 when HMIS secured Alderwoods Group, a Canadian consolidator based in<br />
Vancouver, CA. At the time, Alderwoods operated approximately 450 cemeteries and was running a home grown<br />
cemetery management system that was not capable of satisfying complex state trust requirements. As a<br />
consequence, Alderwoods was unable to continue its trust management operations in Florida and several other<br />
states. Alderwood signed on with HMIS, which resulted in a complex multi-year data migration and<br />
implementation process requiring a project team of some 40 conversion and implementation specialists. The project<br />
resulted in the conversion to HMIS and the reconciliation of the Alderwoods trust accounts which brought<br />
Alderwoods’ trust operations in compliance with the regulators.<br />
Another major development for HMIS was moving from the DOS product to the Windows product.<br />
For this multi-year project, HMIS partnered with customer Forest Lawn Mortuary of Glendale, California. The<br />
Windows product was completed in 2002, and Forest Lawn continues to be a valued HMIS customer now running the<br />
Web version of the HMIS Advantage product. The company’s next milestone was the creation of its Web-based<br />
product. For this project, HMIS teamed up with Service Corporation International, Inc (“SCI”) and its third party<br />
contractor Infosys Technologies. The project involved migrating the HMIS Windows product to a .NET Web-based<br />
platform. The project required a team of approximately 50 members, and involved rigorous QA testing and<br />
programming to address gaps between the two systems. The Web-based product was successfully completed in<br />
2003. As a result of the project, HMIS was recognized by Microsoft in a white paper as one of the largest projects<br />
employing the MS .NET framework.<br />
In 2006, HMIS took its products to the “cloud” introducing its hosted offering. HMIS has since completed over 6 years<br />
of successful operation as an ASP (application service provider), and continues to grow its customer base as funeral<br />
homes and cemeteries learn the benefits of cloud-based computing. In a separate article in this edition of the<br />
<strong>newsletter</strong>, we discuss the recent relocation and upgrade of our hosting operations.<br />
In 2007, HMIS partnered with another HMIS<br />
customer, Stewart Enterprises, Inc. (“Stewart”) in the<br />
development of the HMIS Cafe Funeral Home<br />
product. Cafe Funeral Home is a much improved front<br />
end to the HMIS Advantage product. Cafe Funeral<br />
.<br />
Home represents HMIS’ commitment to the funeral<br />
home market by combining the robust back office<br />
management and accounting functionality of the Advantage product with an easy to use and more visually<br />
engaging front end. Cafe’s improved ease of use is favored by funeral home directors and administrative and<br />
accounting personnel. Currently, HMIS is in the midst of an ambitious second development project with Stewart to<br />
bring the Cafe front-end to the cemetery side of the HMIS Advantage product. The new product is projected for<br />
commercial release in the summer of <strong>2012</strong>. Upon commercial release the new offering will be known as<br />
CafeAdvantage.<br />
Most recently, the company moved to expanded offices in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The new office<br />
affords additional space for future growth and important IT infrastructure upgrades. The HMIS solution is currently<br />
running in approximately 2,500 locations serving thousands of users in the United States, Canada and Central<br />
America. As HMIS celebrates its 25th anniversary, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to our<br />
personnel, customers, vendors and strategic partners for their past and continued support as we continue our<br />
commitment to being the best management software provider in the death care industry.<br />
5<br />
25<br />
HMIS Celebrates Years in Business<br />
The Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory Software Solution.<br />
Leading in comprehensive and fully integrated cemetery, crematory and funeral home software solutions<br />
©<strong>2012</strong> HMIS, Inc 1.888.891.4647 • 603.883.5695 • www.<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com • nancys@<strong>hmis</strong>inc.com<br />
(5)<br />
(3)<br />
5
6<br />
6<br />
Upcoming Events<br />
New England Cemetery<br />
Conference - Attitash Grand<br />
Summit Hotel and Conference<br />
Center, No. Conway, NH<br />
June 25-28<br />
10 Al Paul Lane<br />
Suite 102<br />
Merrimack, NH 03054<br />
ICCFA- Mandalay Bay Expo<br />
Center, Las Vegas, NV<br />
March 19-21<br />
Visit HMIS at Booth 733<br />
Catholic Cemetery Conference - Gaylord<br />
Resort, Washington, DC<br />
September 25-28<br />
NFDA - Charlotte<br />
Convention Center,<br />
Charlotte, NC October 7-10<br />
Visit HMIS at Booth 2747<br />
HMIS, INC<br />
25<br />
1987-<strong>2012</strong><br />
YEARS OF<br />
EXCELLENCE<br />
HMIS, INC.<br />
The Cemetery, Funeral Home, Crematory Software Solution.