eKourier Oct 2016

FEATURES

Technology Update - Finishing 2016 With a bang! W ell, I would be the first one to put my hand up and say IT don’t communi- cate technology plans and business tools we are developing in line with strategy to transform ‘how we work’. 3. New Mobile Site : ETA November 2016. Redesigned from the group up, and bundled

updates enough. In this game there is a tendency to over promise and under deliver. We counter that by drip feeding info when it is required, it can be a double edged sword. One thing is for certain, silence doesn’t mean we are standing still. Far from it, there is a lot in the pipeline. With that in mind lets go out on a limb, at least for projects currently in the oven with delivery most certain for 2016: 1. Rent Now : ETA November 2016. We expect it to be a real end to end digital game changer. Designed for instore purposes (at a later stage) from the beginning, this has meant it has taken a lot longer than anticipated. It will be introduced online this year. Digitizing Agreements then turned inside out and placed on store counters via a touch screen is what’s to come. 2. iDAM : ETA November 2016. The first off next generation app is a sign of things to come. iDAM handles Digital Storage Agreement cataloging and retrieval. Like Rent Now, iDAM positions the business to eliminate all aspects of paper based Storage Agreements as we know them. iDAM represents the next generation

with all the ecommerce features of the desktop version (Pay Online, Box Shop, Rent Now, Quotes & Reservations), we recognise mobile use is climbing every day, smart phones have changed the way we live and shop. Additionally optimized for locations based searches and Google’s next polarizing algorithm change, this one is a no brainer. 4. Amazon Infrastructure : ETA October 2016. All of the above require a rock solid foundation, leveraging the power, speed and resiliency of Cloud Infrastructure was an easy choice to make. Infrastructure is often the unsung hero, if you don’t get the building blocks right the applications you stack on them won’t set the world on fire even if they were intended to. Beyond 2016, we will continue the trend of modernising our application platforms with a focus on a shiny new intranet and a connected digital workplace through the integration of third party apps, single sign on, next gen business tools and better accessibility across the business. More news to come… Jeff Xanthos Chief Information Officer

8 Kennards Kourier Oct 2016