ERA Sets up Internet Real Estate Portal in Singapore Highway Innovation Designs System using Sun Servers and Oracle's Internet-based Database
Singapore, 24th November 1999 - During a signing ceremony today, ERA Realty Networks Pte Ltd, ECS Computers (Asia) Pte Ltd, Highway Innovations Pte Ltd, Oracle Systems S.E.A. (S) Pte Ltd and Sun microsystems Pte Ltd, jointly announced the launch of ERA's Internet Real Estate Portal in Singapore. ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd, a leader in the Singapore real estate market has set up a real estate portal in Singapore in its quest to provide the highest quality services and customer satisfaction in this highly competitive industry.
The aim of the portal is two-fold : provide better service to the public and increase the efficiency level of ERA Associates.
With over 2,000 properties available for sale and rent in ERA's database, the public can easily assess the web component of the portal to look for properties which match their requirements. They will also be able to obtain useful pricing information of recently transacted properties, such as the average price of a three-room HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio.
In the near future, ERA also intends to provide a catalogue of real estate related products and services, such as home financing and legal services, as well as decoration and renovation services in a virtual display environment. E-commerce and online auctions will also be made possible.
On the other hand, Associates' Home, the web component of the portal designed for access only by ERA Associates, will significantly increase their productivity. Among the many services it offers, ERA Associates will be able to view their sales performance and tap into the resouces of the centra base, check the latest transacted properties online to better advise their customers, submit exclusive property listings and transactions, order name cards, and print out necessary transaction forms such as the Sales & Purchase Agreement form.
Highway innovations, a system integrator specializing in e-commerce infrastructure and development designed the new system which is hosted on three Sun Microsystems Enterprise 250 server and one Enterprise 450 server.
The applications were developed using Oracle 8i, the database for internet computing. The application systems streamline and integrate the human resource, administration and accounting functions in ERA. It is designed to automate processes relating to maintenance of associates, properties and listings, sales/rental transactions and calculation of associates commissions.
The use of IT to enhance its customer service and improve its operations is not new to ERA. In 1996, it won the National Computer board's (NCB) National IT award (private sector) for pioneering the use of a Mobile Access Network (MAN) through a wireless communication network using Dataroam access service to provide instantaneous real estate information to its associates. Another milestone achieved was providing comparative market analysis facility for agents and interactive property matching services for agents worldwide through the Internet in 1997.
"The success of ERA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hersing Corporation Ltd (Hersing Group) was not achieved overnight. One of the key drivers for success is the forward-thinking vision of its management to invest in IT to embrace the challenges of the new millennium. ERA's growth strategy has always been steered towards the direction of IT. Over the last few years, the Internet has revolutionized the business world. ERA would like to harness the potential of this technology to not only introduce the ERA competitive advantage to customers but also use it to increase the efficiency level of its assocaites. Providing customers and associates with the indispensable information required for a real estate transaction allows ERA to be on the crest of the information superhighway. In the highly competitive real estate industry, time is money. Delays can mean lost customers and sales," said Mr Jack Chua, President and Executive Director of Hersing Corporation Ltd.
The Hersing Group will continue to invest in the new IT system so that it can be fully implemented by 2000. IT will be one of its differentiating competitive advantages in the new millennium. The Group will be channeling a portion of its resources to revamp its own web site at www.erasingapore.com.sg. The new web site will be more useful, responsive and information packed to satisfy the needs of home buyers and sellers. Improvements will be made to the site's search capabilities. Customers will be able to locate ERA offices and listings much faster and in fewer screens. E-mail addresses of all ERA Real Estate Specialists will also be available.
"A company embarking on e-commerce initiative should insist that its primary hardware vendor has the service expertise that enables its customers to build and implement scalable, flexible solutions. Many companies employ Sun and partner solutions, like Oracle, as their platform for conducting e-business. ERA's system will provide a virtual organisation across the company, providing a single, integrated face for customers who do business with ERA. Sun's relationship with vendors like Oracle reinforces each others' commitment to provide customers with complete web-enabled e-business solutions based on open standards platform. "Our success in bringing about the implementation of ERA's system strengthens this symbiotic relationship", said Mr Lionel Lim, Vice President and Managing Director, Sun Microsystems, Asia South.
"The internet has dramatically shortened the time for local SME's to expand their businesses in local and global markets. By selecting Oracle as the foundation of the real estate portal, we extend our e-business leadership to accelerate ERA's transition to e-business and its growth in the local and regional marketpalce," said Mr Keith Budge, Managing Director, Oracle Singapore.
Oracle8i, the database for internet computing, provides the new ERA portal with enterprise-class scalability, flexibility and availability, enabling quicker decision-making process through real-time information. This translates to direct customer satisfaction, essential in a highly competitive industry such as the real estate business," added Mr budge.
Mr Tay Eng Hoe, Managing Director added that besides introducing leading edge technologies like Sun Microsystems and Oracle to customers, ECS also integrates them as complete solutions by leveraging on the unique industry and application development skills of its valued partners like highway Innovations. Through this synergistic business model, ECS is committed to its partners development and success.
Mr Jack Chua concluded that Highway Innovations was chosen to implement the system on the basis of their proven track record in providing integrated end-to-end solutions for customers. furthermore, Highway's business structure made it into a reliable one-stop vendor which can integrate the best-of-breed products and services.
The project was brought to its completion through the systems integration capabilities of Highway Innovations pte Ltd. Its Managing Director, Mr Nelson Wong noted, "As a systems integrator, we believe in making technology work for the customer. The solutions we implement should offer not only the latest technology but are also scalable and cost effective."
About ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd
ERA is the first real estate company in Singapore to offer real estate brokerage services under a franchise system. The company which commenced operations in 1982, is today Singapore's largest real estate agency with over 1,100 ERA Real Estate Specialists operating from its Mega Office at CPF Bishan Building.
True to ERA's corporate philosophy of "1st in SERVICE, 1st in CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, and 1st IN RESULTS', all ERA Real Estate Specialists have undergone ISO-certified training to serve customers better. The Company is also committed to introducing innovative, quality real estate products and services which cater to the specific needs of home buyers and sellers. These include ERA Property Online, a property information service on TCS Teletext, Channel 8, page 333 which features the available properties marked by ERA Real Estate Specialists; the ERA Home Warranty Plan, which covers repair and replacement costs of major home systems and built-in appliances; and the ERA HDB Deposit guarantee Programme
which protects the buyer's deposit up to a maximum of S$5000.
About ECS Computers (Asia) Pte Ltd
Established in 1982, ECS Computers (Asia) Pte Ltd is a member of NatSteel Electronics. As one of the leading IT Value Added Distributors in Singapore, ECS offers products and solutions to the corporate market through strategic alliances with industry leading vendors. Total integrated solutions incorporating the best-of-breed products are offered through its wide and established channel of resellers and system integrators. ECS distributes a wide portfolio of leading-edge products which include Sun Microsystems, 3Com, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Apple, Lotus, Oracle, and Check Point. Education and consulting services on cross-platform integration and system security are also provided.
For more information, please call 65-2999433 or refer to http://www.ecssin.com.sg
About Highway Innovations
Highway innovations is a leading provider of comprehensive IT solutions and services in the area of E-commerce, System Integration, and Data Warehousing. Within these three core areas, Highway Innovations provides a full range of services which include consultancy and development, implementation and integration, as well as user support and system maintenance. Established in 1996, the company has grown from an annual turnover of S$1.1 million to over S$5 million. With a team of less than 10 persons when first established, to-date, Highway Innovations has a staff-strength of more than 30. With offices located in Singapore and Malaysia, Highway Innovations works with their partners in those countries as well as Thailand and Korea to deliver comprehensive and quality services across the Asia Pacific region.
About Oracle
Oracle Corp. is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company. With annual revenues of more than US$9.1 billion, the company offers its databases, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in more than 145 countries around the world. Today, Oracle's e-business solutions are most widely used by the most successful e-businesses in the world. Oracle is the world's leading provider of e-business solutions and is the e-business vendor of choice for 19 of the world's top 20 e-businesses and more than 70% of Fortune 100 companies. Oracle is itself using all aspects of its e-business solutions to transform itself into an e-business.
Oracle's World Wide Web address is http://www.oracle.com
About Sun Microsystems Inc
Highway Innovations is a member of the SUN/ECS SUN Workgroup Alliance Program since the program's inception in 1998.
SWAP is the SUN Asia South's alliance with partners who deliver a multitude of internet and e-commerce solutions. SUN and ECS support the SWAP partners with subsidies in systems procurement essential for demonstration and/or competency centre, as well as incentives and co-funding to support a host of marketing and training activities. SUN's SWAP partners will also be able to shorten their go-to-market cycles by collaborating with ECS on a regional basis, leveraging on ECS' local know-how, marketing support and business networks.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network is the Computer™", has propelled Sun microsystems, INC., (NASDAQ "SUNW"), to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise- wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With $12.4 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the WorldWide Web at http://www.sun.com or at our Asia South website at http://www.sun.com.sg
Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, solaris, java, Chorus OS, and "The Network is the Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
