When Pete Weichers joined the City of Encinitas as deputy city clerk nearly four years ago, he knew the beach-front community needed to drastically improve its records management strategy.

“We were kind of limping along when I first got here,” Weichers said. “We had a long way to go to get things modernized and into compliance.”

The city, located about 25 miles north of San Diego, had used Microsoft Access™ to manage files, microfilm, and boxes both on-site and as an off-site records storage vendor. After nearly 20 years, the deputy city clerk said it was time for a much-needed change.

“When I got here in 2019, the Access database was in shambles with data from multiple departments,” Weichers said.

A year later, the city says it lost about 3,000 files when employees moved the previous software onto a virtual machine.

Weichers wanted an efficient and scalable solution that could not only integrate with the city’s retention schedule but also easily apply its retention schedule rules to the city’s records. Being able to create labels was another big need and staff did not have any disposition reporting capabilities.

WHY VERSATILE PROFESSIONAL SaaS?

When it came time to find a new solution, Pete remembered using Versatile Professional during his time in the nearby City of Escondido. He was confident it would be a good option.  “I knew it would be a good solution so I kind of approached it from that standpoint, knowing what Zasio has to offer, the wealth of knowledge (the staff has), and just how simple the product is…it’s just ready to go. There’s not a real steep learning curve.”

Ultimately, the city moved forward with Pete’s recommendation and in April 2022, chose Zasio’s Versatile Professional SaaS application. Pete said Zasio’s support team made the implementation efficient and easy for him and his small team.

IMPLEMENTATION, CUSTOMER SUPPORT & FAVORITE FEATURES

Once the SaaS application was implemented, the city could start using it right away as there weren’t any major challenges in the set-up process. When some staff members reported having login problems, Zasio’s customer support team reached out to the city’s IT department and the issue was quickly resolved. “I’ve always found your support staff to be incredibly responsive and helpful,” Pete says.

Now that the city has been utilizing Versatile SaaS for nearly a year, Pete’s team has grown to appreciate its many features. “The simple, but incredibly powerful search bar” as well as the “label design to ensure continuity with processes and procedures” are some of the highlights, he says. And, in addition to being a major time saver, accessibility has proven to be a big plus.

“We were kind of hamstrung before where only one person from the whole city could get into the program (Access) at a time. With Versatile Professional, we have enough licenses that allow multiple people to work in that space,” Weichers said.

Being in city government, transparency is important in his line of work. And Versatile Professional definitely helps with that process.

“To me, transparency and records management will forever be intertwined especially at the local government level. Over the last couple of years, the City of Encinitas has had a significant number of new employees come aboard with little or no government experience, and it has been the city clerk’s mission to train them and emphasize the importance and legal ramifications of records management and being transparent with the public,” he said.

As part of the city’s records management strategy, Weichers says his team will be presenting the application to department leaders later this year, pointing out how it’s helping elevate their program and assist with long-term initiatives.

RESULTS

“Overall, it’s been a huge positive for us. I’ve had other experiences and have used other software where you’re promised this and that, but there’s a letdown in between. (With Zasio) every step of the way, from beginning to end, you guys have been comprehensive and always reaching out. What you promise and what you deliver match, and in this day in age that’s unique, to say the least,” Weichers said.

 ABOUT ZASIO

 Zasio has over 35 years of service in information governance. We focus on one thing, helping businesses get started in records management and maintain top-of-the-line IG programs. Since starting in the industry, we’ve recruited a team of experts, including software developers and technicians, attorneys, analysts, certified records managers, information governance professionals, and certified information privacy professionals —all in-house—who keep up with evolving IG trends and scale our Versatile solutions to meet demands of both customers new to records management and seasoned veterans.

It’s no wonder that thousands of companies, including half of the top 20 Fortune 500, have trusted our software solutions and expert consulting services to implement world-class information governance programs.

To learn more about Versatile Professional please call 1-800-513-1000 opt. 1 or email sales@zasio.com.

The post Versatile Professional™ SaaS Case Study: The City of Encinitas appeared first on Zasio.

Air Van, a transportation and storage company, has been storing records for companies of all sizes in the Boise, Idaho area for many years. With over 200,000 square feet of warehouse storage space and having customers of varying sizes and industries, the team is constantly managing multiple databases and navigating different record-keeping requirements to keep up with each customer’s unique requests. These demands, along with a strong recommendation from their largest client, are what led Vu Doan, Vice President at Air Van, and his team to implement Versatile Professional™, Zasio’s industry-leading records management solution for small to mid-size companies.

Today, Air Van not only has all of their records stored and organized in one solution, but they also have customized databases set up which mirror those of their clients, as well as the ability to scan and track records right from their mobile Android devices.

Why Versatile Professional?

When it came time to choose and implement a solution, there wasn’t a question of which vendor or software platform to choose. Air Van’s biggest client was using Versatile Enterprise, Zasio’s enterprise-level records management solution, yet paying Air Van to oversee their records storage. Once they decided to turn all records management tasks over to Air Van, it made sense for both parties to use Versatile software to facilitate an easy transition. “Zasio allowed us to sync our big customer database with their database so we had a mirror image of the two databases, daily,” said Vu. “That was the thing that impressed us, and was a big reason for our decision. Our customer wanted to track what we have, and we also wanted to track what we have, and Versatile Professional could do all of that.”.

Favorite Features and Benefits

A Truly Customizable Solution

For Air Van, a customizable software solution is a necessity to keep up with the ever-changing records requirements in place for all of the different companies for which they manage records. “We have a lot of different customers, and each customer has different requirements and multiple databases. Zasio has no problem modifying our databases, or modifying the system to allow us to track what we need for each different customer,” said Vu.

Versatile Mobile Package™

Versatile Professional has become such an ingrained, easy part of the Air Van team’s daily processes they hardly notice it anymore, but they do rest assured knowing Zasio will always have new options and solutions available to keep their technology new and fresh.

Their most recent upgrade was adding the Versatile Mobile Package add-on, which allows them to do all of their scanning from a mobile device of their choice via Zasio’s mobile app, Versatile Records On-The-Go™. “We’re using Android scanners now and it’s made our whole process so much smoother,” said Vu. “It’s a lot easier to set up, it’s a lot easier to scan, and our other users have had no problem picking it up because it’s very easy to train people on. It’s nice to know you all are always changing and updating your software so it reflects the latest technology solutions,” he said.

The Customer Support 

Air Van appreciates Versatile Professional’s features and available add-ons, but they noted the main thing that makes Versatile Professional stand out is the customer support that comes with it. “We’re often managing three different databases for different customers and no matter the project or request, the Support team is like, ’let’s work through it’ or ‘let’s make it happen!’” says Vu. “It’s amazing how flexible and accommodating you guys are.” He continued to share that during a recent Records On-The-Go update, the Zasio support team took it upon themselves to update an internal, handwritten manual, specific to one Air Van employee’s unique daily process, so he could do his job more easily. “It’s the out-of-the-box stuff you guys do, going above and beyond to meet our needs, that makes our lives so much easier,” said Vu.

Results

Since the initial implementation in 2004, Versatile Professional has provided Air Van with a versatile, customizable solution that continues to morph with them as their records management storage and database requirements update and change. “There is just a realm of different options we’ve found with Versatile Professional,” says Vu. “In the beginning, we were using it to track files do other warehousing things but today we use it for cycle count situations, verifying inventory in the Space Management feature, doing vacancy reports…the list goes on.”

As a moving and transportation company, change may come slow sometimes but the Air Van team is grateful to have easy access to the latest technology through Zasio’s solutions, along with the Zasio support team there to hold their hands and guide them through new updates and processes. “I think it’s one of the easiest solutions we’ve ever had,” said Vu.

To learn more about Versatile Professional call 1-800-513-1000 opt. 1 or email sales@zasio.com.

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