TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Computer savings
for design-build companyFrom the "well, duh!" department, saving thousands of dollars is an attractive idea. It's one of the benefits Graham Builders Inc. reaped after Construction Manager Doug Long was tasked with improving the company's computer network. President Danny Graham wanted to enhance electronic communications between the company's Honolulu and Maui offices. "We were concerned about hackers and viruses," he said.
Long heard Hoala Greevy, president of HoalaGreevy LLC, speak at a Linux users group and the company-client relationship was struck.
"For this company it was a server-based Linux installation," Greevy said. "The end-user continues to use Windows but that back-end is Linux so the end-user doesn't know Linux is running, it does its own thing."
Greevy is both Linux- and Microsoft-certified and believes Linux is more stable and secure than Windows. Besides, the Linux software is free.
Long said, "I would think doing the equivalent in Windows products would probably be $5,000 to $10,000 in license fees."
According to Greevy the company also saved on hardware. "If they were going to use Microsoft or other commercial solutions we call closed-source they would have had to buy additional hardware. The way I set it up they only needed one server at each office and it could handle all their needs." Given software and hardware costs, "I would say they saved upwards of $10,000," Greevy said.
Saving money and making it
Graham Builders, meanwhile, continues to reap rewards from a program it started some seven years ago."As a means of getting our company on the map we approached Bank of Hawaii with the idea of doing seminars about home construction," said President Danny Graham. "We told the bank it was not to promote our company but to promote the construction process." The two-hour seminars are free to the public. "We serve heavy pupus because people come straight from work," Graham said.
The two shared the costs of the seminars for four years until the bank discontinued its participation. American Savings Bank picked up the partnership ball and since then Finance Factors Ltd. has also come into the fold, via former Bankoh executive Maureen Lichter, now vice president and director of marketing for Finance Factors.
"What (the partnership) does is helps us provide information to people planning to build new homes or an extensive remodeling so they have a real clear understanding of what the construction process entails," Lichter said. "We have one of our loan officers present the financing portion and have several other loan officers attend to answer questions, help people pre-qual and actually make appointments to apply for construction financing," she said. "A lot of people in the audience hadn't even thought about starting with a budget."
The customer education aspect is a key point of interest for American Savings officials as well.
"I think the basic benefit is to the customer, to get the right information from the experts whether it be in building or financing," said Tom Carcmichael, assistant vice president for residential loan projects and product development. "Obviously we like to have them think of American Savings at the top of their head when they are looking to build but it's basic exposure for the bank out there in the community, making loan programs available for the neighborhoods or communities we serve.
"It has definitely proven to be worthwhile for American Savings to be involved," Carmichael said. The bank also participates in similar seminars with other home builders and will resume its schedule early next year.
Graham said for the first year-and-a-half to two years "we saw no results at all." Then business picked up. "We don't get everybody of course, the competition gets some return from it also."
Despite the slow start, Graham said, "It's definitely worth the investment. It's successful because other people are copying us now."
Graham's schedule of seminars with the banks starts in early 2003, including an appearance at the Building Industry Association's Home Building and Remodeling Show at Blaisdell Center in February.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com