Quadrix Solutions/step2media Team Give Burgdorff ERA the eBusiness Edge

Founded in 1958, Burgdorff ERA is a $2 billion dollar real estate company, with more than 675 sales associates and 20 offices across New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. An upscale realtor, Burgdorff ERA has built its name on customer service, integrity and ethics. The Internet provided Burgdorff ERA with the opportunity to offer a level of customer service that goes well beyond what the industry currently offers.

According to Judy Reeves, president of Burgdorff ERA: "Our initial presence on the web provided valuable information to prospective and existing clients, but the site's core technology was soon outdated. We needed a more progressive site, one that would allow us to take advantage of cutting edge technology, and the Internet's capabilities to deliver personalized customer service."

However, Burgdorff ERA did not have the in-house expertise to develop a more mature web architecture, so the company turned to one of its vendors, step2media, to recommend an eBusiness Solutions Provider that could architect, develop, and host its next generation site. step2media, a digital media communications firm, was already redesigning the navigational and graphical aspects of Burgdorff ERA's existing site. The principals at step2media teamed up with its long time technology partner, Quadrix Solutions, a firm that specializes in guiding its clients through the entire eBusiness application lifecycle, from designing a comprehensive Internet strategy, to developing and deploying enterprise-scale eBusiness solutions and finally, providing the network, system and application management services that are necessary for ongoing operations.

"Quadrix Solutions was highly recommended by step2media," explains Reeves. "Ultimately, we chose the team of step2media and Quadrix Solutions because they shared our passion for customer service. In addition, their proximity to our New Jersey-based headquarters was a big plus."

"We sought a technology partner who was totally committed to our needs," continues Reeves. "As promised, the team has been extremely responsive to our requests. Furthermore, based on our discussions with step2media, and other Quadrix clients, we were confident that Quadrix could provide us with a solid technological foundation today, and continue to serve us in the future as we expand our Internet presence."

Content, Content, Content

In the real estate business, location is everything. On the web, it's all about content. The most pressing problem facing Burgdorff ERA was managing the site's content, which had become extraordinarily difficult. The simplest tasks, such as updating the web database with a real estate listing, or adding a sales agent, required the talents of a highly paid programmer, and created unacceptable delays. Furthermore, Burgdorff ERA sought to add sophisticated features that would create a more interactive web site.

"Our web site is an essential part of our communications with existing and potential clients," notes Reeves. "Real estate, like many other businesses, is very current. The work that Quadrix and step2media performed enables us to post up-to-date information to the site. This has revolutionized the way we do business, and has proven to be very cost effective."

Power, Speed, Quality and Value

Quadrix Solutions developed the site using its innovative Java Applications Quickly™ (JAQ) architecture, which separates the three integral pieces of a web site: graphics and page layout HTML code, business rules and database access code. JAQ also allowed Quadrix to construct the Burgdorff ERA solution using pre-built components. This vastly improved the quality of the end user experience, sped the site's deployment, reinforced its scalability and provided the capability for flexible content management. Because JAQ separates the user interface from the application, the Burgdorff ERA staff can quickly and easily create new content using a familiar interface: the web browser.

"Moving to Quadrix Solutions' JAQ architecture gave our site more power, enabled our internal staff to readily change the look and feel of the information on the site, and overall, offered us tremendous value for the investment," states Reeves. "Now, we can change content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This simply wasn't practical with our old site."

When asked to compare the benefits of the new and improved Burgdorff ERA site (www.burgdorff.com), Reeves effusively comments, "It's like comparing a state-of-the-art luxury vehicle to a Model T. You'd better notice the difference!"

The site's architectural foundation was built using Quadrix Solutions' Design For eXcellence (DFX), a pioneering approach that reduces time-to-market for eBusiness solutions and ensures that the end result will be high performing, reliable, scalable, secure, as well as easy to operate, service and maintain.

"Because it is impossible to predict the future, our architectural designs assume that the people, priorities and focus of the business will change," says Dean Ostergaard, Manager of the Application Solutions Group, Quadrix Solutions. "We brainstorm with the client and create the ideal architecture at the very beginning of a project, leaving as many components as open, scalable and redundant as possible."

The DFX approach lends itself to better web solutions, and it is far more cost-effective for the client, because the bulk of eBusiness expenses do not come during the strategy, development or implementation phases. The costs come after deployment, when companies need to scale up the equipment, adding additional layers for high availability and redundancy. "Quadrix strives to build the right design and architecture up front, knowing it will need to scale and be reliable once it is deployed," observes Ostergaard.

Thus, the Burgdorff ERA solution was designed from day one with an architecture that can start small, but offers a clear path to scalability and high availability. Future expansion is merely a matter of smaller budget expenditures rather than a costly redesign and reevaluation. In addition, this type of architecture allows Burgdorff ERA to react more quickly, and with greater success, to market demands.

Customer-Focused Culture

Within each phase of the application lifecycle, Quadrix's experience in both bringing real solutions into production and meeting the operational demands, helps the firm, and its clients, avoid the classic "gotchas" involved in many Internet projects. Clients are assured that excellence will be built into the system from the beginning, thereby guaranteeing a quality of service that other eBusiness Solutions Providers simply cannot deliver.

"Quadrix Solutions has always been ahead of its peers in the industry, implementing advanced concepts into the company's business model years before the competition," affirms Ken Phillips, vice president of sales, step2media. "In today's world, the staff's integrity stands as one of Quadrix Solutions' finest accomplishments. Quadrix pains over how to solve a client's problems. The company doesn't push bleeding edge technology that has higher margins, because their business model is built on a win-win proposition with clients. Quadrix is singularly focused on understanding the customer's environment, situation, and goals, and they understand that what benefits the customer ultimately benefits Quadrix Solutions."

"There are always going to be bumps along the road to a technology solution," stresses Reeves. "What it really comes down to is the company with whom you're experiencing those bumps. It is absolutely essential that you trust your partner and feel confident that you are working with quality people. The step2media/Quadrix Solutions team is our partner, in the truest sense of the word. They augment the Burgdorff ERA staff, and they respond to our needs as if they were internal to our company."

"This element of trust was the most important part of our search for a technology partner, and it remains the most fundamental part of monitoring the success of the partnership," adds Reeves. "Our last experience was less than stellar, so we really appreciate that the step2media/Quadrix team is able to set and meet reasonable timeframes, while striking a balance with new requirements as they arise."

Outsourcing eBusiness: Peace of Mind

Going forward, Burgdorff ERA would like to incorporate interactive capabilities, and personalize each visitor's experience. Plans include a chat room where visitors can anonymously ask real estate questions and get answers from a Burgdorff ERA real estate professional. Ultimately, Burgdorff ERA Select Lifestyle Services will come to life, when clients can access a variety of web-based services, including utility connections, driver's license registration, voter registration, and vendor services, such as architects, landscapers and pool service contractors.