Birds Aren't the Only Ones Migrating This Time of Year

11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM

Why these four former TDL clients decided to make the switch to iCity now.

Kelowna, BC  November 21, 2008 - Several municipalities have recently migrated from Top-Down Logic (TDL) over to Vadim’s iCity, which provides them with more up-to-date and efficient software. The four former TDL clients, all of which are located in Ontario, consist of the Municipality of West Grey, Township of Laurentian Valley, Township of Black River - Matheson, and Township of Front of Yonge.

One thing they can all agree on is the approach was right. They took us up on a promotion strictly for TDL clients that gave them the opportunity to migrate from TDL to iCity at an attractive price.  These four new clients also considered Vadim’s ability to convert the data seamlessly and the ability to keep the software current as differentiators that were important to them.

Municipality of West Grey
The staff at West Grey especially liked the integration between Vadim applications, which are designed to “talk” to one another and share information. This time-saving technique eliminates the need to enter the same data multiple times. West Grey staff members are looking forward to integrating their Building Permits application with their BlackBerry hand-helds when this exciting new technology comes available in 2009.

The Municipality Of West Grey is located in Southwestern Ontario, is an amalgamated municipality and has a population of approximately 12,000. They are scheduled to migrate over to iCity in January 2009.

Township of Laurentian Valley
Before making the decision to migrate to Vadim, Bruce Lloyd , Treasurer at Laurentian Valley, and two staff members attended Vadim’s Ontario User Conference in 2007 to meet Vadim users. Bruce notes, “This was an important factor in the decision making process for us.” Bruce also explains the 3 top factors that influenced his decision were that he and his staff feel comfortable with the Vadim staff that would be working with them (this was very important for Bruce); they like the software, the available options within the modules, and felt Vadim had what they were looking for; as well, they felt comfortable that they can network with neighboring municipalities that use Vadim. Bruce also likes Vadim’s TCA plan and the idea of a seamless conversion process from TDL to iCity.

Laurentian Valley Township was formed by amalgamation on January 1, 2000. The Municipality has a growing population of 9,265 residents with 3,769 households. Laurentian Valley’s iCity system will be implemented this December.

Township of Black River - Matheson
Heather Smith , Treasurer of Black River - Matheson, found that the TDL system was limiting; the program did not have the ability to allow her to perform some of the functions she wanted to do and they realized it was time to make the transition to a new system. Since they were familiar with Vadim, it seemed like the logical choice. “The software is very impressive. It has so much to offer. I especially like that reports can be generated from the GL, which isn’t an option with TDL,” says Heather. “I also like the payroll module and the fact that I have the ability to limit staff access to certain areas of the software.” What is Heather most looking forward to about the change? “The ability to move information within the software and to streamline our business processes. A lot of our work is done manually so we’re looking forward to saving some time.”

Often referred to as the “Outdoor lover’s delight”, the community of Black River – Matheson is located in the District of Cochrane in the northeastern part of Ontario. The Town of Matheson was amalgamated with the surrounding town sites approximately 30 years ago, forming a new municipality. The population of Black River- Matheson is approximately 2,900. The migration will take place around the same time as West Grey, in January 2009.

Township of Front of Yonge
Front of Yonge’s Treasurer, Sherry Reed , is looking forward to using the PSAB reporting capabilities available on their new iCity system. Due to new government requirements, it is mandatory for all municipalities to report on assets and their depreciation (read more here ). Having dealt with Marla Moore, Vadim Conversion Specialist, for years and developing a relationship, Front of Yonge felt a level of comfort in choosing iCity. “Marla went above and beyond,” says Sherry.

The Township of Front of Yonge is one of the smallest townships in eastern Ontario and lies east of Kingston and west of Brockville on the St. Lawrence River with a population of 2,803. Implementation is currently taking place.

Marla Moore, Vadim's Conversion Specialist, manages conversions from former systems to Vadim and also deals directly with TDL clients. She explains and handles the Vadim data structures and requirements for client input data. Marla is very knowledgeable in municipal business processes and she understands the unique issues our clients face. “We’re very excited to welcome these municipalities to iCity. They’re going to love working on this software,” she says. “Using Vadim applications, they’ll become more efficient in their jobs, they’ll be able to create customized reports in no time, and they’ll save time on tasks they did manually before and can now do with the click of a mouse. They made a really good decision.”

If your municipality is interested in making the switch to Vadim, call one of our Regional Account Managers, Anthony Fleming who covers Eastern Canada & US (519-317-7278) or Darrell Webster who covers Western Canada & US (306-728-2923).