CIMS Cloud Over the past 2 years, Ramaker & Associates has been hard at work developing a major overhaul to CIMS, which we call CIMS Cloud. CIMS Cloud will be completely web based, hosted on Amazon Cloud Servers. Similar to the way that Gmail and Hotmail work, you will go to a website and log into your CIMS data with your unique username/password. After logging in, you will see either your cemetery map if you have CIMS, or your data if you have CIMS Light. By taking CIMS off your PC and moving it to the Cloud, you will be able to access your CIMS data anywhere you have an internet connection, and from any device that supports JavaScript and html5, such as an iPad, Android Tablet, laptop, Mac, and PC. In addition, you will no longer need to be concerned with data backups, lost hard drives, or operating system upgrades. Below are some screen shots from our CIMS Cloud application. The screens shown below will be the same for both CIMS and CIMS Light, however, screen designs may change during the development process.
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This is the Space Information Window. The layout still utilizes the Ownership, Burial, Marker, Deed, Vault, Permissions and Report tabs. We have tried to keep the layout similar in design to our existing software.
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 | | Above is the Customer Information Screen, We have eliminated the "Advanced" tab and put everything onto one screen. |
In additional to recreating the current CIMS functionality, we are also taking advantage of new technology to add features into CIMS Cloud that were never possible in our desktop version. One of the things that we are implementing is a GPS locator. When you are using a GPS enabled device, such as newer iPads or android tablets, you will be able to locate your position within the cemetery and see that represented on your CIMS map.
One of the questions that we have been asked lately is about the cost of CIMS Cloud. At this point, there are still too many unknown factors for us to be able to provide exact pricing information. Our goal is to make CIMS Cloud the best software that it can be, and to do so at a cost that is reasonable for our clients and in line with what they have been paying in the past. We are planning to release this software to some users for testing near the end of this year or early 2015.
If you have specific questions about CIMS Cloud, feel free to contact us at 1-800-332-7532.
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Using the Overview Map in CIMS
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Users of CIMS are likely familiar with the Overview Map that appears in the upper right hand corner, which shows a simplified map of your cemetery. The current extent of the view in the main CIMS window is also reflected on the overview map with a red rectangle. The overview map also incorporates navigation features that can assist you in efficiently moving around to various portions of the map of your cemetery. One trick is to right-click on any section (or block, depending on the terminology that your cemetery uses) and CIMS will zoom to that section and center it on the screen. This is a very effective way to quickly move to a different portion of the map. You can also hold the left click button in the middle of the red rectangle and move it anywhere else on the overview map, and the main map view will show the location that you re-located the rectangle to.
Not only does the overview map orient you to where you are looking on your cemetery map, it is also a useful tool for moving to different locations on the map quickly and easily.
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