JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Northstar Club Management Software Sales Director Jim Wisniewski leads a presentation in Ocean Pines on Friday.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 20, 2018) Following two extensive meetings with representatives from Northstar Club Management Software last week, Ocean Pines officials appear to be closing in on selecting the company to furnish new software to run much of the community’s operations.

Northstar Sales Director Jim Wisniewski and Director of Product Development Imran Balkhi spent all day Thursday talking with Ocean Pines department heads and other employees that would be using the new systems.

On Friday, the reps held a lengthy public presentation that also included General Manager John Bailey and four board members: Association President Doug Parks, Vice President Steve Tuttle, and directors Frank Daly and Colette Horn.

Wisniewski, on Friday, said he wanted the stakeholders to “understand all of the pieces” in Northstar and that overall the Thursday meeting went “really fantastic.”

He said there were some things the software could not do, such as payroll, but that Northstar could interface with Ocean Pines’ current software, Automatic Data Processing Inc., in that instance.

The software also has several unique features, from being able to remotely lock and unlock doors, to robust digital displays for kitchen orders that can be accessed remotely.

“Matt Ortt can actually be driving across Ocean City and be able to look at the kitchen display on his phone,” Wisniewski said.

Wisniewski admitted that one or two shortcomings were identified on Thursday and are being worked on, but said some other issues had already been ironed out. On golf operations, for instance, the association is still looking for a way to incorporate both Northstar and the EZLinks systems currently used to book golf packages in the area.

Northstar was founded in 2002 and released its first edition in 2004. Wisniewski said several updates and new features are released each year and the platform was named “Software of the Year” eight times by BoardRoom magazine, including in each of the last five years.

“What Northstar wanted to be able to do is to allow people like Mr. Bailey to allow their staff to get out from behind their desks, [to] where the residents are able to see them and interact with them,” Wisniewski said. As such, the cloud-based systems can easily be accessed from any device that has an internet browser, he said.

Wisniewski went on to say of the 500-plus organizations using the software, all were using Northstar for accounting purposes as well, rather than using another program for backroom financial purposes, such as Sage.

On Monday, Tuttle, Parks and Bailey each emailed a statement on how the presentations went and what the next steps may be:

Association Vice President Steve Tuttle:

“I am responding to you as one director,” Tuttle said. “I am in favor of the association taking the next steps to purchase the Northstar software. As I see it, the next steps are to get a contract and have it reviewed by legal and to assure that the cost is as originally projected. I do not have any further questions about the software or the support from Northstar.

“OPA department heads attended various portions of the demo and I was very glad to see the enthusiasm they showed for the Northstar proposal.

“There will be a small amount of additional hardware needed for OPA staff to have access to the cloud based system but this is minimal cost I am told. An estimate for the purchase of the hardware will be provided soon.

“Finally, there will need to be a clear implementation/data migration plan to outline the process steps and timing to get from where we are today to a fully functioning operation with Northstar.

“This is the culmination of a two-year process, the work of many people with expertise in this realm who have provided a great service to our association. I sincerely hope as a Board we will vote to move forward with the purchase of Northstar.”

Association President Doug Parks:

“I was very pleased with the Northstar presentation last Friday,” Parks said. “My focus was on a couple of important factors. The most important was buy-in from the OPA department heads based on their meeting with the Northstar team. Each agreed that the Northstar solution met their business requirements and allowed for several efficiency gains in their operational activities.

“The other important factor was the level of integration within the various modules of the software and the ability to generate reports in real time on various operational aspects of the departments.

“I see the next steps as a review of the contract with regard to cost and deliverables for the initial implementation and long-term support. Once that information has been reviewed and vetted, I expect the board to meet and conduct a final vote on moving forward. While the process has taken longer than anticipated, it was time well spent as all involved have a more detailed and better understanding of the Northstar solution and how it will benefit Ocean Pines.”

General Manager John Bailey:

“I think that one of the key factors contributing to the success of the Friday demo was the full-day demo the day before,” Bailey said. “On Thursday, Northstar met directly with just the staff. However, not only were the department heads involved again, but they included many of the other end-users of the management software.

“Many detailed, practical ‘working’ questions were answered to a positive outcome with regard to Northstar. The staff were very engaging and their comfort level with Northstar has increased.

“If you think about it, the staff are subject to the biggest change – daily impact on how they do their job, and thus we had a need to come at change pragmatically. I believe they are ready and encouraged about the opportunities that Northstar will provide.

“The other key factor on Friday was the obvious interest and involvement by the board; there is a strong desire to finish this process. I will be working with Northstar and our staff to complete pricing and to get a draft contractual document ready for legal review and then presentation to the board.”

The Gazette also contacted three directors who were not able to attend: Ted Moroney, Slobodan Trendic and Esther Diller. They did not respond as of press time, Tuesday.