Rural Mobile Coverage Worse After 3G Shutdown, Survey Finds
Mobile phone coverage and reliability are deteriorating in rural areas, and farming families are bearing the cost, according to a Federated Farmers survey.
The Masterton-based company says information technology advancement will enable real time access to information that will drive the farmer's ability to make tactical decisions in response to climate, environment and market pressures.
CRS Software managing director Brian Eccles says; "Modern farming is all about making management decisions based on accurate and timely information. Our vision is to provide farmers with software tools that assist day to day management, including physical and financial indicators while supporting the big picture plan."
"Armed with good information, farmers are better equipped to deal with highly variable seasonal and economic conditions. We are very excited with the opportunities that are currently being presented to us."
CRS software released a cloud based financial management system designed especially for farmers in 2009. The benefits of being able to access the same information from any PC, has surprised everyone. "It's a success well beyond expectations."
The next innovations planned by CRS include:
• Enabling data to just arrive– coded and ready to analyse.
• Delivering apps for mobile phones
• Connecting directly to cloud software becoming available to farm accountants
• Providing systems needed by large farming businesses
Broadband availability in the office and out in the paddock is still an issue for many farmers but CRS is optimistic that investment in rural broadband will greatly improve the service over the next few years. However, CRS's focus is to provide a quality product that works despite intermittent broadband.
CRS this week opened its new Masterton-based offices with Prime Minister John Key officially opening the 600 square metre building, which has the capacity to accommodate more than 60 staff.
"This building presents an opportunity for CRS Software to accommodate our rapidly growing team of developers and sales staff," Eccles says. "I am immensely proud of how our team have come together in the past few years to help us become New Zealand's leading rural financial software company. We look forward to launching new and advanced products that will exceed our customers' expectations."
