We've been running a cluster of mail servers here for years – since 1997 – under the Project 2000 name, with free accounts for every WinTOTAL user. Originally, we used mail as the EDI mechanism since it was reliable, easy to implement and understand, inexpensive, and could be used for messaging (two way conversations), not just delivery. Also, at the time there were substantial limits on file sizes which could be transmitted through an ISP's mail account, plus there were proprietary systems (Value Added Networks, or VANs) under development and being promoted by big players, and we didn't want to see appraisers be stuck with an expensive, inflexible method becoming the standard means of EDI delivery. We "seeded the market" with free Project 2000 accounts, and we're happy to report, at least in the appraisal arena, VANs have almost totally failed to deliver.
Today the landscape is quite different. Everyone doing EDI has at least one personal e-mail account and they're familiar with e-mail software such as Outlook™. 1997 was a long time ago! Viruses and spam make mail less attractive overall as a delivery medium, and more expensive to provide as a service. XSites and the new XSites Network, with SureReceipts functionality, use e-mail as the delivery notice medium but not the delivery vehicle for the actual report, and they're very effective. CertMail accounts come with each Professional and Enterprise level XSite. And overall, there's no longer a need to "seed the market". The seeds took root and now it's overgrown, as a matter of fact. We now deliver many millions of e-mails a month through our servers.
Fully 14 percent of our tech calls – several thousand a month – stem from EDI. Because we insert ourselves in the middle of the process, it's easy for the appraiser to call us first, and then to disbelieve us if we see ISP or connection problems at their end. As a result, the EDI calls are not just a large number, but are disproportionately lengthy.
The EDI Center's main purpose in life was to read your mailbox and determine which messages applied to WinTOTAL based on the headers, and leave the rest alone, and allow you to correspond with those who e-mail you on appraisal matters where needed. But with XSite Network orders and popup alerts, as well as CertMail and your own mail systems from ISPs, that's not necessary any longer. So, in the coming weeks we will be removing the EDI Center completely.
Sending EDI will be similar appearance-wise to the current method, but will either be via your XSite or your own mail program. Via your XSite, there will be everything you do now (and more), including SureReceipts. We will support sending via your mail program, such as Outlook™ or Outlook Express™, and in those cases we'll use Microsoft's MAPI programming API to generate a subject, body, and attachments based on the same configurable parameters as now. The message will be handed to your e-mail program, much like how it works when you click on a "mailto" link in a web page – your default e-mail program loads, sometimes with pre-loaded message data passed by the web page. Once your mail program loads, the rest is up to you, your program, and your ISP. We're out of the "connection" loop entirely. There will be no mail sending functionality actually in our code – we'll write a message and pre-load it into your e-mail program, but then it'll be up to you to press "Send" and make sure your e-mail program is set up correctly.
We'll actually be changing this before Aurora even ships, via an update to Athena that is tentatively scheduled for November (with EDI disabling to be completed in December). After the update, everyone will have 30 days or so to close out any Proj2000.com accounts and notify others that the addresses have changed. Anyone with a CertMail account will have automatic forwarding enabled at the switchover time, so any messages coming in to their Proj2000 account will not be bounced and will instead be routed automatically to their CertMail inbox.
For those of you with XSite Order Manager (nee Mercury Desktop) or an XSite, this won't have any effect at all. Sending via an XSite "post" is more reliable anyway, and provides the client with a repeatedly downloadable PDF of the report. Those without an XSite will simply see the data being passed to their default mail program, usually Outlook.
This will remove a ton of old legacy code and really enable us to stop spending developer and tech resources supporting something whose time has come and gone. The new method of delivering via posting to an XSite is far more valuable and solves problems that e-mail can't solve anyway.
We're very proud that our development and deployment of a free EDI appraisal report delivery method ensured that pay-for-play VANs didn't take hold – and take a ton of your money. Now, we're moving to the next phase of EDI, which will be more secure, simpler, more effective, save time and hassle, and generate more business and more revenue for you. We apologize for the inconvenience inherent in changing your e-mail address, but hope otherwise you're as excited about this brave new world as we are.
