The Challenge:

Kentland Corporation is a leader in manufactured housing developments and strives to create “communities from the ground up.”

“From day one, we’ve been aiming for the top half of the manufactured home market,” explains Bill Lettinga, Jr., President. “That’s why our communities have bigger lots with large yards, why we offer more amenities, and why our rules are more stringent.” Each Kentland community has an on-site owner/manager who does more than collect rents and handle administrative duties. They’re also on hand to patch that annoying pothole and even help residents with small repair jobs.

Kentland Corporation builds and maintains some of the highest quality developments in the Midwest, but the company was burdened with mounting labor and opportunity costs derived from inefficient administration at their properties scattered throughout the country. Park managers routinely duplicated labor efforts, completing multiple tasks at both distributed properties and the central office. Additionally, Kentland did not have a way to quickly access data, communicate with park managers, or acquire credit checks on potential tenants.

Kentland contacted ISI for assistance in developing and maintaining a solution that could handle all of their needs, while keeping a tight ceiling on costs.

The Solution:

Creating a network infrastructure from scratch is one of the best ways to begin – a clean slate that allows for creativity to take hold and ideas to prosper. ISI used extensive experience and a good deal of creativity to develop a unique solution that enabled Kentland to accomplish every goal they had set for a technology system while limiting long-term technology costs to nearly 45% vs. that of a traditional network.

ISI developed a solution that fit the varied needs of Kentland’s front office as well as its distributed properties using a unique combination of Fat and Thin clients as well as server-based and localized processing for users.

Specifically, ISI designed a network that allows for centralized management of the entire system but local control where necessary. Kentland parks now routinely do background and credit checks online, submit requests and petitions quickly via email, and access company data and forms in an instant over the Kentland network. If Kentland Parks ever have problems with their computers, Kentland and ISI staff is easily able to shadow users directly on the desktop to provide the very best in helpdesk support.

More recently, Kentland signed onto ISI’s total coverage maintenance plan, which allows park managers to call ISI direct without spending time trying to personally diagnose issues. The ISI maintenance contract gives Kentland executives piece of mind knowing exactly how much their IT costs will be on a month-to-month basis.

ISI transformed the way that Kentland operates and communicates with its properties. Efficient use of park managers’ time has helped to increase the level of customer service that can be provided to tenants and every single park. The less time spent on administrative duties in the office, the more time that managers are able to cultivate the real community that Kentland desires.