FAQ

AdvantageCS has been developing developing software for publishers, membership organizations, and service companies since 1979.

Not at all. Advantage clients include small publishers, too. They choose Advantage because they have more sophisticated needs in areas such as marketing, flexible pricing models, packages, analysis, or integrations that cannot be met with more basic systems. 

Yes. AdvantageCS will host your system in the cloud and provide services such as backup scheduling and integrity checks, disk space management, database administration tasks, and a menu of other services. Alternatively, you can license the system for on-premise use on your servers.

WHAT ARE MANAGED SERVICES?

Managed Services can include any or all of the following: management of the Advantage application processing and reporting, Advantage system performance monitoring, user administration, Web services administration, interfaces and uploads management, application configuration management, 3rd party software monitoring and updates, Advantage upgrades/updates.

• Integration with Salesforce and Dynamics: We recently tightened the integration between Advantage and these applications so that it's seamless between said package and Advantage.

• Select Set Builder: Our select set builder has been totally redesigned. It's a powerful part of Advantage and is essentially the place where a user can get at the database based on any criteria desired. The redesigned interface is highly intuitive and uses plain language, rather than Boolean language. The UI employs drag-and-drop selection criteria, is built on a browser, and makes these capabilities in Advantage easily accessible.

• Members Advantage: We have developed a number of enhancements to Members Advantage, including membership application entry features, chapter assignment improvements, enhanced group renewal capabilities, member service workflows, membership bundle opt-in/out features, and better upload support.

• Apple Pay: At the request of the American Medical Association, we developed an integration with Apple Pay, while maintaining key data ownership. All the transaction handling is initiated in the App Store and is then replicated in Advantage to keep a copy of it along with the rest of Advantage’s rich data set.

• Cider: (eCommerce) Product search and filter enhancements, promotional landing page builder/designer, multi-attribute product displays, self-service enhancements, payment option expansions like Apple Pay and product reviews.

The application runs Windows, using MS SQL Server as the database.

We will be happy to schedule an overview software presentation with you. Generally, an initial presentation is an hour long, and if you are interested in learning more about Advantage, we can do a more in-depth demonstration, usually on-site.  Click on the gray button on the right side of the homepage to request a demonstration.

A typical implementation lasts from six to nine months. It can be done in less time, but we highly recommend that companies use this time to evaluate their business procedures and take the opportunity to streamline processes wherever possible. As publishers learn more about the capabilities of Advantage, they are often able to eliminate time-consuming tasks that may have been done manually or in multiple steps.

No. Our largest site to date has 500 concurrent users, but that is not a limit.

There is no practical limit; we support very large publishers in Advantage.

Advantage is a top-of-the-line system, that offers unsurpassed functionality and flexibility. Because it offers more, it costs more than a shrink-wrapped package. If you need the functionality, it is well worth the price. The cost depends on the number of users and the optional modules you might require, as well as whether you choose to license the software or pay monthly for use (SaaS). We can give you an estimated cost if you answer a few basic questions about the size of the business that will run on Advantage and your specific requirements. Contact us for more information.

Yes. AdvantageCS works with our clients in ensuring compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that has been enacted by the European Union.  This regulation covers the protection of personal data for EU citizens and how it is to be handled by Data Controllers.  We’ve worked with many of our clients to leverage the Advantage software to ensure their compliance with the regulation, as well as ensuring that AdvantageCS services are provided in full compliance. Click here for more information.