Contents
1. CB's "Client Passport" to Success
2. Got VPN? Huh?

1. CB's "Client Passport" to Success... According to Jeff Cassens of CB Richard Ellis' Information Management group, CB provides two types of extranet connectivity. Management Services' extranet is actively used for "sharing more project type information (schedules, contact lists, project timelines and gant charts, and files)." The second type of extranet connectivity, the Client Passport, has just been launched and enables producers to give clients access to local market reports. According to Cassens, "The site has an easy to use 'self-registration' process that allows the producer to register a client and assign a 'key code' for that client. The client can then register as many user names and passwords as they want using that key code. We link the client name to the producer's name so we can track client usage and give the producers a report at the end of the quarter."

"A new feature that we are developing right now is a web tool that will allow our own producers, as well as clients, to have free real estate market reports 'pushed' to them automatically. The customer would key in an e-mail address, select from a list of free market reports and submit an order. Every quarter, as soon as the market reports were completed and posted to the database, the tool would package all the market reports, zip them up if necessary, and e-mail them to the customer, whether internal or external." ... Sounds cool.

2. Got VPN? ... Every time that I write about new extranet connectivity, Jerry Porter at CRESA Partners in Los Angeles, writes and says, "Hey, Peter, you're missing the really hot stuff." Without naming names, here's how he reacted to a recent story (not CB!): "That's such old technology. Where have these guys been? This is Internet time we're on here. How about the CRESA Partners' VPN? We have the ability to access our local hard drives, sync our Palm V's to our desktops, access ACT on the company server, update our client's extranet sites and retrieve email on a secure connection from anywhere that there is a network connection and bandwidth at one of our eleven offices or any client's site. Let's dump the 'Intra' and the 'Extra' and just be on the Net!"

OK, a VPN is a Virtual Private Network. It's a fancy word, according to Porter, for a "completely secure dedicated Internet connection. It's like being at my office without dialing in. I can print to my network printers in L.A. while sitting in our Boston office. ... You'll be hearing a lot more about VPN's in the next year or two because of their flexibility and security. I know the geek factor is high. But, then again, so was e-mail three years ago." ... Hey, my brain's getting pretty full.

.--Peter