Providing a demonstration of a client-server application is more complex than for stand alone programs designed to be installed on a single workstation. In addition to specific hardware and software requirements that must be available in order for Risk Manager to be successfully installed, an instance of MS SQL Server must also be available to attach a sample database.  Installation and configuration, although straightforward, would be considered complex for a casual computer user or those without experience working with Microsoft SQL Server. There are also licensing issues (Microsoft) that would make a temporary installation not feasible.

Therefore, ERIC Systems offers the option for a hosted online demonstration.

We use a browser-based, add-in program that allows up to 9 persons, to share (view) the desktop of a computer workstation located in our offices in Bellevue, WA. The service utilized is GoToMeeting published by the Citrix Systems, Inc., a trusted provider of remote access software for many years. If your workstation can access the Internet to view sites like Yahoo or to perform a Google search, you can utilize this technology to see Risk Manager in operation.

The first step in arranging a demonstration is to call between 7:00 am and 3:30 pm, Pacific time, to make an appointment.

Once a demonstration appointment has been made, an ERIC Representative will arrange to do a simple test to ensure that a remote connection can be established. In some cases, corporate firewalls are configured to prevent such connections for safety purposes. It only takes a few minutes to check.

About 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start of the demonstration, the ERIC Representative will e-mail an invitation to share his/her desktop to all attendees. It will contain a link to initiate the connection dialogue. A small (200 KB) plug-in will be installed on your workstation to support the share. The process is simple and only requires a few mouse clicks to complete. A phone number is also included which allows all attendees to participate in the meeting via a conference call. No one even has to leave their desk.

In the unlikely event a corporate firewall configuration prevents connection to an outside server, a dial-up connection to the Internet may be able to be used. Response times will be slow, but reasonable for the intended purpose. The dial-up connection maybe be owned by the company or be an employee's personal account. The computer used to connect can be located at a business or at home. How or where a connection to the Internet is achieved is not important, only that a connection can be made.