Durban-based InfoWave, a JSE listed software house and accredited Oracle partner, is making substantial inroads in the Eastern Cape low-cost housing market with its recently developed software product, DevMan.

The DevMan software product was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality in February 2005 for the benefit of the Housing and Land Business Unit and is also currently in the process of being approved by the Buffalo City Municipality: Housing Unit.

DevMan, primarily developed to address the needs of the South African residential development industry, is an integrated development management system with functionality covering all aspects related to the business processes and role-players associated with the development of property - from inception to completion.

“The DevMan solution, although generic in its application to the development industry at large, has a strong bias towards the low-cost housing market in that much of the original design was based on industry experience in the low-cost housing sector,” explains Mark Gelderbloem, InfoWave Business Consultant.

In fact, the benefits and power of the DevMan system can be truly appreciated when applied to business environments associated with high volume data requiring a collaborative effort of many role-players, such as the low-cost housing sector.

The DevMan solution, in addition to providing the basis for efficient and improved communication levels between various departments in undertaking their respective tasks, also provides an ideal basis for affecting skills transfer, and for training and empowering staff members. This is achieved though a system design which models the low-cost housing delivery process from start to finish.

The National Department of Housing initiative to assess the Local Authority capacity and infrastructure in terms of the new accreditation policy is fully supported by the DevMan solution. The Local Authority reporting relationship and obligations to the Department of Housing, in terms of their accountability and housing delivery targets, is greatly improved and there is a high degree of control and integrity.

As the solution is already tested and proven, there are no delays in implementation.

DevMan also has the added advantage of being extremely cost competitive as it is supplied on a license fee basis, eliminating all the risks of time and costs associated with custom developed software solutions. Further good news is that the system requires minimal ongoing maintenance in terms of both costs and effort.

“The DevMan solution provides an ideal platform for managing low cost housing delivery”, says Gelderbloem, but he warns that “the continued and sustainable success of the implementation is challenged through the need to streamline the practical business processes in accordance with the organization, particularly in terms of the staffing structures responsible in satisfying the data processing requirements of the DevMan system. Implementation demands a committed and cohesive effort of management to ensure sustainable benefit is achieved”.

Considering the importance of housing in the national agenda, DevMan may very well prove to be an essential tool in accelerating delivery and addressing the backlogs that are part of our historical legacy.