FM Server Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Sepialine FM Server?
A: FM Server is an innovative hosted application from Sepialine designed to help service providers and enterprises share their critical expense accounting data across sites and long distances. Hosted at the Sepialine Data Center in San Francisco, CA, FM Server can be accessed anywhere, anytime through your web browser. Designed for on-site service (facility management, or FM) providers, FM Server connects seamlessly with the Sepialine Cost Tracking Suite so that you can:

• Automatically and frequently transmit expense tracking data from remote sites to a central location.
• Aggregate expense tracking data across multiple sites.
• View and analyze data.
• Download data to your local network for further analysis, accounting/ERP integration and backup.
• View, customize and print presentation-ready reports.
• Receive notifications and alerts.

Q: Why do I need FM Server?
A: If you're like most on-site service providers, you spend too much time every month collecting, sorting and validating data from your remote sites. Busy customers can't always send you data in a timely manner, and physically driving to each site is time-intensive and costly. FM Server solves those problems by automatically gathering data from each of your sites into a single, central location.

Q: I don't want to stop visiting my customer each month, so isn't FM Server redundant?
We couldn't agree more that you should visit your customers often. But when you do, we think you should spend your time on important business issues, not diving behind equipment to get meter readings. FM Server frees you to spend your customer time on important issues.

Q: I already have an automated CSV / FTP / Email mechanism that send me data. How is FM Server better than that?
FM Server delivers four key features and technologies not found in traditional file transfer methods:

• FM Server data transmissions are performed every 15 minutes, providing near-real-time access to your customer's data.
• Performing frequent small updates - as opposed to infrequent large data transmissions - increases reliability, increases fault tolerance, and allows ample time to find and correct problem, eliminating end-of-month "fire drills".
• Data transmissions are completely secure via the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. FTP and email can't offer that.
• The FM Server web portal you use to view and analyze your data delivers far more power than you'll find with a collection of CSV files. You'll have sophisticated reporting, filtering and configuration tools, eliminating hours of time "crunching" CSV files in Excel every month.

Q: My customers are nervous about data security. They don't want me reaching into their network to get my data. What should I tell them?
FM Server pushes data from the inside out. Nothing ever "reaches in" to a customer network. A small piece of software - called the FM Transmitter - is installed at each customer site. On a schedule that you and your customer mutually determine, FM Transmitter sends *only* expense data - captured by the Sepialine Cost Recovery Suite - to the hosted FM Server Receiver. Transmission is encrypted via Secure Socket Layers (SSL), so it can't be intercepted, scraped, sniffed or read.

Q: How often does transmission occur?
A: Transmission occurs every 15 minutes.

Q: What happens if data transmission fails?
A: If the FM Transmitter cannot make a connection to the hosted FM Server due to network problems, the Transmitter will attempt the connection again 15 minutes later. This will continue until a transmission is successful. If a transmission is interrupted midstream, the following transmission will begin where the last one stopped.

Q: Why a hosted solution? My IT staff is talented. Can I host FM Server myself?
A: As a hosted solution, Sepialine FM Server reduces your IT investment and frees you and your IT staff to focus on customers and business issues. You benefit from the security, redundancy and powerful hardware provided by our hosted server environment.

Q: What if I don't want to rely on a third party to hold my important data?
A: Your data belongs to you. FM Server makes it easy to download your data directly to your desktop computer or network. From there, you can backup, analyze, share and manipulate your critical business data.

Q: How long does Sepialine hold data?
A: By default, we maintain three months of data. We remove data monthly, and we notify you one week prior to data removal. You may download and backup your data, or you may purchase additional storage duration from Sepialine.

Q: Where is FM Server hosted?
A: Sepialine FM Server is hosted at Servpath, a leading co-location facility, located in San Francisco. FM Server is hosted on fully redundant quad CPU servers for maximum performance and scalability:
Reliability

• 99.99% uptime
• Multiple peering through Level3, UUNET and Telia
• Redundant power supplies, UPS battery systems and diesel backup generators
• Redundant air handling & cooling systems
• Redundant fire suppression
• Daily data backups

• SSL two-way data encryption (includes browser-based user interface, remote data transmission components and report designer components)
• Biometric physical server access
• CCTV video monitoring

Q: How is FM Server sold or licensed?
A: FM Server is a per-license addition to the Sepialine Cost Recovery Suite. When you purchase a Sepialine license (a "seat"), you can opt to add FM Server access to that seat for a nominal extra fee. When you renew annual support for your licenses, you also renew your FM Server licenses.

Q: My customer has questions about FM Server. What should I tell them?
A: Please see our FM Server End Customer FAQ