DAYTON, Ohio -

The Reynolds and Reynolds Co. announced this week that it is now providing dealer customers who use its POWER dealership system with a new tool that can aid these stores in their online network needs.

The Reynolds Private Managed Network serves as a managed, private wide area network tailored for dealers. It is designed to help dealers do the following, as listed by Reynolds:

—Keep business applications running at peak performance through a network designed to prioritize DMS traffic.
—Reduce risk with a centralized firewall and layered security.
—Eliminate network bottlenecks by monitoring traffic with an advanced reporting tool.
—Increase employee productivity by monitoring employee Internet usage.

“In today’s highly digital environment, so much of a dealer’s business depends on the ability to seamlessly communicate over the Internet, between dealership stores and with the OEM,” stated Reynolds vice president of product planning Jon Strawsburg.

“In response, we’ve developed the RPM Network to meet the specific and complex networking needs of automotive retailers. The RPM Network delivers the reliability, performance, security and flexibility dealers need to run their business efficiently and effectively,” he continued.

The service is also designed to be flexible based on the needs of the dealer, whether it’s a single-point outlet or a large, multi-store dealership group.

It is available for customers using POWER in-house or POWER ASP (hosted DMS server), officials indicated.

“This proven network solution has been delivering results for our ERA DMS customers for a number of years,” Strawsburg added. “We are pleased to now extend these networking capabilities to our POWER DMS customers.”

Reynolds Awards Merit Scholars

In other news from the company, Reynolds revealed its latest efforts to help college students out with the financial burden of attending school.

The firm is funding 53 merit scholarships through the Reynolds and Reynolds Co. Foundation for the 2011-2012 school year.

More specifically, the company doled out 28 Reynolds and Reynolds Honor Scholarships, which go to college-aged children of Reynolds associates to aid them in pursuing their undergraduate degrees. Recipients are chosen based on academic excellence and involvement with extra-curricular activities and the community.

Reynolds also gave out 18 scholarships as part of the Reynolds and Reynolds Leadership Scholars Program at Wright State University, which is located in the company’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio. These merit-based awards are given to College of Engineering and Computer Science students at the school.

Additionally, the company also provided four scholarships for enlisted Ohio National Guard members or their children, as well as three merit scholarships at Texas A&M University. The Texas school is located in College Station, which is home to one of Reynolds major facilities.

These endeavors come as the foundation marks its 25th anniversary this year.

“For a quarter century, the Reynolds and Reynolds Co. Foundation has had a focus on supporting higher education," said Dave Bates, who is vice president of software support at Reynolds and is a foundation trustee.

“Helping students as they continue their education at the collegiate level has a ripple effect beyond making a difference in the life of a student and can have a lasting impact for all of us and our communities," he continued.

Bates added: “As the Reynolds and Reynolds Foundation celebrates 25 years of philanthropic support for the community, we’re proud of the focus we put on scholarships for higher education and look forward to continuing our tradition of support.”