CMS 2000 is a sophisticated yet flexible and easy-to-use database. It has been replaced now by CMS7, but if you have older operating systems like Windows 95, 98 or NT, as CMS7 cannot be installed on this due to Access 2003 requirements, you can still use CMS2000. If you want to upgrade to CMS7, it is a simple process as any CMS2000 data will easily upgrade into CMS7 format.
It has been designed to support management planning and to address the key issues of data management and communications between those involved in planning for and managing sites.
Benefits of CMS2000
- Provides a recognised structure for your management plans leaving you to concentrate on the plan content
- Makes sure that all important information is recorded and encourages focussed management that is independent of staff changes
- Is a powerful resource bidding tool as all projects are linked to specific features and can be prioritised and costed
- Improves efficiency by providing instant task lists, work programs, budgets and reports of works completed
- Increases the likelihood that the planned work is actually carried out and (just as importantly) that inappropriate management is not undertaken
- Can be used corporately as well as locally allowing reporting at organisational level as well as site level
- Promotes a standard format for management plans allowing them to be shared across and between organisations
- May be used for all types of sites from small sites to whole National Parks or for recreation sites or for species management
- Makes your time in the field more efficient!
CMS 2000 is structured around the CMS planning format - see Management Planning for more detail.
The Planning Section of the software is excellently presented allowing you to visually see how the plan fits together and to allow ready access to all elements of the plan for data entry and reporting.
Reporting is a strong part of the program with a series of standard reports provided - for example, the whole management plan (up to date and with no need to rewrite it!!), annual staff work plans, annual project reports, expenditure by project and graph reports of expenditure grouped by finance or staff code. You can also make your own reports, creating, saving and reusing as many reports as you care to produce.
Full and detailed help is available at every stage of the program and many aspects of the program are fully customisable. For instance, you can create your own site description categories, enter your own staff, finance, site status or equipment codes. You can even turn off different parts of the planning tree eg features if you prefer the Eurosite approach to planning or Events if you do not want to record so much detail.
The Future of CMS
Now that exeGesIS have taken over the running of CMS, in conjunction with the CMS Consortium, we plan to actively develop the software. A new version is planned by March 2005 with 70% discounts available on upgrades if you have a Technical Support and Maintenance Contract with exeGesIS. A further version with full web functionality is also in the pipeline.
More Details
Download a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation detailing CMS (1Mb). Copies can be supplied on CD, Please contact David Mitchel of the CMS Unit.
View all CMS related downloads (opens in a new window).