CTK FAQ's

General Questions

Setup Questions

Questions about Your Organzation’s Data and Security

Questions about Pricing

Questions about Training, Service, and Support

Technical Questions

General Questions

What is an ASP?

An Application Service Provider (ASP) provides information technology resources to subscribers/ clients remotely via the Internet or other networked arrangement. An ASP manages and delivers applications to multiple entities from a data center across a wide area network.

Why is the internet-based database better for my organization?

The Internet allows for you and your staff to enter your organization's personal database from any Internet connection in the world, using a secure password, without requiring any new hardware, software or expensive technical staff.

What does it mean to have your data held in a secure, off-site server?

This means that your data is safely stored in a special data center that is protected from crashes and other disasters. Our servers are protected by network firewalls and the latest Internet security and are constantly backed up to prevent any data loss.

Will my data remain confidential and protected?

The Online Data Manager is a completely secure system, with 128 bit file encryption and connection security via SSL/Verisign. The Online Data Manager is protected behind multiple network fire-walls and is stored on a backed-up and guaranteed server.

Why is a Microsoft Browser necessary?

The Online Data Manager requires the latest full version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. This is because the ODM makes use of special web technologies that are not necessarily supported by other browsers. To cut down on any possible errors that might affect the accuracy or security of your data, we specifically require Internet Explorer, which is a free download from http:/www.microsoft.com.

What kind of Internet connection does my organization need to use the ODM?

The ODM is built to run on any speed connection, including a modem. Obviously, the better the connection, the faster your ODM will run. If our server crashes, will that affect the CTK ODM? No, a server crash will not affect the data in your organization's ODM database. This is because your data is being saved in 'real time'on a remote server. A server crash will affect the user's access to their ODM and they will have to use another computer, but the information entered will be saved.

Can my multiple organization sites access our new ODM at the same time?

Yes. The ODM supports multiple users across multiple sites. Users see information on a 'need to know' basis.Your ODM is designed for collaborative information sharing.

[ Back to top ]

Questions about Set Up

How easy is it to set up my organization's ODM?

CTK has an easy-to-use process that helps your organization select, from an extensive best-practices template library, the types of fields, forms and reports that you will need for your own ODM. CTK provides a How-To booklet, video and five hours of personal CTK expert assistance.
CTK wizards make it simple to customize your ODM to exactly fit your organization's data collection and reporting needs. CTK technical experts are always there if you need special assistance. Our customers will be happy to tell you how fast and simple it was to set up their customized ODM.

Who needs to be involved from my organization?

CTK has found that the following staff members in your organization need to be involved in the development of your ODM (choose those that apply to your organization):

Vice president of operations or operations director (smaller organizations may have the ED involved, if there are no middle management staff).
Program/Project Directors or Supervisors
Information Department Director or IS Specialist
Data Entry Specialists
Other key decision makers

Your organization will want to identify the one employee that has complete administrative authority (your In-house Administrative Authority) over the initial and ongoing development of, and security access to, your organization's ODM. This individual will be given complete authorization by your organization to request or make changes and to contact CTK for additional support or service.

How long does Set Up take?

The organization purchasing the license dictates how much time it will take to complete the Set Up process. If your staff is available and your current data collection and reporting forms or databases are all available, Set Up can be very rapid, with your staff providing about 6-8 hours of input time over a 2 week to 30 day period. However, if your organization needs more time to gather staff, make record keeping and reporting decisions, or if you have other internal issues that might necessitate a longer Set Up period, CTK is happy to accommodate you.

Can we design our organization's ODM forms so that the same data never has to be entered more than once?

The ODM offers your agency a Central Intake model, if applicable, in order to avoid duplication of data entry or records. The ODM also provides for auto-population of matching fields, when such fields are necessarily duplicated throughout the database (i.e., name of client on intake must also be on billing form).

Does our organization get an opportunity to test out our new ODM and make changes, if necessary?

Yes, CTK suggests that you beta test (or try out in real-life situations) all components of your database and then make changes that are necessary.

How many employees or volunteers can access our new ODM?

As many as you need; you just need to state the approximate amount of users in your CTK License Agreement.

Can my organization request custom forms for government or third party billing reports?

CTK offers the opportunity for organizations to develop three different types of specialized forms:

Unique Form Development: This standard ODM feature allows organizations to create their own custom designed database forms. You build these with the standard ODM wizard and there is no charge for this feature. CTK will assist you in identifying the need for Unique Forms as part of the Set Up process.
Customized Form Building: If your organization must have a form printed out in a particular way (as in a specific third party billing form or funder report), CTK programmers can build that form to exact specifications. There is a one-time charge for this programming service.
Dynamic Form Development: If you need a form that contains fields that can trigger activity within the database, you need a Dynamic Form. An example of this might be the following: on your Intake Form, a new client answers yes to 'Unemployed' and an Employment Placement Form must immediately appear for completion. This is a dynamic function and needs to be programmed into the database. There is a one-time charge for this programming service.

Can our new ODM act as billing or accounting software?

The ODM can provide your organization with exact forms needed for billing, but is not a replacement for accounting or billing software. The ODM can, however, interface with most accounting software to ensure that your client service and billing functions are in sync.

Is there a limit to the number of records that CTK will keep secure and store for my organization?

There are no functional limits to the number of records that CTK can securely store and mine for your organization. The number of records stored is one factor in determining your CTK pricing.

Can I add new data fields, forms, reports or security access at a later date?

You may make these basic changes at any time with no charge. If you need a new Custom or Dynamic Form, you may request the form via an email to CTK.

What kind of reports can my organization generate?

Any kind of report (including output, outcome, billing form, program evaluation, client tracking, etc.) can be generated from your ODM. These reports can be printed, emailed, faxed or posted in your secure ODM virtual office.

[ Back to top ]

Questions about your Organization's Data and Security

Who owns my organization's data?

YOU own your data. It is completely accessible to you at any time. No other individual or group has access to your data. CTK does reserve the right to collect in-aggregate, non-identifiable data such as number of humans served in a particular social service area (e.g., CTK Online Data Manager databases support over 50,000 clients receiving mental health services).

If my organization decides to quit using the Online Data Manager, can I immediately retrieve all my data?

According to the CTK License Agreement, all of your data will be returned, in whatever form you specify, within 24 hours.

How often is my client, agency or funding data 'backed-up' or replicated?

Your data is continually backed up in 'real-time' at several secure server sites around the world, ensuring that problems with a single server host will not affect your data storage.

If our organization's Internet connection goes down, how much data will I lose?

Because your data is not held on your organization's server, your Internet failure will NOT impact your data storage, security or retrieval in any way.

What happens if my organization wants to move old client records to our new ODM?

It is almost always possible to transfer data from an old database to your new ODM. A CTK data transfer specialist will help you decide if you want to transfer data, what specific data you want to transfer and give you a bid on the additional cost of data transfer (as there is an extra charge for data transfer services).

What if my organization is directed to use one or more on- or off-line database programs for data collection and reporting? Can we migrate new data to or from the ODM?

It is almost always possible to migrate data from one or more data-bases to your new ODM. A CTK data migration specialist will analyze your current database systems and determine the best and most economical way to move data on an ongoing basis. There is an extra charge for data migration services.

What happens if employees leave and new staff members need access to the ODM?

Your In-house Administrative Authority can delete, add or change access at any time. CTK will help you set up a system for this procedure.

What if different employees or sites need different levels of security access (i.e., there are some records only certain employees are allowed to see and that must be protected from organization-wide view)?

The ODM provides different levels of security for different types of users. Your In-house Administrative Authority has the security pass necessary to set (or change) access levels for each staff member or volunteer.

[ Back to top ]

Questions about Pricing

How is pricing determined for my organization?

Basic Set Up pricing is determined by your organization's budget. In most cases, your budget indicates your basic number of users and the amount of records that you will need held in, and mined from, secure server storage.
Additional charges will be applied for such services as Custom or Dynamic Form development, transfer of data from old databases to your ODM or migration of data from the ODM to other necessary database systems. At all times, these charges are specifically quoted before the job is begun, so there are no surprises.

What does the Set Up fee include?

Set Up fees include:

Training and support in preparing your agency to utilize the ODM, including identification of fields, forms and reports needed;
Development of your specially designed ODM record keeping and reporting online database, with up to five hours of free CTK consultation time;
Development of your own secure Virtual Offices, which includes a document library, calendar functions, chat rooms and bulletin board features;
Train-the-Trainer onsite sessions.

What does the monthly maintenance fee include?

Ongoing support and service via email, online threaded discussions and telephone support;
Secure storage and mining of all your organization's data.

What does the annual upgrade fee include?

Upgrades and improvements of the ODM Virtual Office;
Review and update of your organizations' ODM.

[ Back to top ]

Questions about Training and Service and Support

Do you train our organization's staff and volunteers in how to use our new Online Data Manager?

Yes, we provide initial Train-the-Trainer sessions and ongoing training via video, online training manuals and online/email question support.

Does CTK provide service and support?

CTK provides ongoing support and service via email, online threaded discussions and 9:00 - 5:00 telephone support.

If my organization gets a large new grant or suddenly grows, does this effect our Online Data Manager monthly pricing?

If CTK notes that a larger than usual number of records is consistently coming from your organization's ODM database, CTK will contact you to determine if this is a one-time event or if your organization's pricing should be adjusted to reflect a different Budget Level.

[ Back to top ]

Technical Questions

What does 'real time' mean?

The Online Data Manager is a real-time system in the sense that your data is processed the moment it is submitted. All of your reports will instantly reflect any changes to data you make to your database. There is no delay or wait for your data to be replicated or processed.

What does 'on the fly' mean?

Any changes to the Online Data Manager can be made 'on the fly'. This means that you can modify various aspects of the ODM at any-time, such as picklist values. Additionally, modification to the Online Data Manager will be reflected in real-time.

What Platform is the Online Data Manager on?

The CTK ODM is available on one of two platforms - Lotus Domino or MySQL/PHP. CTK will select your platform based on your database needs.

What language is the Online Data Manager written in?

The Online Data Manager contains code from several different languages including LotusScript, JavaScript, DHTML, or PHP3.