Chrome Systems Corporation, provider of automotive data, configuration technology and commerce solutions, recently completed a survey of its clients and found that dealers are moving forward when it comes to IT. The majority of dealers who responded to the survey had DSL or higher Internet access and fast systems, among other findings.

Of the responses, the most surprising statistic was that 79 percent of clients have high-speed Internet access in their dealership. Seventeen percent reported still using a modem dial-up.

In addition, 37 percent of the clients responding as having 128 Megabytes or higher memory and 26 percent reporting 256 Megabytes. Only 6 percent had the lowest memory at 32 Megabytes. according to Chrome, more than 32 percent of the dealers responded with 1 GHz computer speed. The lowest speed, 133 MHz, garnered 10 percent of total respondents.

Accordin tot he study, the most popular operating system with Chrome Clients is Windows 98 with 38 percent of the clients responding with this system. Windows 2000 and Windows 95 were close behind with 27 percent and 16 percent of the total.

The results stated above are part of a random sampling of Chrome's dealers who use the desktop tool, PC Carbook, and the configuration tool, Chrome Carbook.

About Chrome

With more than 13,500 clients, Chrome provides vehicle content, vehicle ordering and inventory management tools, configuration technology and professional services to deliver complete enterprise solutions to all segments of the retail automotive industry. These segments include manufacturers, fleet companies, dealers, Internet sites, supply chain providers, and financial institutions. The company is based in Portland, Oregon. For more information, contact www.chrome.com, 800-936-8906.