Combell provides server power for digital property surveys by PB Plus

“Property surveys are an administrative hassle — and we want to get rid of that,” says Arno Temmerman of PB Plus. Their mission is to fully digitalise the process and make it as simple and efficient as possible. And efficient work requires reliable technology. That’s why PB Plus relies on the server power of Combell. “You’re an invisible, yet essential partner,” Temmerman adds.

Visit the website of PB Plus, a Ghent-based software company and service provider specialising in property surveys, and you’ll immediately notice their slogan:

‘Property surveys. Digital, comprehensive and worry-free!’

PB Plus lives up to its slogan by offering smart software solutions tailored to the real estate market, as Arno Temmerman explains. Together with Xavier Kluyskens, he co-founded the company.

“Property surveys for rental properties are our niche,” says Arno. “We want to help real estate agencies handle surveys quickly and efficiently. Otherwise, it remains a bureaucratic burden. With our software, you can generate a clear, structured report that includes all photos, remarks, and signatures from all parties — plus a cloud-based archive.”

Discover the world of PB Plus:

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A helping hand

Arno speaks of complete peace of mind throughout the entire property survey process — and it’s clear that kind of support is anything but a luxury.

“You can be as passionate as you like about real estate, but nobody gets excited about doing a property survey,” Arno explains. “Even for a simple apartment, you quickly end up with a document that’s 50 pages long.”

“We’ve taken a completely different approach with our own software.”

Arno Temmerman, Commercial Director at PB Plus

“You could spend days trying to put that all into a Word document. And did you know that some real estate agents still take photos with a digital camera, record their notes on a dictaphone, and send the tapes off to a transcription service?

Our industry was in desperate need of a more efficient way of working. Xavier felt that the existing tools were far too rigid. So, with our own software, he completely reimagined the process and built in his own workflow.”

Support on every level

PB Plus develops software that is much easier to use. In addition, the team wants to offer its customers the very best support.

Arno: ‘We want our customers to have access to an efficient system. Being able to work in a customised way is very important. That's why our platform has been built by and for real estate experts. If you have a technical problem or something goes wrong, we will respond within 24 hours.’

“We offer our clients a hybrid solution: both software and service.”

Arno Temmerman, Commercial Director at PB Plus

Experts in-house

The support at PB Plus goes far beyond software alone. This Combell client doesn’t just offer a digital platform — they also provide hands-on service, thanks to a team of in-house experts who carry out property surveys themselves.

“In doing so, we offer a hybrid system packed with benefits: both software and service,” Arno explains. “Through our tool, you can easily indicate that you have ten inspections scheduled in a given month, but you’d like two of them to be handled by PB Plus professionals.”

Joined by Combell

Combell is the proud hosting partner of PB Plus. The entire platform, including all data and additional integrations, runs on our local and scalable VMware hosting. Something Arno does not regret.

“We once signed a five-year contract with Combell. Now, five years later, we’re still a happy customer,” says the co-founder with a smile.

“We committed to a five-year partnership — and we’re still satisfied Combell clients.”

Arno Temmerman, Commercial Director at PB Plus

“In the past, we worked with large international providers,” Arno recalls. “But we often struggled with slow support and hard-to-reach teams. With Combell, we can actually sit down at the same table — and that makes all the difference.”

“That personal approach is exactly our style. Got a client in Limburg? No problem — we’ll visit them at their office. So it was important for us to find a partner that matched our way of working. And it’s led to a long-term partnership we’re proud of.”

Data security as a top priority

One of the key pillars of the collaboration between PB Plus and Combell is security. For Arno, it’s nothing less than a top priority.

“Security is critical to us. We don’t want to be overly consumed by the hosting side of our platform — that’s why we need a partner who treats security as seriously as we do. Knowing that both our data and our customers’ data are safely stored and protected gives us real peace of mind.”

“Our SLA — essentially a service guarantee — also gives us confidence. If something ever went wrong and wasn’t fixed immediately, we’d have customers on the phone in minutes, and the whole operation would be in chaos. But with Combell, we’ve never faced that situation.

The combination of a clear SLA, strong monitoring, and responsive support means we don’t have to worry about the stability or security of our hosting.

“We just have to pick up the phone to reach Combell. With international providers, you stay stuck in a stressful situation for far too long.”

Arno Temmerman, Commercial Director at PB Plus

Combell: An invisible yet always-accessible partner

For PB Plus, Combell’s direct communication and reliable support have become truly indispensable.

“Combell is an important invisible, yet accessible partner,” says Arno Temmerman. “We just have to make a quick call, and we’re in touch. With foreign hosting providers — the hyperscalers — you’re left in stressful situations for far too long.”

No stress with Combell. At Combell, we continuously monitor our servers and proactively respond to potential issues. All systems are fully redundant, and we store data backups in a separate data centre. Just like for many of our clients, we also keep a close eye on PB Plus’s MySQL database.

Arno from PB Plus: ‘That service is Combell's strength. Thanks to good solutions and effective monitoring, we are never faced with a fait accompli. Everything is always followed up properly. We have never even had to use our SLA.’

"Always keep evolving"

PB Plus may have already achieved its core mission, but standing still is not in their DNA. Arno and his team continuously look for ways to improve their software.

“AI is the future, no doubt about it!” Arno adds. “Think of image recognition, auto-filled text fields, smarter assistance… These are features we plan to implement in the short to medium term.”

“Thanks to Combell’s proactive monitoring, we’ve never had to use our SLA. We’re never caught off guard.”

Arno Temmerman, Commercial Director at PB Plus

"Combell wants to grow with us"

Whatever the future holds, PB Plus knows they can count on Combell as a proactive and responsive hosting partner.

“We really value Combell’s input. They offer several advantages over the big — and often cheaper — international players. It’s not just the support that sets you apart, but also the fact that Combell genuinely wants to grow with us.”

“We don’t have a large development team constantly managing our servers. So when we commit to a hosting provider, we expect serious support and guarantees. We simply don’t want to solve everything internally,” says Arno.

Let Combell grow with your business too. Looking for a reliable, forward-thinking hosting partner? Let’s talk — and build your online success story together.