As their businesses move from on-premise software installations to cloud-based service offerings, two IBM i ISVs rely on the HA/DR newcomer.
High availability and disaster recovery are crucial for independent software vendors (ISVs) that also offer their solutions over the Internet. Customers of these cloud or Web-based solutions no longer must maintain their own computer systems. Instead, they access the ISV’s software and their own data over the Internet.
Today, two cloud ISVs rely on iSam Blue’s Quick-EDD/HA high availability and disaster recovery software for business continuity. San Diego based Soft-Pak and Norman, Oklahoma based Intelek Technologies have added Quick-EDD/HA to their IBM i to protect their own and their customers’ business systems. Both have also become iSam Blue business partners and are marketing Quick-EDD to their customers with traditional in-house IBM i systems.
Soft-Pak Selects Performance, Features, Staff
As their Web-based customer list grew, Soft-Pak, developer of premier software for the waste-industry, began evaluating high-availability and disaster-recovery solutions for the IBM i. After testing a couple, they chose Quick-EDD/HA for its performance and features and iSam Blue for its knowledgeable staff and processes.
While Soft-Pak has not been hit by a natural disaster since Quick-EDD/HA has been in use, Soft-Pak did experience a “man-made” power outage and switched to the remote system for a short period. Meanwhile, Quick-EDD/HA is keeping Soft-Pak’s local and remote systems in synch 24/7, just in case. Regular readiness testing ensures a smooth transition from the in-house IBM i to the remote system, should that be necessary.
Today, a growing number of Soft-Pak’s U.S. and Canadian customers are Web-based (e-PAK), while the rest run the software (i-PAK) on their own IBM i systems. Before developing the Web-based e-PAK solution, Soft-Pak had been developing and marketing the i-PAK IBM i software for over 25 years. Now Soft-Pak’s “cloud” e-PAK customers have access to the full functionality of the integrated and complete i-PAK hauling solution that covers billing, service, and routing.
Soft-Pak has also become an iSam Blue business partner, recommending Quick-EDD/HA to customers that run i-PAK on their in-house IBM i systems. Two already have installed Quick-EDD/HA.
Brian Porter, Soft-Pak president, predicts that an increasing number of waste haulers will opt for the Web-based e-PAK solution: “The adoption rate has been positive. Customers are ecstatic. Many wonder why they didn’t do it sooner. Clients get more features, more security, and no hardware/maintenance expense. It’s a true win for waste haulers: Soft-Pak provides everything they need, with no network interruption, at a lower operating cost.”
Quick-EDD/HA Protects Intelek's Trucking Clients
Since 1996, Intelek Technologies has evolved into an international provider of EDI solutions and professional services for the transportation industry. DiamondMine EDI translation software, available as a Web-based solution and as in-house software, is hosted by Intelek on its IBM i platform.
DiamondMine software allows carriers to communicate electronically with shippers to transfer loads, update shipment status records, invoice, and send and receive electronic payments, utilizing more than 7,000 available EDI maps. (A map is a transaction set for a particular shipper that determines what data will be used to meet the requirements and guidelines established by the shipper.)
A second Web-based solution, StripMiner, allows carriers to monitor multiple shipper Web sites and electronically bid for and schedule desirable posted loads, thereby increasing revenues and profitability. Both products interface with Intelek customers’ enterprise systems.
Some 350 customer carriers have demonstrated that Intelek software appeals to carriers of all sizes due to the flexibility of deploying it internally on the carrier’s own IBM i system, or accessing the Intelek-hosted solution via the Web, or a combination of the two.
The trend is towards the Web-based service, says Terry Wood, vice president, Technology. “It’s an easy-button solution. They can buy a little bit or all of it,” he says.
For business continuity, Wood chose Quick-EDD/HA and reports that after 10 months, he has been “really, really happy.” Initially he was drawn by the software itself. That was reinforced by how much iSam Blue President Robert Seal knew about, and believed in it. “He is definitely an evangelist for the product and the solution as a whole,” Wood says. As chief technologist, Wood feels comfortable with iSam Blue’s expertise, business processes, and support.
Now an iSam Blue business partner, Intelek is just beginning to market Quick-EDD to its customers with in-house IBM i systems and has received good feedback, the companies report. The transportation industry is highly automated, and carriers need high availability and disaster recovery. Wood knows that Quick-EDD/HA works well and says he is comfortable presenting it to his own customers.
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