“I would definitely recommend Cloud400. I would tell anybody that’s what we did. We got off our old antiquated box and went to something newer. And with Cloud400 we are paying less than we were paying."
Background
Burton Companies began in Weslaco, Texas as a retail chain to sell auto parts in the Rio Grande valley. Over the years, Burton adapted to the changing needs of its customers. Today, besides auto and truck parts, Burton distributes compressors, hydraulic equipment, industrial supplies and tools to manufacturing companies in both the U.S. and Mexico.
IBM 9406-720 V4R5 With Customized DST Software
Burton ran the operation on a 9406-720 at V4R5 with customized DST software, POS and Optimum payroll, supporting 80 users at 7 locations within 100 miles of their primary location.
“We’ve had our 9406-720 since 1997. It’s been a good box. The 720 was fast enough and big enough to support us for a long time,” explains Burton’s MIS Director, Eddie Crist.
Server Fan Fails
“Then we had a fan fail. Our maintenance guy had a hard time finding this part to replace. That kind of woke us up. Maybe this good box of ours is getting obsolete. And if something were to go down drastically with it, we may be down for a while and that kind of scared us a little bit.”
“When he got a replacement fan and put it in the 720, it did not work. He had to rework the failed fan to get the fan to work. The failed server fan was our wake-up call that we needed to do something to replace our 9406-720.”
Tight Cash Flow Delays New Server
Eddie continues, “We had looked at a new IBM POWER server several years earlier. But with tight cash flow, we decided to hold off buying or leasing a new IBM server. Then we just kind of forgot about it.
“We had even considered a PC based system with boxed software. But we really like our custom software. It would probably take years to get new software to do what we need. Plus lots of money.”
Boss Likes Cloud400
“That same week we started talking to Cloud400.
“My boss thought that Cloud400 was a good idea. We could move to more modern technology. We would not have to buy or lease hardware. We would have IBM i experts handle the backups and manage the system. I would not have to spend weekends applying IBM updates. It all sounded real good.
“My boss and I were pretty happy with the Cloud400 price. It is less expensive than a new server. I think Cloud400 is also less expensive than what we were paying to maintain our 9406-720.”
Cloud400 Runs Faster Than 9406-720
Eddie adds, “I was a little leery at first. I was concerned about the distance of the Cloud400 data center in Minneapolis to our operation here in South Texas. But after we got up and running, the speed was just fine. In fact, Cloud400 runs faster than my 9406-720. My backups that used to take about 90 minutes now complete in about 10 minutes. That really makes my night processes faster.”
Reassuring, Knowledgeable Cloud400 Experts
“I worked with four Cloud400 guys. It was very reassuring that I could work with guys with all this knowledge.
“They were all real helpful and knowledgeable. They would either tell me what I need to know or just do what I needed. I knew I could trust them to get the job done.”
Smooth Cutover Goes Unnoticed
“When we went live, a few people noticed our system runs faster. This was mainly the store managers and the folks in accounting. The rest of the users did not notice a thing. That’s actually kind of a good thing…we had such a smooth cutover.”
Eddie Crist Recommends Cloud400
“I would definitely recommend Cloud400. I would tell anybody that’s what we did. We got off our old antiquated box and went to something newer. And with Cloud400 we are paying less than we were paying.
“I’ve got great peace of mind. You have IBM i experts manage your system. They handle all your backups. You get more redundancy with Cloud400 than having the computer in your building. For anybody looking to go to a new platform or new box I would definitely recommend you guys.”