“Cloud400™ is less expensive than a new IBM server. We save $233 per month – 31% less than a POWER i.”
“Even more amazing is how fast Cloud400 is. It’s like a
Ferrari compared to our old AS400. It’s wonderful.”
Background
Located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Peak Wellness Center, Inc. is a not-for-profit community mental health center that provides accessible, affordable and effective mental health and substance abuse services to the residents of Albany, Goshen, Laramie, and Platte Counties in Wyoming.
Peak Wellness supports 20 users in 4 offices. Val Siegel is Peak Wellness’ IT Director and has a straight-forward understanding of her IBM AS400:
“Quite simply,” Val emphasizes, “our AS400 is our source of collecting revenue. If it doesn’t work, we don’t get paid.”
Custom Software For Unique Operation
Since their first System/36 in the early 1980s, Peak Wellness developed and refined their custom RPG Billing and Accounts Receivable software unique to its multi-faceted operation. Peak Wellness Center’s client revenue comes from Wyoming Medicaid, 300-400 insurance companies, Medicare and local school districts.
Val elaborates, “Our patient base is so varied and our sources of revenue so diverse that “boxed” software just does not work for us. Several years ago we tried to adapt Windows-based boxed software but abandoned this project after 3 years because this software could not do what our custom software could do.”
Frightening Error Message Leads To A Need For Major Change
“At the start of our billing cycle, our 9406-170 displayed an urgent error message. The Source Data techs remotely dialed into our system and explained the severity of the hardware error and the cost of repair,” Val continues, “I was really anxious.”
“It became very evident to me that because of our remote locations from any major metropolitan area, it would be very expensive to get parts or a replacement server and hands-on technical expertise to get up and running in any reliable time frame.”
Free Cloud400 “Test Drive” Instead Of Scrambling For Parts
“Source Data suggested Cloud400 with a free test as an option instead of attempting to repair or replace our 9406-170.”
Already Intrigued By Cloud400’s Affordability
“Frankly, I was surprised how affordable Cloud400 is for what is basically a very small shop here. It was way cheaper than scrambling around trying to locate parts or find a used machine and hoping it would work. I had read about Cloud400 in the magazines and the Source Data newsletter. Cloud400 had intrigued me. But now I was under pressure to get our billing completed. I explained our options to my boss and was pleased that he quickly approved Cloud400.”
V5R1 to V5R4 Upgrade – The First Step Before Cloud400
Val sent her 9406-170 quarter-inch cartridge (QIC) backup tapes to the Cloud400 team. The first step was to upgrade the Peak Wellness system from the V5R1 to V5R4, a process that took complete version upgrades and several days.
In the meantime, the Cloud400 team worked with Val and her network team to configure the firewalls and VPNs at all the user locations to properly link to the Cloud400 data center. In addition, the Cloud400 team verified all users had the proper version of IBM Client Access to easily connect to the Peak Wellness system on Cloud400.
“Slept Like A Baby” During Cloud400 Preparation
During the time the Cloud400 team spent to prepare the internet access, upgrade the Peak Wellness billing system to V5R4, and load it to a Cloud400 server, Val says,
“I was teasing my husband that I slept like a baby. I would wake every hour and cry. I was very nervous because we were not processing our billing. No billing, no money for Peak Wellness. No money, no paychecks. I was a nervous puppy for about a week.”
‘Bando’ Is Ready To Test
“I had named our 9406-170 ‘Bando’ after my neighbor’s horse. This horse was small and black. When we got our AS400 and it was small and black, I started calling it Bando. So, when the Cloud400 team told me I was ready to test, I keyed in Bando on my desktop and my system was up and running! Wow, was I relieved.
“I did not have to compile anything. That surprised me because I thought I would have to come in on a weekend and recompile everything and make it all work. It was basically, take my old AS400 and plunk it onto Cloud400.”
On Cloud400 Our System Works The Same — Only Quicker. Much Quicker
“When my users entered Bando, they got the system just like it was local to them. Their menus look the same. Their interfaces look the same – except quicker. The speed is really impressive.
“Even more amazing is how fast Cloud400 is. It’s like a Ferrari compared to our old AS400. It’s wonderful. For example, processes I used to run that took an hour and a quarter to complete on the old system take about 2 minutes on Cloud400. So, it’s been sort of fun to see what this baby can do. My users and I noticed other jobs finished almost instantaneously. The response time is so fast it’s hard to believe Cloud400 comes to me over the web.”
The Cloud400 Techs Are Amazing
“Working with Darren was wonderful. He really knows his stuff. Not at all intimidating or techie. He is easy to talk to. Very efficient. And, something that was really helpful, Darren was so reassuring. When we were really under pressure to go live, Darren worked all night to complete our OS400 version upgrade and get it up and running on Cloud400. He rocks!
“Actually, in some ways, it was very nice that Cloud400 did all the work to upgrade my software to V5R4. I remember the last time I did version upgrades. I remember working all night and working the whole weekend to pull it together. I really did not miss that in this go around.”
Cloud400 Hardware Management Relief
“Another aspect I really like about Cloud400 is handing off the hardware management to gentlemen like Darren. I am comfortable with my Queries and my programming, but I get very nervous about handling the hardware myself. Now I can carry on with my life.
“Once I got over the fear, it was nice to know everything was getting updating, everything was going to work. The transition to Cloud400 was flawless. We just signed on to the machine and – boom – we were on our way. You guys are supersonic.”
Cloud400 A Very Affordable Approach – Way More Affordable Than I Thought
“Cloud400 is less expensive than a new IBM server. We save $233 per month – 31% less than a new IBM POWER7 i. This was a very affordable approach for a non-profit. It’s way more affordable than you would think. We are a community health center. We are publicly funded so we are careful with our money.”
“I Would Absolutely Recommend Cloud400.”
“It is very affordable. It works great. The Cloud400 guys are supersonic!”