“Now that we are on Cloud400, the real specialists take care of OS400, PTFs, and version upgrades. The Cloud400 team stays on top of all the changes.”
Background
RapidHire is both Software as a Service (SaaS) as well as an application that can run on an IBM OS400 server to help trucking companies recruit drivers. Lloyd Tempero started RapidHire in 1998. When an applicant submits his online application via RapidHire, the application provides the trucking company’s recruiter with an immediate background check of the driver applicant – such as his driver’s licenses by state, his capabilities, past employers, traffic tickets, the works – so the trucking recruiter is prepared to make a job offer to this new driver in the first call.
Why is it so important to a trucking recruiter to be able to offer a job in the first call?
“Good drivers are in big demand – even in this tough economy,” Lloyd explains. “Simply put, demand exceeds qualified, reliable drivers supply. So the trucking recruiter wants all the information to select the best candidates for hire on the spot before the driver goes to another opportunity. The more complete and faster access to background information the recruiter has, the faster he can recruit the right applicants the company wants. The information provided by RapidHire provides the recruiter with the information needed to explain the career opportunity and sell the driver on working for their company.”
Early Career In Programming
Lloyd Tempero began his career programming in COBOL on S370 and 4300 series mainframes. Having had a career with large companies with large IT staffs, Lloyd wanted to work for a smaller company. In particular, he had heard exciting things about IBM’s AS400; in particular, he was fascinated by an operating system with an integrated DB2 database. Lloyd explains, “I discovered that the AS400 was decades ahead of IBM mainframe OS.”
The Evolution Of The RapidHire Solution
Lloyd started writing software for the AS400 in 1991 and began developing recruiting software in 1994.
“When we started developing this application, we quickly realized we needed to offer this application over the web”, Lloyd continues. “Turns out even trucking companies with their own AS400 know they benefit from this software on the AS400 – it’s a reliable platform that can be supported with a lean staff, unlike Windows-based applications. Our clients who want our web based solution like the fact that it is AS400 based – they know it is reliable.”
With PHP and IBM’s WebFacing, Lloyd enhanced his software and provided RapidHire SaaS in 2005.
“To easily provide a web interface, we selected PHP. PHP makes our web development so much easier. And we can use some fabulous PHP programmers who don’t know anything about OS400,” Lloyd explains. “We still need RPG for the business processes and the application logic. In my experience, RPG is still the most productive language for business processes. It is easily 400% more productive than PHP for business applications, but PHP provides a powerful way to present data on the web and integrate with other web based services.
“RPG is also easier to maintain, more consistency in the way it is set up and there are a lot for tools,” Lloyd further explains. “So it makes it way simpler to create and update programs as well as understand and debug other people’s RPG code.”
Intriguing Cloud400 Letter – Better Alternative To Owning An IBM i Server
“In September 2010, I got a couple of letters about Cloud400. The second time I got the Cloud400 letter I was so intrigued, I called Source Data to learn more about Cloud400. Source Data explained that for my operation I only needed to rent a small portion of a larger Cloud400 IBM Power i server – a Logical Partition, or LPAR – like renting a small office in a really big office building.”
Cloud400 Removes Distractions of Managing An IBM i Server
“Cloud400 sounded great to me. We want to concentrate on developing our software. Things like version upgrades, applying PTFs, system upgrades and managing hardware are real distractions to what we do. None of these activities adds any value to our organization. For me, a version upgrade is something I only do every 3 to 4 years or so. Version upgrades are fraught with risks because I don’t do them all the time. I find you almost have to have a real OS400 upgrade specialist come in and do it right, and they don’t come cheap. If you don’t use the OS400 specialist, you are asking for trouble.
“The Cloud400 guys do this all the time – they take care of version upgrades and PTFs so I can focus on my software and my business.”
Cloud400 Team Are Real OS Specialists
“Now that we are on Cloud400, the real specialists take care of OS400, PTFs, and version upgrades. The Cloud400 team stays on top of all the changes to OS400 and has great connections with IBM Rochester. For example, when it came time to bring up Zend PHP, Darren of Cloud400 had it up and running immediately.
“My experience working with the Cloud400 techs was very good. Cloud400 was a very different experience because when I would call, no one opened a service ticket with the promise of a callback. Instead I found whenever I had an issue, either Darren or Bob took my call and could fix whatever I needed real fast. They just had a lot of knowledge. You could tell they had been working on OS400 for decades. They could do things fast that would have been a struggle for us.
“The Cloud400 techs could not have been better. Anytime we needed something, they just got it handled right away.”
Loading Zend PHP On Our LPAR Was A Snap
“As I see it, anyone who wants a web Zend PHP can load it on one of your Cloud400 LPARs and away they go. It couldn’t be easier. And you get all the advantages of the reliability of the IBM Power i/AS400 platform with access to the integrated DB2 database which is a better way to go than with a Windows approach.”
Cloud400 Removes Hassles And Disruptions Of OS400 Management So We Can Focus On Software Development And Running Our Business
“Cloud400 is very cost-effective. We can see where on dollar-savings alone, we save money with Cloud400 compared to the cost of owning and managing our own server. For me, the main thing was getting all the hassles out of our lives – the disruptions of managing the OS400, the version upgrades, the PTFs, the backups, the software maintenance, the hardware maintenance, and the other distracting activities. In my online environment I don’t worry anymore about if a disk will fail or if I have to bring my system down to replace a cache battery. We don’t have to make appointments anymore with IBM repair people that disrupt our online web presence. With Cloud400, all those things are gone now so we can concentrate on our business.”
Cloud400 Has Top Caliber OS400 Talent
“The Cloud400 team is first-rate. Now we are working with top caliber OS400 talent. There is no way we could develop that on our own because we are busy with other things. Now our OS400 resource needs are in the hands of highly-experienced OS400 specialists – people with many years of experience and good connections with IBM Rochester OS400 support. They have enough leverage with IBM to get action when something does need attention. For me, I witnessed where the Cloud400 team really worked quickly with Zend to get PHP running fast on my Cloud400 LPAR.”
Goal Achieved Pleasantly With Cloud400
“When we started with Cloud400, we had a goal to achieve. And it was achieved in a pleasant way. I just knew once I started talking to the Cloud400 techs assigned to me – Darren and Bob – I knew we would be fine.
“I would definitely recommend Cloud400. Come to think of it, I have already told several of my friends about what a great experience I have had with Cloud400.”