"We Paid $41,000 Less For Our New POWER i Than Our Last System, It Runs 600%+ Faster, And We Got A Seamless Migration And Smooth Go Live"
Background
United Credit Service, Inc. (UCS) is an Elkhorn, Wisconsin-based accounts receivable management and debt collection agency founded in 1950. One of the key industries UCS serves is healthcare.
In particular, getting insurance companies to pay on submitted claims can be a very tedious and time consuming task. UCS can effectively maximize insurance claim collections by using experienced, knowledgeable Insurance Claims Collection Specialists coupled with UCS’s customizable insurance collection process.
UCS’s IT consultant is Tom Cox. Tom managed the 9406-270 with 19 users supporting Receivables Management Expert; an application specialized for the collection industry and developed by Quantrax Software of Bethesda Maryland.
Upgrade Needed for Specialized Software GUI
“Our application vendor, Quantrax Software, had developed a Graphical Use Interface for our application Receivables Management Expert, but we needed to be at V6R1 to use the new GUI,” Tom explains. “Our 9406-270 could not go above V5R4 so it was time to get a new server.
Not Sure Whereabouts Of Old Business Partner
“I can’t even remember the IBM Business Partner that provided us with this 9406-270, it was so long ago. I am not even sure they are still around.
Source Data Products Was Natural Choice
“I had been talking to Source Data for years and had been receiving their newsletters, which I always enjoy reading. It seemed like when we were ready to look at our options that Source Data was the natural choice.
SDP Explains Our Three Options – On-Premise POWER i, Used System i, Cloud400
“When I called for help, Source Data explained that we had three options: 1) a new POWER7 i 8202-E4C, 2) a used server, and 3) a cloud option.
“While the cloud option sounded good, management preferred to keep their data in-house and favored an on-premise approach.”
Tom continues, “As a far as a used server, Source Data pointed out that the savings were not there because of the hidden costs, such as IBM software maintenance (SWMA) and After License Fee (ALF). In fact, the used IBM server was far more expensive than I thought – especially when I understood the hidden costs.
After Review, New POWER7 i Was Better Value
“We became convinced that a new on-premise IBM POWER i was the way to go,” Tom explained. “When you add the cost for SWMA, ALF and hardware support, the new POWER7 i was clearly a better value – comparable cost, faster performance and longer life.
Comprehensive Assessment And Planning – 7 Steps To POWER i Success
“One activity in our server planning that really stood out was Source Data’s comprehensive assessment,” Tom continues. “It’s their 7 Steps to POWER i Success. For starts, Source Data sent me an assessment form asking me questions about my server, my application software, my infrastructure and my operation. I really felt like they took the time to really get to know us.
“Next, we had an assessment review conference call with Source Data and Mark Breisacher, one of their senior OS400 technicians. We really hashed out several issues I never thought about. I also got clear on several other points I needed to research with my software solution provider.
“We prepared a migration plan that included me sending a backup of my system to the Source Data tech center to upgrade to the latest OS400 version and start testing even before my server arrived.
“I was really impressed because with the assessment and planning I knew we would make our cutover deadline hassle-free.
Offsite OS400 Version Upgrade Was Hassle-Free – Our Migration Was Really Easy
“Working with Source Data on our OS400 was hassle-free – really easy. I sent Source Data’s Mark a backup tape from our system. In a couple of days he had our applications migrated to V7R1 on a server at the Source Data tech center. I just had to make some minor tweaks to our software. The process was seamless.
“When I was ready to receive our new POWER i, Mark shipped us our 8202-E4C preloaded with our software on V7R1. He also sent us a tape drive to attach to our old system so we could migrate our data to our new 8202-E4C on compatible media.
“We planned the migration for a Saturday when the office was closed so as to not impact our users. The day before Mark sent me a checklist of the steps I needed to take in order to get our data migrated to the new system. The transition was easy. Everything went off without a hitch.
Mark Breisacher, Excellent Technician, Even Helps With IBM Calls To Fix An IBM Problem
“Mark was excellent to work with,” Tom raves. “Anytime I had a question I would call him up and he would have the answer to my question. In fact, he even called IBM once for me because I was trying to get one of the web servers to work on our new 8202-E4C. We could not get to the OS400 web browser interface.
“Mark called IBM and was told that it was the anti-virus software running on our POWER i that was causing the problem. Then with Mark’s help we got a hold of another IBM engineer using the problem number Mark had gotten.
“It turned out the hitch was a bunch of permission settings on IBM OS400 IFS folders that needed to be changed in order to get the interface to work again.
“Now we are able to manage the servers through the web interface again.
New POWER i Runs A Whole Lot Faster
“The new POWER i definitely runs a whole lot faster compared to our 9406-270. Our nightly processing that used to run in about 2.5 hours now completes in 25 minutes. Last week when I updated our software, the instructions noted that when I submitted the job to batch that it would take about 30 minutes – it completed in 2 minutes.
Definite Recommendation of Source Data Products
“I would definitely recommend Source Data for a new IBM POWER i server. We paid $41,000 less for our new POWER i than our last system, it runs 600%+ faster, and we got a seamless migration and smooth go live. I cannot think of anything Source Data could have done different or better.