System iNetwork

January 29, 2009

Reader's Choice: Kudos to BCD

Reader and ISV Mary T. Rooney-Lucas ended her search for application modernization solutions when she discovered BCD. "It is because of the BCD products and tools that we have been able to remain in the forefront of the industry in which we serve. Without them, we would not be in business today," she says.

Here's Mary's testimonial:

"As an independent software vendor who has been providing total solutions for local government since 1983 on IBM hardware, you can imagine how our products may have looked and functioned back then. Today they have been completely transformed into modern web-based applications running on new IBM System i servers. We knew we had to change not only the way our products looked but also the way they functioned; the need to modernize was inevitable in order to remain competitive.

"One thing that was a key focus in our modernization tool search was that the tool had to be System i centric since we wanted to modernize on this platform. After all, the System i server is robust and stable. Our customers have been spoiled by its safe environment of (99.99 percent) never-fail hardware and resistance to hacking or security issues.

"Beginning in 2001 and for two years following, we stumbled trying out several companies’ products that boasted rapid development, easy-to-use, no re-writing of your code. None of them worked as advertised. I need not say more. I don’t remember exactly when or how we learned about BCD and its products, but ever since then, we have been on our way to modernizing our products and we have never looked back.

"We first started with BCD’s WebSmart. Our programmers transformed several of our green-screen applications into eye-catching web applications in a matter of days. We then used Clover to build drill-down queries with charts and graphs that mine the data created by our applications. We tied it all together with their Nexus Portal, which is a System i-hosted web portal solution designed to provide fast, secure, and organized access to our applications through web browsers. Today our applications are very well received by our clients.

"BCD's solutions include numerous wizards and templates which help you get going instead of trying to figure out where to begin, and that also saves a lot of time in development.

"Not only do their products work, but everything is managed at the server level. There is nothing that needs to be loaded on the client PCs. Not only does that save us money, but it also saves our customers money, and it saves time. This approach enforces consistency, simplifies enhancements and reduces the cost of maintenance.

"BCD is certainly committed to offering unrivaled quality of service and personal attention to its clients. Their talented staff has a knack for listening and helping. I often feel that we are their only customer. I know they have a large client base, but when one of us contacts support, whether by telephone or by email, we hear back from them in a matter of minutes. Do not ask me how they do it!"

****Reader's Choice is a System iNEWS/System iNetwork feature that lets nonbiased readers (no vendor employees, please) offer feedback on products and services that have helped them. If you'd like to recommend a product that you've used to solve actual problems, save money, or simplify a process, we--and our readers--want to know about it. Put your recommendation of 500 words or less here or send it to Erin Bradford at erin.bradford@penton.com or post it on our LinkedIn page under the Discussions tab.****

--Vicki Hamende, application development and database editor

Posted by vhamende at January 29, 2009 4:27 PM