29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles

Case Study: BCD's Nexus Portal

Case Studies
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Eric Whitton, Manager of Systems and Technology for Covenant Transport, Inc., recently bought the Nexus Portal from Business Computer Design, and it is fast becoming the dashboard for all the company's desktops. Trucking giant Covenant Transport reported $582.5 million in sales last year and covered over 100 million miles of highway with 3,800 tractors and almost 8,000 trailers.

Over the span of 18 months, Whitton occasionally discussed corporate portals with his staff of nine RPG programmers and one manager at weekly IT department meetings at headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee. With 728 users on an iSeries model 825 who were increasingly given access to new browser-based applications, Whitton sought easier ways to perform searches for documents that pertained to customer shipments and to access growing layers of Web-based, Windows, and iSeries programs. Said Whitton, "I was looking for a place to put the Web applications that we were developing. Users had to talk to an IT person to find out where to go to find their Web-based applications."

As the momentum behind the portal project increased, IBM was invited to make a presentation on its portal products. At the end of IBM's presentation, Whitton realized, "I couldn't sell it to management because it was going to cost a lot of money. After licenses, maintenance, training, and other costs, I could have spent a quarter of a million dollars." Further, if he included external users in the license (the 4,000 drivers who might access the portal from the road), per-user fees would apply. Exclaimed Whitton, "This is a low-margin business!"

Nexus Was Free

In one of the weekly staff meetings, a programmer brought in an ad for BCD's Nexus portal and showed it to Whitton. In stark contrast to the pricing of IBM's solution, the ad declared that Nexus, normally priced at $12,000, was free through a special promotion-- only the annual software maintenance fee was due. "The free thing definitely caught our attention. To me, that said, 'You are not taking a chance; you might as well get this thing and try it.' "

An ROI Shortcut

Although cost-justifying the purchase of new software--or any other asset--is a standard business practice, Whitton said, "I couldn't promise to management that if they gave me $100,000 dollars, I would save them $200,000. IBM could do that, but I couldn't. If I had all the money that vendors promised me in ROIs, we could get out of the trucking business and just buy software. With Nexus being as inexpensive as it was, we really didn't have to worry about it."

All in all, Covenant spent $3,500 on Nexus. They have two licenses because Covenant's production iSeries model 825 is mirrored to a model 830 for high availability. The fee covered software maintenance on these two systems.

Nexus, now in Release 2, is an iSeries-centric portal that delivers key productivity tools to Covenant Transport's system users through a common browser interface that can easily be customized to fit their specific desktop needs. It makes secured and controlled access to applications easy; has customized portlets to let users launch Web-, Windows-, or legacy iSeries-based applications; and includes to-do lists and interactive calendars for individuals, departments, and the organization. Through the new Nexus Web Object Warehouse (WOW), Covenant users can also search for, retrieve, or distribute iSeries reports and PDF, Excel, or Word documents. In 2004, Nexus earned IBM's ServerProven Certification and won top honors for a Web Enabling Tool in Search400's Products of the Year event. Said Whitton, "Version 2 of Nexus is very evolved. It had a lot of things we wanted, like validation against the 400's authority tables. We already had a network ID and password and a 400 ID and password, and we didn't want yet a third place for users to log on."

Rollout

Whitton planned to deploy static pages like phone directories, calendars, and bulletin boards first, and he showed department managers how to update content for their areas. "I was very adamant about not wanting my programmers to become content owners. I wanted department people to manage their own content. We are just giving them a place to put it," he explained. Nexus allows him to set group user authorization, which enables department managers to establish and maintain only their own content.

So far, Whitton and his team have loaded the portal with an imaging system that facilitates instant access to shipping documents; a system that runs frequently requested iSeries reports with a simple mouse-click; and an internal job board that lets Covenant employees click on a job, view a complete job description, and apply for jobs. According to Whitten, "The imaging application was an emergency. Our other in-house-developed imaging system quit working when we upgraded our core business application. I had plans to Web-enable this application anyway, and when the other imaging system stopped working, I developed the new one that was Web-based." Whitten develops Web applications and portlets in WebSphere's IDE and deploys them in the WebSphere Express WAS. "People are hitting it pretty heavily right now. Nexus makes it real easy to access."

Once fully implemented, system users will have instant access to Covenant's dispatch and billing system, which was originally developed by QUALCOMM. "We are in the middle of development. We have rolled out pieces. I would also like to let customers log on, but this would be a whole separate Nexus site."

Whitton commented that his overall experience with Nexus and BCD has been very satisfactory. "We had a little problem with Nexus; I think we are the product's biggest user. We ran a couple buffers out of memory. When I called support, they jumped on it. They are pretty good."

At Covenant Transport, Nexus improves the presentation of information, integrates disparate business applications, facilitates collaboration between workers within departments and between departments, and simplifies the publishing and distribution of important business information. According to Whitton, "It's a better channel for conveying information, a better medium."

Robert Gast has written about technology and business management since 1986. He is the managing partner of Chicago area-based Evant Group and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

http://www.mcpressonline.com/articles/images/2002/BCDCaseStudyCovenantTransportV4--06-28-0400.png

Business Computer Design, Int'l, Inc. (BCD)
Contact: Eric Figura, Director, Sales & Marketing
950 N. York Rd.
Hinsdale, IL 60521 2950
Telephone: 630.986.0800
Fax: 630.986.0926
Web: www.bcdsoftware.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.



BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: