Case Study: AS/400 Digs Out O&K
This is one of a series of high tech case studies Steve Knapp wrote for IBM's leading distributor in the southeast, Dickens Data Systems (now Pioneer Standard).
Diamonds may be forever, but the same can't be said for old minicomputers. When Orenstein & Koppel, Inc. (O&K) -- a leading provider of mining excavation equipment -- decided to implement a new communication strategy for employees and customers, the company's IBM System/38 had to go.
"Because we already had a five-year relationship with the company, we were in an ideal position to help them define the best approach," says Bob Kramlich, Sales Consultant for IBM Solution Provider BMC Solutions, Inc. "The existing system didn't have the expansion capability or office connectivity O&K needed. The logical choice was the IBM AS/400. It could satisfy all of O&K's internal requirements."
And those requirements were significant. O&K essentially needed a new communication infrastructure with a mix of LAN, WAN, and Internet technology. For starters, the company's wish list included wide-area connectivity for internal and external users, corporate email, and an Net-enabled online catalog for customers. They also wanted real-time data updates to enhance access to information throughout the enterprise.
Like other forward-looking companies, O&K wanted to fundamentally change the way customers and employees accessed its information. The objective was to remove information from the control of one or two people and make it widely available throughout the enterprise.
BMC responded with a turnkey solution custom designed for O&K's needs. In addition to the AS/400, which was designated as the application server, the package included frame relay and NT-based components. BMC's own Unipipe service also provided the connectivity that was required to tie the entire infrastructure together.
The implementation was fairly complex and included migrating System/38 software and information to the AS/400, but careful planning kept the project on track. Assistance from Dickens Data Systems, IBM Distributor to BMC, also helped by ensuring that the AS/400 was delivered ahead of schedule.
Tyra Luhrsen, AS/400 Territory Manager for Dickens, notes that the company is well positioned to support solution providers in the AS/400 market. "Dickens has focused its AS/400 effort into a single business unit," she says. "This specialization means we can respond quickly with the answers and resources to close a deal or expedite a sale."