References
and User Quotes
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References | WebSmart ILE User Quotes | WebSmart PHP User QuotesDCS, Inc.
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%) 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 who 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 their products, but ever since then, we were 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 tie it all together with their NEXUS portal. Nexus Portal 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. Their 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 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 unrivalled quality of service and personal attention to their 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! 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. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America
It was the decision of the decade for me at MFTA. I'd been at for a while and the choices down to three finalists (none of which I was crazy for). Then I found WebSmart on IBM's Roadmap and with-in hours of my first phone conversation with Marcel Sarrasin, I had a working web program using OUR data. The tool provides a simple, yet robust, interface that generates RPG code with embedded HTML. Being a shop of experienced and seasoned RPG coders it was an exact fit for our company. There have been some situations that our training just couldn't cover and BCD Tech Support keeps hope alive! The folks at ExcelSystems are a knowledgeable, patient and versatile bunch. They used the expertise in their office, all the way to the top dog and with a "tag-team" approach on an obstinate single-sign on requirement - we were victorious. The twenty-five years of experience I have at my back did not prepare me for this New World of web development where even the words 'server configuration' made my hairs stand up. But the WebSmart configuration was a breeze. I explained our environments, our Change Management approach and standardization principles to the support team. We worked together until I was satisfied that MFTA's ideologies will be upheld and I was satisfied that I understood what it was we were doing - AND I DID!!!! WebSmart is chock full of snippets, pre-written functions and nooks & crannies to hold our unique procedures. Knowledge transfer from one staff member to another and back seems to be unending since we are learning from the intuitive tool every time we use it. It's been a lot of fun to learn and to use WebSmart. Now that the move from emulator to real web programs for our Dealer portal has been complete for over a year, the competition is fierce for the WebSmart tasks on-deck. Ahhh - and when it's completed it kinda gives us that "junior programmer grin" - you remember that feeling, don't you? Tricots Liesse
"Under the heading of 'helped you solve actual business and IT issues' would be their [BCD's] understanding of how our company needed to scan and optically store product images, merge these images with existing iSeries data, and present them to our users in a search-engine type environment. The use of their WebSmart product along with their vast knowledge created an amazing functional company tool that is in constant use. "And further, under the category of 'just made my job easier,' was the fact that commissioning their organization to kick-start the project gave me time to handle business emergencies (as is common in a one-man IT environment) and that owning the WebSmart product allows me to execute minor changes myself as our business environment evolves." KMR Systems
"KMR Systems has adopted WebSmart PHP to extend our applications beyond the green screen. We are able to provide improved access to information in our existing application suite, through the browser, to multiple deployment vehicles, in much reduced development times." "KMR is also developing new application modules with WebSmart PHP and Nexus Portal for application frameworks, allowing us to extend our existing DB2, SQL and ILE RPGIV applications beyond their limits, without losing the investment we have already made. And with BCD’s attention to training and support, rapid development is a reality." EvolveIT"We have a large group of experienced RPG programmers who can now develop programs for the web with no prior experience. We have drastically cut the programming time needed to see professional results. BCD’s WebSmart offered us a very quick payback while learning a new technology. It has been a key factor to our successful transition from green-screen application designers and developers to web application designers and developers. I can certainly say that I am very proud of our people and the innovative systems we’re creating for our clients using WebSmart, and I’m very pleased with the people and support we’ve received from BCD as our partner." Dan Hogan, VP Benetech
"I first started working with BCD's product WebSmart in late 2000. I was developing a website demo in JSP to present to my company's management team for approval on a project we wanted to accomplish in IT. I was using JSP to access our DB2/400 database. I spent two months designing pages, creating artwork (buttons, logos, splashes, etc...), writing code (JavaScript, JSP, html, etc...), and configuring Websphere 2.0. By chance I saw an ad in a trade publication for BCD's WebSMart product and decided to give the 30-day trial a test. "After download, I configured the product, which took less than 15 minutes in comparison to the day and a half that WebSphere needed. Next, I attempted my first page. By using WebSmart templates, I was able to create a page with a table of DB2/400 production data in under 10 minutes. I am an RPG coder by trade and was astounded by this. Two hours later, I had created the page to look and perform like its counterpart in my JSP version. And three days later, I had developed the whole site that took me almost two months to accomplish using other tools. "Two jobs later, after bringing WebSmart in-house in both of those companies, my current employer utilizes WebSmart, WebSmart PHP, and Clover to generate income via the Internet in our online systems. We are also currently evaluating BCD's other products--Nexus and Presto." -- Thomas Highes, CTO KMR Systems"KMR Systems considered many System i modernization approaches before making the strategic decision to go with BCD. Their ClearPath integrated modernization suite: WebSmart PHP, Nexus Portal, Clover Query and Catapult offers state of the art products that made our offerings cutting edge. We’re now providing modern solutions to satisfy the needs of our Union and Benefits clients across the country. Our new modernized application suite which preferably runs on the secure and reliable System i, allows us to outperform our competitors on other platforms. We now have an open source product which expands our capabilities by sharing with other open source products. We’re extremely happy with the excellent support and as an added bonus the cost was reasonable." Michael G. Galligan, President/CEO Oktibbeha County Hospital
"WebSmart takes care of the web-interactions for us, leaving us to develop logically sound, web-based solutions in record time. As a programmer who has provided web-based iSeries solutions before without a tool like WebSmart, I can fully appreciate the time savings this affords us. "One of the features that I am most impressed with is data access on non-iSeries systems. JDBC data access is one of the newer features of WebSmart, and I absolutely love it. I get to treat the MSSQL tables just like the table exists on our iSeries. No special coding, it just works. I take care of business logic, WebSmart does the rest. As an IT person, 'it just works' is very comforting, and WebSmart does just that. "Additionally, management is in love with another feature of WebSmart--SmartCharts. With SmartCharts, I am able to build 3D charts and graphs on the iSeries and deliver them via the web. I am even able to make them clickable for data mining purposes. How cool is that--an on-the-fly generated 3D graph using our data." -- Jeremy Bumgarner West Coast Paper"Wow, this speaks leaps and bounds for BCD. I made a product suggestion, the follow through to my recommendation and the fact that my suggestion was put in the hands of BCD’s development group, shows a rare quality for a software solution company today. I appreciate your update and the responsiveness to your customer’s needs, input and suggestions. I look forward to working with BCD" -- Scott McIver, MIS Programmer / Analyst Dorchester County"WebSmart is a very easy to use product. We do complicated procedures and WebSmart makes it easy. We save hours of time using WebSmart. I have been a RPG and COBOL programmer for over 39 Years and WebSmart is very easy to pickup." Charles Gelina UniPharm Inc."Choosing WebSmart was one of our best technology decisions. We are very happy with the results it produces." -- Pat Pepperman, UniPharm Whole Sale Drugs Ltd. Columbia Machine, Inc.WebSmart PHP has been a great asset in our PHP development. It has served two purposes: (1) It shortcuts the coding process by providing you with an easliy modifiable working module once you complete the wizard and (2) it is a great learning tool because it teaches you lots of PHP techniques just by looking at the code that is generated. In addition, your technical support is the best I have ever dealt with in our industry and I've been at this for over 28 years! -- Ken Watson Senior Programmer Analyst Columbia Machine, Inc. American Foods Group, LLCWarren Schultz speaks up for BCD's WebSmart PHP, Nexus, and Clover and rates BCD support as "second to none". "Within the last year, our company has installed BCD Nexus, Clover, and WebSmart PHP software. In my experience, this company [BCD] offers some fine software, which is backed up by outstanding support. For enterprises thinking of offering more of a web-based presence, at least for your own employees, this suite of products is worth a look. "Nexus allowed us to begin offering a basic intranet, fairly easy to administer and add content to. You can add authorized users by having them log on via their iSeries profile or by creating an all-new profile. You can assign users to groups and then allow them access to folders, menus, or links based upon group or individual authority. It is pretty simple to upload files, which users may then download. They make it very easy to set up convenient access to various internal applications (i.e., Clover or WebSmart PHP) and external websites. "WebSmart PHP is a very fine tool for developing PHP applications quickly. If your HTML skills are modest rather than great, and/or if your PHP knowledge is at a very basic level, then I would recommend doing what I did--I went to the five-day classroom course offered by BCD/Excel Systems. The instructor was excellent. WebSmart PHP offers quite an assortment of templates to quickly generate applications. I have used the tool to quickly develop some file lookups, file maintenance programs, inquiry type applications, etc. "Clover has been another tool I have used quite a bit for developing some browser-based applications. I have used it quite a bit for some quickie inquiry/listing applications, including scenarios where a query is run to output to a spreadsheet. There are some quirks to learn along the way. If your SQL selects way too many records, this may pose some problems that you’ll need to address. Sometimes, when outputting to a spreadsheet, the execution may fail because the worksheet name is too long (easy to fix via small change to HTML). By and large, there is not that much need to tweak the code. If you have even a modest familiarity with SQL and HTML, you’ll be fairly proficient in short order." -- Warren Schultz, Systems Analyst Optimum SolutionsOptimum Solutions successfully uses both WebSmart and ProGen Plus in the development of Optimum Solutions Payroll, Human Resources, and Applicant Tracking applications. Both of these BCD modernization products have helped us to rapidly develop and enhance our applications. BCD’s technical support team is the best I've ever dealt with. They are always ready to go the extra distance whenever we’ve needed. -- Mike Hayes, VP Software Development, Optimum Solutions Hewitt Coleman & Associates, Inc."WebSmart is marvelous! We use it to replace older System i green screens and found that the modernized screens we created with it are quite popular with our customers. WebSmart is very easy to use and it helps us do our job quickly. We love it!." -- Tom Windham, IT Manager ESP Business Solutions"As a veteran RPG programmer, the thought of learning HTML, JavaScript and Java was very overwhelming so I never thought I would ever get into web programming. But WebSmart has given me hope and I am getting exposure to HTML and JavaScript. GREAT product for RPG programmers to get exposure to web programming!" -- Shashi Jalota RVOS Farm Mutual Insurance Company"In a short period of time I found that Web services are a very simple thing to implement when you use WebSmart." -- Weems Hutto, IT Consultant to RVOS Academic Book Services"I reviewed in detail several leading iSeries web application development tools, and query tools to modernize our iSeries applications. I'm very conservative and detest risks and surprises... I like software that works. I selected WebSmart, Nexus Portal, & Clover from BCD. These integrated products set the standard from which all others should be judged. The software works well and the support is tremendous. The decision to use BCD products is one of the biggest no-brainers a CIO can make." -- Gary Stewart, Director IT DCS, Inc.
Thanks to BCD's WebSmart, our employees have been able to excel beyond their individual capabilities. In less than three months, we've been able to modernize more than 50% of our four major sellers. When making our decision we needed a web application development tool that was very flexible, easy-to-learn and allowed us to quickly make our major systems browser based without having to take the entire application down. Another important criteria we wanted was to easily distribute software enhancements to our clients. If we made modifications to the software, those changes need to be made globally to the system. We did not want us or our clients to deal with updating individual PCs. We found all this and more in BCD's WebSmart -- it's been a real a winner for us! -- Mary Rooney, President and CEO Cereal Foods Processor, Inc"Cereal Food's development platform has been based upon BCD products for over 10 years. Our interactions with BCD as an organization have always been outstanding. If fact, BCD has become the ruler we use to measure new vendors against." -- Bill Meyer, Director Computer Services Cereal Food Processors, Inc. licensed BCD's System i integrated modernization suite: WebSmart, Nexus Portal, Clover Query, SmartCharts and Catapult. MetaTech"I would first like to compliment BCD on what a fine product WebSmart has become. MetaTech AS is a small software consultancy specializing in banking software for banks and credit unions in Norway. In order to offer a complete banking application to new and existing customers, we developed an Internet banking application that our clients customers use to check their accounts, pay bills and transfer funds. We chose WebSmart as our tool for developing our Internet banking application for many reasons, the most important being:
-- Greg Stahl - MetaTech Lamps Plus"I had a need to present AS/400 data in a browser. I looked at IBM's WebSphere but it's costly and cumbersome to maintain. I looked at CGIDEV and actually created some pages using it. But it's still very labor intensive from a programmer's standpoint. "Then I looked at WebSmart. I actually loaded the product, ran through the tutorial AND, get this, had my availability web page (for our multi-store kiosks) up and running in a single morning! This product is nothing short of amazing. I'm hooked and don't want to look back. By the end of the second day I had created a P.O. for BCD's WebSmart. "I'd recommend this product to any AS/400 programmer. It's fast to learn, the response time in screens is sub-second and the results look polished right out of the box. Give it a try." — Chuck Ackerman, MIS Director I've used many methods for development and deployment on the iSeries, and WebSmart is by far the easiest, fastest, and most user friendly. It provides a complete environment for development and control of applications, cuts development time and cost, allows use and seamless integration of many different technologies and protocols, and is easier for the users to learn and use. Everybody likes it. WebSmart eliminates these traditional limitations by streamlining and accelerating the development process, and by providing virtually unlimited graphical web based presentation of applications and data. I think every iSeries shop should be using WebSmart. — Bill Hicks Formica Corporation (after having WebSmart for two months)"This was a no-brainer. Using WebSmart on the AS/400 seemed like the appropriate alternative. As our requirements change, we can easily make changes to the application. It's very supportable. The templates were very helpful for the base code, once you have the basic display logic, then we could go in and tweak it to get the things that we needed for our situation. Everything that customer service came up with, we were able to make work using WebSmart. This project has visibility from the CEO and Director of Marketing. Both have been active in rounding out the functional specifications." — Phil Catlin, Application Development Manager Formica Corporation (after having WebSmart for six months)"In any one day we have 550 to 600 users running between 1,000 to 1,200 sessions of WebSmart developed applications on our iSeries and we have not needed to upgrade our hardware. Our system response time has actually improved since implementing WebSmart. One of the reasons is we replaced many interactive query jobs with WebSmart jobs that run in the batch subsystem. We have fewer jobs servicing the same number of users. I can safely say this project was a success. Now that the application is Web-based, it is getting 10,000 hits per Week. We're serving about 16,000 unique page hits and 18 MB of data everyday. We've decided to develop 5 or 6 more applications." Stanley Furniture"WebSmart is by far the Best AS/400 to Web product I have ever used. I only wish we had employed this product sooner." — Tammy Joice Kwik Trip"WebSmart was definitely a good choice -- It cuts down on our development time and lets us get new applications rolled out more quickly. It's good to see the technology we chose has made such a positive impact." -- Ed Strahs, Kwik Trip, Inc Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America
I also evaluated BCD's Tech Support. Their knowledge, pride in product and customer attitude, proved this was a "fit". I made the right Choice with BCD and WebSmart. We're on track with our new FUSO.NET site and having lots of fun getting there." Baker Petrolite"With the mandated Sarbanes Oxley laws, we needed to streamline a security approval "work-flow process" that would keep records on all requests for security clearance. WebSmart helped us establish a Web based application with in a very short period of time and with a minimal learning curve... and just in time for our audit!" -- Greg Barch, Baker Petrolite Hickory Farms, Inc."Great product, tremendous support. Easy-to-use." -- Colin Haughton Universal Music Int'l."WebSmart is quick to learn and fun to use, yet powerful enough for serious application development. Altogether, WebSmart is an excellent tool for creating new web applications that use the iSeries" -- Steve Hale Voice Retrieval & Information Services"The easiest product on the market to use. Bar none." -- John Meleky Airways Freight "The manual has a tutorial which guides you through the development
of a hypothetical bookstore application while you are learning PML.
You can be totally unfamiliar with WebSmart but at the point where
you've completed the tutorial, you are totally conversant with the
language and all the functional areas. You may not know every trick
and nuance but you can certainly be productive, almost immediately. -- Lee Gillow, Sr. P/A Weigh-Tronix"Unlike other vendors, BCD let us evaluate the product without first making a financial commitment: WebSmart is that simple to use.There is nothing to get in the way of successfully building a site.and the templates were of great help. After you compile your program, you can modify the RPG source it creates with PML. It's all very straightforward." -- Duane Danner "With the reasonable acquisition cost of WebSmart it was easily cost justified. Our customers love it and we are very pleased with the end result. It has allowed us to do things that we didn't think we could afford to do." -- Dolly Newville, MIS Manager Custom Systems Corporation "BCD let us take a copy with for evaluation. When we got back to
our office we loaded it onto one of our smaller development machines
and in one evening we had developed a nice inquiry application--all
with temporary codes. The functionality we were looking for was definitely
there and it was a lot less expensive than the other tools. PML (ProGen
Macro Language) is very easy to learn. The templates also made it
easy. Pick a file, pick a field, compile and it generates a bunch
of PML. As a programmer, you can look at the output and figure it
out from there. -- Nathan Quinones, Application Developer/Partner Tricots Liesse "I recall about two years ago when I was at a crossroad. I had
a mandate to create an intranet Web site. IBM insisted that their
Domino suite of products was the easiest and fastest path to my desired
goals, which was to leverage my already existing AS/400 data files
and applications. -- Ellery Soifer, Manager, Information Systems Builders Notice Corporation"ProGen WebSmart has been the most complete tool I have ever implemented. The pre-built templates allowed me to have working web programs in minutes. The well-written user manual gave me the background to customize the site. I had a complete system built in weeks instead of many months. The generated programs are extremely efficient, and in over a year have never halted. With the iSeries web server and WebSmart we have a complete solution." -- Jim Franz, Application Development Manager Morven Partners"We have addressed both of our immediate requirements by implementing a powerful website for consumers and commercial customers on the Internet, and then extending it as an intranet solution for the mail order division. We found the templates that were included in the product very useful. We wanted to put all our products into a database and maintain that database throughout the web. We were able to use their maintenance templates to help us maintain the page ourselves. The tool set is organized well and steps you through different levels. It's rare to find a company like BCD that works with the customers. They are very thorough and prompt." -- Gary Hook, MIS Manager Canadian Kawasaki"We were looking at WebSphere but training and development would have taken a long time. We experimented a little with Web Facing but it was finicky. WebSmart was easy to use. "It's very user friendly. The functions are similar to RPG functions. We spent the most making the pages look good, but for all the background processes, it was pretty simple." -- Thierry Gosset, Programmer/Analyst Bristol Hospital"The templates are supreme. You can develop things just by clicking and the end results really impress people. To write real applications though, you need to learn PML. Also a background in HTML is a plus, especially to add your own look and feel to the page created by the template, place images and so on. Some of my applications are pretty complex and you need to know your way in and out of WebSmart programs to write them-- you need to understand SMURFS- BCD's version of cookies, parameter passing in web pages and a number of concepts native to web development no matter what the tool used. If you are doing a straightforward application that lets users add, delete and change data in a DB2 table you can do it in a few clicks and you're done." -- Jorge A. Machado, Manager, Applications and
Programming Services Try WebSmart!Try WebSmart for yourself and see what the excitement is all about! |
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