The Challenge

The Solution, Then...

The mrc-Productivity Series proved ideal to empower Appelbee to modify his existing systems while providing room to grow into new software packages he might acquire in the future. "We wanted something to give us more life out of what we had on the machine at the moment -- something we could use again. mrc gave me a demonstration over my own database. I was struck by the product's ease of use. We also were going to buy an integrated AS/400 manufacturing package at some point. I felt there was no reason we shouldn't also be able to use the tool with that."

Hardware and software upgrades laid the groundwork for Appelbee's ambitious modernization plan. But in order to leverage his investment and get the most out of the technology at his disposal, he needed to explore the new realms of computing that the AS/400 and mrc-Productivity Series offered. "The majority of our people work on PC's. So I didn't feel there was any point in creating these new applications to run on the AS/400's text-based, green screen. I put my efforts into client/server, because it's more user friendly."

Successfully implementing a client/server system is challenging enough. Appelbee sought to do so single-handedly, without any Visual Basic programming skills. Therefore, he was pleased to discover that mrc-Productivity Series 's automatic code generation capabilities lived up to his expectations. "Using mrc-Productivity Series in a client/server environment, you don't need a Visual Basic background. mrc lets you build Visual Basic client/server applications before you actually know how to program in that language. In fact, I haven't touched a line of code."

Appelbee's first project was an integrated customer service system. "We have about 28 client/server applications built and linked together. Now, when a customer service representative receives a call, she can call up the customer file alphabetically, and then go directly to the customer master. That's the start off point.

"From there, she can go to multiple places without having to exit any applications. For instance, she can link out directly to the sales history file or to inventory if she wants to look up past or current records. The mrc-Productivity Series application links order, shipping and order history, which were all separate applications on the System/36 BPCS software. Essentially, once a customer service representative knows the customer account, she can go anywhere to look up information while the customer is still on the phone."

Critical to the success of Appelbee's client/server application was a mrc-Productivity Series feature called "Smartlinks." Smartlinks empowered him to link together programs from different databases within the BPCS package. This allows his users to seamlessly drill down and up through the data as easily as if it all came from one source. "If you want, you can just look at the outermost layer of detail - like the date that an order ships. Then you could drill down to any level of detail to find out things like what other products were included in the order or what is the current availability on those products. It's all linked."

The ultimate litmus test measuring the new system's success, however, came from the users. According to Appelbee, mrc-Productivity Series passed with flying colors. "There is no point in developing applications if people are not going to use them. The system I built is really easy for our customer service representatives. For example, they have little picture icons allowing them to go from a specific order to the shipment history. Now, when customers call in for information, they get answers right away." Indeed, Appelbee's efforts have not gone by unnoticed. "I received a memo from the VP of Marketing, expressing how happy he was with the system."

While no one disputes the functional advantages that client/server computing provides, its reputation nonetheless has taken a beating over the past couple years. That's due, in large part, to the burdensome complexity and overhead that poorly designed systems imply.

In contrast, Appelbee says his mrc-Productivity Series applications perform as well as traditional green-screen programs. "These systems have had no impact on our machines. I use them all the time and I haven't seen or heard complaints from anyone that the machine is any slower."

The Future

A one man AS/400 shop. New technology. Happy users. Greater productivity. This is usually where the story ends. But in the real world, there is no time to rest on one's laurels. Technology evolves so quickly that today's solutions are tomorrow's legacy code.

Indeed, Appelbee views the Internet as the perfect complement to his PC-based, client/server applications. "On one hand, client/server is perfect for internal AS/400 data access. The hardware is already there. On the other hand, the Internet and Java open up your applications and makes them available to the rest of the world - at no additional cost. There has to be a benefit to that."

Faced with yet another new technology to absorb, Appelbee is counting on mrc-Productivity Series to help him along. "I love technology. But I'm only one person, and we're a small company. I've seen too many people act as pioneers in emerging technology only to get their fingers burned. We can't afford to do that."

For this reason, Appelbee was attracted to mrc-Productivity Series's Open Template Technology - the same technology that enabled him to implement client/server so effortlessly. "Throwing away old software and starting over from scratch is not an option. I've already invested this effort in client/server. Now, this new technology comes out. Who would want to sit down and rewrite all their applications again?"

Appelbee says mrc-Productivity Series' Open Template architecture completely sidesteps the legacy code problem. Once built, any mrc-Productivity Series application instantly can be regenerated in Java, without any redevelopment. "That was the reason I did all my applications in client/server. I didn't have to learn a lot more. Once I built the application, all I had to do was choose "Yes" when the tool asks if I want to create the application in client/server. Now I can take my client/server application and regenerate it in Java — that was a key selling point."

Armed with this new tool, Appelbee is empowering a new class of AS/400 users - the remote sales force. "We have a number of outside sales representatives. They're on the road most of the time. But they still need real-time access to data. mrc-Productivity Series makes it so much easier, because it's no extra work to create a whole new Java application. I just recompile my C/S applications in Java — and the user's got remote access to that AS/400 information.

Appelbee doesn't have the luxury of worrying about tomorrow's problems, tomorrow. Because he knows that solving them will fall squarely back onto his shoulders. "Technology being the way it is, we all know things will change. It comes back to the fact that I'm a one-man show. If a crisis arises, I can't just keep doing what I was doing. I have to stop and fix it. So, I like to look ahead and determine what impact a decision I make today will have on my future plans."

Appelbee has found that teaming up with a development platform was key in enabling him to achieve his objectives. but he warns small AS/400 shops to be cautious. "Java is the client/server of this year. Next year it may be something else. A lot of software companies jump on the bandwagon too quickly, getting caught up in the technology without looking forward.

"With mrc-Productivity Series, the same forward thinking that makes building RPG and client/server applications so simple will also work with Java. It's nice to know that mrc looks forward and identifies the technologies that will be important to me — so when I'm ready, they're already available."