mrc celebrates 30 years of software development

April 2013 · Oak Brook, IL

In 1983, software developer Michaels, Ross & Cole, Ltd. (mrc) released their first software product, the mrc-Query Series. This year, mrc proudly celebrates 30 years of software development.

Brief history

Built for the IBM System/38 (the IBMi predecessor), the mrc-Query Series was originally designed to help end users create business applications without programming. However, it developed a following with developers and programmers as it automated much of the tedious syntax work they faced on a daily basis.

From that point forward, mrc focused their software development on two underlying principles: Create software that both improves developer productivity and puts development capabilities in the hands of end users. Following those guidelines, mrc released two subsequent software products in the following years:

• The mrc-Productivity Series: Released in 1987, the mrc-Productivity Series provided rapid application development and reporting capabilities for the IBMi platform.
• m-Power: Released in 2004, m-Power delivered rapid web application development and reporting capabilities across all databases and platforms.

mrc's software evolution

mrc attributes their success over the past 30 years to constant evolution.

"Our software is always evolving, always adapting to changes," says Tyler Wassell, mrc Software Development Manager. "We constantly enhance m-Power with the latest features, so it never becomes outdated."

mrc's unique, "version-less" approach to software development is the driving force behind this evolution. Rather than releasing software versions, mrc constantly enhances their software, averaging over 1 major enhancement per month. In this way, mrc's software has evolved with the changing tech trends through the years.

A culmination of 30 years of enhancements, mrc's current software (m-Power) now occupies a unique niche. Since 1983, mrc's software has evolved from a System/38 application development tool, to a web application development platform that performs multiple tasks and builds nearly any type of business application (as illustrated below).

"I'm always amazed at the different ways our customers use m-Power," says Wassell. "Some use it for reporting, others use it to enhance their ERP systems, and others still use it to solve multiple problems across their business. Very few customers buy m-Power for the exact same purpose, which really illustrates m-Power's flexibility."

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