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Transportation dealers will never have it so good. That's the premise behind Ocentrix, a Seattle-based company that sells software to customers in the transport business. Auto, motorcycle, boat, RV, truck, and parts dealers turn to Ocentrix for integrated software like interactive Web template systems, Web services, mail management, and data extraction tools. They use the software to get to critical information, integrate it, attract new customers, and nurture existing ones. What else is new. It's a universal business goal to use technology to link back-office functions with front-office customer reach. The chief technology officer of Ocentrix, Jon Scott, sums it up: "We provide solutions integrating legacy systems with Web-based systems specifically for the transportation industry." How competitive is it to 'niche' into software specifically for this business? "We are not alone in selling software systems to this industry but we are confident about the fact that all our modules talk smoothly to each other. That's our edge," says Scott. But imagine an edge that's sharp enough to kill if Ocentrix modules
suffered e-carnage, if Ocentrix were to trigger downtime in its service to its customers. Just imagine Ocentrix's credibility if it had no plan for recovering lost information on its databases and messaging systems. "Our bread and butter is in services," says Scott. "We also provide and install networks for customers. We need to be known for due diligence, not due negligence."
Scott came to the one-year-old Ocentrix from a Web design firm, Intravision, specializing in custom development for auto dealers, where he served as CTO and system administrator. He worked with Linux, and it was at Intravision where he appreciated the need to be nervous about backup:
"At Intravision, I was backing up the most important log files, HTML changes, and configurations on a Windows platform. I felt like a hypocrite. On the one hand, I was telling people to migrate to Linux and. on the other, I was backing up on a Windows platform. I did not want to take any unsafe bets."
As a CTO, he carries the weight of answering to decisions on data protection. "You need to be able to react to a crisis or any problem quickly. That's a no-brainer. I cannot imagine telling anyone we promise 24 by 7 availability without having a backup strategy in place."
Still, Scott knew he needed backup answers beyond Windows. Scott approached USENET people and asked for opinions on backup. USENET sources led him to BRU, which is backup software from Phoenix-based Enhanced Software Technologies (EST). BRU stands for Backup and Restore Utility, an Open Source business tool. With strengths in Unix, EST began developing the BRU product for Linux in 1994. Scott visited the EST booth at a COMDEX show and confidence ruled. "I talked to the EST people about my lock file problems [a backup consideration in the Windows and Novell space but virtually moot in Unix systems, says EST], DLT drives, other topics and I could see that they were right on top of things," Scott recalls.
One notable feature of BRU is its ability to thwart data disasters beyond the obvious. If backup is not verified, advice from experts is to watch out. Discovering that backup data is no good during an attempt to restore is the worst time to make that discovery. BRU detects errors and issues commands to the system admin and carries out the restore. BRU has made a name for itself in allowing archives to be verified any time, not just immediately following backup. BRU's design rests on the underlying premise that the ability to accurately restore data is the main consideration when doing backup. The need to have reliable data on hand is more important than merely to complete a backup quickly.
Interestingly, the Ocentrix crowd is using backup beyond backup per se. Scott explains:
"We're using BRU to carry out a bunch of different stuff, to consider various configurations. Rollbacks are easy to do." Scott and team can comfortably change parameters in a way that may bring solutions for even faster response time, greater throughput, or any number of system considerations. BRU software provides protection in that it can return the system to a pre-change, fully operational status should anything run afoul. Because of BRU's verified backups, Ocentrix developers know they can always restore their system. "The important word is 'restore,' says an executive with EST. "If you don't know that you can successfully restore, then backup becomes a game of Russian roulette."
That's a game that Ocentrix can never afford to play.They're backing up dealer management systems, databases of used and new car inventories, log files, groupware services, cvs repositories, and Web sites. CTO Scott says the only reason they have never tasted disaster is that BRU has been their line of defense.
The development team's impulse to perfect their software continues, with days of whiteboarding tasks, ideas, strategies, and results. "A part of development is being able to do rollbacks in a safe environment," says Scott. With BRU, he has that safety net. "We do things purposely wrong in order to go back to the last workable solution and to find out what the repercussions are. You can only do that if you poke at it."
As Ocentrix celebrates its first anniversary, Scott knows data protection focus will stay high on his list. "Growth is at a frightening pace. We started out with three developers and we now have 50 employees nationwide."
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