IBM Magazine Presents iTalk with Tuohy: Jim Kandrac on Security, Backup and Success

In this sponsored content series, iTalk Business with Tuohy, Paul Tuohy talks with Jim Kandrac of United Computer Group about security, backup and his definition of success.

Here's a little taste of what you can expect in this informative and entertaining excerpt from their interview:

Paul Tuohy: This is something that we were chatting the other day, Jim, that you told me and it was your definition of success, which I thought was excellent, so would you share that with people please?

Jim Kandrac:  It was actually two definitions of success. One is you’ve gotta know who the boss is. You know I am the boss at work, but when I go home, I am not the boss. When I go home, I walk in the door and say honey, I am sorry. You are right. I am wrong, then I take off my pants and I put the skirt on. That is how I achieved 30 years of successful marriage with my wife Pamela, so that is the number one rule of success.

The other thing that I have always wanted and have achieved is my nice little corner office with my own private little washroom or as you would call it, a loo or whatever you call it. A water closet? It is for me and me only and that means more to me than having a Bentley in the driveway or whatever it might be, so that is it. A successful marriage and having my own bathroom in my office.

Want more? Listen to full podcast and read narrative!

Download White Paper: Five Key Questions for Assessing Backup & Recovery Solutions

About Paul Tuohy

Paul Tuohy has specialized in application development and training on IBM midrange systems for more than 20 years. He currently runs ComCon consultancy and is a partner in System i Developer and the RPG & DB2 Summit. He is also a frequent contributor to IBM i publications, the author of two books on re-engineering legacy RPG applications and iSeries Navigator, and an award-winning speaker at events around the world.

UCG Alumni Success Stories: Julie Mascioli

One of the greatest benefits of LinkedIn and other social media platforms is that it gives us the opportunity to stay in touch and follow the success of individuals who began their careers at United Computer Group: our interns and alumni. 

These individuals joined UCG full of potential and energy. It wasn't long before they became strong contributors bringing fresh ideas and building client relationships, all the while learning business strategies that would eventually support their growth into successful careers.

This is the third in a series of interviews, UCG Alumni Success Stories, conducted by our marketing consultant, Francine Ciaccia of MoMo Companies Ltd. We are pleased and honored to introduce UCG Alumni Julie Mascioli. Julie, thank you for being a part of UCG's success!

Julie Mascioli

Former UCG Operations Manager

Julie Mascioli

Julie Mascioli began her career at United Computer Group in 1996 as their Accounting/Operations Manager. In 2012, Julie focused her attention exclusively as Operations Manager for UCG’s cloud backup and recovery solution, VAULT400 BaaS, in response to their rapidly growing client base. 

In 2014 Julie retired from UCG to spend more time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.  

“On January 1, 2014 I officially retired from UCG after 17 years. It was truly my pleasure to have worked with a wonderful staff and also to have dealt with the best and most loyal customers a company could have. Thanks to all for your support and encouragement. I wish everyone health, prosperity, and happiness now and in the years to come!” – Julie Mascioli

Julie Mascioli 1996

Julie, you started working at UCG in 1996. When and how did you meet Jim Kandrac, and how did it come to be that he offered you a position at UCG? 

I was working as receptionist for company Jim leased his office space from. When the accounting position became available at UCG, I approached Jim about it and we agreed to a probationary period of three months, and the rest is history. Three months became 17 very challenging, exciting, and productive years.

Please tell me about some of the responsibilities and tasks you were involved with initially.

At first the position basically involved accounting duties i.e. accounts receivable, accounts payable, invoicing, etc.

Oftentimes, the most effective way to become established and grow within a company is on the job training; learning firsthand about the company, its products, services, and most importantly, its clients. Did you find that to be true in your experience?

Absolutely!  My role changed over the years and I needed to grow with it.  More products and services were added and it was important for me to learn more about them in order to properly address clients’ needs more knowledgeably and intelligently.  From managing the accounting aspects of the position to operations, then last but not least, VAULT400 BaaS, there was no time to get bored!

What did you learn about the world of technology while at UCG?

I learned that if there’s anything you can be sure of, it’s how quickly technology can and does change, and to survive you need to change with it. UCG, through Jim Kandrac’s insight and vision, was able to keep up with changing times. 

What did you enjoy most and what did you find most challenging during your 17 years at UCG?

Everything!  Working with great people, and getting to know our customers. Every day brought new lessons and challenges; striving to keep everyone happy, solving problems, putting out fires. Frustrating sometimes but always rewarding when issues were resolved.

What was your most valuable take-away when you left UCG to retire?

Working at UCG helped me grow and become an even more self-reliant person and ready for the next BIG challenge: retirement!

Julie, congratulations on your retirement! It was always a pleasure to see you when I visited UCG. What advice do you have for individuals looking to set or adjust their career path?  

Thank you! My best advice is be ready to work hard, look for new opportunities, be proactive (Jim’s favorite word!), never give up! AND always have a positive attitude!


Julie and her husband Nino have been together since they met at age 17 through mutual friends; they've been married since August 1970. Both were born in Timmins, Ontario Canada.  After Nino graduated from college, they moved to a little town called Haileybury, Ontario where they lived 17 years. After several job transfers, they settled in Strongsville, Ohio in 1994, which is where they call home.

Julie and Nino have two wonderful children (Jen and Bryan) and four equally wonderful grandchildren (Ian, Ella, Mikaela, and Addison), all living in Northern California now.  

In addition to visits with her family in California, Julie enjoys biking, walking, reading, knitting, watching the history channel and DIY channels, musicals, dance, and playing cards.

Learn more about United Computer Group, Inc. and its Founder & President, James A. Kandrac.

IBM Engines of the Week: Colocation Solution Keeps Insurer Online Amid Hurricane Sandy's Wrath

Though the IT team at Newark, NJ-based International Fidelity Insurance Company (IFIC) had rehearsed its disaster recovery scenario with precision, the team couldn't have anticipated an event that would take out power, roads and communications across a wide swath of the mid-Atlantic coast. When Hurricane Sandy hit in October, 2012, the disaster recovery team had to fail over to a co-location site with the clock ticking on its uninterruptible power supply and no phone service.

Watch this podcast to see how with the guidance from IBM partner United Computer Group, IFIC avoided nearly $2 million in lost revenues and learned valuable lessons to help it prepare for future incidents.

UCG And Expedient Partner For Expanded IBM i Hosted Services

By Dan Burger, IT Jungle

United Computer Group built a trustworthy reputation alongside its growing IBM midrange customer base by offering online backup services. It also offered disaster recovery services to organizations that have figured out the limitations of their downtime survival endurance. UCG has made the investments in equipment and staff to deliver service that meets high expectations, and now it's taking the next step.

Expedient, a company with 11 data centers in seven markets from Chicago eastward, including the northeast regions of the United States, and UCG decided they could use one another's help, so they formed a partnership.

Expedient provides colocation services--rack, power, and pipe--along with utility processing, backup as a service (BaaS), and disaster recovery primarily for X86 servers. The company has some IBM i on Power in their data center, business that has come along with some X86 customers, but the IBM i servers remain managed by the customers. When more companies wanted the option of having their IBM i servers managed as a service, Expedient brought in UCG to handle that business.

"Expedient's foot-print in the Midwest and on the East Coast is 'significant,'" says Jim Kandrac, president of UCG. "We have worked on getting to know one another over the past several years and things just progressed naturally."

Kandrac explained that IBM i customers with servers in Expedient's data centers are doing tape backups, but UCG's BaaS will be a cost effective alternative that is expected to have a high adoption rate. Expedient expects to expand it backup and recovery business for X86 servers and that will bring some additional IBM i business with it. With UCG onboard, Expedient can provide service for both platforms when its customers are looking for an all-in-one service provider.

Kandrac points out that UCG also does backup and recovery for X86, but it doesn't seek that business. UCG does it for IBM i shops that want to bring X86 along with the i-centric services UCG provides. Colocation services has not been part of the UCG offerings, but now when IBM i shops mention it, UCG has an answer.

UCG has its operations in Cleveland in a data center owned by BlueBridge Networks, a company that, like Expedient, does most of its business in the X86 arena, according to Kandrac. UCG also makes use of a second data center in Marietta, Georgia.

Expedient also has data centers in Cleveland. UCG will have servers in data centers owned by both Expedient and BlueBridge.

The two data centers Expedient operates in Cleveland are connected to the other nine data centers the company owns. One of the Cleveland data centers will provide redundancy for the IBM i and storage area networks (SANs) UCG has at BlueBridge Networks.

UCG is also expanding its services beyond the backup and recovery expertise that has resulted in an IBM i customer base totaling 150 organizations. The new capabilities include services surrounding development, test, and production environments.

Kandrac says his company has slowly grown into hosting those environments. It has developed as the client-vendor relationship has developed dependability and trust. In the managed services business, it's nearly impossible to overestimate the value of trust.

"Customer demand is pushing this," Kandrac says. The journey began with BaaS. Then the DR element became important and the recovery time decreased to 24 hours and 12-hours and we also became a managed high availability service provider.

"Over the past three years, UCG has invested significantly in staffing and systems and we are poised to continue to have a 'controlled growth' of 25 percent to 35 percent per year in the managed services arena."

RELATED STORIES

Vaulting Service Replaces Mirroring For IBM i Shop
IBM i Shops Climb Into the VAULT
IBM i Shops Turn to Vault400 for Protection
UCG Grows BaaS Biz with VAULT400
Mountains Of Data Bring Recovery Issues
UCG Champions Technology Upgrade
Two More Customer Wins for Vault400

How to have it all with Mobility: Security, Productivity, and Privacy

Everyone is talking about what mobility can do for their business, yet it can seem so challenging. See what the industry leaders have to say. 

Roger Bjork, Dell, Inc., Director of Global Product Marketing, Mobile/BYOD Solutions

Additional Insight on mobility trends by Pervasive Path Consulting, Shoretel, Verizon and more!

Date:        Thursday, January 15, 2015

Time:        7:30 AM - sign in

Location:  Kehoe Center Shelby, Ohio (perfectly situated between Cleveland and Columbus and a short drive West from Wooster)

Attendee admission fees are covered by NCORITA and include light breakfast, lunch, parking.

A vendor fair will be featured during lunch. Prizes and raffles throughout the day. United Computer Group will be exhibiting, so be sure to stop by our table!

Click Register or go to www.NCORITA.org and click on Events.

Presented by NCORITA. NCORITA was formed in 2011 to create a venue for IT professionals to gather and exchange ideas in the heart of Ohio.

Dell Keynote Speaker Bio: Roger Bjork

Roger Bjork has been with Dell, Inc. for 15 years. He holds a BSCS in Computer Science from Texas A&M University and has been in the mobile industry for over three decades in various capacities, including R&D, product planning, business development, and marketing.

How to have it all with Mobility: security, productivity and privacy

Radio Show Recording: Tech Czar Michael DeAloia interview with UCG CEO Jim Kandrac

Cleveland Confidential Radio on AM1420: Listen to show! 

Tech Czar Michael DeAloia hosted Jim Kandrac on Sunday, December 14. Listen to the recording of this entertaining and informative show broadcast on Cleveland Confidential Radio, Cleveland’s AM1420 Radio 

Cleveland Confidential Radio is all about exploring the big personalities, great entrepreneurs and the exciting creative class that are making a difference in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Jim shared some knowledge on his entrepreneurial experiences and the challenges of leading a tech company in Cleveland since 1987, as well as a few very entertaining stories about his life!

Be sure to check out the article published a few months ago in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: Tech Czar Talk: Reinvention is key for tech companies featuring United Computer Group, Inc.

Happy Holidays from United Computer Group!

                      Our Lady of the Wayside      Believe in Ohio

IBM i Shops Climb Into the VAULT

Alex Woodie

By Alex Woodie, Editor IT Jungle

United Computer Group has landed two new customers for VAULT400, its hosted offering for IBM i backups and disaster recovery as a service. The new customers include R.W. Sidley of Ohio and Mid-America Door of Oklahoma.

R.W. Sidley has been a UCG customer for more than 20 years and recently included backup as a service (BaaS) using VAULT400. The company, which supplies ready-mix concrete among other construction materials, decided to bolster the security of its IBM i-resident data by utilizing the VAULT400 service to house backups.

Instead of handling the backups manually, the company uses VAULT400 to automatically process the nightly backups. After compressing and encrypting the data, VAULT400 sends the backups offsite to two UCG data centers, located in Cleveland, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia.

"VAULT400 is working great," says Brad Buescher, the HR director for the Painesville, Ohio, company. The fact that R.W. Sidley worked with UCG for 20 years played heavily in the decision to use VAULT400, he added. The company elected not to buy the DR option, which is available in 12- and 24-hour recovery time objective (RTO) options.

Meanwhile, Mid-America Door seems to be happy with its VAULT400 implementation. The Ponca City, Oklahoma, company uses an IBM i ERP system from Friedman and was shopping for online backup solutions.

After initially selecting a different online backup solution, Mid-America Door decided to cancel the implementation and seek a second opinion. Carl Christensen, vice president and COO of the company, consulted with Friedman, which recommended UCG and its VAULT400 solution.

The implementation went smoothly, and now Mid-America Door's IBM i data is protected by VAULT400. "I have peace of mind now that I know our data is securely backed up every day, and that I picked the right team with the knowledge to make it happen," Christensen says.

RELATED STORIES

UCG Grows BaaS Biz with VAULT400

Two More Customer Wins for VAULT400

Medical Supply Firm Protects Data with Vault400

UCG Lauded for Test Work by VAULT400 Customer

VAULT400 to Protect Food Service Company

Manufacturer Taps VAULT400 for Cloud Backup

Mid-America Door Chooses Industry Expert United Computer Group, Inc. for BaaS

"I have peace of mind now that I know our data is securely backed up every day, and that I picked the right team with the knowledge to make it happen.”

United Computer Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that Mid-America Door has chosen UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS as its data backup solution. 

After initially proceeding with another BaaS managed service provider, Carl Christensen, Vice President & COO of Mid-America Door, had concerns during installation and was left with doubt about the provider’s ability to install and support the solution. Carl cancelled the install, turned to his ERP vendor, Friedman Group, and was referred to industry experts United Computer Group. After an online meeting, disk analysis, receiving their proposal, and due diligence, Carl felt confident that UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS was the answer to their data backup issues. He made the final decision, and days later VAULT400 was installed and configured in an online meeting in less than 90 minutes.

The IT team and business partners of Mid-America Door worked with closely with UCG’s lead engineer, Vladimir Capitanov, on the installation and technology refresh. Pleased with his decision, Christensen stated, “I have peace of mind now that I know our data is securely backed up every day, and that I picked the right team with the knowledge to make it happen.

About Mid-America Door
midamericadoor.com

Mid-America Door, located in Ponca City, Oklahoma, was founded in 1991 by a group of door dealers and others to manufacture steel sectional overhead-type doors. The company was based on a culture of inspired vision, thoughtful planning, and a combination of many years of overhead door experience. Since the early 1990's, Mid-America Door has experienced continuous growth, expanding its product lines, production capacity, and market coverage. Their belief and commitment to quality and customer service will ensure their continued growth.

"Doors built the old fashioned way - with quality."

United Computer Group, Inc. Q4 2014 Newsletter

Here's to a terrific fourth quarter! Hello and welcome to the UCG Q4 Newsletter! If the first three quarters are any indication, UCG will wrap up the year with much to be proud of. We've welcomed many new clients to the UCG family, and enjoyed visiting with current clients and business partners at various events across the US and Canada.   This newsletter has been designed and developed for current and prospective UCG clients. Our goal is to highlight events from the previous quarter, and provide insight to current and future products, solutions, and services in an interesting and easy to read format.  Thank you for your continued interest in UCG, and a big welcome to our new clients! Please enjoy this issue of the UCG newsletter and forward to colleagues within and outside your organization. Sincerely, James A. Kandrac, President & Founder Michael D. Powall, Vice President Tech Czar Talk: Reinvention is key for tech companies UCG is very pleased and honored that our company was featured in Michael DeAloia's column Tech Czar Talk in the Sunday, August 17 Plain Dealer Business Section. We appreciate that Michael succinctly captured the essence of our 28 year history, and would like to share his article with you. We hope you enjoy it.  - Jim Kandrac "Evolution is natural law in life and in business. Evolution weeds out the weak and rewards the clever. This week's column celebrates the evolution of our local technology ecosystem and highlights the benefits of investing in evolution as opposed to fighting it." - Michael C. DeAloia, special to the Plain Dealer Hardware Broker to Managed Services Provider. If you ever get to spend a few moments with James Kandrac of United Computer Group (ucgrp.com) treat yourself. Good soul. Fascinating cat and perhaps the least well-known, but successful, tech entrepreneur in this region. More than 25 years ago, Kandrac founded United Computer and has been the steady hand of leadership ever since. Coming out of college, he thought he wanted to work for "Big Blue" - IBM - but after an internship there he thought the environment might stifle his entrepreneurial flair. He vividly remembers coming home to his wife and 6-month old baby and lamenting his IBM fate when his wife offered up, "I don't care if we live above a bar on W. 25th Street, you have to love what you do." And soon thereafter he launched United Computer Group. Click for full article. CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: Hi-Tech Health Hi-Tech Health Upgrades to UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS Following Disaster  United Computer Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that Hi-Tech Health of Hackettstown, New Jersey has chosen UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS as its backup and DR solution. Hi-Tech Health experienced first-hand the disruption that occurs when disaster strikes. Although they had a BaaS solution in place, it failed to return the company to operations in an acceptable timeframe. Adding insult to injury, the provider’s customer service and pricing were disappointing. Michael Carrara, President of Hi-Tech Health, responded to a USPS mailing he received from United Computer Group, Inc. highlighting their VAULT400 BaaS solutions. Michael was intrigued and requested a proposal. He also took the time to do due diligence and drive from New Jersey to tour UCG’s Cleveland, Ohio data center with Mike Powall, UCG’s Vice President.  The solid proposal addressed and met all of Hi-Tech’s requirements; the site visit sealed the deal for Michael and Hi-Tech.  Michael Carrara stated, “After meeting your staff and receiving a detailed tour of your data center, I felt confident that my data will be in safe hands with UCG. From my beginning discussions with Mike Powall several months ago, I have been extremely pleased with the level of expertise, professionalism, and responsiveness by everyone I have spoken with at United Computer Group. I look forward to a long working relationship." Read full press release. Download our technical brief: Compliance for Healthcare Organizations.  About Hi-Tech Health  hi-techhealth.com Hi-Tech Health was incorporated on May 1, 1990 when a shift in the Health Care Industry made a visible turn towards more individual and client specific offerings. Since then, Hi-Tech Health has specialized in providing custom designed Claims Administration Systems for Third Party Administrators, Insurance Companies, Preferred Provider Organizations and various other Claims paying entities. Hi-Tech Health's staff is comprised of highly motivated, energetic programmers and IT Professionals with an extensive knowledge of the Health Care Industry.   Congratulations to UCG Client Cleveland Plant and Flower Celebrating 101 Years in Business! Longtime United Computer Group IBM Power Server client Cleveland Plant and Flower is celebrating their 101th anniversary! Founded in 1913 and located in Parma, Ohio, CP&F is one of the largest wholesale distributors of floral products in the United States.  Kudos to Chuck Macuga, Kevin Priest, and the entire staff at CP&F. We wish you continued success! Please enjoy their video, courtesy of cleveland.com.  Visit Our Resource Libraries Be sure to take advantage of the valuable information available for download in our VAULT400 and Enterprise Management Software Resource Libraries. United Computer Group, Inc. 7100 E. Pleasant Valley Road, Suite 250 Independence, OH 44131-5556 Toll Free: 800.211.8798 Main: 216.520.1333 Email:info@ucgrp.comucgrp.com | vault400.comJames A. Kandrac, President Michael D. Powall, Vice President Socially Connected You can find us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Facebook, and on our UCG Blog. We make an effort to connect on social media with our clients, vendors, and business partners, so please reach out and let us know where we can find you. Speaking of social media, where have you found the most success connecting with other technology companies/ technology-minded individuals? Let us know what you think at info@ucgrp.com. UCG October 2014 Q4 Newsletter UCG in the News: Q3 2014 Highlights Congoleum Corporation Selects UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS as Backup and DR Solution “We realized immediate benefits including reduced disaster recovery costs; the need to handle tapes on a daily basis has been eliminated; and we ensured our data was stored securely offsite from the server." - Dan McCullough, Manager of Datacenter Operations, Congoleum Corporation UCG Business Partner Optimum Solutions Chooses VAULT400 BaaS As B2B partners, UCG and Optimum Solutions have opened many doors to provide clients with complete HRIS and cloud backup and DR solutions. UCG's IBM i clients have strong support with their strategic partner in making payroll and HR management simple. Optimum Solutions clients have a proven backup and DR solution available to them for IBM i, Windows, VMware and all supported platforms with VAULT400 BaaS.UCG Grows BaaS Biz with VAULT400 Cloud-based backup and recovery services and remote hardware for disaster recovery and high availability continues to attract IBM midrange shops and United Computer Group has become a trusted partner with many of them. Last week, the Cleveland, Ohio-based company announced two more companies that have decided to contract with UCG for what is being referred to as backup as a service, or BaaS. - Dan Burger, IT Jungle Achieve Business Excellence at the 2014 VAI User Conference! November 6 - 8 Disney's Boardwalk Resort UCG is a sponsor and exhibitor, so be sure to stop by for a visit. If you'd like to set up a meeting ahead of time, give us a call at 800. 211.8798 or email info@ucgrp.com Hope to see you there! Register today! The 2014 VAI User Conference is being held at Disney's BoardWalk Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Mixing business with pleasure is easy with the unique setting of Disney® Theme Parks and Disney's Championship Golf Courses. Come soak in two and a half days of knowledge from VAI technology experts, enjoy networking opportunities with colleagues, spark new friendships, and exchange experiences and ideas with fellow attendees. With over 70 educational classes, informative general sessions, exciting and inspirational keynote speakers, new hands-on training labs, new executive business round-table sessions, our Technology-Partner Solution Center, and exciting and fun networking events, the 2014 VAI User Conference is bigger and better than ever! Your DR Strategy Guide for IBM i Available for Download Now! Thank you for taking time to read the DR Strategy Guide for IBM i, brought to you by Maxava and United Computer Group. If you or your team are responsible for the ongoing health and protection of your IBM i systems and data, this guide is for you! Click here to download your DR Strategy Guide.  United Computer Group, Inc. (UCG) was founded in 1987 by James A. Kandrac. UCG has been an IBM Business Partner since 1989 and an IBM Advanced Business Partner since 1991. Customers have rated UCG in the top 1% of IBM Business Partners nationwide.  UCG offers VAULT400 BaaS and IBM Power Systems, in addition to a wide range of related products and services. United Computer Group, Inc. and Maxava have been business partners since 2008. Maxava HA is the solution of choice when UCG clients need RTO and RPO of less than 1 hour. Read more. Become a UCG Partner United Computer Group partners enjoy collaborative, rewarding, and mutually beneficial arrangements to bring industry-leading technology solutions to the mid-market. Our core business philosophies ensure that our clients have an excellent experience. We are focused on delivering solutions to help them solve their most complex technology challenges. As an IBM Advanced Business Partner, UCG has been actively marketing Power Systems-based enterprise solutions since 1987. We place great value in finding the right partner to provide a high level of sales, marketing, and technological support to our clients. Interested? Click here to fill out a brief form and we will contact you within 24 hours. We look forward to working with you.

Congoleum Corporation Selects UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS as Backup and DR Solution

“We realized immediate benefits including reduced disaster recovery costs; the need to handle tapes on a daily basis has been eliminated; and we ensured our data was stored securely offsite from the server." 

United Computer Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that Congoleum Corporation has chosen UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS as its backup and DR solution.

David Cooper, Senior Manager of Information Technology, and Dan McCullough, Manager of Datacenter Operations for Congoleum, worked with UCG’s lead engineer Vladimir Capitanov to protect and backup their IBM Power 5 System. In addition to subscribing to UCG’s VAULT400 secure cloud backup, they've added Disaster Recovery with a return to operations in the event of a disaster in 12 hours or less.

Every night they set the backups and forget it. The data is compressed, encrypted and sent to secure HIPAA compliant data centers in Cleveland, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. Dan McCullough receives an email every morning to confirm that the backup took place and was successful. In the coming months, Congoleum will conduct a Disaster Recovery test to fine-tune in the event a disaster occurs.

“The installation and setup were quick and painless. Vladimir really knows the product and process very well, which made the setup seamless. The seeding went well, and progressed more quickly than expected. We realized immediate benefits including reduced disaster recovery costs; the need to handle tapes on a daily basis has been eliminated; and we ensured our data was stored securely offsite from the servers. Additionally, if I need to restore a file, I don’t need to retrieve a tape, load it, restore the file, and then reset the drive for the next save. So that makes my life a lot easier. Thanks for an excellent replacement for tape backups!” - Dan McCullough, Manager of Datacenter Operations, Congoleum Corporation, Mercerville, NJ

About Congoleum

congoleum.com

Since 1886 Congoleum has been committed to developing innovative flooring products that push the industry forward. Congoleum holds numerous patents for novel creations over the years. Congoleum manufactures residential and commercial resilient products that are engineered with state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. Throughout its history, Congoleum has held a pioneering role in the resilient flooring industry and has contributed substantially to the growth of the industry.  Congoleum has been a step ahead for over 125 years and continues its commitment to quality products, manufacturing and market innovations for the future. 

UCG Business Partner Optimum Solutions Chooses VAULT400 BaaS

United Computer Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that Optimum Solutions has chosen UCG’s VAULT400 BaaS as its backup and DR solution. VAULT400 BaaS provides cloud backup for Optimum’s multiple IBM i servers to ensure quick and reliable backup and restores. Their daily backup time has been cut from hours to minutes. Data backup is automated and encrypted throughout the process with only the user having access to the data.

VAULT400 BaaS was chosen by Dave Waters, Manager of IT Operations for Optimum Solutions, to backup mission-critical engineering development data on the IBM i. 

"Beginning in 2011 we started discussions with UCG on backup and DR solutions. At that time we were testing the waters with various backup methods to move our data from tape. Tape backup had become burdensome, and when we were ready to make the transition in 2014, VAULT400 BaaS was our solution of choice," says Dave. "We did our homework."

As B2B partners, UCG and Optimum Solutions have opened many doors to provide clients with complete HRIS and cloud backup and DR solutions. UCG's IBM i clients have strong support with their strategic partner in making payroll and HR management simple. Optimum Solutions clients have a proven backup and DR solution available to them for IBM i, Windows, VMware and all supported platforms with VAULT400 BaaS.

Cloud backup has become very competitive, but UCG has found their niche business as others have seen their doors shuttered. Focus on the IBM i and Open Systems from 10GB to >100TB coupled with disaster recovery options has proven UCG's strength in the market. 

Optimum Solutions is an industry software leader for Payroll, Human Resources and Time & Attendance. Their successful history in the HRIS software arena has placed them as an Inc. 500 award winner and named them one of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.

Request an Optimum Demo Sign Up For an Optimum Webinar VAULT400 BaaS & DR Proposal

UCG Partner BlueBridge Networks Once Again Honored as COSE NEOSA Best IT Services Company

UCG is pleased to announce that our ​Cleveland, Ohio data center​ partner​​, BlueBridge Networks​,​ was once again named a COSE NEOSA Best IT Services Company.

As a VAULT400 subscriber, your data is of utmost importance to us and is secured at our data centers in Cleveland and Atlanta. Operational ​excellence and our commitment to High Availability, ​reliability and ​security is paramount and recognized by our peers. 

Click here to download the​ Auditors Letter for our SSAE 16 SOC II Type II for the period ending 12-31-2013 which has once again been completed without exception.

Please let us know what questions around safe harbor, compliance or audits you may have and how else we may assist. Visit our website for additional information on UCG's data centers.

Thank you for your continued confidence and business.

Jim Kandrac, Founder & President
Mike Powall, Vice President
United Computer Group, Inc. 

IBM Engine of the Week: Colocation Solution Keeps Insurer Online Amid Hurricane Sandy's Wrath

"Though the IT team at Newark, NJ-based International Fidelity Insurance Company (IFIC) had rehearsed its disaster recovery scenario with precision, the team couldn't have anticipated an event that would take out power, roads and communications across a wide swath of the mid-Atlantic coast. When Hurricane Sandy hit in October, 2012, the disaster recovery team had to fail over to a co-location site with the clock ticking on its uninterruptible power supply and no phone service.

Watch this podcast to see how with the guidance from IBM partner United Computer Group, IFIC avoided nearly $2 million in lost revenues and learned valuable lessons to help it prepare for future incidents in this week's Engines of the Week."  +Paul Gillin +Maxava HA 

Read the entire story published in IBM Systems Magazine in November 2013. 

Customer Care: Walking the Talk at UCG

Today we received a most sincere and thoughtful note from new VAULT400 client, +EMI Corp. Kay Frieders, Controller and IT Manager for the firm, took the time to let us know that she was exceptionally happy with UCG's customer service, and in particular, our Sr. Technical Engineer, Vladimir Capitanov. Delighting our customers is, without question, a UCG core value. Learn more about UCG Customer Care and Best Practices. For additional UCG customer testimonials, click here.

Vladimir Capitanov

Sr. Technical Engineer, UCG

"Mike, I just wanted to let you know what an outstanding employee United Computer Group, Inc. has in Vladimir Capitanov. The VAULT400 installation on our iSeries was flawless and could not have been better. In addition to the smooth installation,​Vladimir promptly followed up with me on the seeding completion of all the backup jobs that were scheduled to make sure that everything is perfect for EMI Corp. I’ve been working for 30 years with IT people all over and it is refreshing to work with Vladimir. He cares and it shows. It’s that kind of detail to attention that keeps customers coming back.

EMI will need a new iSeries Server this year. Whether we purchase, offsite or cloud, I am definitely interested in doing business with United Computer Group, Inc. because of employees like Vladimir and yourself. Both of you have shown outstanding support to EMI Corp." 

         ​- ​ Kay Frieders, Controller / IT Manager, EMI Corp., Jackson Center, OH​

Thank you, Kay and EMI Corp.! Kay's note is a great reminder to us all to always acknowledge exceptional customer service. The impact it has on the business and the individuals involved is priceless. 

Mike Powall

Vice President, United Computer Group, Inc.

You're Invited: UCG Spring Fever 2014!

Please Join Us!

Friday, May 16, 2014

8:00 am - 3:00 pm

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY!

You must register to be a part 

of this exciting event.

SPACE IS LIMITED.

Sponsored by 

United Computer Group, IBM, and Arrow

Event Location

Acacia Reservation, Lyndhurst, Ohio

(fka Acacia Country Club) Driving Directions

Note: If you are located ​90 minutes or more from event, UCG will provide a complimentary hotel room for Thursday, May 15 if desired. Check box on registration form to reserve your room.

UCG Spring Fever 2014

AGENDA
Time	Topic	Presenter
8:00 am	Registration and Breakfast	Barbara Belovics, UCG
8:30 am	Welcome and Introductions	Michael Powall, VP UCG
8:45 am	Virtual Tour and Capabilities of UCG Data Center Partner BlueBridge Networks LLC	Petar Bojovic, Manager Technical Operations, BlueBridge Networks, LLC
9:15 am	Data Backup and Disaster Recovery for iSeries and Intel (vSphere and Hyper-v) 10GB to >100TB	James Kandrac, President, UCG; Timothy Prostor, Sr. Engineer, UCG
9:45 am	Data Intelligence and Warehouse Management	Gina Parry, Account Manager, VAI
Break
10:30 am	What is Flash? When and Why Might It Be Considered?	Tracey Halama, IBM
11:00 am	IBM Power 8 Update: Speeds, Feeds and Upgrade Paths. 4-core & V3700 SAN	James Kandrac, President, UCG
11:30 am	IMS-21 Enterprise Document Management and Workflow	Bill Wilson, VP of Strategic Alliances, Vanguard Systems, Inc.
12:00 pm	Lunch, Summary, and Discussion	All
1:30 pm	Golf or Acacia Reservation Walking Tour	Note preference on registration form

Breakfast and lunch by Dino's Catering

Call 800.211.8798 for more information.