Since 1967, Pentron Clinical Technologies and its affiliates have been developing, manufacturing, and marketing dental products. Pentron's corporate headquarters and its 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility are located in Wallingford, Connecticut. The company employs more than 120 people

Challenge
On the heels of the IT challenges that many businesses faced at the beginning of 2000, Pentron researched options for business-continuity solutions for potential system failures. "We conducted tests and found that our current plan was not acceptable," explained Robin Bavin, assistant vice president of IT for Pentron. "Not only was it expensive, but it also did not fit our organization's needs."

Pentron's purchasing system, which receives up to 600 calls each day during its peak season and averages 6,000 orders each month, is crucial to the success of the enterprise.

"We had tried another availability solution but abandoned the project, which was overwhelming, in 2001," Bavin said. "We needed a solution that would cover our normal business operations and get our critical components up and running quickly if our systems failed.

"We had worked with SafeData's president on many other IT projects and turned to him for advice. He had a thorough understanding of our dual System i and Windows operating environment and was able to help us design and implement an efficient and cost-effective business-continuity plan," Bavin added.

Solution
Pentron first set up a VoIP system to enable its sales representatives to take orders from home in case weather conditions prevented them from traveling to the office.

The company also needed to take the necessary precautions to remain operational and prevent productivity losses. Pentron could not afford the risk of having its JD Edwards's ordering and shipping solution go down. It wanted to ensure the availability of all of its critical servers, including its e-mail and file systems, as well as the company's website. SafeData/HA turned out to be the answer.

"We were originally contemplating using a hot site back in 2001 but were not ready to make the financial commitment," explained Bavin. "Now, for the same price, we are able to use SafeData/HA to ensure the availability of all of our critical components with a two-hour or less guarantee."

For a monthly subscription fee, SafeData creates and maintains a copy of Pentron's System i and Windows data, systems, and applications by providing a switchable "mirror" during planned or unplanned downtime. Within two hours, SafeData/HA becomes Pentron's production unit until its own systems are operational again.

Return on Investment
"SafeData did the research to determine what solutions would best fit our particular needs," Bavin noted. "The team members at SafeData had the knowledge to implement the solution in a smooth and timely fashion and have always been very responsive. They are dedicated to their clients and willing to take the necessary actions to ensure our business continuity.

"The SafeData/HA solution is less expensive than the other available options," he added. "Our information is now protected, and we have noticed an increase in productivity during system failures. With SafeData/HA, we believe that we are getting the most bang for our buck."