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Client Company running old sbt Y2K questions 2

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arthurliz

Technical User
Sep 4, 2002
19
US
Due to the the death of the sole IT guy, we just picked up a client firm that appears to be running two unlimited user SBT source coded systems with AR/AP/GL/IC/SO/PO on novell 5.0 servers and with MS DOS on dos + win 2K/95/98 workstations. One system is based on 2.5 Pro and the other on 3.0/3.0i pro. As we are not an SBT dealer, we tried to contact SBT resellers and they only seem to want to sell lots of new expensive microsoft software.
That is not an option, as the firm is a Federally regulated broker dealer exchange member entity. In fact we got the job because some of us were once licensed Series 24, 27, 4 on top of the 63 and 7 in the securites buisiness and we have the business expertise to figure out if the outputs make sense from the inputs. In checking out the pile of stuff we can't even determine if it is Y2K complaint, but it runs.

Questions abound.

Is there a real SBT consultant out there who will honestly tell us if the SBT Pro version 2.5 and 3.0/3.0i were Y2K complient, or if they were not, does it make a difference, especially in 2003. We even heard of a "Y2k" kit and yet dealers tell us we have to have our client buy all new software to get it.

If the code is not Y2K complient, can it be fixed to do so.
The customization appears not in the SBT modules but in tons of stand alone dbase + foxpro reporting and front end systems for portfolio risk management and data interchange that read the sbt databases.

The firm likes the system and hates the windows platform (too much maintenance required) and actually is using this project as a beginning to running the code entirely on a Unix Box wih the foxpro for SCO they grabbed on ebay.

We really do not want to yank them off of SBT, unless it is absolutely necessary, becasue if we have to, we will probably recommend that they sub let a system at another firm on a Mainframe as windows products don't survive in the firm's intense environment where a sever crash costs the firm a $10,000 fine.

The old stuff works, it has stayed up for most of a decade with a total of 8 shutdowns (holidays for maintenance)in rougly 10 years.
 
Please try to find Laura Welsch in Huntington Beach, CA. I have not talked to her in years, but she is the best SBT person I ever met and honest as the day is long. You may have to call SBT and ask for her number.

Good Luck. If you find her tell her that Don Gilsdorf said hi.

Software Sales, Training, Implementation and Support for Exact Macola, eSynergy, and Crystal Reports
 
3.0 and prior SBT version are not Y2k Compliant, 3.2i AND higher are.
There is a program available: One of my clients uses it and is very happy with it. I found no speed degradation whatsoever.
I am an SBT/Accpac re-seller/prgrammer with many clients using SBT 3.2.
Regards,
Edgar
 
Thanks everybody for the foxpro y2k program tip.

It worked like a charm and the system passed Y2K tests.

We will gently point out that we wish that the entire source coded Xbase SBT waould be placed in the public domain so we could support this like Linux.

This attitude is because we got better service from ex SBT dealers on this old stuff, and we paid them market rates (over $100 per hour) for their time, than from the currrent SBT / ACCPAC dealers who seemed only capable of going in for a $15,000 - $25,000 dollar "kill" in the form of a new Microsft technolgy based "solution."

"Solution" and reliability in the Microsoft based world do not exist.
 
We have used SBT for years... now on version 6.0 Pro. It has always been difficult dealing w/ the Company and keeping current... I won't go into all details now. I just went to Accpac and was shocked to see the $125 per "issue" call in program. SBT at least charged a "understandable" per miniute charge...

Anyway, on this note, if Edgar or someone is interested in supporting us and helping us incrementally upgrade, I too would be very interested.

landisa@attglobal.net is best for email.

On the Y2K issue I can talk alot about Vision Point through that process (I think there was a Class Action Law Suit that created the "kit" for conversion... but we did the Pro upgrade through that "timeline" so I don't know Pre version 5 issues).

Great software all in all at least.

Landis
 
We found by calling and writing that Accpac and now Best software, the firm taking ove ACCPAC in a few weeks did not want to give us the orginal y2k kit that was really free.

They did put us in touch with a pack of ACCPAC dealers who wanted to put us into a brand new product on the Microsoft Platform at prices between $25 and $45 thousand dollars. As we can't risk the reliability of the firm on Microsoft windoze, even on new Dells (we are a federally regulated entity and if we are down we get fined...period)we elected to fix the problem. Thus we found that the Y2K Fox kit does work, and our "Big 4" Accouting / Auditing firm, just issued a approval letter to our regulators, that the combination of Y2KFOx + SBT 3.0i really is Y2K complaint..

So guess what, we are staying with SBT 3.0i + y2k Fox on brand new DELL Novell DOS machines driven off of a brand New Dell Netware 5.1 server.

Actually this has led to an interesting spin off project. We have started a DOS office workstation project.....YES....a 100% DOS based machine (on a New Novell Netware Network) with a DOS browser and DOS Word Processing + Spreadsheet + Menuing programs. We did this to see we can asemble a "standard issue" Dos based Accounting, email, office productivity +R&R DOS Report Writer platform on New Dell boxes. So far the initial tests are telling us that execpt for 3 or 4 people in out 100 person firm, this may work as well as MS Windows 98 /2000 based platforms. We are now paying an analyist to create the menues, the forms, and the templates, and the dos program integration. We see that this may be the best way to cut our systems costs back down to where they ought to be, sas once things are set up, they will stay set up.

Please note that execpt for machines used for equties, derivativates and fixed income securites analysis, most of the work in our trading frim is standard stuff.

We will keep you guys posted as to how this "Spin off" priject prgresses.

 
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