Petroleum Equipment Supplier MECO Completes Modernization Project in 4 Weeks

BLOOMFIELD, NJ – April 23, 2009 – Surround Technologies today announced the completion of a Modernization project with new client, MECO of Atlanta. MECO is a full service supplier of petroleum equipment with over 50 years of proud service to their Southeastern US customers. It needed to maintain that strong customer service legacy by modernizing the applications running on its IBM System i to give employees more information and efficiencies.

MECO contracted with Surround for its Accelerator for Visual LANSA application development tools as well as their professional services to pull all their needs together. MECO IT Manager Albert Johnson was especially interested in completing this project quickly. They had tried another vendor's modernization software and, after a year's effort, had little to show for it. So when Lee Paul of Surround, after a detailed project review, indicated that a fast turnaround was possible, Albert was cautiously encouraged.

"We had been misled before about how easy modernizing would be," Johnson shares, "but Surround was very thorough and the Accelerator tools looked so powerful and yet simple. It was all very confidence-inspiring that this time it would be different." And indeed it was different, with Surround's consultants participating, the new application was delivered in four week's time.

Lee Paul, Surround's lead on the account, offered more insight, "This was not a minimal project, we were connecting dozens of different 5250 screens from their System 21 Service Module backend into a beautiful, integrated Windows desktop that offers infinite flexibility in maneuvering through customer data that just wasn't true of the old green screens. Remember, we're talking customer service here." In addition, the new solution inserts job data directly into an Excel sheet for use by service reps in the field, couples with Google Maps for identifying job locations, integrates with Lotus Notes, and more. For MECO now, a vision of how a new series of system evolutions will occur has become clear.

Surround will also be discussing the project this week at the looksoftware User Conference in Reno, NV where they've been invited to present. The MECO development used their newlook tool with Surround's open source Fusion plug-in and MECO will be highlighted as an innovative client success.

About Surround Technologies
Surround Technologies develops highly usable software tools that accelerate custom application development for Power IBM i, Windows, .NET, Unix and Linux Platforms. With offices in New Jersey and Florida, Surround provides software products and professional services that help enterprises produce advanced agile software. Surround Technologies' Accelerator products appeal to companies large and small, and are in use modernizing applications at companies like Gannett, Verizon, & GE. More information at www.SurroundTech.com.