MBX does all the little things right. If there’s a problem, MBX jumps on it right away to make sure it’s corrected quickly. And they do all of this at a very competitive price. It’s an unbeatable combination.
Rob, CEO
Network monitoring company
BASCOM Appliances Integrate Innovative Curriculum Solutions with Internet Security
The Customer:
BASCOM Global Internet Services, Inc. develops industry-leading Internet management solutions for schools and libraries. Since 1996, BASCOM has produced patented security and filtering software, Internet curriculum building tools, and community building Web portals for various learning environments. BASCOM fills a void in a market that balances the traditional needs of networking security professionals and the special needs of educators in learning environments tasked with integrating the Internet into their curriculum. This educator-centric approach combines specialized security functionality that only learning environments require, with a centralized framework for systematically creating, storing, sharing, and delivering a Web-enriched curriculum. No other company offers an integrated software solution that combines Web enhanced curriculum building tools with classroom/program-based, educator managed Internet filtering.
Complementing BASCOM's award-winning solutions is an innovative approach to application deployment: the BASCOM solutions are deployed on custom-branded server appliances. On the outside, the systems feature a purple powdercoated chassis and custom-designed faceplates including the BASCOM logo and brand name. Under the lid is a platform engineered specifically for each BASCOM application. This "purple box", as customers refer to it, is rack-mountable and easily drops straight into the network for quick implementation.
The Challenge:
An appliance-based software deployment is a marked change from the way BASCOM initially delivered its solutions. They were originally developed to run on standard servers, but customers were specifying a variety of vendors' hardware and BASCOM genuinely tried to support it all. Occasionally the software was incompatible or too CPU intensive for a customer's existing hardware and BASCOM would provide both the software and the hardware. Bob DeRosa, BASCOM's Chief Technology Officer recalls, "We acknowledged that a single, stable hardware platform would streamline software engineering and improve our productivity. It would save us measurable time and effort to develop, test, implement and support the solutions." With that, BASCOM embarked on a search for a solution.
From the beginning BASCOM developed the solutions to run in an open source environment, choosing Linux operating system for application development. Open source is widely supported on server appliances and minimizes the distraction of creating multiple variants of the solution. Developing for a single environment also expedites new releases, allowing BASCOM to concentrate on creating innovative new functionality.
The next step was finding an OEM appliance builder with Linux experience that could also understand the environment in which BASCOM operated. DeRosa explains, "In the educational market the demand for computer-based lessons is increasing faster than the IT personnel on hand to support it. Since teachers are the conduit to the technology used in the classroom, the more the solution is designed for the non-technical user and can demonstrate its reliability, the more useful it becomes."
Of course, teachers are generally not the single decision maker when it comes to selecting instructional software. For a solution to be competitive it needs to show relevance to administrators — the solution needs the flexibility to support lesson development for the overall curriculum goals. It must also appeal to the people who implement technology in the facility or school district — if the technology isn't relatively hands off to operate, it won't matter how feature-rich the software.
The Solution:
Standardizing on server appliances was the right decision for BASCOM, and MBX Systems proved to be the right appliance partner. First, the appliances MBX builds provide a turnkey solution: BASCOM's solution arrives bundled with the hardware, operating system and any other requirements to make it operational. Right out of the box, installing the appliance is straightforward and requires very little technical expertise to get it working on the network.
Software maintenance is handled remotely by BASCOM and without user intervention. Upgrades, patches, content updates and backups are all automatically and remotely administered each night. BASCOM communicates product updates with customers via email, and users who need product support can access online help for every menu item. Live telephone support is always available for customers with questions.
Diane Hagan, BASCOM Marketing Communications Manager says, "Whether a customer needs technical support or simple troubleshooting, they're never left hanging. We always have someone available to walk a new user through the installation process. After that, the solution runs effortlessly."
The reliability of the appliance model minimizes the chance of a system malfunctioning in the field or users losing live access to Web sites. However for an even higher degree of assurance, BASCOM offers its enterprise users a hot standby appliance option. Designed to perform on demand, this redundant system assures all users maintain secure Internet access.
DeRosa explains, "In large school districts with a heavy user base, customers appreciate that a redundant appliance is ready to take over so they are never without Internet access. If there is a system failure, the security features of the redundant system kick in to protect the network and users."
The Results:
"As a hardware partner, MBX goes far beyond engineering and manufacturing our systems," DeRosa says. "MBX is involved behind the scenes, managing the overall appliance program — from designing the custom branding of our legendary purple boxes, maintaining our current and past software images, managing the lifecycle of components, packaging systems with BASCOM marketing materials, keeping inventory at the ready for new or replacement systems, and more."
BASCOM uses the MBX Customer Portal to view up-to-date status on their orders and inventory, including bills of material, serial numbers, system ship dates, warranty information and various other data reports maintained in the portal. MBX also deploys appliances on demand to support BASCOM's "Express Exchange Warranty": in the event a component malfunctions, orders received by noon at BASCOM and by 4:00 p.m. at MBX ensure the replacement system will be expedited for next-morning delivery.
BASCOM's success lies in continuing as an innovation leader and adapting its solutions to meet the needs of educators and networking security professionals. MBX will continue to support BASCOM by providing the most secure, reliable hardware platforms that are easy for BASCOM's customers to implement and use.
About BASCOM
BASCOM Global Internet Services, Inc. is an award-winning software development company located in Hauppauge, New York. From our beginning in 1996, BASCOM has specialized in producing, next-generation Internet filtering and curriculum solutions built for K-12 schools, libraries and other learning environments.
BASCOM's goal is to help children become successful learners by safely extracting the educational content of the Web. This is accomplished by building customizable Web-based teaching tools and school Internet filters based on input we've received from K-12 educators. We are constantly adapting our products to meet the changing needs of today's teachers.
About the Global Chalkboard
BASCOM's Global Chalkboard is an innovative and flexible teaching tool that uses the Internet for learning. The Global Chalkboard provides immediate access to educational Web sites and builds Web-enriched lessons mapped to curriculum goals and state standards.
The Global Chalkboard is both flexible and easy to use. It offers a novice user immediate access to educational sites with the Web Library; it offers an intermediate user prepackaged, ready-to-use BASCOM lessons; and it offers an advanced user a method of building their own, Web-based lessons using the Global Chalkboard's Lesson Creator.
For more information about BASCOM's school Internet filters and curriculum tools, visit www.Bascom.com.
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