Full Circle - From Timeshare to Cloud on Rocket Software's MultiValue Application Platform
June 13, 2018
As many of you know, my dad, Dick Pick, along with Don Nelson, were the creators of G.I.R.L.S. more than fifty years ago. G.I.R.L.S. was initially built for tracking spare parts for Cheyenne helicopters at the huge military contractor TRW Systems in the United States.
This was the beginning of PICK/MultiValue as we know it today.
The number of MultiValue licensees has decreased due to consolidation since my dad first started this business. But, it hasn’t deterred Rocket or any other provider from innovating and keeping the PICK data model modern and able to work with the latest and greatest technologies.
Rocket Software continues to innovate and carry on my father’s legacy today. They have 120 dedicated MultiValue employees worldwide and a 96% approval rating with their support engineering team. Their customer service from the top down is top notch and very easy to work with.
My company, Pick Cloud, works closely with Rocket, not only to move MultiValue companies to the cloud, but to modernize and rejuvenate existing PICK/MultiValue applications to keep them from throwing their investment “baby” out with the bath water.
We host exclusively with Google. This is one way, with Rocket and their cloud licensing that a cost-effective cloud solution with the most secure, best-in-class infrastructure on the planet is available to everyone.
Like the best myths, everyone has their own version of when and where the cloud originated. For me; it was 1977 when I was spinning ½ inch magnetic tapes after school and in charge of backing up several computer systems (aka file-save boy). None more important than the “timeshare computer” located in the original offices of Pick & Associates, Inc. in Irvine, CA. Back then, my dad, Dick Pick was in the cloud business and didn’t even know it. In the 1970s a lot of small companies couldn’t afford an on-premise computer and gladly paid a monthly fee to dial-up and access their application over a dial-up modem. If you don’t believe me where do you think the “charges” or “charge-to” TCL commands came from? These were built in so usage statistics were accumulated for each particular user accessing the system at any given time. We have come full circle – moving from timeshare to cloud.
While other MultiValue software providers may criticize their competition, Rocket focuses on working with their partners and customers to keep them on MultiValue.
My father would be proud of Rocket and what they have accomplished with what he started over fifty years ago.