ORBIT SYSTEMS CONNECTS CULLIGAN WATER CONDITIONING TO THE NEW UTILITY ORBIT’s utility computing model economically brings remote Culligan offices online.

(PRWEB) October 3, 2002

When John Packard, Culligan Water Conditioning’s President, was introduced to ORBIT, he needed to efficiently share information between his Minnetonka headquarters and over 20 distribution centers nationwide. However, they lacked a standard computing platform and many distributors were in remote rural locations. “ORBIT put us all on one system so we can seamlessly share information, and we have one number to call for service and support, whether we’re in Minnetonka or Oil City Pennsylvania”, says Packard.    

“ORBIT’s computing infrastructure allows us to rapidly connect and manage new users at virtually any location”, says ORBIT Systems President and CEO, Steve McFarland. ORBIT’s purpose is to make computer systems as dependable and easy to use as utilities such as water and electricity. As McFarland sees it, “Computers should be available anytime, anywhere. They should be taken for granted, just like the dial tone on your phone.” Like traditional utilities, ORBIT incrementally allocates computing resources so customers only pay for the capacity they need, for a fixed monthly cost.

With all Culligan distributors connected to the corporate network, the next challenge was to enable them to share the company’s order tracking application, WaterWizzard. Packard founded another company, UNCO, to develop and maintain the application, which automates dispatching for Culligan distributors and other delivery businesses. According to Packard, “ORBIT’s solution has enabled our distributors to connect to WaterWizzard and our response times have improved dramatically, making us much more responsive to our customers.”

McFarland has found that most small and medium sized businesses could benefit from similar solutions, but they lack the breadth and depth of expertise required to implement and maintain these systems. And those who do this internally are always dependent on key IT personnel. As McFarland says, “ORBIT Systems doesn’t take lunch, go on vacation, or get sick. Our customers always have knowledgeable support available around-the-clock.” After all, utilities don’t sleep either.    

For more information regarding ORBIT Systems, please call Steve McFarland at 651-767-3322; or visit their new Web site at http://www.orbits.net.

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