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Testimonials
(07/13/2010) "Thanks for your quick response with the temporary pass-string. I have completed activities with my test version of the JQP product against an LPAR running Z/OS 1.11, and (as expected) have encountered no problems or issues. I’d like to mention once again how pleased we are with this product, after previously running LRS’s components. This product is solid, always functions, performs EXACTLY what we need it to do for us, and for a reasonable cost. We are very happy we made the switch to your system."
• Kevin - Company name withheld by request
(07/12/2010) "Thank for your prompt response and clarifying the issue... You folks provide an excellent product at an inexpensive price, yet provide such prompt and competent service which certainly greatly exceeds my expectations."
• Douglas Becker - Pierce County Technical Support - Tacoma, WA •
(05/14/2010) "JES Queue for Printers, JES Report Broker and VTAM Virtual Printer provided the same feature/function as their replacements at a much reduced cost. Installation was simple and straightforward and was completed across 5 lpars within a 2 week period. They have become 'set it and forget it' products. We now have JQP on 6 lpars and VVP on 7 lpars."
• Steve Trapp, System Programmer Team Lead, GA and CA •
(08/04/2009) "I just finished converting one of our client sites from CICS V2.3 to V3.2.
These guys have a lot of OS COBOL code that they have steadfastly refused to upgrade. This left us no alternative but to get MacKinney's VS COBOL Interpreter product to allow them to continue running.Well, the product was simple to install, and it works like gangbusters. I can't detect any increase in response time or overhead due to its presence; and the client wouldn't even know it was there if they weren't being charged for it. There hasn't been a single incident. This was a major relief! And there's even a nifty administrative transaction to go with it. So if anyone here is in the same situation, VSCI works very well, and is probably the answer you're looking for. "
• Rick Woods, CICS Systems Programmer, Arizona •
(07/14/2009) Irish Dairy board have been users of the MacKinney printing products VVP and JQP since 2004. We use JQP to route mainframe print to TCP/IP network printers, and VVP to route print from CICS transactions to JES spool
We had previously used Levi, Ray and Shoup's VPS and DRS. We changed to the MacKinney products when the cost of upgrade of the LRS products for a proposed new mainframe was prohibitive. We chose them because they gave us exactly the functionality we required, at approximately 20% of the cost of LRS.
JQP and VVP were installed, and just worked. In the past five years, we've only had two occasions to call on MacKinney support - both times for configuration issues for new printers.. The response was fast and accurate.
We've been very satisfied with the products. Our only problem is that we didn't install them earlier.
• David Ingoldsby, Technical Support Manager, Irish Dairy Board •
(10/08/2008) Well now things are settling down a little I guess it is time to take some time to see what lessons can be learned from the whole "Ike" experience.
One of the first things I need to do is to give you all a great big "Thank you" for all your invaluable assistance during the chaos that followed Ike. Without your help we would have been having to do so much more than just our infrastructure support and reconfiguration. Even when our license was due to expire you responded wonderfully with understanding, trust and a willingness to help us to 'get the job done'.
Secondly...WOW...JES Queue for Printers rocks! When we lost our home office (no power, no telecoms...actually no anything but water!) JQP was invaluable for quickly, easily and safely redirecting output without the need to do massive JCL changes. New printers were added without needing a recycle and existing printers drained and the initial status function was truly a God send. Awesome job!
From my own personal standpoint I really do appreciate the awesome support and assistance, particularly from Don, to go the extra mile for us. You guys are the best. Your support should be how all software vendors handle their support. Thank you so much. It is truly a refreshing change to deal with such a responsive and professionally run company.
• Kevin Ferguson, American National Insurance Company, League City, TX •
(8/12/2008) "Running MacKinney Batch to CICS has given our company a 97% reduction in run-time from CICS/CEMT from Batch"
• Roger Webster, State of Oregon •
(7/2/2008) Thanks for your quick reply. I do appreciate being able to talk to a real support person at 3:00am. You guys are tops.
• Norris, Sr. Systems, Memphis, TN •
(4/17/2008) "MacKinney Systems is a shining star among mainframe software vendors. Your products are always reasonably priced, reliable, easy to install, and are very well supported. MacKinney Systems is always the first place I look for a software solution for our zOS and CICS environments."
• Gary L. Monroe, Lead Systems Administrator, Spartan Stores •
(3/6/2008) "When the need here at LSUHSC for something to help in the Cobol world came up there was no hesitancy to bring VS/Cobol Interpreter in. When I installed the product and was testing it out for myself I sent a couple of emails with questions to your staff. The answers were quick and right on target and the one time I wanted to talk to someone I was provided the help I needed that in the help desk world today, you normally don’t get. Your people are professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. No follow up call needed. My questions were answered the first time. Every contact I have had with your staff has been positive. These were not problems with the product; it was me as a user getting ready to pass it along to my user community. There have been no problems!
We had mandates to move forward with upgrades on new systems software that would obsolete our existing COBOL programs-they wouldn’t run. VS/Cobol Interpreter allowed us to go forward with the systems upgrades and allow our application folks to schedule a rewrite or upgrade modification of these programs at some point in the future. Our deadline wasn’t necessarily theirs’ so they could do their part in the future long after we were through and moved on to the next project. We were able to meet deadlines that otherwise would not have been possible."
• Dennis Jiles, IT Project Coordinator, LSU Health Science Center•
(4/7/2008) "When MacKinney Batch to CICS became available as a replacement for CICS/CEMT from Batch, we did not hesitate to give it a try. Since installing MBC our production jobs are running much faster and we have experienced fewer file enqueue delays. You guys are (and always have been) fantastic!"
• Clint R. Augustine, IT Tech-Services, Siemens Communications •
(4/1/2008) "At first I thought the task was going to be scary because the Customer didn't want any interruptions much less an outage. But as I looked through the migration manual for MacKinney Batch to CICS, I was able to prepare an execution plan and present it to the Customer. The results were 100% up-time and the conversion was an easy flow. The Customer even commented they 'wished all products from vendors were as thorough as MacKinney' and I give the credit to you guys for the support provided during the implementation and beyond.
As a result of installing MBC, the batch jobs take less time to process (that's a plus, reduced CPU consumption), thus more time is available for CICS transactions. Users also like the reporting details when jobs need attention (or not), based on the return codes.
Big thanks from our customer Daltile."
• Dick Zavala, Online Technical Support, IBM Global Services •
(3/27/2008) "It works! T H A N K Y O U for the fast response, dealing with you makes MacKinney my favorite vendor."
• George Shanahan, Gordman's, Inc. •
(11/13/2007) "You've always been helpful, friendly and pleasant to work with. Keep up the good work."
• Bob Henry, Mgr., Rochester IT , SunGard Higher Education •
"... I also wanted to add a few words about the functionality and ease-of-use of the VVP/JQP/JRB family of products - all of which we use daily. We went through the process of removing all our mainframe bus-and-tag based printers and replacing them with their IP-network-based functional equivalents. That was a quick and easy process with the MacKinney products.
We also provide remote printing services for batch and CICS. We are now well into the process of removing all our VTAM/Cisco/DLSW-driven remote SNA 327X controllers, terminals and printers, and replacing them with IP-based desktops and printer equivalents. Again, this is turning out to be an easy process as well - due to the MacKinney products. We are/have changed from one environment to the other during production hours with a minimum of interruption to our customers."
• Vern Dixon, Florida customer •
"Richard has already responded about JRB and I just wanted to inform you of the programmers feelings about Listcat and MAPR II. In a nutshell, THEY LOVE THESE PRODUCTS.
MAPR II is so widely used by the application group that when the temp license expired briefly (that was before we got the permanent one), they were on me. They said they had developed many map programs with it during those 30 days and wanted no other product but it.
LISTCAT is used by them also. I used LISTCAT myself and it is a very thorough product that not only lists VSAM dataset info, but also suggests improvements. It is a good product as well."
• Dolph Dickson, System Programmer, Caddo Public Schools •
"JRB is a snap to install, configure and tailor to business requirements. The support staff provides a level of customer service that should be the envy of the industry. Price, performance and customer support make MacKinney Systems products attractive. The software works!"
• Richard C. Ladd, Department of Information Technology, Onondaga County •
"Thanks again! Julie
p.s. I'd like to note that of all the vendors I contact for support, MacKinney Systems consistently provides the quickest and most informative response. Thanks; I really appreciate it!"
• Julie Johnson, CICS System Programmer, University of Connecticut •
"I'll be retiring at the end of this year...
I have always enjoyed working with you folks at MacKinney. It's rare to find such a professional group these days. Good products, fair prices, and great support."
• Joe Poole, Boscov Department Store •
"JES Report Broker has been a godsend to our shop. When we began testing JRB in April 2004, we needed a replacement for a VSE product. In late December 2003 we switched operating systems from VSE to OS/390. Being able to use JRB to split out reports, etc. has been an efficient tool for us."
• Richard W. Kennedy, Operations Info. Tech. Dept., Caddo Public Schools •
"Thank you for the information. Your products are so reasonably priced that I really did not expect any reductions but I did need to verify. I wish all vendors had such reliable, easy to use, and reasonably priced products as yours. It would definitely make my life easier."
• Karen Leslie, Sr. Administrative Officer, County of Sedgwick DIO•
"We have recently started converting all of our report distribution to JRB. It is a very powerful tool that will handle all varieties of report distribution that we have need for and the Customer Service response has been extraordinary."
• Paul Christoffer, Technical Services Specialist, RC2 Brands, Inc •
"While upgrading to a new IBM 2066-001 mainframe, Pekin Insurance wanted to also modernize the connectivity configuration of their Solimar Print/Director system by changing the communication protocol from BUS/TAG to TCP/IP. In order to maintain data integrity using TCP/IP transfer, Pekin selected JES Queue for Printers (JQP) from MacKinney Systems. JQP transfers reports directly from the Pekin's mainframe JES queue to Solimar Print/Director and is able to append header information to each job and maintain proper carriage control codes for each print line. In addition to facilitating TCP/IP connectivity, JQP enabled Pekin to realize faster transfer rates and increased throughput compared to the previously configured BUS/TAG connection."
• Pekin Insurance •
"JQP addressed an immediate need to route print from JES2 to IP attached printers and saved over $100,000 in alternative hardware or software solutions. The trial and implementation of JQP was successful due to the quality support received from the Technical support staff at MacKinney Systems."
• Pat Moreland, J.B. Hunt •
"The MacKinney staff is quick to answer any questions I have with JQP (or any other MacKinney product for that matter). They work fast to diagnose and solve problems."
• Michael J. Giglio, Tech Support Analyst, El Paso Electric •
"The support that we have received from MacKinney Systems for their products can be summed up in one word; fantastic. MacKinney Systems sets a standard for support that is unequalled in the industry."
• Jerry Fuchs, Senior Systems Engineer, Wendy's International Inc. •
"Our experience with MacKinney Systems Software is that their software has been price competitive and reliable. Their program development tools have aided us in getting applications to production more quickly. Their support staff is always knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly."
• Jerry Bohman, Copeland Corporation •
"My experience with MacKinney Systems is cost effective and user friendly products that fit well into our software needs. Their technical support has been responsive with fixes and help with installation questions. Their products when released are very stable without the need for regular maintenance..."
• Kenneth Arbuckle, Systems Programmer, STAR Financial Bank •
"When I need software, MacKinney Systems is always my first choice. MacKinney offers quality software at a fair price and support is second to none. I wish all software companies were like MacKinney Systems."
• Terry Hall, Technical Support Supervisor, A.Y. McDonald •
"I have found over the years that the MacKinney Systems software is some of the most stable and efficient in the industry. As a Systems person you want to be able to install a product and not worry about it, that's exactly what MacKinney gives you. The Support is second to none. You get prompt responses to questions and if by some chance you ever have a problem, resolutions are quick and accurate."
• Mike Emmons, TS/DBDC-CICS Technical Support, Associates Information Services •
