....and 997/ACKs are freeeeeeee! Mike Rudolph
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Art Douglas Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 10:48 AM To: 'Steve D. Becker'; [email protected] Subject: RE: [EDI-L] <Sales>VAN discussion Samantha, I will weigh in on Softshare's VAN. When I was with a former employer and we began having trouble with our bisync connection with Advantis, I investigated alternatives. I discovered Softshare's VAN and also their EDI software suite. We selected them as our vendor, and our VAN cost went down about 90% compared to Advantis. That is, we were paying 10,000 USD per month to Advantis, and we with Softshare the cost was less than 1,000 USD per month. Our traffic was about 10,000 transactions per month with about 50 TPs. The level of service was as good, but customer service was immeasurably better. Softshare charges include a one-time mailbox initiation fee, an annual mailbox rental fee, one-time setup fee for each trading partner that needs an interconnect, and a per-transaction fee. No kilo-characters, no archiving, no interconnection, and the price is the same regardless of time-o-day. Pre-paid blocks are available which lower the per-transaction fee. Softshare has redundant systems around the world, so if the US goes down and you have connectivity, they will route your traffic through Europe. They have high-speed interconnection agreements with every VAN I have ever needed to interconnect to, and when I need an interconnect with a Finnish VAN none of us had ever heard of, they created a link with them as well. They have a good up-time record, except yesterday they couldn't interconnect with you-know-who. They notified their users of the GXS problem, kept us apprised, and let us know when the problem was resolved. Because nobody who isn't a competitor ever says anything bad about Softshare, people think it's a fairy tale. But I say, if you buy their software or services and live happily ever after, it's because you have good judgment and a great attitude. :) I am now a Softshare rep. If you decide to investigate their offerings, please let me introduce you. It will help me pay my ISP bill so I can continue to post valuable information for all of you on EDI-L. Art Douglas Chief Consultant Blackwater Network 877-464-8915 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steve D. Becker Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 6:05 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [EDI-L] VAN discussion Samantha - I think if you search the archives for this list, you will find a lot of commentary on various VANs because they are a frequent topic of discussion. For my part, I will summarize statements I have made previously regarding our experience with Inovis: As a VAN, the reliability of their infrastructure has been good and their customer service has been acceptable to good. The problem we have had with them is that their first line of support generally lacks experience and training, and it is often a struggle to get past them to the people with the knowledge and authority to actually fix a problem. As an organization, they clearly value the time of their qualified technical people over their customers' time. Unfortunately, this situation is hardly unique to Inovis. Regards, Steve Becker Sports, Inc. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Samantha Scott Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 6:51 PM To: gis3 List Subject: [EDI-L] VAN discussion That's an excellent idea, use this as a forum to discuss alternatives. In previous positions I have been a long term Sterling customer so I don't need sold on them but at this new place my volume is much too small to warrant fabulous price breaks from all comers. I am interested in some alternatives and am entertaining new possibilities. Towards that end, does anyone have anything to offer by way of opinion on Inovis, EasyLink or others? ICCNet has not returned multiple phone calls so I have to assume they aren't interested in our money. Opinions anyone? ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Groups gets a make over. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/hOt0.A/lOaOAA/yQLSAA/OIFolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ... 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