RJS Provides IBM i Managed Services, Too

October 1, 2013 Alex Woodie

You probably know RJS Software as a provider of forms and content management systems, with established products like WebDocs, iForms, and SignHere. But did you know that RJS provides managed services, too?

RJS has a few other irons in the IT fire besides its shrink-wrapped forms and document management products for IBM i, Windows, and Linux servers. You might recall that the Burnsville, Minnesota, company made a series of acquisition over the past few years. In particular, the purchase of managed services firm EpicScience, completed just a year ago, did much to diversify RJS’ business.

EpicScience brought with it some established managed services customers when it joined RJS last year. Among those companies is Carl Bolander & Sons, a construction firm based in St. Paul, Minnesota, that uses the IBM i-based eCMS application from Computer Guidance Corp.

Bolander is a sizable firm that employs more than 200 workers during the peak summer season, and brings in about $50 million in revenue every year. But as a construction company, Bolander is averse to spending more than it has to in order to keep its computers running.

For the last 20 years, Bolander has relied on EpicScience (now RJS managed services business) to manage not only its IBM i environment, but its Windows and networking environments, too, according to a recent case study posted to the RJS website.

The company estimates that if it was managing IT by itself, it would have to spend 20 percent more than it pays RJS to do the same work, including systems administration, programming, database management, and networking. “That’s why you hire consultants,” Bolander CFO Tim Gillen says in the case study. “They’re reasonable in cost. You use them only when you need them and you don’t have to carry the expense of in-house staff.”