Goodhart Sons Inc needed to upgrade their ERP application. When Microsoft started dropping support for VB6, the developers at Goodhart Sons Inc found that this was going to be a problem. They decided to look for alternatives and ended up hiring an external developer to rewrite the code.
After six years, the upgrade was deemed too difficult and cancelled. As time went on and their VB6 application continued to fall apart, they realized the need for a practical solution.
Goodhart stumbled across fecher and Wisej and was able to use their VB6 migration tool to convert the application to a cutting-edge HTML5 application.
The application received a fresh UI update and performance enhancements. Goodhart’s IT Manager Justin Townshend explains “The performance of the modernized software is actually better than before”. “There are only two screens for which we have to tweak some SQL queries manually and adjust what data gets loaded by default. But this is no big deal—overall, the new system performs way better than before.”
After deploying their new application, the users loved the new application and found the look and functionality to be very familiar and comfortable to their old VB6 application. This allowed the application to be deployed without any additional costs for training the users.
When using Ice Tea Group’s migration tools for WinForms and VB6, the transition is smooth. “Honestly, I thought that this offer from fecher was too good to be true.” But, after talking to the developers, Townshend decided to go for the proof of concept which turned out successful. The project was given a reasonable timeline, budget, and goals for functionality. The entire process went very smoothly, allowing Goodhart and fecher to run the final tests in September 2019.
After the ERP project was ported, there were only about 100 issues logged. While this might sound like a lot, all but one or two were minor fixes that required simple changes. The Excel functionality was restored, a rewrite was not required, and the entire project was migrated and deployed in under 9 months. Townshend joked “I did not expect any major hick-ups and we did not have them. So all I can say is that this was a quite boring project.” The Goodhart Sons Inc team was very happy with the results and achieved all their goals with the migration.
Goodhart Sons, Inc. is a fully equipped steel fabricator with over 175,000 square feet of production space and more than 75 years of experience. They are a premier steel fabrication and equipment installer that specializes in the fabrication of tanks, vessels, hoppers, bins, stacks and ducts spanning across industries like power generation, cement, chemical, graphics / converting and food handling along with plant repairs, new equipment, OEM installations.
Ice Tea Group LLC, located in Washington DC, is a worldwide specialist for enterprise application modernization and business web frameworks. We help developers and organizations stay competitive. Our mission is to strengthen and increase the value of enterprise-scale software assets by providing modernization paths throughout technology changes.
Since 1998, our services and frameworks have been used by more than 600 companies, in 4,800+ applications, over 50 countries. Some of our clients are: Fujitsu, Goodyear, Xerox, Skanska, Volvo, Merck, GE Healthcare, IFS, Air New Zealand, CBS, SAGE, Ericsson, Siemens, ASFINAG, Markel, Ameriprise, Europ Assistance.
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Disclaimer: Ice Tea Group and Goodhart Sons, Inc. make no guarantee, warranty or representations. Any projections or estimates are opinion and do not guarantee the current or future performance of the software or represent any kind of contractual obligation on our part. You should conduct an independent investigation of the software to determine to your satisfaction the suitability of the software for your needs.
