zCore Business Solutions, Inc. - Case Study

GSA Contract Award

zCore has been awarded GSA Schedule contract number GS-35F-0476U, the base contract period is July 8, 2008 thru July 7, 2013.

SBA 8(a) Certified

zCore Certified as SBA 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business. more…

Partnering with Avnet

zCore Expands Enterprise Portfolio through a Partnership with Avnet.

Certified vDoc Partner

zCore is a certified partnered of vDoc Software, a company based in Lyon, France, to extend our service and product offerings to include process automation at reduced development and maintenance costs.

zCore and Round Rock Chamber of Commerce

zCore airs on Round Rock Economic Development Partnership's video.

Business / Industry Solutions

The United States Army Veterinary Command

Migrating Business to the Web

The Client

The United States Army Veterinary Command (VETCOM) provides military veterinary services in support of the United States Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) and Department of Defense (DOD) missions in their areas of responsibility. The responsibilities of VETCOM include food safety and quality assurance, care of government-owned animals, and animal disease prevention and control.

VETCOM supports over 300 installations including Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps units worldwide. It is a world class Military Veterinary Service capable of providing quality, accessible food safety and animal care services in support of America's military, at home and abroad, accountable to the American people.

The Challenge

To meet DOD directives to make applications easily accessible from the web, VETCOM was faced with the challenge of converting over 100 existing client/server applications into web applications. Overall functionality had to be retained. In addition, all web applications had to meet rigorous access control measures to ensure the security of information.

VETCOM's breadth of services and the amount of business processes that were automated throughout the years resulted in a large number of client/server applications used worldwide. During the conversion, support and minor enhancements to existing applications were to continue in order to support the needs of end users. VETCOM had a shoestring budget with which to achieve this goal.

The Approach

zCore Business Solutions (zCore) was contracted to provide a cost effective solution to migrate existing applications to the web while limiting interruptions. A review of the current environment proved that growth using the existing technology was feasible and was the least risky as well as the least expensive of all options considered. zCore's strategy was to upgrade the environment and re-architect a solution that would allow for future growth. The new design focused on standardization and code reuse for increased return on investment in future expansion and/or enhancement efforts. Standardization of the user interface as well as the code library would reduce overall maintenance and training costs for the organization as a whole.

Security measures would be met by placing the application behind DOD recommended firewalls and protocols and providing links to the application(s) and/or the application portal from approved DOD secured sites. By using secure socket layers, network communication between the server and Army resources are encrypted, preventing hackers or unwanted resources from accessing top security clearance information. The applications would also be secured down to the field level to protect information within a record.

The Solution

zCore developed a one-stop shop solution for VETCOM in the form of a web application portal. Users have a central location (the portal) from which they can access their various applications, read the latest VETCOM-related news, as well as request assistance. The web portal was placed behind DOD's approved firewall and secured web site and security was implemented down to the field level for maximum data security.

zCore redesigned the applications for greater accessibility via the web and retained the current thick client access capabilities. The new user interface standardized the look and feel of all VETCOM applications, thus reducing the need to retrain users.

The Results

Implementation of the application portal was a great success, providing users the ability to access their applications without searching. The application portal enabled developers to move and make changes to applications and the environment with minimal interruption. Server usage was optimized due to the consolidation of applications, thus reducing space usage and increasing search capabilities. The standardized user interface reduced training time. Less time was spent showing the user(s) where to find things, thus leaving more time for business process training.

VETCOM was able to provide greater accessibility to their applications behind DOD's approved firewalls and security is further enhanced by the implementation of API level security where needed. Standard code object libraries and templates now make deployment of new applications faster.

In summary, increased accessibility allows VETCOM to provide better service and collect better statistics to meet increasing reporting needs.