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 Prevent Accidental Shutdown 800-445-8296 |
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The Beginning
As a Data Center Manager for TRW, I was worried about the buttons and switches on the equipment in our Data Center. Being an Engineer, I decided to design a protective cover for the 3370 Disk Drives. I had it built by a neighbor of mine who was in the plastics business. It was a clear acrylic cover and it worked great. So great that our IBM CE wanted some for his accounts that were calling for service after they accidentally pushed the write protect button on their 3370's. Sensing there was potential for a product, we launched a magazine ad in the March 1982 issue of News 34/38. When the ad hit, we had hundreds of orders for the 3370 Datacovers. A business was born!!
IBM had a habit of putting all the critical buttons and switches right out in the open where people could get at them easily. At first this seems like a logical design choice, but in reality, it was a disaster. People in the Data Centers where the equipment was being used could and did, accidentally push or flip a critical switch bringing down a section of their operation or the entire system. IBM was somewhat aware of this, but did not consider it a huge problem. Then they designed the First AS/400 machines. These rack mounted machines had buttons and switches all over them, right where a shoulder pad, knee or hip could make contact. Our business tripled. We now had Datacovers for the mainframes, the System 34', 38's and the AS400's. Soon the AS400 cover shipments dominated our product mix. This was great for business. However, the IBM customers were mad as hell at IBM for doing something so stupid. IBM called us and wanted us to send them 20000 copies of our catalog, which we did. They put our phone number on their Proffs System and made it available to their customers. We were happy.
By 1990 our annual sales were about a million. We knew that IBM was working on correcting their problems, but did not know how or when it would happen. Then they announced the new AS400 Black Box. The Black Box took the place of 3 console racks of old AS400 equipment. There were no buttons or switches exposed on the new Black Box and it was the size of a two drawer file cabinet. A great engineering job by IBM, but not too good for the Datacover business. Slowly our sales began to fade. More and more of the older style AS400's were being replaced by the new Black Box 400's. By 1994 we were reduced to 1/8 the size we were in 1990. Success for IBM, major problems for Datacover Inc.
We printed our last catalog in 1994, and drained the bank account to do it. The decision was made to shut down Datacover Inc. We filed for dissolution of the corporation and Datacover Inc ceased to exist, at least as a corporation. My partner refocused on his plastics business and I started MIS Associates Inc to sell Inkjet Refill kits. Because MIS Associates retained the 800 line for Datacover, we were getting some calls for Datacovers. We produced them and shipped them to the customers. The volume was very low, just a tickle. MIS launched the Datacover website, www.datacover.com, to service those who still had a need for protective covers.
Today, MIS Associates Inc manufactures Datacovers as shown on the datacover.com website. It is not our main business, but we felt obligated to keep the Datacover product line going for people who depend upon them for security and peace of mind in their Data Centers. Our main business is selling supplies for inkjet printers and digital printing. Take a look at our website, www.inksupply.com. If you need a Datacover, browse through our web site. If the cover you need is there, place the order using the shopping cart. If it is not there, dial 800-445-8296 and we will make it for you. |
