DataExpress – it’s all in the move!

In amongst attending major events, catching up with colleagues and friends, there was enough time to move the offices of DataExpress! Now part of Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (“Data443”) and operating as a business unit, the changes have all been positive, but in the process, the much-beloved NonStop system has been on the move to a new home in North Carolina. Its new home will be in premises overseen by our good friends at Marshall Resources who have been more than accommodating of our wishes – but then again, DataExpress’ presence in the NonStop marketplace has always been one we have treasured from the very first day so calling upon those we know well was essentially a no-brainer on our part.

As for ongoing support of DataExpress’ customers we had already put a contingency plan in place and like many of our colleagues among the NonStop vendor community we are very pleased to be able to say that through our partnership with HPE, we have all the bases covered. As a silver partner within HPE’s partnership program we have turned to the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) for assistance and they came through, allowing us to make the switch while our NonStop was on the move. As we looked at a map of the United States, here we are in Dallas with our system on its way to North Carolina even as we are hooked into the ATC, now situated in Ft Collins, Colorado. All thanks to the ATC team for making this happen – yes, many thanks!

As for our attendance at major events, as a NonStop vendor no event looms bigger on the calendar than the annual NonStop Technical Boot Camp (TBC) held  as it has been for a couple of years now at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, California. Not to belabor the point, but with all that was going on around us, this was a trip we couldn’t make. Fortunately though, we have staff in California so it was left to DataExpress senior analyst, Susan (Susie) Raye, to take it all in and she did an admirable job in doing just that. News on updates for CLIMs, TCP/IP and more – all to further reduce any potential issues with the network were of particular interest. According to Susie, the session on TCP/IP failover was among the best attended session she attended during the event.

HPE certainly has NonStop on the move – moving it in the right direction by all accounts. DataExpress customers are moving to NonStop X and we have certified DataExpress on L Series so we are good for deployment on both NonStop X and wherever it appears, virtualized NonStop (vNS). However, what continues to interest us is NonStop in the world of hybrid IT. It’s talked about and featured in many HPE presentations, but like many within the NonStop community, the time has come when we do need to know more about NonStop and hybrid IT. Moving beyond simply talking about it, we are hopeful that at the next major gathering of the NonStop community we can see how it is working to the benefit of NonStop customers. Perhaps a presentation by a NonStop user who has built out such an environment would be a great next-step for the NonStop team as it looks very clear to us that this is as much a journey for the enterprise as it might be viewed as a quick-fix.

It was good to see that HPE continues to help its partners – as it was revealed early on in the event, according to Susie, when it comes to the bigger HPE organization, it is the NonStop team that has the biggest ecosystem of partners and this was certainly good news to our ears. It’s always been about partners whenever NonStop is talked about – solutions sell NonStop. And so perhaps one other item to add to our wish list for 2020; let’s hear a lot more from the NonStop sales teams not only about NonStop and hybrid IT but about the vertical markets the new NonStop is penetrating. I have to believe that this is something every stakeholder in the NonStop community would be only too happy to know more about. Yes, DataExpress is on the move and yes, HPE is on the move with NonStop. But perhaps best of all, the NonStop customers are very much on the move (to NonStop X) and that excites the NonStop community most of all!