Dallas-based Raxco Software specializes in defragmentation utilities, which takes a fragmented hard disk and puts each file together in one location, reducing the time the computer spends locating files. At a recent North Texas PC Users Group meeting, the company presented a number of products, including PerfectDisk 2000, which is the only Microsoft certified defrag software for Windows 2000 Pro, W2K Server, and W2K Advanced Server. Vice President of Operations Joe Abusamra chats about putting the pieces together.
How did Raxco get started, and why was the decision made to start the company?
The company was started almost 25 years ago as a provider of system management for the OpenVMS operating system. Throughout the '80s, Raxco was the leading third-party vendor for the OpenVMS environment sold by Digital Equipment Corp. In 1996, we moved into supporting the Windows operating system, seeing this as the next major growth area for the company. Our goal here is the same; to provide solutions for IT managers overseeing enterprise workstation and server Windows environments. We still provide solutions for OpenVMS, including a defragmentation utility, and now we also offer PerfectDisk 2000.
What is it about defragmentation utilities that interests you?
A couple of years ago, IDC did a study on these utilities that referred to them as "hidden gold for the enterprise." All of us at Raxco enjoy being part of something that provides huge benefits to organizations of all types, yet doesn't typically receive a lot of hype or press. PerfectDisk is being used by some of the world's largest enterprises to improve end user performance and satisfaction, reduce help desk calls, improve customer response, and save companies lots of money. So, it interests me that we have a way to bring significant value to organizations in a very cost-effective manner. As an example, we all know how much the FBI is in the news these days. Well, part of a large update of the FBI's IT infrastructure includes the deployment of PerfectDisk on over 300 servers to enhance their performance, which helps everyone at the FBI be more productive. That's very exciting.
Why should companies consider using a defragmentation utility?
Simply put, it's probably the most cost-effective action an organization can take to improve system performance and reduce costs. Just look at the benefits it can bring you. Improved system performance helps everyone from data entry personnel to sales staffs, customer support groups, sales and finance, and the IT staff. It reduces calls into the help desk, which frees up the staff's time, and it provides faster backups, which frees up additional system time. There are fewer application errors, which again reduces calls into the help desk, and it extends computer life, which reduces total cost of ownership.
What future directions do you see for the company?
Raxco is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. This status provides us with access to key Microsoft personnel, and with that comes better access to their plans. We intend to be at the forefront of delivering solutions that supplement current and future Microsoft offerings. For example, Raxco has the only product on the market that automates the offline compaction and defragmentation of Exchange data stores, Microsoft's collaboration system that is used by millions around the world. We've just released a new version of this software that supports Exchange 2000. Active Directory is something that Microsoft is driving more people to adopt, and we have some offerings in this area that we'll be introducing in the future.
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