Mission Control

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Found in: Case Studies

In Brevard County, Fla., innovative modes of transportation are commonplace. After all, Brevard County is home to Florida's Space Coast, which is known around the world as the place to see space shuttles blast into the heavens.

Although many come to Brevard County fantasizing of rocket trips to the stars, some county residents have much more immediate needs -- like getting to the grocery store or regaining some of their lost independence.

In 1985, the county unveiled a service known as Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT), a bus and transportation system designed around the special needs of the elderly and disabled.

The SCAT system has many functions. SCAT offers rides for vital, everyday tasks like grocery shopping and for life-saving services like medical appointments.

"Making sure we help passengers with life-sustaining needs is our primary goal," said Joe Connors, SCAT IT manager. "We have both fixed-route and curb-to-curb service for our passengers. If people don't make their appointments, it can threaten their life."

SCAT provides 10,000 to 15,000 rides per month, Connors said. "That includes our volunteer program. These volunteers go to the frail and elderly, pick them up, and take them to the grocery store and other appointments. They'll even go in the store with them and help them get their groceries, take them home and help them put their groceries away. It's a very dynamic system that covers a lot of aspects of life."

Recently SCAT took steps to ensure future service delivery by moving to state-of-the-art Gateway equipment.

An Aging System
SCAT's old system -- which controlled bus scheduling, dispatch and other key functions -- was no longer supported, and that threatened service reliability, which in turn could threaten the lives of Brevard County residents.

In summer 2005, the agency replaced its aging internal systems with Gateway Profile Desktops; six Gateway 9515 servers, which include Intel� Xeon?processors with 800 MHz front side bus and 64-bit extended memory technology*; and three Gateway 840 storage area networks (SANs).

"The old system was purchased back in 1994," Connors said. "It was built to run on a DOS system, and there wasn't any support anymore. I kept it going for many years, but every dog has its day."

After examining its needs, SCAT decided Gateway offered a high-value, low-risk solution that provided the best response to the agency's present and future requirements. Having done business with Gateway in the past, Connors considered Gateway's service and support "phenomenal," and was confident the company could provide the mission critical hardware SCAT needed.

"It was an easy choice going with Gateway," Connors said. "It's the total cost of ownership, their pricing and their maintenance plans that make Gateway the best choice."

There are literally thousands of people who depend on SCAT to help them get food and medicine, and even go to see family and friends. Without SCAT, they might not have any other options. Thanks to Gateway, scheduling and service can be confidently maintained for many years to come.

Scheduling Success
In October 2005, with the new Gateway equipment in place, SCAT was up and running with marked improvements in performance and service delivery. And so far, the system is performing splendidly.

"The trips are being scheduled more efficiently," said Connors. "The timelines are being met more realistically. The dispatchers are definitely happier with the new system. It's much faster and smoother, and the response times from the servers are incredible."

SCAT can now do things that would never have been possible with its old, DOS-based system. For one, Connors said he can run a 1 gigabyte network connection to his dispatchers' desktops. In addition, SCAT is building a secondary site that will serve as a backup and disaster recovery center.

"We have the 840 SANs to not only back up all the servers, but they're backing up all of our critical workstations," Connors said. "And we're currently implementing a mirror site with another 840 storage unit. It's going to be in our other office, which is in another city 20 miles away."

For Connors and SCAT, Gateway dramatically strengthened a system that is vital to the lives and livelihoods of many Brevard County residents. With so many hundreds of people depending on SCAT for the necessities of life, Connors is glad to know he can count on Gateway to meet his agency's critical needs.

And he said he looks forward to a continuing partnership with Gateway.

"As we grow I will certainly give Gateway the opportunity to step up, which they've always done quite well in the past."