Suntower Systems recommends and uses the Firefox web browser.
Suntower Systems recommends and uses the Firefox web browser.
A Quarter Century Of History
The principals
of Suntower Systems (and most of our other team members, as well) hail from Ireland, both
the Republic and 'The Six Counties'. So don't be surprised if you hear a soft (or not so
soft!) brogue at the other end of the phone when you call! In fact, many of us still speak
an seán teanga (the old irish tongue).
Suntower Systems opened
for business on 12 May, 1985 initially to provide network consulting to automotive and
related manufacturing companies in the Detroit area. We quickly began getting requests for customized accounting applications to replace expensive main-frame and proprietary systems at local shops.
The company logo was a stylized version of an actual place in Ireland 'Tír Na Greinne' ('Tower Of The Sun') in County Mayo. In the legend, it was a place where Irish heroes went to acquire powerful abilities and be able to see into the future. (Of course, many of our customers thought it was just a bar graph going up, up, up.)
Through word-of-mouth,
more and more requests for the same core accounting package began to pour in. Faced with
the unenviable task of `re-inventing the wheel' for every customer, the team created a
core application in which everything the user sees is 'data driven.' This means that every
part of the program in which users interact: The screen display, data entry screen, report
and even the menu system, are stored in a database. This allows the software to be easily
customized by the user (creating their own reports/queries) and by us (modifying data
entry screens) so that every customer can get, in effect, personalized software, without
the custom price.
The other major advantage of this approach is one of reliability. Since the core logic of the program remains the same, the reliability of the program is unaffected by changes in the user-interface. And reliability must be the main criteria in choosing an accounting package.
But there was a problem: How do we sell a low cost,
reliable multi-user accounting system without low cost, reliable networks? So in the
spirit of DIY, we began researching ways to provide complete packages for our customers.
We found LANtastic® from Artisoft,Inc.
By 1996 Suntower Systems had served over 5000 customers throughout North America and published applications for eight vertical markets. Additionally we continue to increase our networking business by offering Groupware Management Services for several Fortune 500 in Southeast Michigan.
So now we are authorized Microsoft Solution Providers, Novell Netware Dealers, Artisoft LANtastic Advantage Partners and IBM Certified System Engineers. Please contact us for all your networking needs.
In January of 1997, Suntower Systems opened a new branch
office in Seattle, WA. The Seattle is now home to all Simple
Accounting development, while the Westland, MI office remains the corporate
headquarters and the home base for networking services.
To mark this turning point, we also changed our image a bit (note the spiffy new logo, courtesy of local artist Danielle Cameron). The new logo embodies our new Northwest optimism. A quality we hope to transmit to all our customers, everywhere.
In May of 1997, the first fruits of our time in Seattle were
realized as we shipped Simple Accounting for Forms Experts Windows Version 2.0 (WinSAFE
2.0 for short!) The good news is that within the first thirty days, over 400 units were
shipped---the strongest initial response to Simple Accounting products ever!
OK, but we had something else even bigger in
mind: the Internet, of course! You see we already had the technology to turn SAFE into WebSAFE: a complete web-based
accounting solution for you and your customers that runs concurrently with your in-office
system. Two years before anyone else, we were doing integrated, web-based transactions.
Not just 'web catalogs'.
Now Suntower Systems delivers SAFE Enterprise Edition, the latest version of our Simple Accounting software for forms distributors. The only complete solution for all size distributors of forms and office products.
In 2004 Suntower Systems debuted SAFE SQL, the sixth major release of Simple Accounting for Forms Experts. SAFE SQL is
designed specifically to allow the largest distributors (or those who plan on
it!) to completely integrate their company, their customers and their suppliers
in a seemless network. But that's just in January!
To find out what we have in store after that, take a look at What's Next For SAFE!
