What Does a Company Do After a Computer Virus? How Van Berkum Nursery Protected Their Data

Since less than 5% of landscapers from northern New England used perennials at the time, they did some careful thinking about how to create a market for their product and how to set up a “user friendly” wholesale nursery. They moved to their current location in 1990, on 22 beautiful acres in Deerfield, NH. This property was originally in the woods, thus ideally suited to their growing interest in native perennials. It is there that they set to grow and propagate quality perennials for New England horticulture professionals.

Today their business has grown to offer over 1200 varieties for sun and shade. Their plants and business model has won numerous awards.

Software Problem and Solution

I interviewed Peter Van Berkum from Van Berkum Nursery. His previous software provider was a one-man operation. The person did not have the bandwidth Van Berkum needed. They were looking for a software with better support and a solution with more bandwidth. They switched to GrowPoint and were impressed with the AGS customer service. Last year, Van Berkum Nursery had a computer virus that disabled their network and GrowPoint. After talking with Rick Goff at AGS, he quickly set up GrowPoint Cloud and set up GrowPoint with minimal down time. It was during a very busy time at Van Berkum Nursery. They had huge computer problems, the hardware provider had a major illness and was out for months, they were not getting support. Rick Goff at AGS switched them that day to GrowPoint Cloud.  They discussed it after with Rick, it did fix support problems. Then later they talked about switching permanently to GrowPoint Cloud and they did.

What Made AGS Software Solution Stand Out Over Others That You Researched?

The  vibe, others were more expensive, I did not feel we would get more from other companies for the price. I helped develop production module, discussed it with Rick Goff at AGS, who developed the solution with me, Rick could get it to work for us.  

What Feature Of GrowPoint And GrowPoint Cloud Was Most Appealing?

Just last year, I went, with hesitation to the cloud because we get a lot of interruptions with our internet.  After I spoke to Rick it was  quicker and smoother. Everything else was great, I talked to others who switched, and it was great, very little problem with connectivity, and successful.

 

Have You Had Any Security Issues With GrowPoint Cloud Resulting In Loss Of Data Or Data Corruption?

No

Do you use Office 365 (Microsoft 365) features like One Drive or SharePoint into your daily business?

We just started 2 months ago. It works fine, Rick talked us into it. We have been using it, and it is working fine.

What Was He Most Impressed With? 

I like having support. I know when I need them, sometimes I have to wait if customers have bigger fires, I like how the production module interacts with everything. I live in contact manager, it is a very helpful module. I personally use only half of what AGS has to offer, and have not learned the rest, or some don’t apply, I think it’s a neat program.

What Plans Do You Have To Use Our Solution In The Future? 

We will survive, carry on and learn new ways to apply going forward.

Final Thoughts

I enjoy working with AGS. Great team, my business is too much to be a one-person show, but I also don’t want to be a cog. AGS is a good match for Van Berkum and cost-effective solution for me.

If you are looking for an affordable secure Cloud Software, contact us to learn more about GrowPoint Cloud.