Belmont, California

"Solving business problems with technology"

Established 1974    Continuously in business since 1983

Who We Are

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech was established as a part-time venture in 1974 by Bruce Grant, an ex-IBMer.  It became a full-time business in late 1983, and was incorporated in 1989.  Although still specializing in IBM mainframe Systems Programming (z/OS, OS/390, MVS), COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech has since expanded into

• Project Management and Data Center Management
• Information Security,
• Networking (WAN and LAN),
• Small Business Technical and Accounting consulting,
• Website design, upgrades, and troubleshooting, and
• Digital Telephone System installation and configuration.

	Looking for electrical or carpentry services?  Visit the website of our sibling business,
	C.E.S. Productions/Cost-Effective Solutions (proprietorship):  www.costeffective.us.

Our Clients and Their Needs

The offices of COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech are in Belmont, California, located midway between San Francisco and San Jose on the San Francisco Peninsula, just North of Silicon Valley near Oracle corporate headquarters.  We service clients throughout Northern California, and elsewhere as required.  Almost all of our Clients fit into one of two major categories:

• Fortune 500/1000 companies (75-80% of our clientele)
• Small businesses with 100 or fewer employees that wish to:
  • use their existing computer systems in a more cost-effective manner,
  • implement or upgrade a Local Area Network (LAN),
  • implement customized accounting systems, and/or
  • implement new computer software or complete systems.
  • connect to the Internet (possibly with their own domain name and website, designed and created by us),

What We Do

  The primary objective of COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS is to save each client time and money.  If we do so, we know our own business will increase, as the client company reaps the benefit of a good return on their investment, and we enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.  As proof, we have several clients for whom we've had multiple contracts .

We are confident enough in our abilities to save our client companies time and money that we guarantee the minimum Return On Investment, including reduced expenses and/or increased revenues (direct and indirect), will, within 3 years, be at least double what we have invoiced, so long as our work products continue to be used throughout that period.  Typically, the ROI in that time period is 8 to 10 times our invoice total, often even higher.

Our approach is to learn what our clients' business objectives and problems are, and what their technical and/or accounting problems are, then design and implement business solutions (which typically are a combination of technical improvements and modifications to existing practices).

  COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech has many years of proven expertise in:

• Project Management and Data Center Management
• IBM large mainframe Systems Programming
• Information Systems Security and EDP Audit consulting services
• IBM large mainframe Operator and Programmer Training
• PC User and Programmer Training
• Design and implementation of computer networks
• Website and home page creation for the Internet
• Telephone systems (analog and digital)

Proven Expertise

  Project Management and Data Center Management since 1969

• Operating System upgrades and conversions since late 1969
• System Software configuration, installation, upgrades and conversions since 1972
• Application Software configuration, installation, upgrades and conversions since 1974
• Change Management Systems: design, configuration, installation, upgrades and conversions since 1975
• Problem Management Systems: design, configuration, installation, upgrades and conversions since 1977
• Data Center upgrades and relocations since 1973

  IBM large mainframe Systems Programming since 1969

• z/OS, OS/390, MVS, JES2, CTS (CICS), ACF/VTAM

  Information Systems Security and EDP Audit consulting services

• for IBM mainframe systems and networks since 1977
• for Local Area Networks since 1987
• Design, configuration, installation and upgrades of our own Security Administration "front-end" software system, ASA/TSS^TM, since 1986
  This ISPF-based product interfaces with CA-TSS and CA-ENF under MVS-OS/390, and with all major z/OS-MVS-OS/390 subsystems, such as TSO and CICS, as well as with VAX and UNIX systems networked with MVS-OS/390 and z/OS systems.  It is also adaptable to RACF and to Microsoft system administration tools for LANs.  Three of our clients have ASA/TSS installed.  In one case, the client company has saved more than 85% of its security administration time by using ASA/TSS to replace their prior security administration procedures.  One of the results was the immediate elimination of a planned addition to their Security Adminstration staff and the eventual elimination of another position via attrition.  Please contact us today for details about ASA/TSS.

  IBM large mainframe Operator and Programmer Training since 1972

  PC User and Programmer Training since 1987

  Design and implementation of computer networks of any size, from small LANs to huge international networks:

• IBM mainframe network design and implementation since 1971
  • ACF/VTAM, TCP/IP, CICS/ESA, CICS/VS
• IBM and IBM-compatible PC Local Area Network design and implementation since 1987
  • TCP/IP, Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000, Invisible LAN, LANtastic, NETBEUI

  Small business technical and accounting consulting

• Microcomputer consulting services since 1982
  • hardware configuration and installation
  • software configuration, installation and customization
    • Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, 9x, OS/2 Warp, Windows 3.x, MS-DOS
    • Microsoft Office XP, 2000, 97, 95
    • Hundreds of other software packages (ask us!)
  • applications design and programming
• Accounting consulting services for small businesses since 1989
  • Training owners and/or staff in basic double-entry accounting, with an emphasis on differences between business and personal accounting, especially as related to taxes and business legal obligations
  • Setting up Charts of Accounts for General Ledger
  • Implementing Accounts Receivable (invoicing, statements, etc.)
  • Implementing Accounts Payable
  • Implementing Inventory systems
  • Accounting software configuration, installation, and customization
  • Implementation of manual or computerized accounting systems (QuickBooks, AccPac, Dac Easy, etc.)
  • Resolving accounting problems, whether clerical, technical, or caused by invalid accounting assumptions

  Web site and home page creation for the Internet

  Telephone systems (analog and digital):

• Digital Telephone System configuration since 1976, installation, upgrades and conversions since 1981
• Configuration, installation and programming of digital telephone switches (digital PBXs) for businesses of all sizes
• Troubleshooting existing telephone systems of any size (including Centrex, Mitel and others)
• Repair or replacement of existing telephone equipment

Contact Us

E-mail:     solutions@cesols.com	Telephone:     650-595-0310 or 650-595-5961
Headquarters:     COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS     240 Harbor Boulevard     Belmont, CA 94002-4022	Snailmail:     COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech     1179 Broadway     Belmont, CA 94002-3748

  Here are some webpages we've created with links to technical articles and short tutorials:

Comparing Mainframe Security Products

This article was inspired by the following question on a Mainframe Security Gurus online forum: "MAINFRAMERS! What is your primary mainframe security package?"

Web-Safe Color Mini-Palette

Find which colors are compatible with all browsers and which will also display most quickly whenever anyone opens one of your webpages.  This page is a quick mini-reference.

Expanded Web-Safe Color Palette

Choose from among the 216 colors that are compatible with all browsers and that will display most quickly whenever anyone opens one of your webpages.  This page is a complete reference to them all.

Miscellaneous Web Links #3

Many subjects:  Business, Jobs & Career, Internet Safety, Fun Stuff, Stockbrokers & such, September 11th, etc.
This webpage will be sporadically updated.

Websites -- Designing, Creating, Publishing, Optimizing ...

In building this website we discovered many website building tips, tutorials, etc.  We thought it good to share them.

Thanks for visiting us!

We support full browser compatibility for all of our web pages.  This webpage should display correctly on all browsers released within the last 10 years.  Please e-mail us if you discover anything wrong with this page (invalid links, image failures, non-compliant code, etc.).  Thank you.     Bruce Grant, COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Content and format Copyright ©2002-2011 Cost-Effective Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS InfoTech "Solving business problems with technology"

NOTE: Our company address changed effective Dec. 1, 2008.  We moved 3 blocks from our previous location of 16+ years!