MBX Systems

Infobox_Company
company_name = MBX Systems

company_type = Privately held company
foundation = 1995 as Drive Express
founder = Thomas Crowley
location = Wauconda, Illinois, United States
industry = Computer industry
products = Server appliances
num_employees = 55 (2007)
homepage = [http://www.mbx.com/ www.mbx.com]

MBX Systems is a privately held designer and manufacturer of server appliance hardware. The company builds the hardware that independent software vendors (ISVs) can use to deliver their software as an appliance. Its headquarters are in Wauconda, Illinois.

History

The company that has become MBX Systems was started in April, 1995 by Tom Crowley under the name Drive Express. Its business at that time was selling hard drives to consumers through mail order ads in computer enthusiast magazines. This business quickly expanded to components besides hard drives, and in October 1995 the name of the company was changed to “Drive and Motherboard Express” to reflect this expanded lineup of products.

In 1996 the name was shortened to simply “Motherboard Express.” By this time the company was selling products that encompassed the entire PC. As the world wide web gained popularity as a buying and selling vehicle, Motherboard Express began selling its entire catalog online. The company also found itself in the business building custom “white box” computer hardware for customers on-demand. This business included both PCs for personal use and server hardware.

In the year 2000, MBX built its first server appliances. In March of that year an ISV customer requested MBX’s assistance on a white box project that involved building the hardware for a new line of server appliances it wanted to offer.

Today, MBX has divested itself of the consumer component supply business and is focused solely on designing, building, and providing support for server appliances. The company is a pure OEM supplier and does not market any products under its own name or brand. The company is certified to [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MBX+Receives+ISO+9001+Certification.-a0147248118 MBX Receives ISO 9001 Certification. - Free Online Library ] ] for its quality management systems.

Services provided by the company are listed on its website in four areas:
* Design, which includes product development, branding, and marketing
* Production, from manufacturing to inventory management of components
* Deployment, which includes stocking to inventory management of finished goods
* Support for the hardware or hardware and software on deployed units

Awards

In 2006, the company was named a finalist in the Most Innovative Company – Up to 100 Employees in the American Business Awards Stevie Awards [ [http://www.stevieawards.com/pubs/awards/70_1996_12904.cfm The American Business Awards: The Stevies ] ] competition.

Key people

* Tom Crowley, CEO and President
* Len Petty, CFO
* Justin Formella, CIO
* Jill Bellak, COO
* Carl Nothnagel, Manufacturing Manager
* Kevin French, Manager of Support Services

Notes

Further reading

* [http://www.ezilon.com/more_info/25700.shtml Ezilon] (description of MBX Systems from Ezilon Web site)
* [http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196604318 InformationWeek Five Questions]
*Crowley, Tom [http://www.mbx.com MBX Systems] [http://opensource.sys-con.com/read/244363.htm "Aha! What your refrigerator can tell you about selling software"] , Enterprise Open Source Magazine, July 14 2006

External links

* [http://www.mbx.com MBX Systems Web site]