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CDK Global Significantly Reduces Database Costs Using BTR2SQL Driver

Picture of Mertech Mertech : Feb 1, 2013 4:51:00 PM

Case Studies

CDK Global Significantly Reduces Database Costs Using BTR2SQL Driver

Industry leaders CDK Global has spent the last 40 years providing auto dealers with the software they need to grow their customer base and their business. When looking to connect their Btrieve-based app with industry-standard SQL databases, CDK turned to Mertech's BTR2SQL driver. BTR2SQL's simple plug-in architecture allowed CDK to quickly migrate their data from Btrieve to MS SQL Server, reducing their annual overhead and keeping them competitive in the Dealer Management System market.

Mertech Product Provided

BTR2SQL

In the Automotive Industry, Life Moves Fast

That’s why CDK Global is dedicated to producing Dealer Management Systems (DMSes) that keep auto dealerships ahead of the game. For over 40 years, CDK’s helped dealerships streamline their sales and marketing processes, making it easy to create lasting customer relationships.

About CDK Global

CDK Global provides integrated technology and digital marketing solutions to over 27,000 auto dealerships around the world. CDK's dedicated to helping dealers thrive in a world where customer needs, expectations, and behaviors are changing continuously.

But when you’ve been in business for 40 years, you often find yourself relying on old technologies. With CDK’s customers increasingly asking for the ease-of-access and in-depth reporting made possible by Microsoft SQL Server databases, CDK knew they needed to update their Btrieve-based app to connect with these mainstream databases. Otherwise, CDK wouldn’t be able to cost-effectively implement the features their customers needed. That’s why they reached out to Mertech.

"Mertech provided us with excellent support and helped our team quickly solve migration-related issues as they came up.”

Dan Zabowski
Sr. Director of Research and Development
CDK Global

Curbing Costly Code Changes

Independent Software Vendors looking to transition from Btrieve-based databases to SQL backends typically have two options. They can incur massive costs manually rewriting their application and migrating their data. Or, they can find a partner who’ll help them bridge the gap between Btrieve and SQL.

For CDK Global, that choice was no choice at all.

With Mertech’s BTR2SQL driver plugged in, CDK’s application now seamlessly connects with SQL databases, allowing them to address their customers’ ever-evolving needs and remain a leader in the DMS market.

“It seemed impossible to imagine running our application with SQL without spending millions of dollars over several years of development. But with Mertech, we went live after just three months of testing.”

– Dan Zabowski

New Connections, Lower Costs

CDK’s always prided themselves on helping their dealers create stable, sustainable customer relationships. Now, the company can rest easy knowing their own customer relationships are just as rock-solid. Within just a year, CDK convinced all their dealers of SQL’s worth. Every one of CDK’s customers now uses the SQL-enabled version of their application.

Additionally, CDK’s cut their own database licensing costs significantly by migrating to an open-source SQL database, reducing their overhead and allowing them to market their product more aggressively.