Software and systems you can grow with, people you can count on
By Leila Lotfi

Island Business Group provides state-of-the-art software, hardware and computer services for pet industry professionals.

“Our software is customized for the niche pet market,” says Janet Simmons, vice president of Island Business Group. “We provide pet industry specific software from pet industry professionals.”
 
Island Business Group is a Microsoft-Certified Partner that provides customized solutions and custom applications for animal shelters, pet stores and animal hospitals. Their goal is to help owners keep their company running and working efficiently, productively, consistently and profitably.

“You don’t have to be computer savvy with our product,” Simmons says. “We keep it simple.”

This Westhampton Beach, N.Y.-based company started nearly 30 years ago after Simmons, a computer science major, and her husband and president of the company, Eric Mirell, joined forces.

Mirell was an animal science major during his college years. Following service in the Peace Corps, he decided to pursue his passion for computers. He wrote VLMS, Veterinary Laboratory Management Software, one of the first veterinary science software packages, which led to the creation of Island Business Group in 1992.

“We’ve been in the industry a long time and have learned patience, praise and persistence.” Simmons says. “We have all the pieces to create our own Microsoft-based product.”

“With our virtual staff, we can support anyone from anywhere, as long as there’s a computer.” Simmons says.

The Pet Shop Manager software has become one of the company’s most popular products. It allows users to keep track of grooming appointments, health records, day care and special needs for pets.

“The Pet Shop Manager is your store manager,” Simmons says. “It tracks inventory, knows who’s selling and tracks time clocks. It runs the whole place.”

Island Business Group’s software can run on a laptop or a desktop computer. One license can be purchased for use on one computer or multiple licenses can be purchased to run multiple stores. There’s no limit on how many can be installed.

“If you want to run your business and analyze it in an integrated way, this is the way to go,” Simmons says.  “Software allows users to keep everything in one central place and you can run your business off site, which is something that couldn’t be done before”

Adopt-A-Friend Animal Shelter Adoption/Clinic Management is a Microsoft-Certified program offered to small shelters and larger organizations. This software is a two-time winner of the Long Island Software Awards. There are currently more than 750 uses of the Adopt-A-Friend software between the U.S. and Canada.

“Industry and technology has boomed,” Simmons says. “The computer has evolved and so have our products.” <HOME>