Possibilities - BT North America's TBBS is True Information Provider

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

BT NORTH AMERICA'S TBBS IS TRUE INFORMATION PROVIDER
----------------------------------------------------

*** From March 1993 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1993 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

BT North America's TBBS is a True Information Provider on Tymnet
by Alan Bechtold

Value added data networks (often called packet networks) provide 
communications links between cities throughout the world.  They provide an 
alternative to direct telephone dial-up modem connections for data 
transmission.  These networks can reduce costs and provide billing support 
options in many applications -- both nationally and internationally.

BT North America's Tymnet value added data network connects to more than 
1000 cities world wide. An array of commercial online databases and private 
networks as well as millions of computer owners now use the Tymnet network.  
Commercial online services such as BRS Information Technologies, Charles 
Schwab and Company, CompuServe, Dialog, Meade Data Central, TRW -- even the 
USA Today Sports Center.  The network is also used by hundreds of businesses 
to connect branch offices and to carry out countless other day-to-day 
business communications activities.

The Tymnet network was founded more than 20 years ago, to serve users of the 
many time-sharing database services that began operation during the '60's. 
Today, BT's Tymnet network is one of the two largest value-added networks in 
the world.

With so many different remote PCs, terminals and mainframes calling into the 
network to connect with one another, the need for a customer information and 
help service, available right on Tymnet, 24 hours a day, is imperative.  
Today, this information task is being handled by a 32-line TBBS system 
running on a single PC which is wired directly to a Tymnet node.

It wasn't always that easy.  Tymnet's TBBS online information system 
replaced two mini-computers which used to handle the task.  According to the 
company, TBBS does the job better than the mini-computers and saves 
thousands of dollars in the process.

Dirk Heartman, currently BT North America's EDI Product Manager, was the 
company's Sales Support Manager when the order came down to replace the two 
DEC PDP 10 mini-computers which used to support the system.  "These are 
obsolete technology, really," Dirk said.  "We originally had this 
information service written on the DEC PDP 10s, but we found we had to have 
a computer programmer who maintained that system.  There was a limited 
degree of flexibility -- you could add a new item to the system, for 
example, but to do anything really creative, we had to have this programmer 
code it.  It didn't allow for enough flexibility in terms of text files and 
databases.  It became cumbersome and time-consuming because there were so 
many files to maintain and the actual cost was getting prohibitive."

Told to find a more effective replacement for the old system, Dirk went to a 
the Director of MIS and asked him what could be done.  That's when it was 
suggested he should look into setting up a BBS to handle the task.  "We did 
a review of the various available bulletin board packages and, for our 
needs, TBBS was the best in the marketplace," Dirk said.  "It was really the 
only truly serious business bulletin board system package available."

Dirk described bringing TBBS into the picture as ground breaking for the 
company.  "We have a huge installed base of Sun Microsystems and IBM and DEC 
computers and there were always skeptics who said it would never work that 
well."

He went ahead with the design specifications and business requirements 
anyway, bought TBBS, brought it in-house and cabled it into the Tymnet 
network.  The benefits of using TBBS presented themselves almost 
immediately.

"We saved a large amount of money," Dirk explained.  "Maintenance has been 
the major savings.  Rather than having COBOL and PASCAL programmers involved 
for changes and updates, with TBBS we could basically hire someone who is 
fairly astute in knowledge of personal computers to handle the system's 
operation and files.  Things are now extremely flexible in terms of 
monitoring the system and updating it.  Now the system has really proven 
itself and the company has really embraced the technology."

The Tymnet TBBS online information system helps users find out what local 
phone numbers they should dial to access all the services on the network and 
provides detailed information about those services.  In addition to offering 
access to technical information the Tymnet TBBS also has an online store 
where users can order a variety of technical manuals, and much more.

To access the system, users call a local Tymnet node, just as they would to 
connect to any other online database or service on the network.  When 
prompted for a user name, however, callers type INFORMATION instead of a 
name.  This sends them to the BT North America TBBS online information 
system.

Realizing that most personal computer users are accustomed to online help in 
most of the applications they run offline, the BT system also sends users to 
the Tymnet TBBS online information system whenever they type HELP anywhere 
on the network.

The ability to easily update files was an important consideration when BT 
North America chose TBBS.  Because users turn to the system for help with 
their questions, it's loaded with a large variety of files designed to 
accommodate their needs.

"We had over 200 information files which we ported over from the old 
system," Dirk said.  "The TBBS we now operate currently goes down to four 
menus deep.  It's just an incredible amount of information."

In addition, the information on the system is constantly changing.  "We're 
always expanding the system," Dirk said.  "Whenever we set up a rotary in a 
new city, or a new 9600 bps access point, for example, we needed to be able 
to update that information on our online system quickly."

To make that goal a reality, current BT North America online information 
system manager Gary Masters put TDBS (the TBBS option module which brings 
xBase language capabilities to the TBBS environment) to work so information 
could be entered into the system as easily as it is retrieved.  "Gary's been 
able to drastically improve the accuracy and timeliness of the information 
offered," Dirk said.  "Now, with the aid of TDBS, we've built a few master 
files from all that information and allow the users to pull certain fields 
out of it upon request.  This beats maintaining a lot of separate files, 
which was time consuming and difficult."

Dirk said the system drastically reduces the number of calls to the 
company's 800-number customer service lines, so keeping all this information 
available in the most accessible way was a top priority with Tymnet.

The ability to easily alter the information on the system made updates an 
easy task too.  "We have numerous groups -- our networking engineering group 
and our installation group, for example -- dialing in to the system and 
updating different files on a continuous basis," Dirk said.  "Now, updating 
the information is part of our ongoing procedure for installing nodes and 
rotaries, so all the information is kept constantly up-to-date."

Information providers that are customers of BT North America call the 
company's TBBS online system to update their own information.  They can also 
download lists of new access points and other late-breaking network related 
news, which they then provide to their customers.  This made TBBS' vast 
array of possible security levels another important factor when BT North 
America selected the software.

"It allows us to set up special access so our various license users can 
update only certain portions of the database that pertain to their 
particular services, while restricting their access to other portions," Dirk 
said.  "It also removes the need to have one person who has to input all the 
data that goes into the system.  The people with the information input it or 
update it themselves."

Because the system is dialed up by so many different users running so many 
different kinds of computers -- from Commodores to IBM PCs, Macintoshes to 
mainframes -- the system's menus were purposefully kept simple and 
straightforward.  Each menu is presented in simple ASCII text form, with 
each option leading logically to secondary menus of related information.

Still, the ability to shape TBBS' menus to fit BT North America's needs was 
an important factor.  "We have a large installed base of users and we didn't 
want them to have to go through any kind of transition, migrating to the new 
system," Dirk explained.  "Part of the challenge was to make the new 
information system have the same look and feel of what the DEC PDP 10 
computers offered.

"We wanted any changes to be improvements, rather than having the 
limitations of the software dictate the look and feel of the application we 
developed.  TBBS provided the flexibility to make that a reality.  We now 
have millions of Tymnet users and, if you support a lot of users operating 
varied systems, you also have to keep it simple."

Things are different, however, when BT North America employees call in to 
update the system.  "When our people are on the system updating the screens 
and files, they often use full-screen TDBS applications that allow them to 
easily update the databases or upload entire files," Dirk said.

After nearly three years online with TBBS and TDBS, Dirk said the company 
has gained enough experience with the software to create additional 
applications, some of which are already being put to use.  For example, the 
company has purchased another TBBS/TDBS package and used it to set up an 
information retrieval system for use by Tymnet sales personnel who need to 
have updated product information and pricing at their fingertips.

With the success he's experienced setting up the TBBS online information 
system, and now that other TBBS/TDBS projects are underway, Dirk said he can 
see a change coming in the way online information is handled.  "Pretty much, 
anyone with a reasonable amount of technical knowledge can get into the 
information business by using a BBS," he said.  "That's an incredible amount 
of power that was never available before.  And, with its flexible menus and 
user-friendly features, such as the built-in ability to search for key 
words, TBBS is excellent for that kind of service."

The BT North America online information system proves TBBS and TDBS work 
well with the Tymnet Network, too.  "Anyone with a large enough user base 
could benefit from BT North America's services because it's a lot more than 
any ordinary 800-number service," Dirk Said.  "You can cable the BBS 
directly to a leased line which connects to the Tymnet network.  The network 
also provides valuable accounting information to connected services, in 
addition to load routing capabilities."

BT Tymnet uses their network's load routing capability to run two identical 
TBBS online information systems -- a primary and a backup system.  If the 
primary system should ever fail for any reason, callers are automatically 
routed through the network to the secondary system, without ever knowing it 
happened.

The network also provides out-dial services so you can accept callers into 
your system, then re-route them back into the network to other destinations.

TBBS and BT North America work so well together, in fact, Dirk predicts more 
commercial information providers will be moving to BBS applications before 
long.  "Companies want to invest in technology that's here today but which 
also ensures that investment will continue to pay off by evolving and 
improving itself," he said.  "For certain applications, BBS systems offer 
superior price/performance capabilities over mini-computers and mainframes."

He pointed out that, in the ten years personal computers have been around, 
they've already passed through four generations of development -- from the 
8088 or 8086 to the 80486.

"That's what we saw when we decided to invest in TBBS," Dirk said.  "An 
investment not only in solutions today but also in a technology which will 
continue to give us an incredible price/performance ratio."

Dirk said he feels most people see BBS software today the way they saw 
personal computers ten years ago.  "Personal computers were considered 
mainly hobbyist machines then," he said.  "Now a new age is emerging where 
people are starting to treat bulletin board software as serious business 
applications.  And the reliability, functionality and flexibility we've 
found in TBBS makes it a major asset to the people that use it."

The ability to seamlessly update the Tymnet online information system, 
expand its capability and improve the accuracy and timeliness of the 
information it provides, while it saves the company thousands of dollars, 
certainly makes TBBS and TDBS a valuable asset in BT North America's 
business plan.  "Considering all the system does for us," Dirk said, "all 
the other standard TBBS functions -- e-mail, conferencing and more -- are 
nice free 'ride-along' capabilities."

When the backbone functions of a software package like TBBS can be 
considered a free "bonus," you know you're getting top value for your 
dollar.  The Tymnet TBBS online information system is a perfect illustration 
of the price/performance Dirk described in action.

You can access the Tymnet TBBS information system by calling your local 
Tymnet access number.

- END -
PS0393-3
Rev. 3/93

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

