While the existing software needed to implement today's most commonly used Internet services are available from other sources, they exist in hundreds of pieces, provide only ad hoc documentation, and are virtually impossible to install and configure in an efficient fashion. Customers want the stability and functionality but require more packaging and support than has traditionally been provided by the Unix community. As a result, many end-user organizations take advantage only of the World Wide Web software provided by other software vendors and miss out on other, equally important Internet services that improve system security, simplify connectivity, provide mail and messaging capabilities, and more. Typically, these companies have bought one of the incomplete software server packages (usually a Web server) currently on the market.

• Cost Savings and Management
• Upgrade Management
• Reduced Legal Problems
• Reduced Headaches
• Reduced Complexity and Maintenance
• Fast One-step Setup
• Full Functionality
• Stability

Cost Savings

Without InToto it would require approximately 3-5 person-months to complete the installation of the software that InToto includes. Typically, system administrators who perform this type of work earn between $60-100K per year in salary alone. Thus, the time to create a local "InToto-equivalent" server software is estimated to cost about $25K in salary or $40K fully encumbered. Furthermore, system administrators are usually busy resolving immediate network problems and may be able to only spend a small amount of time each day creating, modifying, and enhancing their "InToto-equivalent", making the process even longer or seemingly never ending. One result can be a disorganized file system, non-working applications, and increased exposure to security risks. Using InToto, the software can be installed and utilized by end-users within a day.

Cost Management

Without the standard InToto upgrades, a system administrator would require approximately one additional person-month per year to individually upgrade all the software pieces included in InToto. The InToto upgrade package makes it possible to upgrade all of the software components of InToto in an hour.

If the system administrator neglects to provide upgrades then there may be a negative impact on productivity. These software pieces are constantly being improved to increase functionality, security, operability, and efficiency. Without constant monitoring and installing of upgrades, a security hole may be left open which can be exploited. In addition, productivity gains for end-users may not be realized quickly if new functionality is not added as it becomes available.

Most large organizations and many high-tech companies are sensitive to licensing issues. It is key to realize these software pieces are not in the public domain-they have legal use and distribution restrictions. Each software program is usually comprised of many pieces, each with its own legal restrictions. We provide both a one-stop license, and license tracking capabilities.

Reduced downtime. Our knowledge of Unix, networking, and telecommunications means that we know how to best configure the software we use. This improves reliability and decreases downtime. Proven quality. Our products work. New programs and newer versions of existing programs are not used until they are as good or better than commercially developed software. Since we compile the source code ourselves, the resulting software is guaranteed to be virus-free-whereas pre-compiled programs (binary versions) that can be downloaded from the Internet are not.

We have developed our own proprietary methodology to deal with the complexity of using these software pieces. Adhering to the CLIPS methodology makes it simpler for a company and is a prerequisite for maintaining support through CLIPS. The CLIPS proprietary methodology includes these characteristics:

• Consistent naming scheme for installation and use of the software
• Rational packaging of software-preventing interaction between programs, making management easier, making use of software more logical and intuitive
• Configuring and compiling for optimal utility and security
• And more!

Because our product is so easy to install, our customers' system administrators can spend their time programming, providing support for hardware and software, configuring and managing networks, and planning. Overall, it doesn't make sense for companies to develop Internet servers in-house unless they have a strong desire to unnecessarily spend significant amounts of time and money.

The alternative to buying InToto is to buy a single-purpose server software lacking functionality and security. Though some companies offer specialized Web server software, such as Netscape's Commerce Server software, they fail to provide other necessary Internet functions.

The software we use is often more stable than our competition's software. Many of the software pieces that are included in our product were key to building the Internet. Over the years these programs have been constantly refined and debugged.