usrgroup@utgpu.UUCP (04/06/87)
UNIX 87/etc Day 1: Role Of Unix In Corporate, Government Environments Day 1 Chairman: Edward Borkovsky, Unican Marketing Services, has consulted in the Unix market since 1981 and is on the board of /usr/group. Themes: 1/ Unix As An Architecture For Distributed Information Systems Unix In The Mainframe Environment, Unix At The Departmental Level: The MS-DOS Connection, and Unix And Networking: The MIS Perspective; 2/ Unix As A Productivity Tool - Case Studies In Implementation, Unix And Office Automation, and Unix And Electronic Publishing. Unix In The Mainframe Environment Speaker: Bob Camm, Control Data Canada, is the project manager of the VX/VE project. VX/VE is an implementation of Unix System V for the CDC Cyber 180 mainframes. Abstract: Camm's presentation will cover the factors that led to the develop- ment of a Unix environment for the Cyber 180 family of mainframes. The imple- mentation strategy was to port Unix System V to the Cyber 180 to co-exist with the Control Data proprietary operating system, NOS/VE (Network Operating System/Virtual Environment). The product, VX/VE provides a Unix environment under the NOX/VE operating system. An overview will be given to show how VX/VE co-exists with NOS/VE and how a user may effectively use both environments. Unix In The Mainframe Environment Chairman: Donald O'Shea, UniSoft, a Berkley, California Unix systems house, is vice-president of engineering with previous experience at both Amdahl and IBM. Abstract: O'Shea will briefly review the history of mainframe Unix, covering Amdahl's UTS, MaxiUnix - an internal development at Bell Labs, and IBM's IX/370. He will also describe some of the problems associated with scaling up Unix to provide the functionality and reliability needed in the corporate data centre. Finally, O'Shea will make some predictions on where mainframe Unix will go from here. Case Studies In Implementation Chairman: Conny Wylie, Conny Wylie Systems, is president of the group of con- sulting companies specializing in methodologies for exploiting new information technologies in MIS/DP settings. End-Users Case Studies: In this session, managers of Unix-based systems in the end-user environment will share their experiences in implementing Unix solu- tions at their companies. Office and legal applications and marketing data management will be discussed. Case Studies In Implementation Speaker: Gregory Crowe, Davis Polk & Wardwell, has been with DP & W, a large Wall Street law firm, since 1981. Abstract: DP&W began a Unix-based office automation project in 1978. From a single PDP 11/60 computer with a dozen terminals and printers for word process- ing, the system has grown to a generalized OA system with over 1,000 terminals and printers running off 10 Pyramid supermini computers, with both local area and long-haul networking to domestic and foreign remote offices. The current system will be described plus the key role of Unix in both the past and future development of this system will be discussed. Case Studies In Implementation Speaker: David Wadsworth, deHavilland Aircraft Company of Canada, information systems department, has been involved with Unix since 1982 in projects ranging from map graphics to office automation. Abstract: The marketing and sales department of deHavilland was faced with the challenge of co-ordinating all of its data processing tasks in a cost-effective manner. Their solution was the installation of a multi-user Unix computer ca- pable of running applications ranging from word processing and spreadsheets to sophisticated document management systems. Utilities were developed in-house to provide the user with a homogenous interface to each application. The sys- tem currently has over 80 users accessing the system through 20 terminals and 4 PCs. Case Studies In Implementation Speaker: Russ Wilton, Decima Research, is a vice-president in the information processing and operations areas, and has recently installed a 70-terminal of- fice information system. Abstract: The Public Affairs Resource Group has successfully implemented a Unix-based office productivity system in its Toronto, Washington and Ottawa of- fices. This system was designed to be compatible with existing minicomputer, microcomputer and dedicated word processing systems that were already well- es- tablished in the organization. Wilton will speak about the overall design of the PARG system and network, how it connects to the existing equipment and what options exist for the future of the system. Unix And Office Automation Chairman: Don Tapscott, DMR Group, is the director of end- user systems at DMR, responsible world-wide for company's practice in the area of integrated office, or end-user, systems. Abstract: Until recently the worlds of Unix and PCs were two solitudes when it came to providing office workstations. The Unix model was one of ASCII termi- nals attached to a multi-user processor running Unix and OA software, and high-end packages running on a bit-mapped Unix workstation. The parallel in the PC world had MS-DOS machines or Macs attached to a LAN. These solitudes are converging: LAN servers are running Unix; the unreleased DOS5 is reported to look a lot like Unix; new software products run in Unix, MS-DOS and Mac en- vironments; and other packages enable all three to run on the same LAN. Unix And Office Automation Speaker: Brian Greenleaf, XIOS Systems, developed an office systems product at Systemhouse which evolved into Renaisance and became the focus and foundation of XIOS. Integrated Networking Solutions For The Office: This presentation will document from actual experience that Unix-based office systems can be functionaly rich, cost-effective, easily administered, robust, high-performance and orientated to the non- technical office worker or senior executive. Greenleaf will describe a comprehensive approach to an integrated office network, interconnecting a variety of vendors' equipment and services, providing comprehensive local and wide-area communications, and serving as an integration vehicle for a broad range of applications software packages. Unix And Office Automation Speaker: Glenn McInnes, Officesmiths, is the founder and president of the data-base management software development company in Ottawa. The Effect Of Unix On Corporations: Within a corporation, one factor impacts organizational productivity - how effectively individuals handle information in documents which are vital to the corporate mission. The demand for multi-user departmental information systems will be dramatic. Unix will respond to the demand for fourth-generation application development tools which can be used to automate a complete application in a department as opposed to stand-alone per- sonal productivity tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, electronic mail and even data-base systems. Unix And Office Automation Speaker: Joe Novak, Resolve Logic Systems, is president of this software developer specializing in Unix-based productivity tools such as Prevail. The Age Of Productivity: This portion of the seminar is targeted at both the applications developer and the end-user of integrated business automation tools. Addressing the area of programmers productivity, Novak will cover the concepts of 4GL and application generators. For the end users he will deal with the concepts of user interface integrating all applications into a con- sistent user-friendly environment. Unix And Office Automation Speaker: Bill Zastrow, CCI, has been director of ISO marketing for the past five years. Office Power: A conceptual look at office automation from a standpoint of user requirements - what people are looking for/require in OA today: system design concepts; systems networking; PC integration; and, communications. Unix At The Departmental Level: The MS-DOS Connection Chairman: Dr. Myron Zimmerman, VenturCom, operated a systems and software con- sulting service before starting this company. Abstract: Unix is emerging as a system of choice for department solutions. Those systems serving the needs of the workgroup, the department staff, are based on providing an effective multi-user solution based on a portable operat- ing system. One of the key strategies the manager has to cope with is the con- nectivity of the departmental machine with the existing base of personal com- puters running MS-DOS. The speakers in this session will describe the techno- logies leading to an effective co-existence between Unix and DOS. Unix At The Departmental Level: The MS-DOS Connection Speaker: Richard Wesson, Convergent Technologies, is vice- president and gen- eral manager, network systems division. Unix-Based Servers - A Solution For Today's Departmental Needs: The evolution of commercial computing from mainframes to desktop PCs has not effectively ad- dressed the needs of departmental computing. Is departmental computing a dis- tinct market segment? Why has the industry failed to focus upon this opportuni- ty earlier? Wesson will offer his perspective of how emerging hardware and software technologies are seriously addressing today's rapidly expanding departmental systems marketplace. Unix At The Departmental Level: The MS-DOS Connection Speaker: Dr. Jerry Popek, Locus Computing, develops transparent network multi-user computing systems using Unix and MS/PC- DOS. Abstract: There are clear benefits resulting from the integration of Unix and MS-DOS in departmental multi-user computing networks, including sharing files, peripherals and processing power. This presentation will cover the current state-of-the-art in departmental computing in which a collection of MS-DOS users are able to transparently extend themselves into a multi-user, multi- tasking Unix host computer. Unix And Networking: The MIS Perspective Chairman: Ian Angus, Angus TeleManagement Group, is a leading independent au- thority on business telecommunications. Abstract: The speakers in this session will investigate the variety of network- ing solutions that are applicable with Unix. Networking Unix machines is a key consideration to managers of distributed installations that have to plan the total corporate MIS strategy. Each speaker will describe from his own perspec- tive the advantages of the solutions available today. Unix And Networking: The MIS Perspective Speaker: John Hime, Sun Microsystems, is director of product marketing for the workstation division at Sun. A Corporate Perspective On Multi-Vendor Networking: Imagine an installation of engineering workstations, mainframes mini supercomputers and PCs, all being able to share the same programs and files over a network - an information net- work over which teams of professionals can co-operate on project work, and can access any specialized computing resources they need. Users need no longer be content with mere computing - what they can have today is distributed computing through the de facto industry-standard Network File System (NFS) and related network services. Unix And Networking: The MIS Perspective Speaker: Jean-Francois Gorup, AT&T Canada, is responsible for liaison with MIS departments in large organizations. Network Decisions For Tomorrow And Today: You are facing crucial decisions about positioning your company's information resources for the 1990s. You are owed a clear and convincing explanation of what networks are, why you should seriously consider one, and the criteria to help you make reasonable choices. In this presentation Gorup will provide an overview of the different building blocks that compose an Information System and how new technology can help reduce on-going operation costs by providing synergy between new and existing systems. Unix And Networking: The MIS Perspective Speaker: Bob Foote, Canstar Comunications, is manager of new product develop- ment for fiber optic LAN products. Abstract: A discussion of the management information systems functions from the perspective of data and control flows within a distributed computing environ- ment. Current requirements for networking support are presented along with fu- ture demands for very high-speed, high-throughput networking capability. Unix And Electronic Publishing Chairman: Yuri Rubinsky, president of Toronto-based SoftQuad, has a background in book and magazine publishing. Abstract: Large-scale production publishing, particularly of technical works, in government and corporations, requires attention to standard procedures and systems integration. The panelists represent three views on the subject: a ma- jor hardware manufacturer that recently made a commitment to Unix; a software house currently implementing a large government publishing system; and, the consultant who created the American Association of Publishers' standard pub- lishing procedures language. Unix And Electronic Publishing Speaker: Christopher Espinosa, Apple Computer, is responsible for the operating systems and utilities software of all Apple computers. Abstract: Espinosa will explore Apple's decision to use Unix as the foundation for a technical documentation workstation. Unix And Electronic Publishing Speaker: J. Sperling Martin, Aspen Systems, is an expert on data-base publish- ing, electronic information dissemination and information interchange. Abstract: This presentation will provide some background on the concept, development and application of standardized markup languages. The diversity of technologies and device incompatibilities has resulted in problems in efficient exchange and processing of documents in electronic form. A solution to this problem, the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), is gaining recogni- tion. As part of this presentation, specific SGML applications and recent ini- tiatives will be highlighted. Following speakers will provide greater detail on examples of SGML in practice. Unix And Electronic Publishing Speaker: John McFadden, Software Exoterica, specializes in software for the in- dustrial sector of the publishing industry. He designed Abstract: McFadden will detail the components of a large industrial government publishing system which employs 80 people. The installation comprises data en- try, a mainframe computer and a photo-composition system. McFadden will dis- cuss the hardware and software components and how they are integrated. ............................................................................... The Conference Guide for Unix '87/etc was produced by ComputerData magazine, on behalf of /usr/group/cdn and Communications 86. For more information on the conference or tutorial program call GSC Services at 416/883-1103.