



	=================================================================
	      @@   @@@@@        @@    @@@@@  @@     @@   @@@@@
	     @@@   @@   @@     @@@   @@   @@ @@     @@ @@    @@   =======
	    @@ @@  @@   @@    @@ @@ @@       @@     @@  @@        o o | o
	   @@  @@  @@@@@     @@  @@ @@       @@     @@   @@@      | o o |
	  @@@@@@@  @@   @@  @@@@@@@ @@       @@     @@      @@    o | o o
	 @@    @@  @@   @@ @@    @@  @@   @@  @@   @@  @@    @@   =======
	@@     @@  @@@@@  @@     @@   @@@@@    @@@@@    @@@@@        
	=================================================================
	A Quarterly Review of Developments                      ON-LINE
	in Business Computing for                               WINTER 1993
	Executives and Managers                                 Vol 3, No 1
	=================================================================
	Published by:
	Meliora Systems, Inc.
	Rochester, NY, USA
	
	
@CREDITS        
ABACUS
A Source of Information You Can 
Count On

Abacus, a  quarterly publication of Meliora Systems, 
Inc., covers issues and developments in the field of 
executive and managerial computing.  Topics covered 
include Executive Information and Decision Support 
Systems, Database Management Systems, Expert Systems 
and Client/Server computing.  If you or any of your 
colleagues would like to receive a free subscription, 
or back issues, please contact Carrie Parker at the 
address given below.   Also available are technical 
reports which provide evaluations of a wide range of 
application software used in EIS, DSS and database 
management.  This technical report series is called 
Tools of the Trade.   

Publisher
Gordon A. Rogers

Managing Editor
Mike Gilbert
COMPUSERVE: 70742,3173

Copyright   1991 Meliora Systems, Inc.  All rights 
reserved.
95 Allens Creek Road, Bldg. 2, Suite 302
Rochester, NY 14618
(716)461-1900
(716) 461-1989 (fax)

ABACUS is printed on recycled paper


	



				     Page 1
      =================================================================
      @TOC    (Use the "Heading" entry to find articles in your editor)
	
      Articles this issue:                            Heading         Page
	
      Meliorbilia:  Meliora Systems at Comdex         @MELIORBILIA      2
      Microsoft's Foray Into the EIS Market           @MS_FORAY         2
      Tools of the Trade: Microsoft Access            @TOOLS            6
      Press Release: Xerox' Skills & Training 
	      Database for MS-Access                  @PRESS            9
	
      =================================================================

@MELIORBILIA
Meliora Systems at Comdex/Fall


Meliora made its first trip to Comdex in Las Vegas this year, at the 
invitation of Microsoft Corporation.  In conjunction with the launching 
of its new Windows database, Access, Microsoft invited a dozen companies 
that had participated in the product's Early Developer Program to 
display their Access applications at the Microsoft booth. Meliora 
Systems was honored to be selected as one of these premier developers.  
Our application, called Skil-Trak, is an employee training management 
system developed in Access, and is discussed elsewhere in this issue of 
Abacus.  

On a related item, if you're interested in How-to books on Access, look 
for Que Books' new title Using Microsoft Access: Special Edition, by 
Roger Jennings.  The book's Technical Editor is Meliora's own Mike 
Gilbert.  

========================================================================
@MS_FORAY
MICROSOFT'S FORAY INTO THE EIS MARKET :
Charlie Chaplain on a Trojan Horse


Back in the late 1970s, when personal computers were still novelties and 
had not yet become as common as Madonna records, they were mainly used 
by technical enthusiasts and hobbyists.  The adventurous consumer could 
choose from models such as Tandy's  TRS-80, the Commodore 64 or the 
Apple IIe, all of which had different operating systems.  No standard 
had emerged yet, which had a stifling effect on the growth of the 
market.  Personal computers were perceived as expensive toys with 
limited uses, requiring the expertise of a technical wizard to function.  
It wasn't until October 1981, when IBM introduced its PC in a campaign 
using a Charlie Chaplain look-alike to persuade non-technical end-users 
to try it out, that the market really took off.  

Less than two years later, Lotus Development released its first version 
of 1-2-3, an electronic spreadsheet that allowed users to build 
sophisticated planning and analysis models on their own. Few would 
disagree that Lotus 1-2-3 was the "killer application" that was 
responsible for the rapid proliferation of PCs throughout business. 
Before PCs and spreadsheets, managers had to wait for access to the 
mainframe and plead with MIS to create the reports they needed.  Thanks 
to Mitch Kapor and Charlie Chaplain, however, anyone with a PC could 
crunch numbers on the desktop at the drop of a hat.  These two 
developments, IBM's PC on the hardware side, and 1-2-3 on the software 
side, planted the seeds of data democracy, which changed the way 
business was managed.   IBM legitimized the hardware business, by

				     Page 2
Microsoft's Foray... (Continued)

creating a standard and then making it available to anyone with a 
circuit board and a screwdriver.  And 1-2-3 gave people a reason to buy 
that hardware.  


History Repeats Itself?

One can draw some parallels between the history of personal computing 
and the history of executive information systems over the last decade.  
The earliest systems consisted primarily of colorful snapshots of 
graphical presentations of critical corporate data.  These hard-coded 
screen shots were designed for use by the least technical of all users; 
hence the term executive information systems.  But this form of 
information delivery came with a high price: the software licenses 
started at $100K and the application development budget was usually 
twice that.  These numbers are typical in a mainframe environment, but 
the sheer scale of them limited the EIS market to top executives of the 
Fortune 500.  After all, who else could afford to drop a quarter of a 
million for some pretty pie charts?

The makers of mainframe-based EIS software have been slow to migrate 
their product lines to the PC LAN environment, largely because the unit 
revenue involved cannot support the same marketing channels and sales 
cycles that $100K license fees can. Newer firms have entered the market 
with products developed specifically for PCs and priced for the desktop 
market.  Probably the best-known of these start-ups is Channel 
Computing, makers of  Forest & Trees for Windows, which sells in the 
$500 per user range.  Yet the EIS market has never really caught on in a 
big way, perhaps due to the stigma created by the traditional players, 
such as Comshare and Pilot.  

I've talked to many managers at conferences who still have the 
impression that EIS falls into the domain of the glass house, (as 
centralized mainframe MIS shops are known) where one hears the 
traditional yet tiresome chant "3 years and $3 million" being recited, 
and the warning "for MIS professionals only: not to be touched by end-
users".  No wonder the market has been limited.  Old habits die hard, 
one guesses.  

All that is about to change, however.  In November, the EIS equivalent 
of  the introduction of  the IBM  PC took place.  Microsoft released the 
EIS Builder for Excel, thereby legitimizing and democratizing the EIS 
business in one stroke.  You might say this product will open the Gates 
to a new market.  (Then again, good taste may prevail).  In any case, 
Microsoft has aimed its EIS tool-kit at a population not traditionally 
served by the more established vendors -- the power end-user.  In fact,  
it doesn't even use the term Executive Information System. Instead it 
refers to an Enterprise Information System, which it defines as a 
"software system that brings strategic corporate information to company 
employees in a way that improves their ability to make important 
business decisions".  

The Trojan Horse Principal

The release of Microsoft's EIS Builder represents a new approach to this 
market.  It outlines its strategy in the booklet that is included with 
the software, "Building Enterprise Information Systems".  It states: 
"Most traditional EISs offer a single package so you can access, format, 
and view data.  The problem with many of these packages is that their 
development tools are limited, and the solutions you build with them are 
narrow and inflexible.  Furthermore, they are typically 'one-size-fits

				     Page 3
Microsoft's Foray... (Continued)

all' and force you to use the same package regardless of your 
requirements.  In contrast to these traditional systems, with the 
Microsoft Open EIS approach you can use a broad range of applications 
and technologies to build powerful and flexible custom EIS 
applications."  

Of course it is Microsoft's hope that users will choose applications and 
development environments such as Excel, Word, Project, Access 
(Microsoft's new database manager, reviewed elsewhere in this issue) and 
Visual Basic.  In fact, you need Excel to run the EIS Builder, since it 
ships as an add-in to Excel.  However, the EIS Builder allows you to 
develop an EIS that works with Windows products from almost any third 
party vendor.  Following the Trojan horse principal of software 
marketing, the EIS Builder is aggressively priced at $99, but every user 
needs a copy of Excel to run any applications developed with the add-in 
tool-kit.  This also goes for any other products which may have been 
integrated into the EIS, such as Word, Project or Access.  If  you are 
considering developing an EIS using Microsoft's solution, the cost per 
user will depend largely on your installed base of Microsoft products.  
If you have none, and you decide your new system will incorporate Excel, 
Project, Access and Schedule+, your cost per user could be as much as 
$1000.  If you already have these products however, your only cost is 
$99 for the EIS Builder, and any applications built with it can be 
distributed throughout the enterprise at no cost.   


Four Layer Architecture

Microsoft's approach to EIS is based on an open, four layer 
architecture, which offer a useful way to visualize any information 
system.  These layers are: the User Interface Layer, the Data Access 
Layer, the Data Source Layer, and the Communications Layer.  The User 
Interface Layer specifies how data is delivered to users.  It is where 
the user visualizes and manipulates data.  It involves buttons, macros, 
dialog boxes and other elements of a custom EIS interface.  In addition 
to providing the "controls" necessary to interact with the data, this 
layer also handles the formatting of information such as tables and 
charts so they can be presented to the user.  

The Data Access Layer is responsible for getting information from 
various sources such as external databases or local application and 
making it available to the user interface layer.  The two technologies 
that provide this capability are dynamic data exchange (DDE) and object 
linking and embedding (OLE), which specialize in linking data from 
different sources together.  Emerging standards such as open database 
connectivity (ODBC) and messaging applications programming interfaces 
(MAPI) will also become a critical component of this layer.  

The Data Source Layer is where the data is stored so that it can be 
delivered to an EIS through the technologies of the data access layer.  
In Microsoft's EIS architecture, the term "data source" has a very broad 
definition and can mean data stored almost anywhere, (such as a chart in 
Project which is embedded in the User Interface Layer).  Other data 
sources include external databases such as SQL Server, DB2 and Oracle.  
Finally, the communications layer is responsible for communicating EIS 
data and other information to users of the EIS application.  The primary 
component of this layer is electronic mail.  

How do all these components work to let a user build an EIS?  The 
primary advantage offered by this package is the ability to develop a 
fairly sophisticated application without writing any macros.  Until now, 
creating a custom application required a thorough understanding of

				     Page 4
Microsoft's Foray... (Continued)

Excel's powerful yet somewhat cumbersome macro language.  With the EIS 
Builder, a utility add-in for Excel, developers can choose from a rich 
array of pre-defined macro scripts that tie an application together with 
navigation controls, custom menus, user prompt dialogs, links to other 
applications, among other features.  These tools relieve the developer 
of much of the drudgery in building a custom application, by automating 
much of the coding associated with buttons, menus, view selections and 
"bulletproofing".  When a series of these actions is created, it is 
saved as a script, which can be re-used in other EIS applications.  This 
modular approach to development can dramatically increase the 
productivity of developers, cutting programming time by at least half.  
It will also benefit  less sophisticated users, who will be able to 
choose from an assortment of  blocks of  previously written code, and 
assemble their own applications.  


A Pain in the Glass (House) ?

The impact of Microsoft's EIS Builder on the market for executive 
information systems software is difficult to predict.  It represents 
another step in Microsoft's strategy to raise its profile in corporate 
MIS shops.  This has been a major challenge for a company that became 
the world's largest software vendor by creating products aimed at end-
users.  Some would argue that companies like Microsoft are in large part 
responsible for the diminishing role of the glass house.  While these 
organizations are unlikely to embrace the solutions offered by 
Microsoft, there is a ground swell of  sophisticated end-users who will 
grab onto any tool that frees them from the tyranny of the technocrats.  
These are the people who will latch onto the EIS Builder and develop 
work group-based solutions, calling on MIS only to request data feeds, 
if necessary.  

For those companies that have taken the plunge into client/server 
computing, IS personnel will find that the EIS Pak can significantly 
enhance their productivity, by letting them off load much of the 
development effort onto the end-users.  If the intention is to build an 
enterprise-wide, mission-critical application, this division of labor 
will allow the IS professionals to concentrate on such issues as data 
structures, referential integrity, audit trails, documentation and 
quality assurance, topics that are outside the domain of most casual 
programmers.  Not every EIS fits this profile, and I suspect that the 
EIS Builder will be used initially to build prototypes and small scale 
decision-support applications.  But if Microsoft has its way, this will 
only be the beginning.  


				     Page 5
=======================================================================

@Tools
Tools of the Trade
Microsoft Access: New Windows Database Combines Ease of Use for End-
users with Powerful Application Development Features

By Michael Gilbert

If you've read past issues of ABACUS you know we are strong 
proponents of empowering the end user-providing today's "knowledge 
workers" with the data access tools to make better decisions.  
And, if you've been even vaguely conscious during any of the last 
two years, you also know that the new platform of choice for 
business computer users is Microsoft Windows-love it or hate it, 
it's here for the near term.  Until now this has created a 
contradiction.  There has been no compelling and powerful data 
access tool for Windows.

At this year's Fall Comdex in Las Vegas, Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft 
Corporation, launched his firm's advance into the PC database market 
with a pair of tool sets, Microsoft Access and Microsoft FoxPro.  If the 
early response is any sign, the Redmond, WA software giant is taking the 
market opportunities very, very seriously.  Of the two, the star 
attraction was Access, a product that has been under development, in one 
form or another, since 1986.  Built from the ground up as a true Windows 
application, Access promises to provide both easy data access for end 
users and a robust environment for professional developers.  In this 
issue I'll try to make sense of the many capabilities of this powerful 
tool.

Until now the product category 'Windows Database' has been almost non-
existent.  Like their DOS counterparts, previous competitors have either 
been too underpowered to be useful or too complex to foster the kind of 
mass-market appeal that defines successful PC software.  With Access, 
Microsoft has made the best effort so far at producing an application is 
both powerful and easy to use.

For end users, Access provides two critical capabilities, multiple 
database connectivity and an intuitive query facility.  Access can read 
and write native dBase 3 and 4, Paradox 3.5, and Btrieve files.  You can 
also import these file types into Access' format as you can with Excel, 
Lotus, and text files.  For users hungry for data stored in corporate 
SQL databases, Access is the first product to implement support for the 
Microsoft-sponsored Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard.  This is 
an open standard for interfacing with large database servers and soon 
you will be able to connect directly to systems from all major database 
vendors.  The question for most people is 'when?'  Currently the only 
ODBC driver available is for Microsoft's own SQL Server which ships with 
Access.  Vendors such as Oracle, DEC, and IBI (Focus) have committed to 
drivers but have not announced release dates.  Clouding the standards 
issue is Borland International (itself with a full platter of database 
products) and Lotus Development who head a consortium promoting an 
alternative protocol, IDAPI.  Ultimately this may be a non-issue if 
database vendors decide to support both standards, but developing the 
drivers will take time and this may stifle the excitement about Access 
among corporate users.

Complementing its connectivity capabilities is a well designed query 
facility.  Microsoft has chosen the Query-by-Example (QBE) route where 
users define which fields to extract and what criteria to apply by 
entering them into a grid structure.  Opportunities for users to 'drag-
and-drop' abound in Access.  To add a table to a query you can drag it

				     Page 6
Tools of the Trade... (continued)

from a list into the query window.  The same technique can be used to 
drag a field name onto the QBE grid.  To join two tables, simply drag a 
field from one table and drop it onto the appropriate field in the 
other.  In addition to creating queries that extract data you can also 
build ones that create tables or add, update, or delete records based on 
certain criteria simply by using pulldown menus and dialog boxes.  You 
can even build cross-tabulation queries that analyze trends and 
relationships in large databases.

As you build your queries graphically Access automatically updates their 
equivalent SQL statements which you can then view or edit.  Access 
speaks its own unique dialect of SQL (Structured Query Language, the 
standard language for querying relational databases) which differs in a 
number of ways from the ANSI standard.  This won't affect most end 
users, however, who will rarely have cause to even look at it.

After you've designed a that query looks and behaves the way you want 
you save it as an Access query object.  This object contains the query 
definition as well as information on font and column widths in the 
display window.  You can then use the query by itself or as the basis 
for other queries.  Access queries are akin to views in other database 
systems.  One unique aspect of Access views, however, is the ability to 
update the underlying tables.  Normally views only give you the ability 
to look at data.  Typically updating and adding data means the 
construction of forms or data entry screens using a complex definition 
language.  Access uses its query objects to kill two birds with one 
stone.

Once you have constructed a series of tables and queries you can use 
them as the foundation for database forms and reports.  This is where 
the real power of Access begins to kick in.  Any of you who use 
Microsoft Excel will be familiar with Wizards, semi-intelligent dialogs 
that coach users through complex tasks.  Access features two wizards for 
the creation of forms and reports.  After selecting a table or query to 
act as the basis for one of these objects the wizard walks you through a 
basic set of options, producing a rough, first cut at a form or report.  
You can then enter design mode and touch up the wizard's results.

While bland, wizard-built forms have all the functionality necessary to 
edit and create records in a table including scroll bars, a record 
counter, and VCR-like navigation buttons.  Access forms also allow you 
to take advantage of Windows user-interface features such as checkboxes, 
pulldown lists, and option groups.  For example, rather than manually 
typing a salesperson's name on an invoice form you could tie a pulldown 
list box to a table of employee names.  Users could then select the name 
quickly from the list.  Access' Yes/No data type can easily be 
represented by a checkbox.  Another interesting data type is OLE Object.  
Access tables can store OLE objects like multimedia clips and 
encapsulated spreadsheets as easily as it can plain text.  You could 
include these fields on Access forms to, say, display a photograph of a 
product along with inventory information.

Access reports are banded, that is, broken up into sections for the page 
header/footer, group headers/footers, and detail lines that are printed 
repeatedly depending on the amount of underlying data.  Designing 
reports is similar to designing forms.  You use a floating toolbox and 
palette to add and arrange objects on the page or form.  You also have a 
properties list that shows all the attributes for a selected object.  
These include physical properties such as height and color, operative 
properties, such as whether a user can update data using a given form, 
and event properties.  Event properties are used to tie Access macros or 
functions to certain events.  These routines are then run when that

				     Page 7
Tools of the Trade... (continued)

event occurs, such as when a user tabs to a field or clicks a macro 
button.  You can write event procedures to validate input, open 
additional forms, or process data.

As a user you have two options when it comes to automating database 
activities--Access macros or Access Basic functions and procedures.  
Access comes with a macro language that lets you perform common tasks 
such as opening forms, jumping to fields, and mimicking menu commands.  
Macro objects are spreadsheet-like forms where actions are selected from 
pulldown lists and conditions are entered in adjacent cells.  Each macro 
object can contain either a single macro or a set of macros, each 
assigned a unique name.  Like spreadsheet macros, Access macros are 
executed one action at a time until a blank cell is encountered.  Unlike 
its kin, however, Access does not provide any type of macro recording 
facility.  Access macros should be able to provide all required 
functionality for all but the most sophisticated systems.

If you desire a higher level of control over an Access application or 
are a developer familiar with traditional programming languages you will 
appreciate Access Basic.  A superset of the highly successful Visual 
Basic language, Access Basic is a object oriented form of BASIC with the 
necessary extensions to handle database programming.  Its suite of 
built-in objects includes Database, Table, QueryDef, Form, Report, 
Dynaset, and Snapshot objects--the latter two being specialized subsets 
of database records.  Each has a set of properties, such as Index and 
Bookmark, and methods, like Seek, FindNext, and MoveFirst, that allow 
you to control them at a very low level with a minimum amount of code.

You can use Access Basic to create a custom Windows database application 
complete with custom menus and dialogs.  In fact, the Wizards which ship 
with Access are nothing more than a combination of Access forms and 
Access Basic code.  This opens the door for third party or corporate 
developers to build specialized Wizards that can then be easily 
integrated into existing installations.

Despite its obvious attractiveness as an end user Windows database, 
Access also has robust multi-user features as well.  Access 
automatically provides record locking right out of the box and supports 
both user and group level security with a logon facility and object 
permissions.  You can set restricts on both an object's data and its 
definitions.  The execution of Access macros can also be restricted.

Now, before you start thinking that you'll be able to develop a 
corporate-wide database system or a commercial quality application with 
a little creativity and a little help from the Wizards, let me rain on 
your parade.  Despite the fact that Access is one of the most powerful 
and easy to use Windows databases to hit the market, it offers no 
substitute for database and application design expertise.  If you are a 
regular reader you know we're very critical of database software vendors 
that neglect to mention this problem in their documentation as well as 
the problems that can arise from failing to recognize it (see my article 
What's Wrong With These Numbers? in the Winter 1992 issue of ABACUS).  
While Microsoft makes a valiant effort at explaining the basic 
principles of database design in the user manual you can still get into 
real trouble real quick if you're not careful.  Remember, despite fancy 
forms or slick reports, a database application is only as good as the 
database design at its core.

So where will Access fit in your organization?  As a tool to access and 
build on pre-existing databases it has no equal.  As a development tool, 
however, it will still require a good deal of support and guidance from 
MIS professionals or consultants.  If you plan to develop an application

				     Page 8
Tools of the Trade... (continued)

for your department using Access make sure to engage their services very 
early on in the project.

Before I close let me say a few words about Microsoft's other database 
offering, FoxPro.  The acquisition of Fox Software in 1992 caused many 
to speculate that Microsoft would abandon its development of Access and 
instead pursue a Windows version of FoxPro.  In fact the company 
developed both, leading to confusion over what precisely Microsoft's 
database strategy was.  From my understanding, Microsoft recommends 
FoxPro for any organization with large investments in dBase code or 
expertise or that wants to support efficient cross-platform development 
(FoxPro will be available for DOS, Windows, Mac, and 386-Unix by mid-
1993).  Access, on the other hand, is for firms looking for a true 
Windows database and that are willing to start from scratch or have some 
Visual Basic experience.  Microsoft is still pushing SQL Server as the 
back end corporate database for both platforms.

Current contenders notwithstanding, Microsoft has fired the first 
serious salvo in the war for the Windows database market with Access and 
FoxPro for Windows.  With Paradox for Windows and dBase for Windows, 
both from Borland, on the horizon end users and corporate developers 
alike will have a wide range of choices available.  All products are 
sure to offer significant enhancements in both features and ease of use 
over current alternatives.  The real challenge will be choosing the 
product that melds best with your organizations needs and skills.  Given 
the investment necessary in both data and training this issue is hardly 
trivial.  Initial results, however, seem to indicate Access will be on 
the top of a lot of corporate lists.



========================================================================

@PRESS
Press Release

Contact:  Mike Gilbert (716) 461-1900   COMPUSERVE: 70742,3173

MICROSOFT ACCESS IMPROVES  EMPLOYEE TRAINING AT XEROX  

Xerox Corporation  is using Microsoft's newly introduced Windows 
database product, called Access, to coordinate its extensive and 
comprehensive employee training program.  The Printing Systems Division, 
which employs over 1000 people in El Segundo, CA. manufactures high 
speed laser printers.  In keeping with its Leadership Through Quality 
strategy, the company puts a great deal of emphasis on employee training 
and development, and the PS division offers over 400 courses to its 
professional and technical employees to ensure they continue to develop 
the skills necessary to perform their job functions.  

Xerox was searching for a method to keep track of the inventory of all 
the skills acquired and needed by its employees, as well as the internal 
and external courses that teach those skills.  Prior to contracting with 
Meliora Systems, Inc., a Rochester N.Y. consulting firm, to build an 
Access application to manage this enormous task, information was stored 
haphazardly in a variety of hard copy and electronic forms.  Up to date 
information on courses and skill requirements was either unavailable or 
difficult to obtain. Using Microsoft's new Access database, Xerox is now 
able to perform quick searches for employees, skills and courses using 
an intuitive, user-friendly graphical interface.  Training coordinators 
are able to query the system to determine what skills employees need to

				     Page 9
Press Release... (continued)

acquire and what courses are available to teach these skills.  They can 
then click on a button and produce a registration form for the courses 
selected, and update the employee's skills database.  A useful feature 
of the system is a message that alerts the coordinator if he or she 
attempts to register an employee for a course without having the 
prerequisites for that course.  

Sandy Puglisi, Training Coordinator for Xerox Printing Systems Customer 
Service Center, is counting on the new Skills & Training Database to 
bring a much more focused and consistent approach to Xerox's training 
programs.  "This system has increased my productivity dramatically," 
says Puglisi.   "In the past, if a manager wanted to know all the skills 
a new employee needed to perform a certain job, I would have to go 
through hard copy printouts of course offerings, check those against a 
skills spreadsheet, and  try and match the two. The whole process could 
take a few hours and sometimes produced inconsistent answers.  Now I can 
run a query and get the right answer in less than a minute.  And 
managers are able to produce their own reports, with the user friendly 
interface that comes with the system.  We can now concentrate on making 
our training programs more consistent and focused instead of chasing 
after widely scattered information to answer simple but important 
questions."  

Productivity has also increased for developers who use the Access 
product to build systems.  Mike Gilbert is a project manager at Meliora 
Systems,  a Microsoft Consulting Partner and a participant in the Early 
Developer Program for Access.   Gilbert designed and built the Skills & 
Training Database for Xerox in a few weeks, including the time required 
to learn the product.  "Many normal actions that one associates with a 
database are encapsulated in Access, which greatly improves a 
programmer's productivity.  Screen building and form design can be 
accomplished much faster with Access than with a more traditional 
database development tool," he explains.  But developers aren't the only 
ones who will appreciate Access.  End-users can benefit from features 
such as Wizards and Cue Cards to develop their own applications and 
create their own reports as well.  

Gordon Rogers, president of Meliora Systems, expects the firm will be 
using Access to develop many more applications.  Meliora specializes in 
the development of executive information systems and client/server 
databases and frequently uses off-the-shelf  database and spreadsheet 
software as components in its custom applications.  "We often have end-
users coming to us who have been trying to use spreadsheets to develop 
database applications," explains Rogers. "Despite the limitations of 
spreadsheets in these situations, people insist on using them because 
that's the only tool they are familiar with. Now that a user-friendly 
tool like Access is available, it will make it much easier to move those 
users away from their spreadsheets and give them the advantages of a 
fully functional, relational database management system.  And our 
developers benefit from the powerful programming language that comes 
with it."  

Rogers is pleased with the reaction from those who have seen the system 
his company developed for Xerox.  "I really believe that human resource 
and training departments at other large organizations could benefit from 
the system, and we are currently exploring the potential market for a 
packaged version,"   he said.

----------------------------------------------------------------

				     Page 10
