Integrating mainframe e-mail with the Internet
Baker & Taylor Books is the largest supplier of English language books
in the world. In its primary role as a book distributor, it supplies many
of the Academic, Public and School Libraries throughout the United States
as well as internationally through subsidiary and joint venture companies.
The company centralizes it's I.S. operations in Bridgewater, NJ from where
around 1,800 users access IBM's OfficeVision/MVS e-mail product locally and
remotely via dial up PC's.
Given the academic background of many of Baker & Taylors Customers, most
are experienced and active users of the Internet. This has prompted many
internal users to demand connection from the in-house OV/MVS e-mail system
to the Internet to speed up communications and improve response to customers.
As a result,
OfficePath/SNADS
from ReSoft International has been installed to provide the gateway to the
Internet. Via the Advantis IMX network, users on the OV/MVS system can send
and receive electronic information from the Internet in the same way as they
create and address information between internal users.
"OfficePath has provided us with a very cost-effective vehicle for
communicating with the Internet without having to make major changes to our
internal systems environment" comments Lester Thierwechter, Manager of
Systems Programming at Baker & Taylor. "The product was easy to install
and requires very little support".
