Are You International

Are You International?

To maintain your competitive position in a world which seems to move faster every day, you'll need superior communications abilities. How can you ensure that you'll have them?

• You can build your own international network. But this involves much more than substantial capital outlay. You must have the technical resources not only to select, acquire, install, and maintain both hardware and software, but also to continue to meet technological standards and provide local service and support. Even a network of modest size and scope can take years to build. Can you afford to wait?

• You can use common carriers. Often simple data pipelines provided by national telephone utilities, these carriers interconnect with other utilities at every border. Government regulations, application, billing, and even access procedures vary from one country to the next, as do the services that may (or may not) be available. A rather cumbersome alternative and, as with any chain, only as strong as its weakest link.

• You can use IPSANET.

IPSANET Is International...

I. P. Sharp Associates already has a network — privately-owned and operated, state of the art, international, and in place. With local access from 800 cities in 65 countries and territories, we're anywhere and everywhere you need us, right now. Our network specialists are international too, available around the world to offer immediate solutions to your communications needs.

…Flexible…

IPSANET can handle all of your communications. Or, if you plan to build your own network, IPSANET will tide you over. IPSANET can even act as your missing link, bridging any gaps in your existing network and providing a cost-effective solution for lower volume requirements.

...Integrated

IPSA is the only network company in the world to write and support software for the mainframe and the network itself, as well as for pc's and local area networks. Because we have complete control over our technology, we've been able to grow with the changing demands of the marketplace, and provide consistent, integrated service from the application used to generate the data through its transmission to its reception at the other end.

Lightning Response

Since IPSANET's beginnings, we've made the most of communications technology to deliver the fastest response time of any international network. Our own high speed land lines, combined with the link protocol we developed to control data flow between nodes, ensure that IPSANET delivers the greatest efficiency with subsecond response.

We've optimized IPSANET to provide the best service for interactive use, but that's not all it can do. Support for batch protocols allows the transmission of larger amounts of data at lower costs. Such transmissions can also be directed to printers or tape stations connected to a network node.

Reliability By Design

The unique configuration of IPSANET guarantees maximum reliability. Each node in the network operates independently of the others. If there is a problem in one location, transmissions are automatically routed through adjacent nodes. And the entire network can be controlled and managed from any location. With no reliance on a central control, it's virtually impossible to bring down the network. In fact, since its establishment in 1976, IPSANET has been in continuous commercial service and has never had a complete shutdown.

IPSANET is monitored from seven locations around the world, around the clock. Our line monitoring capabilities are so sophisticated that we can, and do, alert local telephone companies to potential line problems, offering diagnostic information, long before our users notice any degradation in service.

Secure Data

Provision for the integrity and security of the data in IPSANET has been an important part of its design from the beginning. We've passed the audits of many critical, security-conscious clients (federal governments and Swiss banks among them), and are assured that IPSANET data security is second to none.

We also support special encryption devices, for an application which requires extra-special security.

Our network technology is based on packet-switching. Data is assembled into individual packets to make the journey through the network, and is disassembled at the receiving end. Our proprietary retransmission protocol checks each packet as it passes through each node and automatically detects and corrects any transmission errors.

Dependable Support

The same dedicated professionals involved in the development and operation of IPSANET throughout the last decade are still with IPSA today, and are more than ever committed to providing you with the ultimate in network service.

We maintain complete operational responsibility for the network, meaning you don't need any expensive technical resources on your staff. And we are locally represented in 24 countries around the world, so you can count on quick response to your problems, wherever you might be. We naturally use the network ourselves for intracompany communication, and that particular network expert you need, physically half a world away, is really only half a second away.

Connect To IPSANET

We offer worldwide support for an impressive array of devices. This includes ASCII asynchronous terminals (such as pc's and word processors), IBM 3270 series Information Display Systems, bisync devices emulating 2780/3780 protocols, X.25 pad's, line printers, and magnetic tape drives. Access to IPSANET can be tailored to the requirements of each location -wire directly into a host mainframe, dial in, use a leased line, or install a node at your site.

IBM host-based TSO. IMS, and other SNA 3270 applications can be accessed economically from asynchronous IBM pc's anywhere in the world. We provide full support for the X.25 international standard, with interfaces to most major public networks, including Austpac, DCS, Datapac, Datapak, Datex-P, PSS, Telenet, Telepac, Transpac, and Tymnet.

IPSANET also connects with the Telex network, so you can send a crucial message or receive some important data, even when you only have a Telex machine available to you.

Connect Through IPSAMET

IPSANET can do much more than connect you to the I. P. Sharp Online Service. Some 30 different host computers running IPSA mainframe software are linked into the network now, and the remote users of those mainframes are enjoying the same worldwide, reliable service from IPSANET as users of the Online Service.

Because we support standard X.25 connections, a host computer which is not running IPSA mainframe software can be connected with remote terminals through IPSANET. X.25 pad's handle the connection between your remote terminals and IPSANET; another X.25 link interfaces between IPSANET and your mainframe.

Remote batch transmissions to and from other services under program control are possible too. Using DIALOUT, you can upload or download data between the IPSA Online Service or your mainframe and another computer which is not necessarily running IPSA's communication software.

How Can IPSANET Serve You?

To some of our clients, we're simply a carrier — albeit a superior one — for applications they have developed themselves. Others have approached us with an idea, and we've helped them develop it. Still others had a joint venture in mind, combining APL software and the network to make a system with applicability to many users.

All of them depend on the reliability and efficiency of IPSANET to keep their worldwide systems running smoothly.

• A major petroleum company has an internal market intelligence system for their crude oil and petrochemical traders and dealers. Accessed from Reuters screens, all deals "done" and "considered" are entered into this system, which provides hard and soft information exchange among dealers.

• An international securities borrowing and lending application handles communication between financial intermediaries. The application allows for online negotiation of securities loans, and incorporates real-time broadcasts and updates of inventory positions. The reliability of IPSANET is essential to the success of this system, now being used by several financial institutions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

• A system for global risk management and exposure monitoring, developed especially for banks involved in international dealing, relies on IPSANET for timely communication among traders, and the provision of accurate and up-to-the-minute reports on current global exposure. At present, a dozen banks on four continents are making use of the system to control the risks inherent in international trading.

• A major, multinational manufacturer of business machines has a sophisticated international tracking system that relies on IPSANET. Terminals are installed in the offices of carriers, shippers, brokers and couriers, so that online documentation is completed at every step of a product's journey. Tracing shipments is simple, anywhere in the world.

• A large publishing company depends on IPSANET to deliver their data to the international marketplace. Their electronic information service provides continually up-to-date energy price data, essential to buyers, sellers, traders, and senior executives with price-sensitive responsibilities.

IPSANET In The Future

IPSANET is now undergoing its most significant development effort since its inception in 1973. The NET90 project will introduce a new type of node into the network, a new hardware and software design which will result in faster throughput, extended functionality, and increased reliability and availability of service. The new nodes will be phased gradually into IPSANET, adding more power where it is most needed, and without making existing nodes obsolete.

As with all enhancements to IPSANET, the changes will be upwardly compatible to the present network, transparent to the user, and accomplished without a network shutdown. One day you'll just find that performance, power, and accessibility are even better than before. And that day isn't far into the future.

The Future Is IPSANET

From IPSA's beginnings more than 20 years ago, we have been dedicated to developing technology. In our quest to meet tomorrow's needs today, we have built one of the largest, most advanced networks in the world. Our commitment to ongoing research and development is already moving our network technology ahead of its time. For IPSANET, the future is now.

I.P. Sharp Associates (IPSA) is an international software and communications company. Our pioneering efforts in the development and implementation of packet-switching network technology put us in an ideal position to fulfil a most important goal — providing the efficient and economical answer to your communications requirements.

An advanced system only stays that way with constant upgrading. Since those early days, IPSANET has been continually enhanced and expanded, and a significant part of our research and development is devoted to its future growth. We're determined to keep our network on the leading edge.

International Headquarters:

I.P. Sharp Associates Limited

Suite 1900, Exchange Tower

2 First Canadian Place

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5X 1E3

(416) 364-5361

U.S. Headquarters:

I.P. Sharp Associates, Inc.

1200 First Federal Plaza

Rochester, New York 14614

(716) 546-7270

European Headquarters:

I. P. Sharp Associates Limited

Heron House

10 Dean Farrar Street

London SW1H ODX

England

(01) 222-7033