If you read the previous paragraph you might be forgiven for taking those claims with a pinch of salt. The Templar SX product matches TI s strategy to pursue an Internet solution, so TI obtained a license and tested the claims. This came to fruition in mid-1996 when a pilot system with Avex Electronics in the United States went live. Based on this, U.S. EDI Operations has targeted six more trading partners to join the program this year. European EDI Operations based in Sunbury in the U.K. has obtained the buy-in of two large corporations and have had discussions with several others.
Interest is very high.
Because of U.S. government restrictions on levels of encryption, TI has purchased a second copy of the Templar SX license for international use outside the United States. The project with Avex has demonstrated that cost savings of several orders of magnitude can be realized when compared to yearly VAN costs. However, cost is not necessarily the prime factor for using the Internet, according to Thomas St. Peter, TI s World Wide EDI program manager. Rather, use of the Internet allows TI to broaden its markets both vertically and horizontally. TI can broaden its markets vertically because once the Internet connection is established there is a base to extend TI s presence.