To illustrate this point, let's suppose you've got 100 users working on 100 PCs, but at any one time only 35 are using the word processor. In the case of the stand-alone systems, you must buy 100 copies of the software in order to provide everyone the same access, yet you've wasted the cost of 65 copies because only 35 will be in use at any given time. Compare this scenario with networked PCs that have access to all software on the same server. Since AWCnet II, there has been a marked decrease in stand-alone software purchase requests from throughout the center. Similar cost savings accrue as the result of shared network print services.
Users have access to most any printer on the network.
In a related issue, there has been a marked decrease in the number of floppy disks needed to transfer files between machines in order to use unique software or stand-alone printers. The second success of AWCnet II is that it has introduced the potential for real cost savings. Not All Roses Not all change has been positive. In a realistic assessment we've had to take some bad with the good. All the power of a DOS-based network also comes with some restrictions.