Ollie

Customer releases, Imprint orders and inventory management from any browser. Simple!

Install Ollie on your web server and your customers and immediately begin entering their own orders, releases and getting their own management reports.

Customers can check the status of their own orders, place requests for releases, or even do routine reorders all on their own. That means faster
response for them and less work for you. And that adds up to increased customer satisfaction and more net profit for you.

By the way, the word Security is probably coming to mind right now. Consider this: every Ollie user can be configured to see only their own
information. That means that when a customer logs in with their ID and password, to them, Ollie appears to contain only their company’s data. They can’t even tell
that you have other customers.

How It Works

A user simply connects to your web site and begins using Ollie inside their browser in exactly the same way they would access any other web page. Screen response is quite snappy, even at 56k modem speeds.

Transactions entered into Ollie are immediately seen as orders or releases in your office version of SAFE.

Each user sees only his/her own products and multiple companies can be configured. No scripts; No extra programs, remote control software; no messy communication setups. The
only requirements for a remote site are a browser and a Javascript-enabled browser.

Security is managed just as in ‘ regular’ SAFE, using the included Simple Accounting Security Extensions. Each user logs in with a User ID and a password which determines the menus and options she has access to. Data can be encrypted, and users can be limited to only data associated with their log-in ID (ie. a salesperson may only ‘see’ her orders, while a remote client may only ‘see’ his inventory). And, since users are working with the data on your server, all updates are in real time: no remote updates are required!

Two Ways To Serve You

There are two options for hosting Ollie: configuring your office server as a web server in your office, or purchasing hosting services from an Internet Service Provider
(ISP):

  • >Most users will want to install a web server in their offices. This has the advantage of allowing two-way access to SAFE: in-office users can access SAFE like any Windows application for fastest response; while remote users access Ollie from anywhere and have their orders show up in SAFE immediately!
  • You may also host Ollie on an ISP’s web server, simply purchasing disk space on a monthly basis.. The ISP must be compatible with Suntower Systems’ software. Call us today to obtain a current list of ISPs who are equipped to host Ollie. (The list is growing almost daily!) This has the advantage of lower initial costs and zero maintenance. Your in-office users can access Ollie from a single Internet connection using their current PCs or even lower cost terminals.

Pricing & Availability

Ollie costs $5,995. This provides the capability for fifty (50) simultaneous log-ins. (You can have as many users as you like, but only 50 may be logged in at the same time. Additional 50 User Licenses are available for $1,295 each.) Of course you must already have SAFE installed at your office!

If you will be hosting via ISP (ie. not installing Ollie in your office) you will need our On-Line Connector ($1,295) to communicate transactions between your ISP and your office copy of SAFE.

Other Costs You Will Need To Consider

We hate to break it to you, but Ollie will probably not be the biggest chunk of money you dole out in order to provide a complete web solution and remote access. We’re not trying to be smug; just letting you know what you need up front. If you want to host your own web server with Ollie, you will need the following items with their approximate costs:

A server computer with at least 512MB of memory. (It may or may not be dedicated exclusively to Ollie depending on your needs.) $3,500.00
ntserver.gifMicrosoft Windows 2000 Server and Internet Information Server. $2,295.00
Monthly internet access fees from your ISP for each of your remote clients (5 remote users @ $20/mo.) $100.00
Monthly telecom and internet access fees from your ISP/phone company for your web site (ISDN) $150.00

Remember that these prices can vary a lot depending on many, many factors (how
many users you have, for example) that we caution you not to make too much of this. The
above example applies to many of our customers, though.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Do I need Ollie or WebSAFE? What’s the difference?

    Ollie packages the most commonly requested end-user features of WebSAFE into a single solution which is designed to be easy to configure and use. Ollie lets end-users place orders and releases and track shipments and inventory levels—all the basics.

    WebSAFE, on the other hand is a mature, completely extensible e-commerce package used by some of the largest distributors around.
    Whereas Ollie is essentially pre-configured in look and feel, WebSAFE can be modified to fit into virtually any existing web site design.

    And whereas Ollie is basically an end-user tool with a fixed number of functions, WebSAFE enables virtually every function of SAFE from inside a web browser. This makes
    possible remote sales support, purchasing and inventory control over the internet. WebSAFE also can be set up to integrate with other on-line ordering systems from office supply and
    ad speciality vendors such as United Stationers and ASI!

  • What software do I need to run Ollie on my own web server?

    1) Ollie

    2) SAFE!

    3) The Soft Velocity Application Broker

    4) Microsoft NT Server 4.0 or Windows 2000 Server, and IIS

  • Can users see each others orders? What about approval—Some customers will want to approve their user’s orders before they are transmitted.

    Each user sees only his/her own orders. Only users designated as Administrators for a particular customer may have access to all orders from that customer. Further customization may be achieved using Simple Accounting Security Extensions

  • How do I know I am getting the right components for my NT server?

    The easiest solution is to purchase Microsoft’s Small Business Server® software bundle. This includes all the NT components required to run Ollie plus Microsoft Exchange for e-mail and faxing and SQL Server for managing databases.

  • What is the Application Broker?

    The Application Broker is really a ‘translator’ of sorts. It runs on the web server and translates SAFE data into HTML pages on the user’s browser. It must be installed on the web server Ollie runs on—either in your office or at your ISP. If you host Ollie at your ISP, your ISP must be willing to run the Application Broker which is why we publish a list of ISP partners.

    The Application Broker provides platform-independence. Since the Application Broker generates standard HTML pages, the end-user computer can be almost any machine with a Java-enabled browser. This means that, although SAFE is a Windows program, you can run Ollie from any browser on Macintosh, Unix or other operating systems.

  • How do I purchase the Application Broker?

    A 50 User Application Broker is included in the price of Ollie. If you need more than 50 simultaneous users, additional 50 user licenses are available from Suntower Systems for $1,295 each.

  • What about security? Could someone break into our site?

    Ollie enables the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) found on most Web servers. This is the encryption standard of the industry. It prevents unauthorized users from interecepting your data off the net. Also, our  S.A.S.E.. add-on program offers data encyption to prevent users from copying data to their local machines.

  • Can we customize the look and feel of our web site? Can we prevent some users from accessing Ollie while still allowing them access to general information?

    To some extent. In order to keep Ollie economical, manyfeatures of Ollie are pre-configured to meet the needs of the widest variety of brokers.However, many aspects of Ollie are modifiable to taste using standard web pages.These include:

    • Color schemes
    • Logos and graphics
    • All function icons

  • How do I know I am getting a good deal from my Internet Provider? Access charges vary greatly

    This is a tough one for lots of businesses as the market for internet services is still relatively immature. However, if you host your own web server, we recommend that you strongly consider a DSL link from your server to your internet provider. DSL can support 640K data transfer both up and downstream (from your site to your users and from your clients to you.)

    You must make certain that your internet provider supports these types of connections. We have heard all manner of shameless pricing on these types of services, however your first call should probably be to your local telco to see what they have to offer. We generally loathe dealing with these companies, but since they are ‘the phone company’, they should be able to provide reliable, if not, inexpensive service.

    We are pleased to be able to offer turnkey DSL service through Exelus Services. Please contact us for a quote.

    Also, each of these mega-corps have a web page devoted to their ISDN and ADSL services. If you would like competitive quotes, here they are:

    Ameritech
    Bell Atlantic
    Bell South
    Pacific Bell
    Qwest
    XO Communications

    We can help you determine which carrier is best for your needs, but we cannot, ultimately, guarantee your results unless you purchase a complete server and installation from us.

How We Can Help

If you’ve been concerned about the complexities of e-commerce, don’t worry! We can help get it all together for you in the following ways:

  • We can sell or lease you all the hardware you need. As Authorized IBM and Digital Network Resellers, we have the expertise to get you installed and running the right way. We will pre-install and test Ollie so it’s ready to run the moment we flip the switch. And we’ll back our work with a three year warranty.
  • We can provide the Networking Solutions you need to connect users in your office, remote offices, customers and salespeople on the road.
  • We can set you up with an ISP if you wish to host Ollie remotely. We can pre-install Ollie on their server and take care of  all the paperwork necessary to getting your WWW address.
  • We can come to your site and provide comprehensive training on the use of Ollie for both your network administrator, office employees, and sales people in the field.