The computer industry is littered with great, grand and large projects, and the companies that have designed, built and promoted them. A few make fortunes, but most fail in heaps of recriminations, acrimony, writs and bad debts, as either the hardware can't be built, the software can't be written, the whole system is unreliable, the market is not there or the whole thing is way above cost and distinctly unprofitable.

Both men had had their shares of success and had been lucky in limiting themselves to the odd failure or so.

'So what's it all about?'

'What do you know about Medusa Data Reservoirs Ltd.'

'Have they developed many-headed underwater storage techniques for data?'

Derek laughed, despite having heard the joke many times before. 'I think you need the complete history?'

'Shall we have another couple of beers first?' After, Derek's affirmation, he motioned the cabaret to bring another pair of Coors. They both watched transfixed as she wobbled up, bent over, smiled and placed the two bottles on the table.

'What's the biggest problem with large computer database systems today.'

'Well, apart from Computer Managers, Information Technology Directors, management that doesn't understand computers, large mainframe systems, networks, unreliable software, too much data, badly designed databases, the Millennium, Apples, UNIX...' He stopped. 'Can I go on?'

'No!' He pointed at the waitress. 'They're like her. All style and sex, no substance and with a terrible performance. Oh yes! They're probably riddled with bugs!' He waited for the laughs to subside and then continued. 'Take the average database installation, say perhaps in a bank or an insurance company. The main system has usually been well-written in something like Oracle, Sybase, Zyzzx or whatever, does all the invoices, statements, reports and all the other day-to-day stuff with ease.'

'But the management reporting is rubbish!'

'So they usually set up a second machine or a data warehouse with a complete copy of everything and program all the management and other ad-hoc reports on that. Sort of like this!' Derek had drawn two boxes connected by arrows on a sheet of paper. 'That then suffers the same performance problems because everybody wants special reports.'

'And you get all the managers asking for the same things, so you end up doing everything umpteen times. Unless of course you structure and manage it all properly, so that you make all reporting the responsibility of the Computer Department. Then you lose the ability to work quickly and with agility. So your business suffers.'

'Agreed. Now this is the gap we have exploited with Medusa.' Derek drew a few more lines to illustrate links to personal computers on managers desks. 'Effectively, a Medusa is a stack of upwards of a thousand small computer processors, and a massive intermediate data store or reservoir, that sits between the main database and the user, holding the most frequently used data. It gets the requests from users, analyses them and then displays or prints the appropriate report, only going to the main database, if it hasn't got the data or it's been changed since the last request.'

'But that's not clever.' He thought for a moment. 'You've still got all the performance problems, every time you go back to the main database.'

'Well, yes and no! Because everything in the Medusa is ours, we can take enormous liberties. Firstly, it can take raw data at a prodigious rate from the main database, through a very high speed link.' Derek was listing these points on the paper.

'The Medusa could also control the main database, such that frequently analysed data is always transferred.'

'You're getting the idea. The Medusa optimises the data transfer to its store, so that the response to users is always maximised.' Derek added another point to the list. 'It also looks to all of the managers' personal computers to be yet another one in the network, so that all of the standard transfer software works and you can use your existing packages.'

'I thought that could be very slow!'

'Yes, that's why I only said looks.' Derek laughed. 'We are totally compatible, but we do everything in a completely different way, so that it's all optimised for speed and reliability. For instance, all these little processors work in parallel, so each request is exceedingly fast. We also cross-check that requests for data can't be satisfied by taking a previous selection or report and modifying it.'

'So basically, you cut out a lot of the accesses at source.' He could see a lot of logic behind the approach. 'I take it too that the bigger the system, the more efficient it gets, as it is more likely that repeated requests will be made.'

'You could go on and on.' Derek started to summarise. 'So what we've got is a multi-computer, mega-store, that analyses what data you want and supplies it very fast.'

'That all sounds good. But what's the commercial side like?'

'Each machine costs between a quarter to a million dollars and more.' Derek wrote the numbers on the sheet. 'In the last twelve months we've sold or upgraded nearly a hundred, and turned over just under sixty million dollars, with profits of about four.'

'That's good too. So why do you want me? What do you want me to do?'

'Seventy-five percent of the company was owned by an obscure corner of Maxwell's empire.' Derek had now changed from visionary pleased with his creation to someone who was frightened for the future. 'When the Bouncing Czech got into trouble, but luckily before he jumped, fell or was pushed off his boat, he sold it to a rather dubious financial speculator called Adams for about fifteen million dollars, who knows nothing of computers, databases or proper businesses. Now he sees the profits and wants to sell out. A case of out the frying-pan, into the fire and now to where!'

'And of course, nobody will pay the correct price, because he's so keen to sell and they smell rats and even worse vermin all over the place! How much does he want and how long have you got?'

'He wants forty-five to fifty million dollars for himself, which values the whole company at sixty.' Derek thought for a bit. 'I would say that on the whole, that's fair. But he wants everything signed, sealed and delivered by the end of September next year!'

***

After Derek had paid both their bills, they now progressed back to one of the many halls of the Exhibition. As ever, COMDEX was illustrating the real problems of the computer industry; large amounts of hype, precious few good ideas and bags of me-too's.

They returned to the conversation about Medusa.

'You still haven't said why you want me?'

'I remember a story.' Derek continued. 'Some years ago, a rather boring and successful database company, was wanting to be bought out, so that various shareholders could take their money and run. The four founders of the company met at a hotel at Ealing and decided that although computer people liked the features and reliability of the product, it was really as dull as ditchwater, and wouldn't appeal to those with the money to buy them out. They would have to add charisma, so that they would pay the maximum possible price. So a rather clever programmer, wrote the most beautifully simple user interface I've ever seen, that even the most stupid would understand. In the end the company was sold for nearly twice what the founders had wanted.'

'The story's not true.' He knew it was. 'And if it was, I'd deny it!'

'We've looked at your new analysis software. And we like it!' They'd now sat down on the edge of an impressive stand that judging by the lack of people, was selling something that few wanted. He was drawing again. 'You design and build us, the best software to fit on all of these personal computers, that link into the Medusa and we can get an awful lot more for the combination. Do it right and we'll get one hundred and twenty million dollars for the combination.'

'When do you want it? And how much do I get? Where's the specification? Does Adams know?'

'You deliver to the first customer in March next year.' Derek was not working this out, this was a plan that had already been devised and agreed. 'You'll get a hundred thousand pounds on delivery and a third of everything over sixty million dollars, when we sell. You'd have to throw in all your analysis software for the new owner. As to Adams, I've put all this to him and he has reluctantly approved everything. Do we have a deal?'

'Hey this is all rather sudden. You haven't given me the spec yet!' Derek handed him the sheet of paper. 'In other words, I can do what I want.' Derek nodded. 'Give me your pen!'

Copyright 1999 by Ewart Higgins