I remember when I was a junior programmer: I'd received a plum assignment: To replace printed paper reports with microfiche and microfiche readers/printers. I was working at a manufacturing company in Silicon Valley, where becoming "paperless'' was the goal.

A biweekly "inventory stocking'' report that chewed up about 10 boxes of green bar paper per run was selected. First I identified how necessary this report was to the many users.

Invariably I found the report on a shelf collecting dust because its bulk made it unmanageable. The report receivers were vague in particulars but all vigorously agreed that it was needed and helpful.

I then toured several microfiche vendors to determine the whats, whys and hows of the industry. Microfiche is film with a "forms flash'' over a set of data giving it the appearance of a piece of paper when enlarged on a reader.

The massive report can be replicated on a couple of fiche for a few dollars, with copies of the film being made for pennies.

With help from my department management we determined the number of readers needed, and placed one printer into a central location for those who wanted the occasional "hard copy.'' I then calculated the total cost of all of the readers, printer, microfiche file cabinets, first copy of microfiche and the total cost for all of the prints.

For the microfiche and the prints I also had to multiply the results by 2 and again by 12. I factored in a wild guess for some number of hard copies, again with a multiplication of 12 to annualize.

Next I had to take the average number of pages produced from each run of the report times the number of copies of the report distributed. Then with the total cost of a box of paper on hand and the total number of pages per box I calculated the cost per page times the average number of pages per run, times the number of copies, times 2, and finally times 12.

Not only did this result in an immediate pay back to the company, but I was able to demonstrate that this payback to the company would be more than 3 times my annual salary after all equipment was paid for.

This figure definitely impacted the company's "bottom line'' figure for a significant net profit for the company. I was a hero! And thus began my career as systems analyst.

"What does a systems analyst do?" You may well ask. I design software that saves companies money. On projects too large for a single individual to handle systems analysts now pool their experience.

For example one project I worked on with a team involved a complicated shipping system. We analyzed the transport vehicles and determined the cubic footage. Then we took the varied product line and determined its cubic footage of displacement per units.

Factoring in a geo-positioning collected from satellites on locations, we then designed software that calculated partial shipments with cubic footage displacement per vehicle requirement, plus routing, and a bill of lading information for each shipment. This program saved the company a fortune in shipping and delivery costs.

Such a multimillion-dollar project is great for a Fortune 500 company but what about you, the small business owner?

Systems analysts are trained to deal with business of all sizes, using techniques to generate cost savings for your business too. For example a qualified analyst would look in detail at each step of invoicing in the existing methodology including all forms from beginning to end. Once complete, he would propose a more efficient process to replace the old.

The cost benefit is determined by evaluation of labor saved in reducing the redundant efforts normally found in manual check and balance processing. Sometimes simply replacing multiple forms with a single print of a multi-form generates savings.

There is truth to the old saw: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" and "Figures don't lie but liars figure.'' Business owners/managers must evaluate the risk associated in any new process while maintaining their comfort zone.

Success comes if there is belief that the decision to venture into new territory is the right one, and if this decision is accepted and supported. Hi-Tech solutions are available to suit the unique needs of individual companies.

If the vast array of business software available in stores or on the Internet seem overwhelming, call on someone who is trained to match company to program. Your business will grow, keeping pace with current industry standards, while keeping true to the original mission.

Question: What is an open system?

Answer: One confusing concept in computer operation is the term "system" because it applies to hardware and software. An "open hardware system" allows unconditional access to the hardware, not desirable in today's world of worms and viruses.

An "open software system" permits program execution and sharing of data between separate hardware platforms. (Platforms means the installed operating system. i.e. Windows platform, UNIX platform, etc.) This model exists in the hi-tech world under limited conditions requiring a great deal of planning, designing and effort.

American National Standards Institute www.ansi.org is an organization responsible for the creation of standards followed by industry for uniformity in data manipulation. At this Web site you will find documentation for sale that details environments and conditions for open system creation. At the time that this question was answered there were 214 separate documents regarding "open systems."

Chuck Roberts is a Mercer resident with more than 20 years of experience in software design and programming. He was a software systems implementation analyst and technical team lead consultant to corporations for seven years. He now runs a part time business dealing with a variety of aspects of computers, software and training. Questions related to computer useage and software are welcome. Forward questions by e-mail to mroknick@sharonherald.com or send them to Adding Bytes to the Net! c/o The Herald, Box 51, Sharon 16146.