As we Baby Boomers are starting to realize about most things ... it
seems like just yesterday! Cherie, (my daughter and VCR's Executive
VP), asked me to write this article celebrating AIMS' 20th Anniversary. She
was somewhat baffled when I drifted off into a day dream to fondly recall
that the seeds for AIMS were really planted 24 years ago on the night(s) she
was born, August 3 & 4, 1973. Lynda (my best friend and bride of 28 years)
was in labor for over 50 hours with Cherie. Back in those days, Dads weren't
allowed in the labor or delivery rooms. I was forced to sit in a waiting
room for most of those 2 days. A few other dads came and went, but I was
mostly alone. There was a broken TV (I'm an electronics engineer and
desperately tried to fix it) and an old copy of a Field & Stream
magazine (uck!). Being an undeniable "Type A" personality, that dead time
drove me berserk. I spent those desolate hours worrying about Lynda and
problems at work. When I finally left that room, I was the proud father of a
new baby girl (who is still the apple of daddy's eye) and had dreamed up the
idea that eventually became AIMS.At the time, I was a government employee
"assigned" to the Naval Electronics Warfare Center in Norfolk, VA. But, I
actually worked for a cantankerous old admiral in Washington DC, ram-rodding
his "tiger team" that he frequently loaned to other agencies to solve
special problems. It was the height of the cold war, so my job involved
stuff classified as high as "burn before reading." Anyway, I realized most
of the tasks I was solving had a similar pattern (use a computer to: input -
search - sort - analyze - output). I mastered the art of stealing code from
previous jobs, thus got a reputation for being able to quickly solve new
problems. More and more, that meant being held hostage by a burly Marine
(with a big gun) in a secure vault, while writing programs to analyze data
that I was often not even allowed to see. So, that night Cherie was born I
came up with the idea for a computer program that would set me free. I saw a
way to let the people to whom I was "loaned" to design their own programs,
so they could collect and analyze their data without needing me. Hey, I was
worried that I might accidentally see their data, then be shot. OK, I
dreamed up the idea because I was bored out of my skull being forced to do
essentially the same job over and over again. I don't care what you've heard
- desperation is really the Mother of Invention, not perspiration.
After Lynda and Cherie were settled at home in Virginia Beach, I jumped
on a plane to DC and did a "dog & pony" show for the "old man" (darn, now
they call me that). He threw water on my idea, so I named the project DAMP
(ahem ... it really stood for Data Analysis & Management Program). There
were few computers that could be used to process classified data, so his
budget wouldn't cover me buying 45 expensive super computers. However, he
promised that if I could find an affordable computer that could be certified
to process classified information, I had a "green light". It took me a year.
At a conference in Boston I discovered a neat computer called the 2200, and
Wang was close to getting it Tempest certified (a requirement to process
classified information). One of the agencies I worked for controlled
Tempest, so I twisted some arms and within a few months, all of the agencies
I was "loaned" to had one of these incredible little computers. We burned
the midnight oil and deployed our first version of DAMP before my boss knew
what hit him. I got my hands slapped, but the worst that happened was that
he made me rename it to the "Auto System" (Top Secret facilities don't have
a sense of humor). His counterpart, my civilian boss, was a remarkable man I
truly respected. He put Auto System into the public domain by sending a copy
to the Library of Congress. He also let me donate it to Wang's SWAP Library
so that other 2200 users could get a free copy.
In 1977, the two men I loved working for were gone. One retired and the
other died, and my unorthodox days in the government came to a screeching
halt. Our tiger team was broken up and we were condemned to boring 8 to 5
jobs. I was told that my promotion to GS-13 could only happen if 5,000
people above me died ... talk about a dead-end job. About that time
Wang Labs invited me to speak at their International User Conference. Some
of their customers were using Auto System and had asked for a breakout
session on it. I was unprepared for what happened when Wang announced that
some government guy created a database manager that let anybody
create solutions without knowing much about computers ... and was
giving it away for free. I was besieged. Wang volunteered to copy my
floppies and distribute them to as many people who wanted it ... they ran
out of floppies. They gave my manual to a print shop next to the
conference and told people they could get a copy there ... they ran out
of paper. In a matter of weeks, it was everywhere (a Wang executive once
estimated that maybe 11,000 copies of Auto System were ultimately
distributed by Wang salesman).
On September 21, 1977 I found myself sitting in that same waiting room
again (yep, the TV was still broke). I had a few hours to think about it
all, and then made up my mind to leave the government. This time I was able
to be with Lynda in the delivery room. Twelve hours later, Ken was born (now
a VP at VCR) and technically so was AIMS. Needless to say, Auto System
became my resume. A few weeks later, Lynda and I turned down a position with
Wang Labs and about a dozen other job offers. We moved to Austin, Texas to
accept a position with TFC, a large state-wide John Deere heavy construction
tractor dealership. The owner promised that if he couldn't keep me
challenged, he'd help me start my own company. Hey, I cheated. I knew he
didn't understand that years of "putting out cold war fires" prepared me to
solve problems at record paces. It took less time than even I figured - and
- he kept his promise. We started AIMS+Plus, Inc. within weeks of moving to
Texas.
AIMS-1 was finished and installed at TFC on January 29, 1978. The second
copy was "sold" to a company in Houston in March 1978. I won't tell you who
this first company was because they were the focus of one of those TV White
Papers on NBC news. My mother was so embarrassed as she watched TV with her
friends one night and saw the owners of this company being hauled off to
jail. In the interview they gave, they explained how a computer program
allowed them to design a system that let them resell oil on a tanker, over
and over again, thus illegally jacking up the prices. Ah ... memories. Thank
goodness we've had thousands of other AIMS users who helped Mom be proud of
me again. She lived to see an AIMS screen in the background on a CNN
broadcast as they interviewed a doctor getting an award for doing cancer
research (he credited AIMS for helping him collect and analyze his research
data).
I'm truly amazed that AIMS continues to sell. Relatively few products
last 20 years in the marketplace, let alone a computer program. Countless
thousands of other computer products have come and gone during the past 20
years. Some popular products that sold millions of copies have had short
life spans. AIMS was never a run away hit. To our knowledge there were once
about 6,000 installations (we sold about 4,000 copies, the rest we stumbled
across as unreported). In 1984, before Wang shot themselves in the foot, we
peaked. We had 457 dealers selling AIMS all over the world. We had 33
employees and were grossing about $225,000 a month.
AIMS has been installed in all 50 states and many countries. We had
developed several popular products using AIMS: Chamber+Plus (used by most
Chamber of Commerces in the USA), Association+Plus (sold to over 500
associations), Hog+Plus (sold to dozens of feed lots) and so on. We also
have some well known organizations using AIMS: all US Army hospitals, NASA,
Carnegie Hall, Campbell Soup, Cessna Aircraft, Weyerhaeuser, Weight
Watchers, many universities and insurance companies. AIMS was on Navy
aircraft carriers, Coast Guard ice breakers, the US Army Band, many state
courts, prisons, dozens of federal agencies and city governments. We had
countless interesting customers like the Grammy Awards, Indian tribes,
graveyards, charities like CARE, TV evangelists and even a bordello in
Nevada.
Over the years, I've visited 49 states (before you ask, it's Montana), 53
countries and logged 2.5 million frequent flier miles. Many of our customers
have been using AIMS for over 15 years, and I'm most proud of the fact that
many have become good friends. Even better, we're still adding new customers
to our growing family. Much of our success was because so many people helped
and supported us over the years. There isn't enough space to mention them
all, but I do want to acknowledge a few very special people who made it
possible for AIMS to last this long:
Dave Neubrech, President of Ergo Systems, Washington DC. He was our
3rd dealer and sold the 2nd copy of AIMS. He was the
first to sell 100 copies and eventually sold over 600 copies of AIMS. Dave
still helps many AIMS users from coast to coast and remains like a brother
to me.
Doris Goldman, President of Viacomp, Inc, St Louis. Hundreds
affectionately call her AIMS's Grandmother. She was our 8th
dealer and landed our 10th sale. She has sold AIMS to dozens of
hospitals and medical facilities. Doris is in her 70's (forgive me Doris)
and still actively sells and supports AIMS. Her many customers love her
just as much as we do.
Alan Green, now Director of R&D at Niakwa in Chicago.
Alan was once the Vice President of our 10th dealer and sold our 50th
system. Alan remains one of my closest friends and is a major reason why
we still love the NPL development environment.
Jerry Dederich, owner of Niakwa, Inc. Before releasing NPL, Niakwa
was our 25th AIMS dealer. Jerry sold our 100th
system to another special friend, Mort Levy. Mort is an owner of
Moo & Oink, Inc. in Chicago. Like Alan, Jerry is a close friend and Mort
is like family to us.
Dennis Weaver, Vice President of the Priority Group in Louisville,
KY. Dennis sold our 250th system to another special friend,
Henry Camp. Henry is President of Shipper's Supply in Louisville.
While visiting Ft Knox recently, I got to share old times with both Henry
and Dennis.
Allan Dodd, Controller of Lowes Men's Wear, Sydney,
Australia. Allan was our 500th customer. Allan became like family as we
helped each other recover ... he bought AIMS from a guy who stole about
150 copies of AIMS, then left Allan and others without help when he
disappeared.
In a few months, we'll also celebrate the 10th anniversary of
VCR. But, that's another story that I'll save until the next issue of
FastForward. |