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December 1, 1999
Table of Contents
I. Business Description and Corporate Background of NEXUS , Inc., USA...................................................3
The Company............................................................................................................................................3
The NEXUS Offerings............................................................................................................................3
II. Details of all worldwide collaborations.......................................................................................................4
III. Sample list of global customers and collaborators.....................................................................................4
IV. Details of annual sales and revenues of NEXUS .......................................................................................4
V. Financial status & resources of NEXUS .....................................................................................................4
Financial overview....................................................................................................................................4
Details of Directors and Key Executives..................................................................................................5
Report of the Directors.............................................................................................................................8
Report of the Auditors..............................................................................................................................8
Consolidated Profit & Loss Account........................................................................................................8
Consolidated Balance Sheet.....................................................................................................................8
Principal operating subsidiaries and associated Undertakings.................................................................8
Annual Reports of the previous 2 financial years.....................................................................................8
VI. Human Resources of NEXUS ..................................................................................................................8
VII. Proposed activities of the company in India.............................................................................................8
VIII. Benefits of this project in India................................................................................................................9
IX. Details of products, technology and services that NEXUS proposes to introduce into India...................9
Technologies Used in Development.........................................................................................................9
Hardware and Software Environment.....................................................................................................11
Current Configuration.............................................................................................................................12
Development Process..............................................................................................................................13
Development Team.................................................................................................................................14
X. Export potential..........................................................................................................................................15
XI. Project cost details ..................................................................................................................................15
I. Business Description and Corporate Background of NEXUS , Inc., USA
The Company
NEXUS , founded in 1998 by Dr. Mady Jalinous, is a leading creator and operator of a
series of interconnected business-to-business (B2B) electronic marketplaces where small
and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) around the world can fully engage in e-commerce.
NEXUS offers an integrated, multi-mechanistic e-commerce application platform that
empowers business communities to create and manage a variety of electronic
marketplaces where their member companies can participate in the full range of
commerce activities. NEXUS also provides SMEs with a complete suite of e-commerce
tools and services that enable them to participate in the electronic marketplaces created
by NEXUS and the business communities.
NEXUS , Inc., based in Washington, DC, has offices in Ottawa, Canada and Pune, India.
The company has strategic alliances with leading global technology, content and service
providers including Dun & Bradstreet, Dialog, UPS and CyberCash, and is actively
pursuing other alliance partners around the world.
The Auto Parts Rebuilders Association - The Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association
(APRA) is an association of over 2000 member companies that rebuild automotive
related "hard" parts, such as starters, alternators, clutches, transmissions, brakes, drive
shafts, and numerous other parts for passenger cars, trucks, off-road, equipment and
industrial uses.
NEXUS expects to generate revenues in Q1 of 2000. The following table highlights its
financial projection in the next four years.
(Fiscal Year ending 12/31) 200 0 (E) 2 001 (E) 20 02 (E) 200 3 (E)
Gr oss R eve nu es 3,461 17,668 55,256 147,419
Financial overview
NEXUS raised $2 million in its initial round of financing in July 1998 and used the
proceeds to acquire the software assets from Global Business Alliance Inc., a pioneer in
the use of electronic e-commerce for international trade. Since then, the company has
completed the development of a new, web-based version of its software, started pilot
installations with several business communities and established strategic marketing
relationships with Dun & Bradstreet, Dialog, the National Association of Manufacturers,
the National Confectionery Association, and others. The software asset, which transferred
to NEXUS Inc., has a total value based on development cost alone, of over $15 million.
The company raised $7 million in its second round of financing in June 1999. It is using
the proceeds for investment in staffing, service enhancements and marketing.
NEXUS is currently seeking investment of $30 - $35 million from either strategic
investors or financial institutions. About $12 –16 million of the proceeds will be used for
building the sales, marketing and account management team, direct marketing and
advertising. Approximately $6 - 10 million will be used in operations and customer
support. The rest of the proceeds will be used for further enhancement of the products
and general administrative.
The executive management team, led by Dr. Mady Jalinous, combined has over 85 years
of management experience in electronic commerce, Internet, software and
telecommunications industries. The team includes former senior e-commerce and
Internet talent from AOL, IBM, eFusion, MCI-Worldcom, Bell Atlantic Internet Services,
Open Text and MICROS.
The President and CEO of NEXUS is Dr. Mady Jalinous. Dr. Jalinous is an international
economist and noted pioneer in electronic commerce. He is known as a pioneer of global
commerce information architect. He is generally recognized as a leading authority in
electronic commerce in the United States. He created and commercialized the first global
electronic commerce exchange in the world known as IBEX. Prior to NEXUS , he was
the co-founder and Chairman of Global Business Alliance Inc., a partnership with the
United States Chamber of Commerce, where IBEX was promoted to Chamber members
in the US and around the world. He has served as President and CEO of three
information technology companies in the field of global commerce. He received his
Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He was also a postgraduate fellow at Harvard
University and a lecturer at UCLA for several years. Dr. Jalinous is the architect of
NEXUS , and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.
Michel Heitstuman is Vice President Corporate and Business Development for NEXUS
and responsible for developing all strategic alliances. Mr. Heitstuman was most recently
Principal of Global Telecom Alliance where he led a strategic partnership to acquire a
London-based, multinational telecommunications and Internet services company. Mr.
Heitstuman co-founded the America Online business-to-business division, AOL
Enterprise and, as Director of Business Development, was responsible for the operations
of the division including development of strategic alliances, marketing and production.
Prior to joining AOL, Mr. Heitstuman served in various marketing, business development
and procurement positions with IBM. He has over 15 years experience in international
business development. Mr. Heitstuman has earned the title of Certified Procurement
Manager (C.P.M.) by the National Association of Procurement Managers. Mr.
Heitstuman has an MBA in Finance from George Washington University and was
awarded a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research in intellectual property law and
international trade.
David Helfgott is Vice President Marketing for NEXUS , and is responsible for both
domestic and international marketing strategy and programs. Prior to joining NEXUS ,
Mr. Helfgott was Director of European Market Development for eFusion, Inc. and was
responsible for cultivating the IP telephony applications market in Europe for network
operators, electronic commerce service providers and Internet merchants. He has over 13
years experience in the Telecom and Internet industries. His background includes
extensive experience as a Senior Manager for both Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions, where
he led the development of BAISs e-commerce strategy centered on Internet-based
communities, and MCI Telecommunications, where he developed Internet e-commerce
and call center outsourcing services. Mr. Helfgott has an MBA from the Darden School
at the University of Virginia.
Mr. Said Khosrowshahi acts as the Vice President of Technology for NEXUS . During
His 17 years in information technology development and management, Mr.
Khosrowshahi has developed a wide range of electronic commerce applications for major
corporations and communities and has successfully led large software development
teams. As founder and CEO of Trident Systems, Inc., an ISP and leading systems
integrator of Internet applications, he was extensively involved in the development of e-
commerce products including electronic catalogues and other transaction based services.
Mr. Khosrowshahi has a Masters degree in Systems Engineering from MIT and an MBA
from Harvard University.
Mr. Ron Stead, Vice President Customer Satisfaction, brings over 20 years experience in
the information technology industry with the past 5 years focused on the Internet and
web-based technology. As Vice President, Business Development with Open Text
Corporation Mr. Stead was responsible for the successful initial implementation of the
Open Text Livelink product and set the precedent for future implementation
methodology. In previous assignments, Mr. Stead held senior positions at NCR and
Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys). Mr. Stead’s experience includes sales, marketing,
customer satisfaction, P&L, and technical management. Mr. Stead holds an MBA from
Southern Illinois University.
The Board of Directors includes Peter Sandiford, Mady Jalinous and Zaid Saleh.
The Chairman of the Board of NEXUS is Peter Sandiford. Mr. Sandiford has an
extensive track record in building and managing successful information technology
businesses. Mr. Sandiford co-founded Global Business Alliance Inc., the company that
pioneered the technology utilized by NEXUS . Prior to establishing GBA and NEXUS ,
he was President and Vice Chairman of SHL Systemhouse, an international systems
integration company. In the ten-year period he held these positions, SHL revenues grew
from $35 million to over $1 billion. Mr. Sandiford received an MS degree from the
University of California. He is a past Director of the Information Technology
Association of America and has served as Director of a number of private and public
corporations.
The President and CEO of NEXUS is Dr. Mady Jalinous. Dr. Jalinous is an international
economist and noted pioneer in electronic commerce. He is known as a pioneer of global
commerce information architect. He is generally recognized as a leading authority in
electronic commerce in the United States. He created and commercialized the first global
electronic commerce exchange in the world known as IBEX. Prior to NEXUS , he was
the co-founder and Chairman of Global Business Alliance Inc., a partnership with the
United States Chamber of Commerce, where IBEX was promoted to Chamber members
in the US and around the world. He has served as President and CEO of three
information technology companies in the field of global commerce. He received his
Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He was also a postgraduate fellow at Harvard
University and a lecturer at UCLA for several years. Dr. Jalinous is the architect of
NEXUS , and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.
Mr. Zaid A. Saleh is a Director on the NEXUS Board of Directors. Mr. Saleh is the
President of SCIG, the first round investor in NEXUS , and CIPC Technologies, both
located in Toronto, Ontario. CIPC is a leading computer manufacturer based in Toronto
with sales throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Saleh has a
Computer Science Degree from the University of Belgrade and extensive post graduate
studies. He serves on the Board of Directors of a number of information technology
businesses, all with major international focus.
NEXUS has hired KPMG LLP as its auditor and is in the process of preparing the
audited financial statements for the last six months of 1998.
NEXUS has no subsidiaries other than the once presently being set up in India and
known as NEXUS India Private Ltd.
NEXUS is only 15 months old and has not published an annual report.
NEXUS currently has 43 employees, 31 of which are software engineers. Most of its
engineer staff (29) is located in India. The company anticipates increasing staff to a total
of 77 by year 2000 and 245 by fiscal year 2003.
20 00 200 1 20 02 200 3
Sales & marketing (based on comm) 11 26 50 94
Customer support 9 28 56 65
Operations 6 7 8 8
Development 40 45 50 55
Business Development 6 7 9 15
Administrative 5 6 7 8
Total 77 11 9 180 24 5
NEXUS India Private Ltd. will principally be involved in the activity of research and
development, software and related technology development associated with the Internet,
e-commerce and software integration.
VIII. Benefits of this project in India
• Employment generation
• Technology inflow
• Foreign exchange impact
This section will discuss the underlying technology and development methodology used
to develop the Universal Business Exchange.
The NEXUS Universal Business Exchange is a web-based solution for the conduct of
global electronic commerce. As such, the development and deployment of the data
management software requires state-of-the-art development tools. NEXUS has selected
the Allaire Cold Fusion development environment. The Cold Fusion tool set provides
NEXUS the capability to rapidly meet the functional demands of member user
communities because it is a web-optimized tool set that combines the server-side Cold
Fusion Markup Language (CFML) with the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
CFML provides the ability to control the behavior of applications, integrate a wide range
of server technologies, and dynamically generate the content returned to the Web
browser.
Cold Fusion provides the ability to quickly and easily integrate the three broad areas of
technology that are the basis of Web applications: Browser, Server and Database. On the
client side, NEXUS uses the Cold Fusion applications to employ the Web browser as a
universal client and user interface, thus enabling any of the technologies supported by
Web browsers to create user interfaces. On the server side, the NEXUS application of
Cold Fusion integrates all of the major services offered by the Web, including directory
services and email. For database integration, NEXUS employs the Cold Fusion
Professional Edition to eliminate any constraints imposed by the selection of database
engines, such as Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle.
A primary reason for the selection of the Cold Fusion tool set is that any system NEXUS
develops must scale because it is built on a multi-threaded service architecture that
supports advanced features, such as just-in-time compilation and caching, to ensure high
performance on the most demanding sites. Since the NEXUS product offering is global
in nature, the Cold Fusion deployment platform provides the ability to employ multi-
server clusters because the system has native load balancing and fault resistant
characteristics to serve high volume, transaction intensive applications reliably.
NEXUS also uses JavaScript for performing client side operations mainly to achieve the
functions of client side validations and also because of an easier User Interface. This
helps in reducing the network traffic to the server to a large extent and therefore improves
the performance of the system.
NEXUS exploits the strength of stored procedures offered by the Microsoft SQL Server
RDBMS platform to provide an extremely fast search capability. This process enhances
both the performance of the Offer Exchange and the user experience when locating data.
As the Universal Business Exchange grows, NEXUS must be able to quickly conform to
emerging standards and embrace additional capabilities. The Cold Fusion platform is
extensible with a wide range of technologies, including:
• Emerging standards such as the Extensible Markup Language (XML) and
Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA);
• Security services on every level from development through deployment; and
• Multilingual feature to present products in different languages.
Hardware and Software Environment
Production System
The planned production system, responsible for the real-time support of communities,
member companies, and the NEXUS Electronic Community, is a robust, redundant,
highly reliable, secure state-of-the-art implementation. The key features considered in the
design of the system are:
• The number of potential application clients is typically unlimited;
• ZERO tolerance for variation in availability, ZERO tolerance for variation in
performance;
• The use of a multiple ColdFusion/Web Servers is probably required to meet the
service level requirements of the hosted applications during peak periods.
The supporting hardware and software consists of Microsoft NT web servers on the front
end (where web traffic is managed) and Sun Microsystems UltraSparc processor coupled
with Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) executing the Sun’s Solaris
operating system on Oracle relational database system. The choice of the Sun UltraSparc
and Oracle combination conforms to the industry standard for mission-critical
information systems. The current technology plan provides for clustered web servers,
redundant file servers and replicated databases to ensure the highest possible availability
of the NEXUS system for subscribers.
NEXUS is committed to providing the highest level of customer service and customer
support. The hardware and software supporting the NEXUS software suite has been
selected to ensure a high level of performance, responsiveness and scalability in response
to rapid growth. The NEXUS back office system is managed in-house and in conjunction
with its selected technology partner for Internet hosting, Trident Systems Inc. The system
employs “best of breed” technologies to ensure the highest level of support for NEXUS
subscribers. For example, NEXUS has standardized on Compaq multi-processor servers
for the backbone of the hardware suite and Sun servers for the database systems.
Current Configuration
The current configuration as compared to that as depicted in Figure IX.1 and is expected
to meet the needs of NEXUS ’ customer base during the first six months of production
deployment. On the production section, NEXUS employs a Router and Load Balancer
connecting the system to the Internet. The next level down consists of two web servers
that share the load of subscribers between them. A file server and database server is
directly connected to the web servers. In addition, a Sun Microsystems UltraSparc is
deployed for the operation and management of the Dun & Bradstreet World Base system.
The Microsoft Internet Information Server brings unprecedented power, both as a Web
server for corporate Intranets and public Internet sites and as the superior platform for the
next generation of line-of-business applications.
To support the data requirements of the service, the Microsoft SQL Server is currently
employed to enhance the performance, reliability, and scalability by making the processes
of developing applications, managing systems, and replicating data easier than ever.
To support the DNB World Base, currently 19GBs of data, the Sun Microsystems Sparc,
with the Oracle relational database system, is used to manage the database and to search
and retrieve records with relative ease and efficiency. The size of the database is the
primary reason for maintaining this system separately from the main production database.
With regards to the testing Section, NEXUS has a single server it this point which hosts
both the web server and the database server. This will be enhanced in the next round of
upgrade to a separate server for the database and multiple web servers to simulate the
actual product environment.
The Development Section is available in our India office where the development is in
progress.
Although the current software exceeds the capabilities of the nearest competitor, the
Internet environment is a dynamic one, and NEXUS development plan for both the
products and the platforms upon which they execute already anticipates the trends and
focuses on leading edge technology to remain highly competitive. The next release of the
product is in the design phase and promises richer functionality and greater user
intuitiveness.
Development Process
The NEXUS development team employs the Software Engineering Institute Capability
Maturity Model (SEI-CMM) as the basis for building the software life cycle. The SEI-
CMM model describes the essential practices associated with developing reliable and
reusable software that is delivered on time and within budget. The practices are organized
by level of maturity so that each maturity level captures the progressions from an
immature, unrepeatable software process to a mature, well-managed software process.
The development methodology is best summed up as a continuous process improvement
that is based on many small, evolutionary steps, rather than revolutionary innovations.
Our implementation of the Capability Maturity Model employs the following steps of
development pattern:
Development Team
The development team, as illustrated below, consists of software engineers working with
the structure defined in the illustration. The Director of Software Development reports to
the President of NEXUS Inc. The majority of the engineers are under contract working
exclusively on NEXUS development through Trident Systems Inc. in Pune, India.
NEXUS has a Sr. Project Manager, employee in India, in charge of the development
team. This arrangement allows NEXUS to develop the web-based Universal Business
Exchange in a very cost-effective manner.
Figure IX.2: NEXUS Software Development Team
D ire c to r, S o ftw a re
D e v e lo p m e n t
S r. P ro je c t M a n a g e r G U I D e s ig n e r
Q u a lity O ffic e r P ro je c t M a n a g e r
D e v e lo p m e n t T e a m T est T eam
L e a d e rs Leader
D e v e lo p e rs G ra p h ic A rtis ts T e s te rs
NEXUS senior development staff in the United States manages the development process
and provides the software design, user interface design, and guidance to the staff of the
development team in India.
X. Export potential
NEXUS Revenue and Profit projections are explained in the following diagram.
(Fiscal Year ending 12/31) 2000 (E) 2001 (E) 2002 (E) 2003 (E)
($000s)
Gr os s R eve nue s
Subscription 2,051 10,332 31,192 71,404
Advertising 219 1,497 4,704 10,771
Transactions 115 1,067 6,693 36,530
Professional Services 589 2,319 5,260 11,759
Content 487 2,453 7,407 16,955
Gross Revenues 3,461 17,668 55,256 147,419
Gr os s Prof it
Subscription 1,625 8,602 26,165 58,669
Advertising 209 1,464 4,603 10,539
Transactions 98 907 5,689 31,050
Professional Services 235 872 1,794 4,010
Content 49 245 741 1,696
Gros s P rof it 2,215 12,090 38,992 105,964
Gross Margin 64% 68% 71% 72%
XV. Areas where NEXUS ’ technology can be implemented in India, along with a list
of industries, which would derive benefit of the new technology
P re s id e n t & C E O
M a d y J a lin o u s
XVII.
P r o d u c Total
t D e v e l o p m investment
V ic e P r e s id e n t
ent C o r p o r a t e / B uproposed
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V ic e P r e s id e n t
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V ic e P r e s id e n t
ce requesting
permission for
S . K h o sro w sh a h i
(a c tin g ) 100% equity
M ic h e lH e its tu m a n
holding in an Indian
D a v id H e lfg o tt
company
Rob M oon tb d
M ik e L e w is tb d
NEXUS has taken initial steps to establish a registered patent for the Community Builder
S e rv ic e D e v e lo p m e n t D ire c to r
A llia n c e s
C hannel M anager
D o m e s t ic /In t 'l
V ic e P re s id e n t
C u s to m e r S a tis fa c tio n
O ffic e M a n a g e r
F ra n k L i tb d R o n S te a d
product and the NEXUS Offer Exchange process, which will establish a high barrier to
potential competitors. NEXUS believes that this new Community Builder software and
In d ia D e v e lo p m e n t
Team
D ire c to r
In te rn a tio n a l
S a le s /A c c o u n t M a n a g e m e n t
D ire c to r
S y s /A d m in
the process followed within the Business Exchange are sufficiently innovative that
(2 9 D e v e lo p e rs ) P a rtn e rs
& A llia n c e s
tb d
NEXUS is in the process of completing worldwide trademark and servicemark D ire c t M a rk e tin g P ro g ra m s
protection of its key product and service names, including: NEXUS , NEXUS Resource S e n io r M a n a g e r
A m e lia F o x
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