Here's some information on Nucleus from their web site.
Have a good one.
John
The Company
Background
Nucleus was incorporated in December of 1997, under the laws
of the State of Illinois to act as a holding company for its
companies, Alliance Net, Inc. d.b.a TelOne and Nucleus Data
Source, Inc.
The Companies' initial product offerings consist of "PC Express",
a computer repair and upgrade business, "PC OnLine", a
computer help desk, "CheckBook", a user-friendly web site that
stores, tracks, and presents billing information over the Internet,
and "TelOne", a long distance reseller and acquirer of telecom
assets.
The
Opportunities
"PC Express" and "PC OnLine"
The proliferation of computers has created a multitude of new
business opportunities. The incredible increase in the number of
businesses and individuals using software, hardware, and the
Internet on a daily basis has created demand for goods and
services related to this usage. Nucleus Holding Corporation has
developed products and services to address this demand.
Nucleus has diversified products and services, positioning it to
grow with the increased usage of information and
telecommunication technologies. We believe our user-oriented
products, "PC Express", "PC OnLine", "CheckBook", and
"TelOne" provide value without being vulnerable to technological
obsolescence.
"PC Express" provides a service in great demand. The growth of
the number of computers in use has taxed the resources of
existing service and sales organizations to the point of their being
non-responsive to the needs of the customer. PC Express is
sensitive to the need for quick, reliable, and cost-effective repair,
maintenance, and upgrade services. The approach of PC
Express establishes long-term relationships with customers and
encourages them to take advantage of decreasing processor and
memory costs by upgrading existing computers. As the
sophistication level of users increases, upgrade services will be
in greater demand. By offering clients the choice of on-site repair
or pick-up and delivery service, PC Express ensures minimal
disruption of the customer's activities.
"PC OnLine" is a service designed to minimize the computer
user's downtime. By providing reasonably priced help desk
functionality, PC OnLine gives the user access to skilled
technicians capable of solving many hardware, software, and
configuration problems during a telephone session. This service
also provides the technician with remote access to the user's
computer. Diagnosis, program mending, software installation,
and data recovery can all be performed as if the technician was
at the user's site.
"CheckBook"
Today, electronic commerce is in its infancy. Unlike the Internet,
which was created as a completely "open" system, expansion
and development of electronic commerce is being stifled due to
the unreasonable belief that it can be contained, controlled, or
manipulated.
Early entrants to the field focused on creating systems requiring
banks, vendors, and subscribers to use non-standardized
formats when completing electronic commerce transactions.
Their intention was to monopolize the fields of electronic
transactions, electronic security, and electronic bill
presentment...electronic commerce. Banks and vendors both
want to hold their clients hostage by tying them to a system with
their brand name at the forefront. In both instances, the client's
wants and needs are secondary. Management believes this
system will not be successful.
The rapid growth of the Internet proves its viability and
foreshadows the future of the industry. The inevitable transition of
commerce to an electronic format edifies the fact that it cannot
be controlled. Transaction volumes alone will ensure that
electronic commerce evolves via an "open" system and that
government agencies and the general population will support this
process. Nucleus' approach is to unlock opportunities today by
creating systems that can operate openly within multiple
environments.
The "CheckBook" system allows banks, subscribers, and vendor
companies to transact business today at little or no cost. We
believe our network, which is capable of handling a tremendous
volume of transactions with small, incremental costs to the
financial institution or vendor companies, will compare favorably
with networks charging large fees and achieving limited success
in market penetration or longevity. This point is well-proven by our
competitors who have, to date, amassed substantial negative
equity due to the exorbitant cost of programming and maintaining
multiple stand-alone systems.
"TelOne"
TelOne resells telecommunications services, including long
distance, cellular, personal communication services (PCS), and
paging services. The Company has a base of over 5,000
customers, generally, small to medium-sized businesses. If the
telecommunications needs of these customers change, TelOne
is able to provide competitive services through the utilization of an
effective distribution channel for suppliers of these services.
TelOne's customers rely on TelOne to obtain the best quality
telecommunication services at competitive pricing. TelOne's
experience in the telecommunications resale industry has
enabled The Company to become very effective in the acquisition
of various telecommunication assets, such as customer bases
and accounts receivable. In this dynamic business, opportunities
continually arise. TelOne has the expertise to take advantage of
these situations, as they occur.
How Each
System Works
Nucleus Computers
Nucleus Computers provides clients with an expedient and
cost-effective method of custom building PC workstations,
networks, and software platforms using industry
leader-manufactured components branded with the "Nucleus
Computer" name. Customers can pick and choose components
over the Internet with which to build a suitable computer or select
components with the assistance of a trained Nucleus technician.
Nucleus "Business Browser"
The "Business" browser was developed as a Nucleus-branded
Internet access front-end tool that allows clients to directly
access frequently used web sites via a simplified user interface.
The browser is segregated into seven sections, as follows:
"CheckBook", a bill payment and presentment platform;
"Business Services", a provider of links to host companies that
perform general business services (i.e., Federal Express, UPS,
Amazon, Monsterboard Com, etc.); "Travel" provides clients with
access to all major airlines' sites, hotel sites, travel guides, to
name a few; the "News" category gives clients direct access to
CNN, "Bloomberg Reports", "The Wallstreet Journal" NYSE,
NASDAQ,, etc.; "Entertainment" provides clients with direct
access to the latest theatrical events, trade shows, live feeds,
lotteries, restaurants, etc.; and "Nucleus" covering The
Company's major product lines. The browser is a powerful tool
with which businesses can utilize the best of the Internet, as well
as the vendors they use most often.
Nucleus views the browser as a all-important factor in the sale of
its Internet access products and the real estate developed for
advertising revenue geared toward a specific client base. The
browser was designed to be compatible with both Microsoft and
Netscape.
"PC Express"
"PC Express" provides clients with an expedient and
cost-effective method to gain hardware service for their computer
systems. Technicians, working in a centralized location, repair
computers that are picked up and returned by Nucleus drivers.
This process saves customers time and money by keeping the
technicians' hourly rate charge tied to the actual time it takes to
repair the computer and eliminates expensive charges for travel
time. This process actually decreases a client's "down time"
because technicians can get to the computer quicker than if a
visit had to be scheduled.
"PC OnLine
"PC OnLine" instantly brings our office to the customer's desk,
allowing A+ Certified technicians to remotely access a client's
computer, at their request, via modem or the Internet, to
diagnose, install, and repair software programs, operating
systems, and data storage devices. Customers pay a per minute
rate for technical support instead of the industry standard "hourly
minimums". Windows and DOS operating systems will be
supported initially by PC Online. NDSI expects to support
Macintosh in 1999.
"CheckBook"
"Checkbook" provides a depository into which multiple vendors
can cost-effectively download rated billing information via their
existing bill-imaging systems. Customers can then retrieve this
information along with an aging summary for each of their
vendors. At this point, they can pay either all or a portion of their
bills directly to the vendor company with a credit or debit card.
Customers disputing a bill can then contact the appropriate
vendor to receive a corrected bill or credit. In either case, both the
vendor and customer can react quickly and efficiently.
"TelOne"
TelOne acquires minutes of usage in bulk from the nations
largest long distance, cellular, paging and local service providers.
It then resells this usage to residential and small to medium sized
businesses. Because of volume discounts, TelOne can enjoy
significant margins while providing clients with a better rate than
they could obtain through traditional channels.
Mission
Statement
Nucleus is striving to become the leader in PC and telecom
support for both the home and small to medium-sized office. By
providing clients with superior customer service and
cost-effective product lines, the management of Nucleus intends
to become the supplier of choice for all their clients' computer
and telecommunications needs. It is also Management's intention
to help customers move painlessly into the "digital age", where
paper is being rapidly replaced by electronic storage. In such a
world, every piece of valuable information ever sent to you is
stored, filed, and readily available in a format allowing you to
segregate this data automatically into usable reporting
documents (i.e., financials, tax forms, payables, warranties,
guarantees, product direction, etc.). Think how convenient it
would be to push a button and have all your financial information
in "real" time -- Push another button and have your taxes
prepared -- Or open your home or office equipment file and have,
at your fingertips, an inventory of your appliances, hardware,
audio/visual equipment, etc., with the respective directions and
warranty information for each item! Nucleus will take you there.
The
Market
Nucleus' "Business Browser" and "Internet Access", "PC
Express", "PC OnLine" and "TelOne" markets consist of small to
medium-sized businesses and residential clients that are not
directly supported by the Fortune 1000 companies providing the
majority of computer and telecom-related products acquired, to
date, by these markets.
Nucleus' "Checkbook" market is defined by two groups: vendors
who invoice customers, and consumers with Internet access
receiving these invoices. Internet commerce is projected to
exceed $13 billion this year, with the total projected value of
goods and services traded on-line between companies at $8
billion and exploding to $327 billion by 2002. Today, fewer than
two million consumers pay their bills electronically; however,
industry analysts predict more than one third of the U.S.
population will be paying bills via personal computers by the year
2000. Management envisions Nucleus at the forefront of this
burgeoning industry. |
