The Tech Center

Fremont, CALIFORNIA - On June 28 2001, more than 200 people attended the official grand opening of the new MirrorPlus Technologies and American Reprographics Company Technology Center.

Rahul Roy, ARC’s Chief technology officer and chief executive officer of MirrorPlus, welcomed the guests, who included Fremont Mayor Gus Morrison and high-ranking executives from Microsoft and Compaq computer corporation.

ARC Chairman Mohan Chandramohan, Rahul Roy and Members of the ARC senior management gave presentations on the technological advantages offered by ARC, a $420 million enterprise serving more than 110,000 customers nationwide.

The ARC Technology Center is responsible for the e-commerce and repro-graphics software development used by ARC’s growing family of compan-ies, including MirrorPlus.

The Center also provides day- to-day operations, management and training support for ARC’s network infrastructure linking 45 divisions and 148 locations nationwide.

The facility also serves as the network operation center and data center for ARC’s proprietary network and growing suite of online customer services.

“A key example of the work MirrorPlus will perform at the ARC Technology Center is seen in Plan Well, the popular Web-based tool it developed for ARC that it continues to upgrade and improve,” said ARC president Suri Suriyakumar.

The Web-based software module makes compiling and ordering construction-plansets easier, faster and more accurate than ever before. PlanWell facilitates on-demand printing and delivery of plans and specifications by storing architectural, engineering and construction plans in its nationwide database.

The company has standardized its entire suite of PlanWell tools on Microsoft’s Windows NT 2000 Enterprise servers, which gives it access to the largest collection of plans and specifications in the construction industry. Drawings are reproduced at regional ARC offices near intended recipients.

Compaq June 28 announced a strategic marketing alliance with ARC to provide $10 million over two years in enterprise infrastructure technology and services to support the center and the PlanWell documentation platform.

Compaq and ARC have also entered into a marketing agreement that calls for Compaq to promote its brand, products and services on the PlanWell Web site. In return, ARC will serve as a Compaq sales agent, providing its customers with the ability to order a wide range of Compaq products online.

ARC selected Compaq and Microsoft because we were looking for technology partners who could put all the pieces together to deliver a robust, mission-critical and integrated solution to support our broad database of construction drawings and specifications, said Roy. Thousands of customers must have access to ARCs online offerings simultaneously, so we needed an operating system capable of handling heavy loads.

Added Bill Weaver, Compaq’s vice president for U.S. Sales, Together, Compaq and Microsoft offer the breadth and scope of IT expertise that will enable ARC to integrate new technology that is highly scalable, reliable and can provide the performance and database security that its customers require.

Earlier, ARC had conducted a three - week simulated traffic test of its converted database system at the Microsoft Technology Center Silicon Valley, where Compaq had contributed more than $6 Million in technology and equipment.

Mayor Morrison commented in an understatement that he hasn’t attended many business openings in Silicon Valley lately, so he appreciates the confidence American Reprographics is showing in the economy and in Fremont by opening this facility.