First-time visitors can also gain knowledge of the company background, information about its worldwide offices and eve n have some "TOL Fun." The latter feature includes the Trans Ocean Dock Loader Game and hot links to live images such as a virtual zoo and outdoor vistas, an international dining guide and much more.

"We provide our customers with real-time access to information," explains Jonathan Fornaci, Trans Ocean's chief information officer. "When you get into places like India and the Far East, you're lucky to find a phone that works. The Internet is much more accessible."

Trans Ocean, which owns, leases and manages containers and equipment types used by world-trade shipping companies, feeds its network through its San Francisco headquarters to its global offices. Approximately 20 file servers (one in each of 12 regional offices and eight at the San Francisco headquarters) running Novell NetWare provide storage for Microsoft Word, enterprise applications and cc:Mail. Digital Equipment Corp.'s AlphaServers run Unix-based applications.

The company uses PeopleSoft for running financials, handling accounts payable and receivable, asset management, purchasing, general ledger and inventory reports. The salespeople utilize Aurum, a sales-automation software package that allows them to be more mobile, according to Fornaci. "The entire company is now running Windows95 and Pentium laptops and desktops with IP," he says. More than 150 employees work with this system internally.

Fornaci stresses the importance of installing firewalls. Security breaches are major concerns, and Trans Ocean continues to research and install the best options. "We take the Fort Knox approach," he says. "There's a constant fight between hackers and security. It's everyone's nightmare." Trans Ocean's network, including its firewalls, protects the company's internal systems but still lets customers and employees access data.

Fornaci reports the company plans to expand the number of hits it receives on the Web from 3,000 to 10,000 daily by December. Resale and custom collaborative applications are among the new features found at the Web site. Customers will be able to discover resale information on more than 50,000 containers and place orders right on the Web.