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Randall Kennedy knew he had a hot concept when he realized that the firms that wanted to collaborate with his company were attempting to reverse-engineer his Web site.

"All of a sudden," says Kennedy, "we had two-dozen programmers dissecting our code. I felt like we'd just published the secret formula for cold-fusion or something."

His company, Xpressnet (www.xpnet.com), provides the newest form of education: Web- based training (WBT).

So far, Xpressnet is focusing on providing training for information technology (IT) professionals. According to an IDC study, training for IT professionals is estimated to grow from $14.9 billion in 1996 to $27 billion in the year 2000. After all, technology is the fastest growing sector in the US economy and there is a major shortage of qualified technical workers.

The advantages of WBT are many. To take a course, you do not have to drive 40 miles to a remote location (typically at night, after work). You can learn the material at your own pace-- anytime, anywhere. You can be at home, at work, a hotel room or even at the beach.

By using chat and teleconferencing software, you can even interact with other students and instructors. Because of multimedia technology--animation, video, audio--the learning experience can be very dynamic. Even fun.

By delivering the courses over the Web, it does not matter what platform the student is using. Moreover, the costs of development are much lower compared to a CD-ROM, which involves large start-up and duplication costs.

There are also cost savings because a company does not have to pay for an employee's travel and room and board, as well as suffer the loss of productivity while the employee is away. "It is fairly typical to pay $5,000 to $10,000 per worker for a course," says Kennedy. "As for the online counterparts, the price is about $1,000 to $2,000."

There is also evidence that WBT improves learning. According to a study from Jerry Schutte, a professor of sociology at the California State University at Northridge, a student online tested 20 percent better than a student in a traditional classroom. Why? Well, WBT encourages collaboration among students. In the traditional classroom, everyone is in a desk and looking at the instructor--which does not necessarily encourage collaboration. In the virtual classroom, the software requires the students to communicate--via email, discussion groups and chat. There is also anonymity, in terms of gender and race.

With such benefits, it is not surprising that IDC predicts that online training will climb from $92 million in 1996 to $1.7 billion by the year 2000.

And there are major players in this market, such as IBM and Microsoft. However, these companies focus on training for their own products.

As for Oracle, it is taking another tack. You can not only learn about other vendor's products, but also business and management skills. Oracle training options include:

• Instructor-Led Training: Oracle has training centers in 240 locations across the world and 190 regularly scheduled courses. In these centers, you can engage in scenario-based workshops, such as recovering a crashed database. A company can also have tailored-training, so time is spent on the material that is needed.
• Remote Oracle Channel: This uses distance learning, in which there is a live instructor at a studio. The presentation is then sent via satellite, WAN or digital phone line to a remote office location. Students at the remote location can use key pads, which have microphones, to provide feedback to the instructor.
• Media-Based Training (MBT): These are hands-on, structured courses. Oracle has a technology, called Simulator, that creates a variety of real-life scenarios. Oracle uses both videos and CD-ROMs.
• Oracle Learning Architecture (OLA): This is Oracle's WBT. OLA makes use of multimedia--such as QuickTime Video and Audio--and has about 50 courses.

Started in 1989, Oracle's online training business now generates a whopping $257 million and is the second-largest provider of IT training (IBM is the first).

Well, Xpressnet is no where near the size of Oracle (then again, few companies are). Expressnet has three full-time employees and has been in business for six months. However, in this short period of time, the company has been able to assemble an impressive virtual campus.

At the Xpressnet web site, you will go to the Main Campus. This is the "jumping-off point" for online training courses. There are links to the such resources as:

• Chat Session: Twice a week, you can have a chat session with your assigned instructor. You use the NetMeeting 2.0 chat client to accomplish this.
• Newsgroups: Here, you can converse with other students--that is, compare notes. Each class has its own private newsgroup and can be accessed via Xpressnet's Internet news server.

Each course will have a syllabus. For example, the TCP/IP internetworking course (using Win NT 4.0) is five weeks. You will also need to take a Networking Essentials course as a prerequisite. The course costs $995.00.

When taking a course, you will see on the left side of the screen a tree-level outline (written in Java) of the course contents. It makes navigation easy--which is important when there is so much content. There is also a button bar, which allows you to invoke the Online Help system and Keyword search pages. Interspersed in the text are charts and screen shots.

But what makes Xpressnet unique is its use of Winframe server technology. Winframe is a product from a fast-growing company called Citrix. Basically, Winframe is a thin-client technology. That is, you download a small program on your desktop. The thin-client will then be able to communicate with the server using an Internet connection. Thus, you can install applications on the server--such as Word, Excel, Access--and the thin-client will then access them. However, the thin-client will not download the programs; rather, the thin-client will mimic the user interface of the applications on the desktop. The applications will run on the server.

What Xpressnet does is allow the student to access Windows NT--without needing to download it on the desktop. So, the student can get hands-on experience using these advanced applications. This is known as the virtual lab. [If you want to see a demo of the Winframe technology, go to www.citrix.com. With the thin-client, you will be able to run PaintBrush, MineSweeper, Lotus Notes and Access 97 straight from your browser.]

Interestingly enough, Xpressnet has the only copy of Citrix's Winframe version 2.0. How? Well, four days before Microsoft invested in Citrix, the founder of the company (who is a good friend of Kennedy) sent to Xpressnet a release version of the program. Once the Microsoft deal was struck, Winframe 2.0 was not shipped and was scheduled to be integrated in Windows NT.

Of course, technology is not the only asset. Xpressnet has a tremendous amount of content. At first, the company planned on using outside contractors to develop the content. "Unfortunately, it is difficult to find good writers," says Kennedy. So, Xpressnet has developed its own content.

And Xpressnet stands behind its course materials--by giving a free course if you fail the exam.

Originally, Xpressnet focused on the retail market. "That is, we were hoping that people would come to our site and start learning," says Kennedy. However, the retail consumer has been hesitant. "I suppose it is probably because there is so much stuff free on the Web."

One company that has been successful in the retail market is ZDNet University. Here, you can take courses on Java, C++ and other high-tech subjects. Then again, the courses only cost $4.95 per month. Because of its strong brand name and distribution, Ziff Davis is able to generate a tremendous amount of traffic on the site. Moreover, Ziff Davis also sells advertising banners to supplement revenues.

Not wanting to go against Ziff Davis, Xpressnet is now focusing on providing custom solutions for corporate clients. After all, these companies have lots of money and need to train their workforces.

Various venture capitalists have approached Xpressnet. "Each one has promised the moon," says Kennedy. Unfortunately, none have followed through. Currently, Xpressnet is looking to raise about $250,000.

Well, while investors may be promising much, Xpressnet is delivering. Its technology is cool and the content is effective--which is a great combination on the Web.

Tom Taulli