hat EDI be implemented on whatever hardware was available and choice of software was severely limited by hardware optionsA business seeking to start EDI for the first time probably already has a PC that can be used to run an EDI translation package and communications software. Even if such hardware is not available, or is outdated, it can be obtained at a relatively small cost. The principal requirements for installing most PC-based packages are not any more demanding than today's word-processing or spreadsheet packages.For software packages designed specifically for restrictive hardware, “the price-tag is likely to be higher than for a package designed for a UNIX workstation, because of the more limited market and the more specialized technical expertise required. Also this difference can be expected to grow as Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) based open systems computers have gained popularity. Many software vendors are turning from strictly exclusive software to development of packages that will run under the UNIX operating system on a variety of RISC platforms with only minor modifications and differences.”5RISC computers, because of their power, have put mainframe computing in a PC-sized package. They have gained popularity for client-server applications where a local PC will contain a software package that accesses remote databases.Another feature of the RISC/UNIX systems is their "open architecture" design. “Open Architecture for the EDI user means that the data on the system can be much more easily shared with software on other platforms through standardized file access protocols.”5These UNIX systems are available in a wide range of performance configurations. At the low end the platforms are comparable in power to the larger PC with the added advantage of supporting multiple users. At the high end they compare favorably to mainframe capability.Early pioneers in EDI were faced with technically co...