EDI Associates is a new firm offering a "Van-On-Demand" service to users of electronic data interchange. The on-demand, pay-as-you-go service involves no contracts, commitments or minimum usage, the company said. Acting as a value-added network (VAN), Van-On-Demand allows clients to send and receive transactions securely and at a lower cost than the use of paper documents, EDI Associates claimed. Companies sign up for free and don't receive a bill until they begin using the service. The offering is especially well-suited for small and medium-sized firms and those with simpler data-communication needs, the vendor said. The system supports all ANSI X12 documents over an FTP connection; it will soon accommodate EDIFACT documents as well as AS2 and SFTP communications. EDI Associates was formed in 2000 as an EDI consulting firm specializing in the installation and maintenance of Sterling Commerce's Gentran product line.
