Company Background

Compressed History

Nexus Alpha grew out of a programming project that Patrick McDougall did for BBC Travel in 1990. The product was the Travel Terminal, and the BBC initially placed it in Police Control Rooms (Patrick used to regularly train the police to use it at 2am in the morning). The system was used by the police to send messages to the BBC about road disruption, the BBC then forwarding the information to radio stations via their messaging hub.

In 1992, realising the potential benefit of informing passengers (now called customers) about rail disruption, representatives from Network South East took some systems (hardware paid for by the BBC, software provided gratis and started sending messages through for inclusion on Ceefax.

The first commercial funding for the Travel Terminal not via the BBC, came directly from rail companies so that paging capabilities could be introduced to the system. A business that just might be sustainable one day was born.

By 1992 Nexus Alpha was big enough to employ two people (just), so having met Tom de Havas at BBC Schools Radio, Patrick asked Tom to join him.

Tom took on the programming role that Patrick had previously done, and Patrick bought a suit, gave myself a haircut (quite a poor one I seem to remember – PM) and started visiting rail companies. Nexus Alpha became a limited company in June 1994.

In 1995 we designed our first generation of public displays screens, the Intelligent Display Unit (IDU), which were subsequently provided to various clients during the following four years. Our LCD1 and LCD2 products (stainless steel, high-bright LCD panels suitable for outdoor use) came along after, and we are now on our third generation of public display solutions.

In 1999 we built a fax-messaging hub along the same lines as the BBC one referenced above. 1999 also saw a key step forward - the introduction of Tyrell, the PC based implementation of the Travel Terminal. The Travel Terminal has been initially written in C by Patrick on the Acorn Archimedes system (due to links between the BBC and Acorn – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_computers if you are interested in the history of the company – quite a read!)

Tyrell became networked, and as well as communicating with the BBC, other Nexus Alpha systems, fax machines and pagers, rapidly grew into a highly configurable powerful communications and message management system.

Shortly after the launch of Tyrell, we started to present information entered via our systems on the Internet. That solution has developed over time, the latest version being our Journeycheck solution which is the engine that provides transport service disruption information on many rail company’s web sites.

Constant research and development of our products has ensured that we have gained skills, and pushed the technical boundaries of the types of solution we can offer.

We have continued to expand over the years, growing our customer base – principally within the UK rail industry and public transport sector.

Patrick McDougall

September 2006


	Home Products Product Overview Tyrell Use of Tyrell Tyrell Description IO TyrellCheck TyrellCheck JourneyCheck Overview Checking a Journey On Web On WAP On PDA Getting Alerts Public Displays Background New Systems Overview HERMES MAIA HELIOS Glossary Services M2M Messaging Overview Clients About Us Company History Environmental Policy Charities Supported Competition Contact Us Forum Login Search 18:34 Reading 4AB to Gatwick Airport due 19:50, This train has been revised. Swiss Cottage Station Information, SWISS COTTAGE STATION: No down escalator until Sunday 14 December, and again from Monday 5 January until Monday 4 May. 18:37 London Charing Cross to Gravesend due 19:37, This train will run short formed with 5 carriages. 18:11 London Blackfriars to Gillingham Kent due 19:19, This train will run short formed with 4 carriages. Company Background Compressed History Nexus Alpha grew out of a programming project that Patrick McDougall did for BBC Travel in 1990. The product was the Travel Terminal, and the BBC initially placed it in Police Control Rooms (Patrick used to regularly train the police to use it at 2am in the morning). The system was used by the police to send messages to the BBC about road disruption, the BBC then forwarding the information to radio stations via their messaging hub. In 1992, realising the potential benefit of informing passengers (now called customers) about rail disruption, representatives from Network South East took some systems (hardware paid for by the BBC, software provided gratis and started sending messages through for inclusion on Ceefax. The first commercial funding for the Travel Terminal not via the BBC, came directly from rail companies so that paging capabilities could be introduced to the system. A business that just might be sustainable one day was born. By 1992 Nexus Alpha was big enough to employ two people (just), so having met Tom de Havas at BBC Schools Radio, Patrick asked Tom to join him. Tom took on the programming role that Patrick had previously done, and Patrick bought a suit, gave myself a haircut (quite a poor one I seem to remember – PM) and started visiting rail companies. Nexus Alpha became a limited company in June 1994. In 1995 we designed our first generation of public displays screens, the Intelligent Display Unit (IDU), which were subsequently provided to various clients during the following four years. Our LCD1 and LCD2 products (stainless steel, high-bright LCD panels suitable for outdoor use) came along after, and we are now on our third generation of public display solutions. In 1999 we built a fax-messaging hub along the same lines as the BBC one referenced above. 1999 also saw a key step forward - the introduction of Tyrell, the PC based implementation of the Travel Terminal. The Travel Terminal has been initially written in C by Patrick on the Acorn Archimedes system (due to links between the BBC and Acorn – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_computers if you are interested in the history of the company – quite a read!) Tyrell became networked, and as well as communicating with the BBC, other Nexus Alpha systems, fax machines and pagers, rapidly grew into a highly configurable powerful communications and message management system. Shortly after the launch of Tyrell, we started to present information entered via our systems on the Internet. That solution has developed over time, the latest version being our Journeycheck solution which is the engine that provides transport service disruption information on many rail company’s web sites. Constant research and development of our products has ensured that we have gained skills, and pushed the technical boundaries of the types of solution we can offer. We have continued to expand over the years, growing our customer base – principally within the UK rail industry and public transport sector. Patrick McDougall September 2006