Biography: Ron Skeoch has an Honors Degree in Building & Quantity Surveying from UNSW and Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from Macquarie University. He was introduced to computers with punch cards (and a pin to press out the holes), and has gained his computer experience through many years of designing, implementing and supporting the Muli Project Risk, Accounts & Process Management System.

After National Services interrupted his part-time degree, he finally completed his degree after seven years and joined a major design and construction builder - Lend Lease/Civil & Civic working on major projects such as the MLC Centre; Tooheys Redevelopment in Auburn and OTC Paddington (gateway of half the Australian telecommunications at that time).

During this period, he was honoured with the Granville Medal for his work in co-ordinating the engineering aspects of the removal of the Rail Bridge that fell on a train.

Muli Management Pty Ltd was established in 1981 as a construction company with an emphasis on Construction/Project Management services.

Muli identified the need for an integrated construction management system to enable accurate internal financial control and client reporting.

Muli reviewed available (economic) solutions and decided to contract to have the required system developed to our specifications.

Like most early computer projects, goals were not achieved and in due course Muli took over the project management and ownership. The escalating development costs meant the product needed to be sold to other builders to recover costs.

Muli's first sale in 1982 was to James Clifford Constructions Pty Ltd, a working relationship that has continued right though many upgrades to today's continually evolving system serving professional construction businesses with turnovers from $2-200+M.

Due to our long exposure to economically developing and maintaining many User sites, Muli has developed a core principle of "Independent IP". Muli will use only solutions for core product for which it has source code access, hence its use of Linux servers. Direct development of own own "Basic/ 'C' compiler and Runtime" which we are tidying up to release under a Mozilla Open Licence as "Ngipi Open Business Account".

We believe long term access to a Client's business data should not be at the largess of companies such as Microsoft.

Muli has developed through SCO, Zenix, Interactive Unix, System Vunix with our first Linux User site installed in 1996. By June 1999, all our Client servers were Linux based.

Muli is not just another accounting package that does job costing but a fully integrated Project Risk, Accounts & Process Management solution of over 600 individual applications. (Muli's fully integrated Payroll module is over 100 applications).

For our Muli Release 'N' (portion of which will be released as Ngipi Open Business Accounts), we have totally redeveloped the solution with production of User documents such as Orders, Subcontracts, Progress Claims and associated Notices to utilise Open Office as the User production environment. Muli has also developed associated 'Risk2do' and flexible 'Notes' modules in Version 'N'.

It is surprising how much tidy-up needs to be applied to a 22 year old project before one is prepared to present the code to the open community.