The Epi Info™ Story ~ 1993-1998

Internet distribution of Epi Info™ began, making it available to a wide international audience without charge.

"It is a generally accepted rule in the software business that producing a working prototype is only 20% of the cost of making a commercial product." (from a report of the Working Group on Biomedical Computing, Advisory Committee to the Director, National Institutes of Health, June 3, 1999). 

Much of the work in making Epi Info™ useful on a range of computers worldwide in the hands of many different kinds of users is in debugging, testing, documenting, obtaining user feedback, and providing technical support to users.

An important feature in Epi Info's™ acceptance is the Epi Info™ Hotline. Two Hotline staff members respond to 20 to 40 inquiries per day by telephone, FAX, and e-mail. The Hotline not only provides support and builds confidence among users, but also is a channel through which problems and suggestions become available to the development team.

Natalie Huet

During the Summer of 1997, an evaluation of Epi Info™ distribution was performed by Braddee Harbage, a student intern, using e-mail and the Internet to contact as many distributors of Epi Info™ as possible. Results included:

• A minimum estimate of 145,320 copies of Epi Info™ and Epi Map distributed in more than 117 countries
• 1,207 citations in the scientific literature
• 52 Internet sites providing copies of the Epi Info™ programs, manual, or related materials
• An estimate that 66% of copies were distributed by Internet