`Don't Trust What You Read On the Web' Says NOP Research; New Research Shows Most UK Companies Have Lost Control of Information On Their Web Sites.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2000

Results published today by UK market research firm National Opinion Poll (NOP) Research reveal that nearly eight out of ten of UK companies are publishing out-of-date information on their company Web sites. The research commissioned by Mediasurface, Web content management software providers, raises concerns over the accuracy of the information that business and consumers rely upon on the net.

Perhaps more worryingly, the research indicates that businesses have lost control of the content published on their Web sites. The report found that:

    --  77% of companies publish out of date information on the Web

    --  41% believe that information was duplicated across their
        company's Web sites

    --  Despite this, 83% of respondents said that their Web sites
        were important business tools used by senior management

    --  56% admitted that it takes more than a day to get information
        published on their Web sites

Nick Gregory, vice president of marketing at Mediasurface, said, "With the Internet growing at a rate of more than 7 million pages each day, (source: Cyveillance Inc. 'Sizing the Internet' Study, July 2000) it has become an enormous resource for all of our work and lifestyle needs, if it brings useful and timely information. In an age where knowledge really is power, the validity, quality and timeliness of information is essential. Out-of-date information is of no more use than yesterday's newspaper, and companies whose Web sites contain useless and out-of-date information will lose customers in droves."

58% of survey respondents said it often took more than one working day to get essential information up onto their sites, lessening both the usefulness and the longevity of that information. 54% of companies have no content management software in place to help manage this process. Reflecting the fact that companies are dependent on the Web, 75% of respondents said it would be useful to have software to simplify and speed up this process.

Gregory continued: "Most companies use only one or two webmasters to publish and update content on their Web sites. In the vast majority of cases, the sheer volume of information to be updated leads to problems and delays, as the webmasters simply cannot cope with the amount of content needing to be published, causing bottlenecks.

"The solution is to make the content owners the content publishers, whether they are in sales, HR or marketing. If key individuals have the ability to add and edit content on their site through a browser from anywhere, without the need to learn any specialist IT skills -- this cuts out the problem of delays, and ensures control over e-business content."

Ian Hall, Internet development manager at Oxford University Press commented: "At OUP, we were having to make more than 1,000 changes to our Web site everyday, making it virtually unmanageable. The content management application provided by Mediasurface means that employees are empowered to make changes to the site through standard software that requires no training to use. More than 200 people at OUP now directly contribute to the site, ensuring immediate results."

The study, conducted by NOP Research, surveyed 104 Marketing managers in organizations with more than 500 employees in the finance, media and business Service sectors to investigate how UK Web sites are being managed. Details of the research report are available from www.mediasurface.com or from Market Accelerate at 415/826-4542.

About Mediasurface Limited

Mediasurface Limited is Europe's leading provider of enterprise content management application software for Web sites, intranets, extranets and emerging digital networks.

Founded in 1996 with the vision that enterprise content management is a prerequisite for e-business success, Mediasurface recognized then, as now, that Web sites are the first of many digital delivery channels. Mediasurface provides its clients powerful software and services to manage every interaction between content and people, from origination to destination, irrespective of language or location.

Robust, scalable and available in a hosted form, the Mediasurface product suite delivers e-businesses the significant competitive advantage of unrivalled speed to market. Mediasurface's comprehensive content solutions are integrated with best-in-class e-commerce, knowledge management, design, localization and personalization software, and delivered through select, highly trained service partners. Please visit www.mediasurface.com for more information.