Agilent Technologies, John Hancock and Others Implement Shareholder Direct Service for Online Investor Access.

Business/Technology Editors

MAYNARD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2000

Shareholder Direct client list now includes 270 public

corporations and reaches over 40 million individual investors

Direct Report Corporation announced today that several newly-formed public companies with large shareholder bases have selected its Shareholder Direct service for their corporate Investor Relations departments. These companies include Agilent Technologies, the recent H-P spinoff, and John Hancock corporation, which became one of the most broadly held public corporations on its January 27, 2000 initial public offering.

These companies join Direct Report's 270 public-company clients who have selected Shareholder Direct to reach an estimated forty million individual and institutional investors. Over two hundred of those companies use Shareholder Direct for Investor Relations communications, while approximately seventy use its Shareholder Direct Proxy electronic-proxy voting system.

&uot;Direct Report is a leader in providing comprehensive investor communications services to shareholders and prospective investors,&uot; said James Laird, Analyst, Yankee Group, Boston, MA. &uot;Online and other investors are increasingly demanding equal and timely access to the latest information about public companies. We see the democratization of investor relations as a major trend that will continue for the foreseeable future.&uot;

According to Hilliard Terry, Director of Investor Relations for Agilent Technologies, Inc., &uot;Agilent's new base of shareholders is large and diverse. We selected the Shareholder Direct solution to help us build the most effective communications process for our online and offline investors.&uot;

Direct Report's client base represents a mix of companies large and small from a variety of industries. Over 100 client companies are on the &uot;Fortune 500&uot; list including Dun &Bradstreet (NYSE:DNB) and Gateway Corporation (NYSE:GTW) each of which offer a comprehensive investor relations website for investors. Also included are newly public companies such as internet IPO's Stamps.com (NASDAQ: STMP), Allaire Corp (NASDAQ:ALLR), and Onyx Software (NASDAQ:ONXS).

In announcing these new clients, Direct Report founder and president Ronald Gruner noted &uot;Shareholder Direct continues to be implemented by some of the world's most progressive Investor Relations departments. We are especially pleased that companies such as Agilent and John Hancock, with the complexity and magnitude of serving a large investor base, have selected the Shareholder Direct solution to help them to simplify the process of investor communications.&uot;

Direct Report's Shareholder Direct service is a complete web-based communications manager for Investor Relations which provides integrated online and offline investor access by website, email, fax and fax broadcast, webcast, telephone, and postal mail. Direct Report has continuously innovated Shareholder Direct since 1993, when the service was first offered as a telephone and fax-based information line for shareholders. Since then, it has continued to provide the most advanced electronic communications services for investor relations.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) is the Hewlett-Packard subsidiary that provides test, measurement, and monitoring systems and equipment.

John Hancock (NYSE:JHF) is one of the nation's leading insurers and financial institutions.

Direct Report Corporation is the industry leader in providing innovative ways to communicate with shareholders and prospective investors through corporate websites and webcasts, email, fax on demand and fax broadcast, telephone services with recorded messages and live operators, and mail fulfillment services.

For additional information, case studies and interviews, please contact Carol Sullivan at Peter Arnold Associates, 781/239-1030, [e-mail], or Joy Kinnear, Vice President of Client Services of Direct Report Corporation at 1/800-990-NEWS, [e-mail]; or visit www.shareholder.com.