Alchemy XML Integrates Unstructured Data Into E-Business Applications; New Infrastructure Predicted to Become E-Business Standard.

Business and High Tech Editors

Fall Internet World 2000

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2000

Information Management Research, Inc. (IMR) today unveiled Alchemy(R)XML (AXML), predicting the new technology will dramatically change the way corporations manage and share business data.

At the Internet World Fall 2000 Conference at Jacob Javits Center, IMR positioned AXML as a set of self-describing XML-based components that acquire, index, store, retrieve and present unstructured data for a complete e-business infrastructure. The Denver-based company and its strategic partners will embed the technology in XML-based solutions that integrate unstructured data into e-business applications such as portals, application service providers (ASP), exchanges, web sites and other web applications.

Unstructured data is business information that exists outside a company's relational databases, including scanned images, computer reports, CAD files, faxes, e-mail, office documents and many other PC-based formats. Industry analysts say unstructured data comprises 80 percent of vital corporate information. It is data that cannot be put to maximum use because it is generally hard to access, trapped somewhere in electronic archives, on local hard drives, or as paper in filing cabinets or warehouse storage.

AXML is one of the first uses of an open and scalable XML data interchange to seamlessly integrate complex, unstructured content into e-business applications. IMR President and CEO Robert Drucker cited its introduction as a major milestone - the new architecture around which the company will position its business strategy.

"Today's competitive advantage goes to companies that can provide ways to quickly access and distribute strategic information, when and where it is needed, to enhance workflow, manage customer relations, and support other essential business operations. AXML will enable us to enter emerging markets as well as open new avenues to our installed base of customers," Drucker stated.

Initially, IMR will market AXML to large corporate customers, systems integrators and application service providers (ASP) who develop e-business applications for markets such as eCRM and AEC, where rapid, universal access to business information is essential. In addition, IMR sees AXML as a migration path for its more than 5,000 customers who use Alchemy(R) databases in a variety of imaging and document management applications.

AXML will be installed alongside IMR's award-winning Alchemy suite of products which, with the addition of the new AXML functionality, can easily be re-purposed for business applications such as interactive customer support, online construction planning or e-catalog sales.

AXML has a distributed, scalable and open architecture, with a published XML schema. It communicates across NT, UNIX and Linux platforms. Its programming interface resides on a server, enabling it to be easily integrated into any XML-based application. The embedded technology will enable end users to compile and manage comprehensive corporate databases, including previously inaccessible unstructured data.

Vice President of Product Marketing Dan Lucarini predicts IMR's technology will quickly become a standard, citing these key reasons why integrators will want to adopt it. AXML will:

-- Integrate more than 300 different file and data formats into e-business
applications through its open and cross-platform data interchange

-- Manage complex content such as scanned documents with OCR fields, e-mail
attachments and mainframe reports, and also support full-text queries.

-- Scale to manage millions of unstructured data files per server, using IMR's
proven Alchemy database; multiple repositories can be transparently linked.

-- Integrate archival strategies for preserving and protecting files in their
native formats.

The first version of AXML will be available from IMR in 4Q 2000.

About IMR

IMR was founded in 1992. Its flagship product, Alchemy Gold(R), is a suite of software solutions that manages and distributes document databases on low-cost computer storage. The products are installed at more than 5,000 locations in more than 40 countries. The company has a corporate staff and sales force worldwide, in addition to strategic business partners and a network of more than 300 resellers in North and South America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Major customers include industry leaders such as General Electric, First Data Corporation, IBM, American Express, MCI, Boeing Aerospace and Chase Manhattan. For information about IMR and its products, visit www.imrgold.com, e-mail [e-mail] or phone [phone].

Alchemy and other IMR software modules are registered trademarks of Information Management Research, Inc. All other company, brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.