Altris Helps WHSmith to Keep the Books.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2000

Altris Software, Inc. (OTCBB:ALTS), a leading Document Service Provider (DSP), today announced that its UK subsidiary, Spescom KMS, is to supply WHSmith, a leading UK retailing group, with its eB(R) integrated document management and COLD software solution to streamline the process of matching invoices with delivery notes and original purchase orders.

The decision to install the solution was triggered by the Finance Department's move to smaller offices where there was no room to house bulky equipment such as microfilm readers. It quickly became clear however that document management and COLD would bring significant additional benefits by extending the period during which invoices, purchase orders and delivery notes are available online rather than in archived form and by allowing the data from electronic invoices to be merged with "virtual forms" stored on the document management system, thus presenting accounts information to staff in a familiar form.

The effect is that queries arising out of apparent discrepancies between orders, invoices and delivery notes can now be resolved in seconds rather than days. The benefits are expected to include a reduction in the cost of resolving problems, as well as more effective supply chain management.

Commenting on the selection of eB, John Pryor, IT project manager at WHSmith, said: "The solution that we needed was definitely not available 'off the shelf.' Our requirement to interface with the mainframe based financial accounting system and at the same time leverage our Microsoft centric desktops, dictated that the supplier we selected had to be flexible. Spescom KMS convinced us that they were that supplier."

The system will handle 400,000 paper invoices and 1.7 million electronic invoices in the first year of operation and this is expected to increase to 575,000 paper invoices and 2.1 million electronic invoices by 2002. In addition to document management and COLD, customized work routing software will automatically forward tasks to appropriate members of staff and where these become complex will escalate the queries to be handled by senior personnel.

Denton van Niekerk, director of Spescom's KMS division, welcomed WHSmith's decision to install KMS document management and COLD software. He said: "Our solutions have in the past been associated with the engineering document management market and this sector continues to be important to us. However we are delighted that the efforts we have been making to establish ourselves in the commercial A4 documentation market are now paying off. This is the second major order, following Abbey National, that has come from outside our traditional stronghold. I believe that the systems integration skills we learned in the engineering market and our company commitment to designing systems that really meet customer needs, make us stand out from the crowd."

About WHSmith

WHSmith plc is one of the leading UK retailing groups incorporating market leading companies in the areas of consumer publishing, news distribution and e-commerce. WHSmith Retail has over 1,200 stores world-wide employing 27,500 people in eleven countries and is the number one UK book, magazine and home stationery retailer. WHSmith plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SMWH) and is part of the FTSE 25 index.

About Altris Software, Inc.

Altris Software develops robust, scalable and highly innovative solutions that manage, control and disseminate the knowledge contained within an organization's documents, enabling our customers to gain e-business competitive advantage. As a leading Document Service Provider (DSP) for eBusiness, we provide documents as a service to customers' line-of-business and specific applications. This delivers the ability to manage and control the information content throughout the document lifecycle.

About Spescom Ltd.

Spescom is a multi-national communication and IT company listed on the South African JSE Securities Exchange. With operations in the UK, USA and South Africa, the company provides a range of eBusiness solutions and communications to leading organizations throughout the world.

Spescom holds a majority interest in Altris Software Inc., the developers of the eB integrated EDM solutions.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release include forward-looking statements that are dependent on certain risks and uncertainties, including such factors, among others, as market acceptance, market demand, pricing, changing regulatory environment, the effect of the company's accounting policies, potential seasonality and other risk factors detailed in the company's SEC filings.

Note to Editors: Altris eB is a registered trademark of Altris Software Inc. All other named products mentioned in this release may have been identified by trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.