Amicus Networks Develops and Deploys Extended Intranet for Hornor, Townsend & Kent in Less Than Two Weeks; HTK Web Site Demonstrates Rapid Deployment Capabilities of Amicus' Tool Belt.

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 1996--Amicus Networks (www.amicus.com), rapidly emerging as a leader in providing electronic communications and full-featured Web sites to the financial services industry, has completed development of a major private Extended Intranet for Hornor, Townsend & Kent (HTK; Horsham, PA), a subsidiary of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. HTK field representatives can access the site at http://www.htk.com.

The HTK site is an "Extended Intranet" linking HTK with its national network of more than 1,200 financial representatives. Intranets use a Web interface to manage information and communication within an enterprise, with security controls to limit access to employees. An Extended Intranet extends access to an enterprise's suppliers, customers, and others integral to the enterprise's operations.

The HTK Extended Intranet is particularly notable for the speed of development and deployment -- less than two weeks from start to finish. The accomplishment was enabled by Amicus' Tool Belt(R), a Web site creation and management tool that includes a publishing component able to create and deliver Web sites in very short time frames.

"It would have been difficult to complete a site of this magnitude in such a short time frame without Tool Belt Publisher," says Mihran Aroian, Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Amicus Networks.

A site developed and managed by Tool Belt contains a comprehensive set of integrated capabilities including content publishing, dynamic rendering of content, sectioned public and private areas, site security and user authentication, and a full range of interactivity/collaboration services. Most importantly, Tool Belt offers anyone with Web access the ability to contribute content to the site without the need to master specialized languages or software.

The HTK site includes more than 75 pages of content, including:

-- An electronic forms service, enabling site users to print any HTK form on-demand.

-- Information about HTK products and services, including mutual funds, variable annuities, variable life, direct participation plans, trust services, and advisory services.

-- Procedures for doing business with HTK, including information about commissions, licensing and registration, compliance, and transition issues.

-- HTK Updates, providing market information about current and upcoming events.

-- Hotlinks, hypertext links to preferred sponsors, sources of information about markets and breaking news, and other sites representatives will find useful and fun.

-- Electronic mail capabilities.

"HTK's objective was to establish an extraordinary resource for our 1,200 financial representatives, giving them the information and communications support they need to offer world class customer service," according to C. Ray Smith, Executive Vice President for Sales and Marketing at HTK. "We want to use leading edge technology to help our representatives keep abreast of the latest financial trends, stay up to date with HTK's broad range of products and services, and communicate with each other to assure that we leverage our expertise effectively."

According to Smith, "We are particularly excited about Tool Belt. Tool Belt provides us with a very flexible tool that can be learned quickly and allows anyone who is a part of the HTK team to participate fully in our electronic community."

Smith continues, "We believe that all information will be delivered via the Internet in a very short time, and our goal is to find a vehicle that will allow us to accomplish our objectives in the most cost-effective way. Amicus Networks offers us a turn-key service that could be deployed quickly, is easy to use, and can be implemented in an affordable way."

A recent survey conducted by Amicus Networks indicated that the financial broker/dealer industry is quickly moving to adopt electronic communication and Web-based information systems. "HTK is at the leading edge of a true industry trend," according to Aroian. "The broker/dealer industry has traditionally been very paper and process intensive and, as a result, electronic communications systems such as those enabled by Amicus Tool Belt can greatly increase efficiency and the quality of communication."

About Hornor, Townsend & Kent

HTK is a full-service, independent broker/dealer with financial service professionals located across the United States. HTK offers a full range of products and services. HTK is a subsidiary of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, currently with over $7.2 billion in consolidated assets.

About Amicus Networks, Inc.

Amicus Networks (www.amicus.com) is dedicated to supporting the financial services channel. Amicus Networks is the leading provider of Internet-based communication systems for disseminating information and communicating with financial services constituents within a secure environment. In addition to Hornor Townsend and Kent, Amicus Networks clients include Financial Service Corporation and Resource Financial Group, among others.

CONTACT: Amicus Networks, Inc., Austin

Corporate contact: Mihran Aroian, 512/418-8828

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Editorial contact: Bill Stotesbery, 512/347-1012

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