Attachmate introduces revolutionary approach to corporate Intranet computing; powerful Web applications bring transparent integration of host systems and the Internet with collaborative technology and a new object architecture.

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1995--Attachmate(R) Corp. -- the Intranet Company -- today announced its strategy for bridging the gap between internal corporate information systems and the rapidly growing global Internet.

In conjunction with its acquisition of The Wollongong Group, Attachmate is unveiling a series of revolutionary Emissary software products and services, as well as its COLT architectural framework for rapidly deploying new, object-oriented Intranet solutions.

"These new products and services, along with our soon to be completed acquisition of Wollongong, provide Attachmate with the necessary components to deliver on our vision universal information access software capable of navigating Intranets and the Internet," said James Lindner, president and CEO of Attachmate.

"Attachmate has the ability to support and service customers in more than 30 countries and has the distribution/channel infrastructure to deliver these solutions quickly."

Defined as the internal implementation of Web technology within corporations, the "Intranet" is an explosive new market segment, estimated by industry sources to be $1.2 billion by 1997.

Attachmate, well recognized as the industry leader in the host connectivity market, is now setting its sights on becoming a leading player in the growing corporate Intranet market by offering users powerful business applications for internal or external Webs.

These Web applications and tools fill crucial gaps for organizations looking to provide value-added solutions on the Internet, or to internal employees such as secure and high performance host access, document management, document publishing, forum-style conferencing, user access management, and transparent universal client access -- to name a few.

Wollongong currently offers Emissary Desktop (version 1.1) and Emissary Office (version 1.1), which provide business users with a revolutionary way to access and work with corporate and Internet-based information. The company is also announcing three new products which will be available in the first quarter of 1996:

-- Emissary Workgroup for complete Internet/Intranet Web conferencing, browsing, publishing, searching, tracking and document management -- which can be linked to any Web server or Home Page;

-- Emissary Host Publishing System for dynamically linking host applications and data to Web pages or servers to enable organizations to build robust Web applications readable by any browser; and,

-- Emissary Intranet/Internet Services for telephone support and on-site consulting, design and development of sophisticated and secure Intranets.

These new products, which operate in Windows(R), Windows NT(TM) and the Windows(R)95 operating system, are the first solutions to provide completely transparent enterprise information access for desktop users and workgroups inside or outside corporate firewalls.

"Attachmate's Intranet strategy is a fascinating and fresh approach for building clean, secure and robust Intranets," said Tim Sloane, director of messaging with the Aberdeen Group.

"Information services managers should warmly welcome this combination of Attachmate's expertise in host access and enterprise communications, along with Wollongong's object architecture and Internet expertise when addressing Intranet and Internet integration."

Attachmate to offer COLT object-oriented framework

These new solutions from Attachmate, as well as several new products slated for announcement in the first quarter of 1996, will share a common COLT(TM) object-oriented architecture -- developed by The Wollongong Group -- which will dramatically simplify the way users browse, organize and share information.

This architecture will allow users to choose how they want to work with information (using a browser, a workgroup environment, etc.), what they want to connect to (host applications, WWW, databases, networks, ftp sites, etc.), and from which site they need access (the Internet, a remote office, a corporate network, etc.).

Because of this object-based architecture, Attachmate will be able to create a completely transparent, integrated drag-and-drop user interface that then can be easily customized with other "plug-in" objects, allowing users to easily add functionality as needed. Attachmate's approach differs from others by transparently providing users with any data (not just Web data) in its original format and functionality within a single, powerful interface.

Pricing and Availability

The Emissary Workgroup, Emissary Host Publishing System and Emissary Intranet/Internet Services will be available by the end of the first quarter, 1996. Pricing and localized information will be available at that time.

Emissary Desktop and Emissary Office 1.1 are currently available for $149 and $395 respectively. Users can download a free trial version from Wollongong's Web page at http://www.twg.com.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS EMISSARY WORKGROUP SYSTEM 

Many organizations are using Web servers today to set up basic collaborative networks that allow users to publish information to each other and provide feedback on various discussions. These servers, however, fall short of providing some of the more robust conferencing, document management, document publishing, searching, tracking and security elements found in more proprietary solutions.

To address this issue, and to provide the industry with one of the first complete solutions for setting up internal as well as external collaborative environments, Attachmate is introducing Emissary Workgroup.

The Emissary Workgroup system is a combination of Attachmate's award-winning OpenMind(R) technology and Wollongong's Emissary Internet capabilities. Running on Windows, Windows NT or Windows 95, this new enterprise and Internet-ready client/server product can be transparently linked into any Web server and elegantly combines forum-style conferencing, document management, document publishing, and workgroup enhanced Internet access.

Using its own client or any Web browser, such as Microsoft's new Internet Explorer, users can hold electronic group discussions (including threaded discussions with Internet News Groups), develop joint documents, provide feedback on published information, search and notify others of information, and browse the Web.

Emissary Workgroup truly distinguishes itself from any other conferencing and publishing product available by exploiting its rich architecture and extending the collaborative capabilities of traditional Web servers.

Within a threaded discussion, for example, a user can easily create a "compound document" that may include text, graphics, multimedia, live links to Web pages, or ftp (file transfer protocol) files, and then share it with everyone in that electronic forum. Emissary Workgroup is unprecedented in how it provides a complete, standards-based, content-rich Intranet/Internet solution.

A company can offer Web users outside the company access to their Emissary Workgroup server and limit them to as much or as little of the information they want. Customers, business partners and vendors can not only be allowed to view product and company information, but participate in forum-style electronic conferencing with other users inside or outside the corporate firewall.

Organizations can use the Emissary Workgroup server to develop new services or capabilities for their Web site, such as customer input forums, document viewing, searching and check/in-check/out, and so on. This capability takes a business Web site to a higher level, making it more personal and much richer in content through its extensive features.

Emissary Workgroup increases the effectiveness of current information systems and PC applications by providing a mechanism to easily share data and collect feedback. It can be set up to use Microsoft's Exchange messaging system, as well as exchanging information with E-mail systems, such as Microsoft Mail, since it integrates with MAPI or VIM.

"Attachmate's strategy of providing the same collaborative workspace to both Intranet and Internet users will benefit customers," said Greg Lobdell, group product manager in the business systems division at Microsoft.

"We're pleased that Emissary Workgroup will allow Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Mail clients to participate in electronic conferencing and collaborative forums. We're also pleased that Attachmate will ensure tight integration with Microsoft Exchange Server, providing Exchange Server users access to Emissary Workgroup's shared folders."

Since security is of paramount importance to corporate IS managers today, the Emissary products will provide three levels of control over which users have access to what information on the server. The Emissary Workgroup server runs on Windows NT and is compatible with any Windows NT-based or UNIX Web server.

EMISSARY HOST PUBLISHING SYSTEM

The Emissary Host Publishing System gives IS professionals the tools they need to quickly and safely integrate host data with Web applications.

A set of powerful development tools and a secure server running under Windows NT, the Emissary Host Publishing System will enable companies to develop Intranet client/server applications ranging from simple publishing and information retrieval of host data to more robust applications that interact with host business logic. These Intranet applications can be made accessible outside the corporate firewall to any Web browser.

The Emissary Host Publishing Server allows HTML Web authors to integrate host applications and databases such as IBM CICS and DB2 with World Wide Web applications, with no changes required to existing host applications.

For example, a government agency may need to publish information for property owners and financial institutions on various land and property assessments. A homeowner or loan officer could easily retrieve this information by going to the agency's Web site using their existing Web browser and access the information.

The server handles the translation between host screen data and HTML page data as well as the navigation to specific host screens from embedded HTML commands. The Emissary Host Publishing Server runs on a Windows NT system with an SNA gateway.

As part of the Emissary Host Publishing Server system, the Emissary Host Publishing Tools greatly expand the scope and value of Web applications by enabling users to interact with the Web applications.

These tools are designed to work with Microsoft's Visual Basic, C++, and any other OLE-enabled development tool. Application developers already familiar with these types of development tools (i.e. Visual Basic) can create Intranet applications immediately, and less experienced users can be productive very quickly since Internet development experience is not required.

Host computers are designed to handle such tasks as querying a database, retrieving documents, placing orders, or requesting services. The Emissary Host Publishing Tools bring these capabilities to a Web client, such as Netscape Navigator, creating a powerful hybrid application for the Intranet.

For example, through an organization's Web site the marketing department may wish to collect customer or prospect information for future marketing purposes. When a "visitor" enters that information into the form on the Web site, he could then automatically transfer the data and add/update the database where that information resides.

Intranet and Internet applications developed using the Emissary Host Publishing Tools can run on both Windows NT and UNIX Web servers.

EMISSARY INTRANET/INTERNET SERVICES

The Emissary Intranet/Internet Services are offered to help organizations plan, design, implement and support their Intranet. These comprehensive services, Internet HelpDesk, Intranet Consulting and Intranet Consulting Partners, are part of Attachmate's ongoing strategy of providing organizations with the required help they need to create and manage their Intranet infrastructure.

Attachmate's Internet HelpDesk provides the technical support end-users need to effectively and efficiently navigate the Internet. This support hot-line offers understandable, comprehensive answers for both the novice and experienced Internet user and provides a single source for specialized support.

Attachmate's Internet HelpDesk offerings include services for individual users and a corporate offering geared toward the corporate power-user. A corporate version of the Internet HelpDesk will be available for more experienced users to get the most out of their Internet access and allow an organization's in-house support staff to remain focused on their core competencies.

INTERNET CONSULTING PRACTICE AND INTERNET CONSULTING PARTNERS' PROGRAM

In an effort to deliver the design and implementation answers organizations need, Attachmate has formed two new service operations: the Intranet Consulting Practice and the Intranet Consulting Partners program.

Together, these new operations will provide the expertise needed by today's IS organizations to control costs and reduce the time necessary to effectively implement the wide range of emerging Intranet/Internet technologies. The Attachmate consulting solutions will include:

-- Planning and Design Internet business strategy architecture, security issues and firewall design, WWW home page design and management.

-- Implementation Consulting Internet host server installation and configuration, Web-to-host integration, E-mail, gateways, nodes and network configuration.

-- Support and Management - Internet protocol addressing and management, training and remote technical networking support.

About Attachmate The Intranet Company

Attachmate is the leading supplier of enterprise software that helps organizations create sophisticated Intranets, allowing users to access, manipulate and exchange business information whether it resides within the enterprise or on the Internet. Attachmate's Intranet solutions allow organizations to seamlessly bridge the gap between corporate information systems and the emerging Internet.

Backed by a high level of customer service and support, Attachmate's product families include universal information access and productivity-enhancing software ranging from host and Internet communications to collaborative Internet conferencing, publishing and document management software, to remote access, enterprise client/server, and software/network management and distribution applications.

The sixth largest PC software company in the world, Attachmate employs over 2,000 people in more than 30 countries.

For more information about Attachmate's products, contact Attachmate's headquarters in Bellevue at 206/644-4010 or toll free 800/426-6283. Attachmate's World Wide Web address is http://www.attachmate.com.

About Wollongong: An Internetworking Technology Leader

For more than 15 years, The Wollongong Group has been a technology leader in TCP/IP-based internetworking. The company's award-winning Emissary and PathWay product families have helped world-class corporations integrate their heterogeneous computing resources into cohesive enterprise networks based on the TCP/IP internetworking standard.

Installed in over 50,000 sites worldwide and serving millions of users, Wollongong's products provide users with desktop access to information and services on their private, TCP/IP-based corporate networks as well as on the Internet.

Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Wollongong is leveraging its extensive expertise in TCP/IP stacks and internetworking applications and focusing on providing object-oriented access solutions to the Internet and corporate internetworks. Wollongong's home page can be accessed at http://www.twg.com. -0-

-- Attachmate and OpenMind are registered trademarks of Attachmate Corp.

-- Emissary, PathWay and COLT are trademarks of The Wollongong Group.

-- Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT and Visual Basic are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

-- Other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Attachmate Corp., Bellevue

Walter Conner, 206/649-6551

or

The Wollongong Group

Earle Speranza, 415/962-7156