Connect, Inc. launches international initiative for Internet-based interactive commerce; New Presence in Europe and Asia Pacific Extends Reach of OneServer; Company Hires Oracle's Gary Botta as Director of European Sales.MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 1996--CONNECT, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CNKT), a leading provider of Internet-based interactive commerce and order management application software, today announced that it is expanding internationally through new sales offices in Europe and a new distributor in the Asia Pacific region. CONNECT is launching its international initiative to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. the growing global demand for its OneServer and OrderStream applications to support sophisticated, high-volume business over the Internet. "The global marketplace is primed for sophisticated, end-to-end interactive commerce technology, and CONNECT's OneServer -- already a U.S. industry leader -- is well-positioned to penetrate international markets," said Tom Kehler, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CONNECT. "By partnering with Hitechniaga, the foremost high tech distributor in the Asia Pacific region, and opening two new offices in the U.K. and Germany, CONNECT will extend the reach of OneServer and OrderStream to a wide range of international customers eager to exploit Web-based business commerce." Kehler added, "We're expanding at a particularly promising time for international business, as evidenced by the World Trade Organization's recent pact reducing customs duties Tariffs or taxes payable on merchandise imported or exported from one country to another. Customs laws seek to equalize the charges imposed by other countries, furnish income for the federal government, and preserve the financial stability of domestic industries. on IT products, and we are excited about leading the implementation of interactive commerce business models in the Asia Pacific region and Europe." CONNECT will build on existing relationships with major international hardware and integration partners to provide its current and new customers products and services designed to give faster access to the burgeoning business opportunities provided by the global Internet. CONNECT currently works with leading hardware vendors including Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , as well as systems integrators such as Logica Inc. and Computer Sciences Corporation which help clients develop interactive commerce overseas. Expansion in Asia Pacific CONNECT is increasing its presence in Asia Pacific by partnering with Hitechniaga Sdn Bhd SDN BHD Sendirian Berhad (Malay equivalent to incorporated) , a leading group of IT companies headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (kwä`lə l  m`pr), city (1990 est. pop. , Malaysia. Hitechniaga will distribute the company's OneServer and OrderStream products in the Asia Pacific region and work with CONNECT to help companies seeking to set up and conduct Internet-based interactive commerce. A subsidiary of the MBf Group -- one of Asia's largest conglomerates -- Hitechniaga operates through alliances with industry leaders like Motorola, Sun Microsystems and Anderson Consulting. Hitechniaga provides IT solutions and services to various industries through a vast distribution network in Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, and has plans to extend its operations to Thailand and Indonesia. Hitechniaga is also spearheading the local pilot implementation of the Secure Electronic Transaction Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) is a standard protocol for securing credit card transactions over insecure networks, specifically, the Internet. SET is not itself a payment system, but rather a set of security protocols and formats that enables users to employ the existing (SET) protocol developed by a MasterCard and Visa-led consortium to transmit bank card information over the Internet -- and plans to use CONNECT's solutions as the electronic commerce front- end for the project. "We conducted an extensive review of electronic commerce software vendors before choosing CONNECT," said George Gan, president of Hitechniaga and director of business development, MBf Group. "CONNECT's expertise and products clearly led the field of competitors in Web-based business solutions, and formed the best match with Hitechniaga's background in financial services and systems integration." Expansion in Europe -- Hires New Director of Euro Sales from Oracle CONNECT is developing a presence in Europe by establishing new offices in London and Munich. The first step in this expansion was hiring Gary Botta from Oracle. Botta becomes CONNECT's managing director of international and Europe and will be based in London. Botta joins CONNECT after nearly a decade with Oracle Corporation, where he most recently served as senior director of new business, development and sales, Oracle Worldwide. Prior to that position, Botta was head of massively parallel sales and marketing worldwide for Oracle. Botta was previously senior director of Unisys Corporation's Business Unit Worldwide and also served as global account manager for the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and Group at Unisys. Botta received his bachelor's degree from Marshall University. The CONNECT London office will promote sales in the U.K. and the company's German operation will support marketing efforts in continental Europe. CONNECT also plans to open additional overseas offices in 1997. The new CONNECT London offices are located at: 211 Piccadily, London, W4 9LD. Phone +44 (0) 171 917-9459 About OneServer and OrderStream CONNECT has licensed its OneServer or OrderStream software to a number of industry-leading companies such as: Compaq, Fruit of the Loom Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters are based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. One manufacturing facility still remains in Jamestown, Kentucky, and several other facilities are located across the , Time Warner DreamShop, Reader's Digest, ENTEX, PhotoDisc, 3COM (1) (Computer Output Microfilm) Creating microfilm or microfiche from the computer. A COM machine receives print-image output from the computer either online or via tape or disk and creates a film image of each page. , First Data Corporation, UniDirect, Ameritech and WOMEX, allowing these companies to create a Virtual Sales Channel over the Internet. CONNECT has developed its end-to-end Internet-based interactive commerce applications to solve complex business challenges and support key functions necessary for large-scale interactive commerce including: adaptive response, user registration, multimedia catalog and content management, dynamic merchandising, order capture and management, security, payment processing, enterprise integration and systems administration. OneServer is based on open standards including UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). , Oracle 7 and the Internet. The OneServer application supports a full set of APIs for users of Web browsers and custom client applications. OneServer also incorporates a Fulcrum fulcrum: see lever. text search engine and a five-layer security model using RSA (1) (Rural Service Area) See MSA. (2) (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) A highly secure cryptography method by RSA Security, Inc., Bedford, MA (www.rsa.com), a division of EMC Corporation since 2006. It uses a two-part key. protocols and VeriSign SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) The leading security protocol on the Internet. Developed by Netscape, SSL is widely used to do two things: to validate the identity of a Web site and to create an encrypted connection for sending credit card and other personal data. verification. The OneServer architecture reduces the amount of custom code and CGI scripting necessary for dynamic site content, resulting in rapid time-to-market for interactive commerce applications. About CONNECT, Inc. CONNECT designs, develops, markets and supports industrial-strength, scaleable application software for Internet-based interactive commerce. CONNECT's software is designed to reduce the time and overall cost for businesses to implement and maintain a secure sales, marketing and order capture capability on the World Wide Web to support large numbers of customers, products and transactions. CONNECT's OneServer and OrderStream software have received more industry awards than any other interactive commerce applications. Recently, OneServer was named one of IndustryWeek's 25 Technologies of the Year for 1996. In its fourth annual competition featuring technology and innovation, IndustryWeek recognized CONNECT's OneServer for its impact on business and industry. With the IndustryWeek honor, OneServer joins some of the most innovative technologies introduced in the last year, including the EVI Evi (ē`vī), in the Bible, Midianite king. electric vehicle developed by General Motors Corporation and the network computer developed by Oracle Corporation. Other CONNECT awards include: 1996 NewMedia Magazine Gold INVISION (On-line Catalog/Direct Sales); 1996 USA Today On-line (Hot Site Award); 1996 NIA NIA National Institute on Aging (NIH) NIA National Indoor Arena (UK) NIA National Intelligence Agency (South Africa and Thailand) NIA National Institute of Accountants (Gold Award: On-line Catalog/Direct Sales); 1996 Point (top five percent); 1996 Gartner Group iEC (Best Business-to-Business Software); and 1996 CMP CMP (cytidine monophosphate): see cytosine. (1) (CMP Media LLC, Manhasset, NY, www.cmp.com) Part of United Business Media, CMP is a leading integrated media company that offers a wide variety of publications and services in the information Publishing's BOTI BOTI Blade of the Immortal (manga series) BOTI Battle of the Imports (Business on the Internet). For more information, telephone 1-800-262-2638 or access the CONNECT World Wide Web site at http://www.connectinc.com. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those mentioned in the Company's prospectus dated August 14, 1996, under "Risk Factors" and in particular the Company's ability to implement its products, acceptance by the marketplace of the Company's products and services and the Company's ability to develop new products and services. -0- Note to Editors: OneServer, OrderStream and the Virtual Sales Channel are trademarks of CONNECT, Inc. CONNECT is a registered service mark of CONNECT, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders. CONTACT: CONNECT, Inc. James Strohecker, 415/254-4016 jamies@connectinc.com or Schwartz Communications, Inc. Shirley Macbeth or Hallie Loring, 415/512-0770 smacbeth@schwartz-pr.com or hloring@schwartz-pr.com |
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