Courtroom of the future uses Wang's imaging software to improve legal system efficiency.

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1995--Wang (NASDAQ:WANG) announced today that the Australian Royal Commission on the New South Wales Police Service has selected Wang imaging software to create the "Courtroom of the Future," free of paper, with all information imaged and available on-line.

The Royal Commission's investigators, judges, legal team and media use Wang's OPEN/image software to quickly locate and access documents and evidence that have been scanned and bar coded into the Commission's computer system.

The New South Wales Royal Commission on the Police Service was established by the NSW government, under special Parliamentary decree to investigate possible corruption at the Police Force. The Royal Commission will sit for up to two years and hear evidence from thousands of witnesses, including police officers, politicians, members of the community, local business people and convicted criminals.

The Royal Commission has barcoded more than 1.5 million pages of legal documents, working closely with Wang to develop the scanning systems and software to ensure accurate scanning.

By using Wang's OPEN/image software, documents can be retrieved immediately, taking less than one second per page. Since legal documents are barcoded and scanned into the computer system, the judge, witnesses, legal counsel, and media refer to computer monitors rather than searching through mountains of paperwork.

During the examination of a witness, related documents are featured on-screen. In addition, once documents are tendered as evidence, they appear automatically on each computer monitor rather than having to be distributed manually in paper form.

"We had everything from photographs to maps and logbooks, paper work of all shapes sizes, that had to be accessible through the computer system," said Sue McGovern, the Royal Commission's information technology manager. "We needed both hardware and software that could address such high volumes and variety. When it came to processing a large volume of different sized paper, none of the other products measured up to the Wang interfaces in a client/server environment."

The Commission's investigators, judges and legal team, as well as visiting counsel, use the Wang system to not only locate and access documents, but also enlarge and improve the clarity of images. For instance, with Wang's imaging technology, the user can blow up and enhance a section of a scanned-in photograph of an automobile, so that the license plate number can be clearly read. According to McGovern, the Royal Commission has demonstrated that technology can be used highly effectively in a courtroom situation, and there will undoubtedly be an expansion into other courts and other areas of the Australian judicial system.

"As a leading worldwide software and services organization, Wang has helped government agencies like the Royal Commission improve access to important documents, and in turn, provide better customer service," said Mias van Vuuren, president of Wang International Operations. "Our OPEN/image software has helped the Royal Commission ensure that justice is served in an efficient and effective manner."

The Commission's system runs on a Novell network with a star configuration. There are IBM PCs running as display computers, a Pentium 90 serving as the central computer, and two additional screens that are exclusively for display purposes -- one on the witness box and the other for counsel. Laptops are used to display real-time transcripts, which are simultaneously translated from electronic shorthand.

Wang is a recognized worldwide leader in enterprise work management solutions that incorporate workflow, integrated imaging, document management and related software for client/server open systems, and a major worldwide provider of integration and support services for software networks. Wang's products and services enable customers to realize major improvements in productivity, quality and responsiveness by the definition, automation, management and measurement of critical business processes.

Wang is also one of the industry's largest independent service organizations. The worldwide Service Business provides network integration and support services, warranty and maintenance services, help-desk support, and other value-added services for more than 4,000 products and 350 equipment and software manufacturers. Headquartered in Billerica, Mass., it has offices and distributorships in more than 130 countries and more than 5,000 technical support professionals, answering more than 10 million service and support calls a year.

CONTACT: Wang

Ed Pignone, 508/967-4912

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The Weber Group

Sue Parente, 617/520-7072