Cypress Retools Web Site to Upgrade Support for Engineers; Parametric Search Underpins Effort to Speed Design Decisions.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1998--Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:CY) today announced the reconfiguration of its web site (http://www.cypress.com) to give design engineers faster and easier access to data sheets, application notes, and other technical information, reducing their time-to-design, time-to-market, and time-to-money.

The site is anchored by a variety of search engines and options, including multiple text searches, searches by full or partial part number, and a parametric search engine, which enables engineers to search for parts based on criteria such as speed, density, power, pinout, packaging, and budgetary pricing. Engineers can access online product training modules and, for some product lines, request samples.

"Cypress is an organization of engineers, and we know how important the web is in today's engineering environment," said Dan McCranie, executive vice president, sales and marketing. "We have invested substantially in our site to provide our customers with the electronic data and tools they need to reduce the time it takes to make profitable, winning design decisions. We are committed to providing engineers with timely, accurate data accessible in the format of their choice."

Each month the Cypress site receives nearly 2 million hits, hosting 75,000 unique visits, or "sessions," up more than 75-fold from its kick-off in August 1995. Cypress communicated extensively with engineers to better understand their needs: More than 2,000 respondents completed a detailed web survey, answering questions on search tools, navigation aids, and format preferences for downloading technical data. The retooled Cypress site will feature a similar survey.

The Cypress site features sections that meet the information needs of all the company's core constituencies, including OEM buyers, international users, investors, job seekers, and the media. New or redesigned sections include a Japanese-language mirror site, an online store, and an investor forum. The forum is accessible through the investor relations page, a click away from the home page. Questions posted to the forum (http://www.cypress.com/ir/bbs) will be answered by Dan McCranie.

The Cypress site provides access to information about the company's portfolio of 3,500 available parts, including combinations of temperature specification, speed grade, and package type. Site visitors download roughly 3,000 data sheets each day Monday-through-Friday, the equivalent of about 30,000 pages of technical information.

Cypress is proceeding with plans to expand the site further to one with database-driven content. This will further customize the information available to visitors and interface seamlessly with back-end systems the company is installing to enable its sales and marketing personnel to collect more-detailed customer data directly from the field.

"More engineers continue to demand more information via the web," McCranie concluded. "Cypress remains committed to providing printed support material, and we value opportunities to communicate with engineers on an individual basis through our technical staff in the field. But we hope our revamped web site provides time-effective access to data and technical solutions in an engineering, investment, and information culture driven increasingly by the availability of electronic information."

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation is an international supplier of high-performance integrated circuits headquartered in San Jose, California. The company serves leading computer, networking, and telecommunications companies, providing static RAM and specialty memories; programmable logic devices (PLDs); data communications products; and FCT logic; timing devices; and USB microcontrollers. Its shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CY.