Data Fellows announces two-tiered reseller program for award-winning F-Secure military grade encryption software.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 1997--Data Fellows, the world's leading technology provider of data security solutions for computer networks desktop and laptop computers, has introduced a two-tiered reseller program for its award-winning F-Secure military-grade encryption software.

The higher tier is the F-Secure Advantage Partner Program, which is targeted at VARs, system integrators, and ISVs with special focus on networking solutions. Member benefits include qualified leads and referrals, inclusion in Data Fellows web site and its promotional programs, high-level sales and marketing support (assigned sales representative, joint customer calls/visits, sales training/seminars), priority access to support and development information, online access to restricted Web area including updated product and price information and most recent versions of the software. F-Secure Advantage Partner members benefit also from a special Marketing Development Fund to finance their sales/marketing activities, higher discounts, and priority shipping. To qualify VARs have to subscribe to $395 program and have at least one technical and sales person passing respective training session.

The second tier is the Certified F-Secure Reseller Program. Resellers participating in the program do not have to subscribe to a separate program or qualify for the training requirements of the Advantage Program as they will only deal with F-Secure base products. Certified resellers can later upgrade to F-Secure Advantage Partner program with its full benefits and carry over their existing purchases.

The F-Secure product line has been developed in Europe and thus does not fall under the US ITAR export regulations. F-Secure products can therefore be used with the same unlimited, military-grade encryption in every country where encryption is legal.

"The need for virtual private networks, secure Internet access and electronic commerce, as well as for safe Intranet solutions has increased multifold during the last few months. The newly announced F-Secure Advantage Partner Program allows VARs, system integrators and resellers tap into this exciting market and provides end-users with skillful VARs to help them leveraging Internet in their business safely," said Petri Laakkonen, president of Data Fellows.

The F-Secure product line includes F-Secure SSH, which provides strongly authenticated and encrypted end-to-end connections between the Windows, Unix or Macintosh-based F-Secure SSH Client and the F-Secure SSH Server running on the server machine. F-Secure SSH secures login connections, file transfers, Web and e-mail connections, database access, as well as other popular TCP/IP applications over the untrusted network. F-Secure Commerce provides secure on-line commerce by transparently securing all browser access to Web servers running F-Secure Commerce.

Also featured is F-Secure Virtual Private Network (VPN), a software-only solution which connects separate local area networks (LANs) together over the Internet. F-Secure VPN allows organizations to leverage inexpensive and widely available Internet to create a secure encrypted virtual private network between their offices and branches, or between its suppliers, vendors, partners and/or customers. The line also includes F-Secure Desktop, which allows Windows 95 and Windows 3.x users to practice all their confidential data through military-grade encryption.

Privately-owned Data Fellows is the leading technology provider of data security solutions for computer networks and desktop computers. In November 1996, the company's F-Secure product line was awarded the European IT'96 Grand Prize of more than $200,000 organized by the European Commission's ITEA/EURO-CASE Secretariat. The products are available world-wide in more than 40 countries through Data Fellows and its global business partners.

For more information, contact Data Fellows, 675 North First Street, Number 645, San Jose, CA, 95112; tel [phone]; fax [phone]; http://www.DataFellows.com or [e-mail]

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