IHS introduces the IHS Engineering Resource Center -- web access to more than 10 million pages of technical information.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1997--IHS Engineering Products (IHS) today introduced the IHS Engineering Resource Center(tm) (ERC), a web site giving users access to the world's largest collection of commercial standards, government specifications and standards, industrial catalogs and parts information.

Engineers, procurement personnel, and government users can now obtain virtually all the technical information they need via the World Wide Web, providing a fast and cost-effective alternative to books, microfiche, or CD-ROM. The ERC is designed to provide engineers with a single source to perform research and locate an unparalleled offering of important technical data.

IHS is incorporating many of its existing technical engineering databases into the ERC, creating a common look and feel across products. The information is indexed and cross-referenced for easy access to text and images. Users may choose from the breadth of product offerings depending on their industry and functional needs.

"There is a great deal of technical information available via the Web, but it is from a variety of sources and therefore difficult to find and compare," said Patrick Romich, president of IHS Engineering Products. "The IHS Engineering Resource Center puts all this information and more in one centralized location, and we have powerful search engines that make the information and images easily accessible. We also take care of the challenge of updating the information, so users always know they are using current data."

The ERC includes the following IHS Engineering databases:

-- Commercial Standards and Military Specs -- Includes

bibliographic data for close to 598,000 current industrial

standards and historical and current Military Specs from over

440 commercial and U.S. government standards developing

organizations. It also includes over 240,000 document images

of specs and standards from API, IEEE, Ford, GM, ITU, UL, the

DoD, and over 40 other organizations.

-- Vendor Catalog Service -- Contains over 2 million complete

catalog pages of industrial products from over 15,000

manufacturers and distributors.

-- CAPSXpert(tm) Semiconductor Database -- Contains parametric

information on over 1.8 million semiconductor devices and

integrated circuits and includes links to more than

1 million data pages.

-- Product Selection Service -- Contains over 1 million

manufacturer-provided catalog pages, product and component

data sheets, drawings, schematics, and specification sheets

arranged for easy side-by-side product comparisons.

-- HAYSTACK(r) -- Provides parts and logistics data on millions

of government purchased and stock items. The following

databases are included in Haystack: FLIS, CAGE, AMDF,

SB700-20, CRF, MIAPL, LIRSH, MRIL, P2300/10/30, D043/D043X,

AEL, APL, P2002, NICN, and more.

-- H4/H8 -- Includes the complete H4/H8 Commercial Activity/

Government Entity (CAGE) database which provides listings of

firms that manufacture or distribute items procured by the

U.S. government.

Future databases include GSA Supply Schedules and Contractor Catalogs and Price Lists; parametric data and full datasheets for PCB connectors, passives, and multipin cylindrical connectors, and full-text searchable collections of selected military and commercial specifications and standards. IHS also has plans to provide intranet, frame relay, and digital lease line access to selected ERC databases.

The ERC databases, available on an annual subscription basis, are searchable using standard World Wide Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator(tm) or Microsoft(r) Internet Explorer. Availability via the WWW allows for multi-platform access using a PC, Macintosh, or UNIX workstation, as well as enhances the ease of networking of the products throughout an organization.

IHS Engineering is part of the international IHS Group of information companies. IHS Group companies are major international publishers of databases of information of vital interest to design engineers and chemists, along with senior managers in the industrial, financial services, and healthcare sectors. IHS Group employs 2,000 people worldwide.

For additional information on the Engineering Resource Center or other IHS services, contact IHS Group, 15 Inverness Way East, M/S B106, Englewood, Colo. 80112-5776, U.S.A.; or phone [phone], ext. 957 (U.S.A.), fax [phone] or e-mail [e-mail] . For international sales, call +1-303/397-2896, fax [phone], e-mail: [e-mail] or visit the Engineering Resource Center at http://www.ihserc.com . -0-

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Registered U.S. Patent & Trademark office. All other trade

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CONTACT: Information Handling Services

Jeannie Zaemes, 303/397-2335 or

800/525-7052, ext. 2335