Internet Broadcasts of Starr Reports Costs Businesses Over $450 Million in Lost Employee Productivity.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 1998--The cost to businesses in lost employee productivity from the Internet broadcasts of the Starr reports is in excess of $450 million over the last two weeks, according to a new study.

This figure includes both Starr's written report to congress and the President's video deposition before the Grand Jury.

Conducted by NetPartners Internet Solutions Inc. of San Diego, the study warns actual costs to businesses could be much higher, resulting from increased strain on network resources slowing access speeds and causing computer down time. Support time to resolve issues from unauthorized installations of software to download and view the reports represent significant additional costs as well.

"This one event demonstrates the enormous potential costs and risks of unmanaged Internet access for employers," said Cleve Adams, NetPartners vice president of sales and marketing. "Add into this the daily temptations to visit other non-work related Internet sites, and you see why businesses of all sizes are so eager to implement Internet access management systems."

The numbers are based on the estimated 25 million downloads of the written Starr report plus an additional 2 million downloads of the video testimony over the Internet. It is estimated that half of all downloads came from the workplace, for a workplace viewership of 13.5 million. Using an average employee cost of $35 per hour, and an average view time of one hour, the total cost to employers is $470 million in lost productivity.

The additional soft costs are difficult to estimate, including the cost of computer down time, increased support requirements from IS departments, slowing of corporate networks, and bad-will created by employees who may be offended by the content of these broadcasts. While they are difficult to estimate, they represent significant additional losses.

To prevent the Internet from burdening employers, most companies are implementing Internet access policies (IAPs). According to Mountain View, Calif. based analyst firm Frost & Sullivan, Internet access management will be a $2.5 billion industry by the year 2004. In its most recent emerging market report, Frost & Sullivan identifies concerns over legal liabilities, employee productivity, and the need for more efficient use of human resources as the driving forces in the market.

This same report identified WebSENSE as the market share leader for server-based Internet access management, the configuration of choice for businesses.

"Internet access management is on the agenda of almost every company connected to the Internet today," said Adams. "WebSENSE is the solution of choice because it is scalable and has the components necessary to manage Internet access effectively in any size company." According to Adams, the system is currently installed in companies with fewer than 25 users to companies with over 40,000 users.

Utilizing a massive database of 350,000 Internet sites organized into 30 categories, WebSENSE allows for simple IAP enforcement. WebSENSE can be configured to simply monitor, report and categorize all Internet access, or the database may be customized to prevent access to sites not within the company's approved policy.

In addition to its normal database entries, NetPartners deploys Quick Response Teams (QRTs) to address timely issues with WebSENSE and create customized lists to manage current events. Its QRTs have been used to identify sites with the Starr Reports, Mars Rover Mission, Heavens Gate suicides, the now famous Internet virgins scam, and will continue to be used for future high interest events including the World Series and Super Bowl.

Additional information on WebSENSE is available at www.netpartners.com.

About NetPartners Internet Solutions Inc

NetPartners Internet Solutions Inc. is the world-leader in the development of Internet access management systems for corporations, schools, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). NetPartners' leadership position is exemplified by its five "best product" awards and being the first to develop a truly scalable Internet access management system.

The company is a founding member of the Secure Internet Filtering Technology (SIFT) consortia, in conjunction with the ICSA. NetPartners is a privately held corporation, venture backed by Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and Edelson Technology Partners, and is based in San Diego.