Internet Coast eBSP Achieves Top Ranking in National Benchmark Study; Cahners In-Stat Group Ranks Pompano Beach's Amazia Best Provider of Small Business eCommerce Services.

Business Editors

POMPANO BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2001

One of the Internet Coast's smallest companies is standing tall this week with a Number One ranking from Cahners In-Stat Group, a leading technology research organization.

Amazia, Inc. competes in the eBusiness Service Provider (eBSP) market, where vendors provide tools to kick-start eCommerce-enabled small business Web sites. Amazia has shunned big marketing campaigns, expensive headquarters and large staffs since it launched in 1998. Now, the company is beginning to achieve recognition for its intense focus on product development.

Though the eBSP market is crowded - with a variety of free and fee-based services available - Amazia has developed one of the most feature-rich and reliable platforms for moving small businesses onto the Internet. In the latest analysis of the eBSP sector - which generated about $100 million in revenues last year - Amazia's service took top rating from the Cahners In-Stat Group. The company moved up from third place in last year's Cahners In-Stat survey.

The Amazia service offering was ranked number one in the "Infrastructure Services" category in the report, "The Annual eBusiness Service Provider Rankings: Small Business 2000 - The Year In Review," issued today. The Cahners In-Stat Group compared a host of eBSP offerings and forecast $600 million for this sector in direct merchant payments alone by 2004.

"Being a small, self-funded business ourselves, we can relate to the needs of small businesses," said Nick Uresin, Amazia's founder and CEO. "From the beginning we've been concentrating on solving the problems the little guys face and providing them with the best possible service.

"We have worked hard to survive the Internet shake-out and are excited to achieve recognition for our hard work. We have first tried to build a real business with a sound business model and proprietary technology to justify the fundraising efforts in which we are currently engaged."

Amazia moves small/mid-size businesses onto the Web with everything they need including Web site creation and hosting, site management, online marketing tools and back-office management. Fees for the services start at under $75 per month.

Cahners looked at roughly 30 companies in the capabilites assessment study, which provided market revenue forecasts, in addition to evaluations. Cahners cited Amazia's inclusion of extensive marketing features as one key determinant in the top ranking. The company's product was judged best overall for ease-of use, functionality and robustness.

"What led to Amazia's top position in the category was their marketing services," said Kneko Burney, Director, eBusiness Infrastructure & Services, Cahners In-Stat Group. "Very few companies provide any kind of marketing service and these are the services merchants want most.

"The top ranked companies are the ones that provide the user with a complete experience in building a point of presence online," Ms. Burney added. "We look at everything from the set-up process to the management functions and to the customer-facing issues. Amazia achieved its top ranking because of its ease of use, flexibility and robustness which allows it to expand to meet users' needs and support a large user base."

About Cahners In-Stat Group

Cahners In-Stat Group (www.instat.com) covers the full spectrum of digital communications research from vendor to end-user, providing the analysis and perspective that allows technology vendors and service providers worldwide to make more informed business decisions. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Cahners In-Stat Group is part of Reed Elsevier Global Information Network, a $5 billion global information network. About Amazia Amazia, Inc.(www.Amazia.com) is an eBusiness Service Provider (eBSP) that offers technical solutions to the small/mid size business market. Amazia provides its small business customers with an outsourced E-Commerce solution that is affordable and easy to use. Customers benefit from shared economies of scale as the costs of systems implementation and management is shared by all subscribers. Amazia provides next generation solutions in a still emerging and largely fragmented industry. Headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, in the heart of South Florida's "Internet Coast," the company projects more than 1,000 subscribers by mid-year and expects to close its first round of financing in Q2 2001.