Mediasurface Sets the Standard for Educational Websites; Department for Education and Employment Adopts Pioneering Enterprise Content Management Solution.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 1999--Mediasurface(TM) Limited today announced the installation of its Content Management application Mediasurface(TM) by the UK Governments Standards and Effectiveness Unit which is part of the Department for Education and Employment (DFEE).

The Mediasurface driven site, which can be viewed at www.standards.dfee.gov.uk significantly aids the Standards and Effectiveness Unit in implementing the government's policies to raise standards in education. Functionality offered through the site includes guidance pages on subjects such as homework, study support and teacher appraisal, a library of recommended publications, and literacy materials and tools.

There is a real-time discussion forum with numerous threads of debate that anyone can contribute to, an on-line search facility and numerous video clips. The site offers significant value to the education world by helping to manage the three and four thousand hits the site receives per week that are mainly from schoolteachers.

Established by David Blunkett following the 1997 General Election, the Standard and Effectiveness Unit identifies and disseminates best practice in schools, and assists in developing and implementing strategies to raise standards in literacy in schools. This includes target setting and benchmarking, forging closer working relationships with schools and other partners in the educational system.

The Unit has expanded rapidly since the formation in 1997 and now has a staff of 150 people, including education advisers, (made up of teachers, inspectors, researchers and others with recent experience from the world of education). It has embraced the Internet as the perfect cost-effective medium to draw a national audience into the debate on how best to raise educational standards.

Six months ago the SEU team, that is responsible for management of the unit's website, decided to redefine its existing offering, expanding its multimedia functionality and making it capable of handling a higher volume of data and information.

The Unit needed a web content management application which would empower users to refresh information and build in additional functionality when required, without requiring a great degree of programming expertise. The DFEE selected Mediasurface(TM) to fully support its Web content and publishing requirements at every stage, from production and design to site administration.

"The DFEE needed a serious application platform that could help it move and adapt to change quickly without the need for costly and time-consuming development," commented Ben Hayman CEO of Mediasurface Limited. "Now, with Mediasurface, the DFEE can provide current and relevant information to education departments quickly and easily. This will enable the DFEE to strengthen communications and encourage the sharing of information, experience and resources on a national level."

About Mediasurface 2.0

Mediasurface 2.0 is the dynamic, database driven way for the enterprise to manage Web-based content. Mediasurface 2.0 fully supports the Web publishing process from end to end through an integrated suite of functional modules that are easily configured to meet the specific needs of any business.

With Publishing, Production, Administration and Design at its core, Mediasurface 2.0 integrates with the word processing, design, e-commerce and personalization tools of choice, providing a powerful business layer that supports users of all skills and varied business requirements. Mediasurface 2.0 supports XML and includes functionally rich Integration, Reporting and Content Gateway Modules, enabling content submission via the browser from any location.

Mediasurface is an Internet application development company, established in February 1996 to research, develop and market Mediasurface(TM) 2.0, the powerful application for managing Web-based content. Through a fully integrated suite of functional modules, Mediasurface(TM) 2.0's multi-server architecture provides high volume serving and high user support, thus allowing the enterprise to focus on the challenges of doing business on the network, and not the challenges of technology.

With offices in London and San Francisco, Mediasurface brings its unique technology to market through a network of best-in-class technical alliances. Mediasurface has a number of high profile clients including Reuters, Oxford University Press and IMS Health.

Further information can be obtained from The Standards and Effectiveness Unit team: David Kirkham (0171-925-6703) and David Walsh (0171-925-6704).