Industry News

Altris Enters Memorandum Of Understanding For Class Action Lawsuits...

Altris Software, Inc. announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding that provides for the settlement of the consolidated securities class action lawsuits currently pending against the company. The settlement provides that the claims against Altris Software, its former chairman and chief executive officer Jay Tanna and its chief financial officer John W. Low will be dismissed. Under the terms of the settlement, in exchange for the dismissal and release of these claims, (a) the company's insurance carrier will pay $2,500,000 to the class of plaintiffs; (b) the company will issue to the plaintiffs 2,304,271 shares of its common stock, and (c) the company will cooperate with plaintiffs' counsel by providing certain documents and information regarding the claims asserted in the class actions.

Toyota Motor Credit Awards IKON Business Imaging Services Backfile Conversion...

IKON Business Imaging Services (BIS), a business unit of IKON Office Solutions, announced that Toyota Motor Credit Corp. (TMCC), a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. awarded IKON the backfile conversion contract for converting all active loan/lease files from paper to on-line digital images. The IKON backfile conversion consists of scanning and indexing 8 Million collateral documents, and is part of TMCC's overall plan to move the corporation to a less paper-intensive environment.

In another release, Input Software, Inc., a provider of information capture software, announced that IKON Business Imaging Services has selected its InputAccel product as part of their commitment to on-going conversion process improvement in their conversion labs worldwide. InputAccel will be deployed in 12 conversion centers and used on-site at customer locations.

Parametric Technology Corporation Acquires auxilium...of Mendota Heights, Minn. auxilium develops web-based, Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) software which facilitates access to and integration of data from heterogeneous business information systems, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Product Data Management (PDM), database and legacy systems. Under the terms of the acquisition, shares of Parametric Technology common stock and cash with an aggregate value of approximately $79 million were exchanged for all outstanding common and preferred shares of auxilium. In addition, all outstanding auxilium stock options will be exchanged for PTC stock options. Parametric Technology expects to record a one-time, non-cash charge against earnings during its current fiscal quarter (ending April 3, 1999) related to the write-off of in-process research and development. PTC also expects the acquisition will dilute its consolidated earnings by approximately 2 cents for the balance of fiscal 1999 and then be accretive thereafter.

In another release, Parametric announced its intention to acquire Division Group plc, a developer of product data visualization, simulation and integration tools, with headquarters in Bristol, UK and San Diego, Calif. Parametric Technology is offering to purchase for either cash or stock all of the outstanding shares of Division for approximately $46 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed within two to three months, subject to several conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Bell & Howell joins Xerox's Marketing Partners Group...

Bell & Howell Company, a global provider of solutions for information access and distribution, announced the signing of a cooperative marketing agreement with Xerox Corporation. Under the agreement, the two companies will use their respective strengths in the electronic document production industry to provide end-to-end print and mail solutions. As a result, Bell & Howell and Xerox will offer users of electronic print and mail systems new cutting-edge capabilities, including the Xerox DataGlyph, an extremely dense optical data symbology used to create intelligent documents. DataGlyphs can be created by The TransFormer, a Bell & Howell Software product, and give businesses a more efficient alternative to other bar codes because they are smaller and hold more information.

In another release, Bell & Howell announced that it is changing the name of its mail processing business unit to Bell & Howell Mail and Messaging Technologies (MMT). Bell & Howell MMT - along with its software division, The HARRIS Group - is one of six Bell & Howell business units changing its name to keep pace with expanding capabilities and to support Bell & Howell's ongoing emphasis on transforming information in ways that make it more useful and understandable.

Canon U.S.A. Extends Distribution Arm With Acquisition Of Konex...

Canon U.S.A., Inc., announced its acquisition of Konex S.A., a major distributor of office imaging systems located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Konex has been a distributor of Canon products for nearly thirty years, and will continue to sell and support a wide range of Canon office equipment including copiers, bubble jet printers and multifunction devices. With a large base of prestigious corporate accounts and annual revenues of $25 million, Konex has an established presence in the office equipment market. Adding to Canon offices in Chile and Brazil, the acquisition further strengthens Canon's penetration of the Latin American market.

Band Of Angels And Credit Suisse Endorse Cubus...

The Band of Angels and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) have completed Series B funding of $3 million in Cubus Corporation. The investment round is led by The Band of Angels, the prestigious Silicon Valley Angel investment organization, followed by the Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group, a leading global investment-banking team. Cubus Corporation, founded by Autodesk engineering alumni, has successfully carved a niche for itself over the past two years in the web-based collaboration market by developing and marketing high-end solutions for business-to-business project collaboration. Cubus will use the Series B funds for ongoing product development and marketing to expand upon the acceptance of its web-based collaboration tool, ReviewIt. The ReviewIt solution is initially targeted at the architecture and building industries, traditionally challenged with obstacles of large and geographically distributed project teams, as well as complex graphics and data sets. Cubus will also use the funds to penetrate new markets where visual collaboration is vital, such as manufacturing and Web design.

Cyco Software receives multi-million dollar investment...

Cyco Software, a supplier of engineering document management software, has received a multi-million dollar investment from a consortium of investors lead by Gilde IT Fund. Gilde IT Fund, Holland Venture and ABN-AMRO PPM participated in this financing round to fund Cyco Software's world-wide expansion and launch of new AutoManager products. Gilde IT Fund, a leading Dutch global venture capital investor, has obtained a minority stake in Cyco and will be represented on Cyco's Board of Directors.

DOCUMENTUM Announces Move Into Web Application Market...

DOCUMENTUM, Inc. announced its strategy to expand its product line by delivering a broad range of Web applications, based on its new Web application environment, to foster innovation of new products and processes. By automating the capture and flow of knowledge within and between organizations, DOCUMENTUM's new offering will enable Global 2000 companies to dramatically increase competitive advantage and quickly capitalize on new market opportunities. The DOCUMENTUM Innovation Application Series will be tailored for the company's targeted vertical industries and focused on five categories: marketing and sales, quality management, research management, financial risk management and project/team management.

Is OSTA Out to Help DVD?...

(by way of Andy Marken, marken@cerf.net)

While the DVD+RW Group of Three (HP, Philips, Sony) has yet to deliver anything but press releases on their "products" after two years and four slipped shipping dates, they announced a new tack saying they would have OSTA (Optical Storage Technology Association) set "industry standard" MultiRead standards to ensure compatibility for the user. It sounds really cool except there are numerous holes in the Group of Three/OSTA's proposed

effort to develop "a common format." Steve Murakami, Manager of Storage Products Marketing, Optical Storage Products Division, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Panasonic) prepared the following analysis and commentary of the announcement:

1. The common format WAS established more than two years ago by the 200 members of the DVD Forum. That format is DVD-RAM.

2. Common format products ARE shipping - Toshiba, Hitachi AND Panasonic. More than 150,000 units in 1998. At the same time, FIVE manufacturers are producing DVD-RAM media.

3. Contrary to some people's projections, the three MANUFACTURERS expect to ship more than 1.5 MILLION DVD-RAM drives in 1999, 2.25 Million in 2000, 6 million in 2001, 25 million in 2002 and who knows in 2003. The manufacturers feel these are VERY conservative numbers.

4. The +RW proposal was announced more than a year and a half ago. Six months later it was "reannounced." Six months later it was "reannounced." At Comdex, it was not only "reannounced" but they announced their plan for second generation product (4.7GB single-sided) in the year 2000 BEFORE shipping the first generation product. At the time the press conference was treated with as much seriousness as "the emperor has no clothes." Their first product is EXPECTED to begin shipping in Japan in June. How many manufacturers are PRODUCING DVD+RW media? What the DVD-RAM manufacturers haven't "announced" is that by Q3 of this year they will roll out their 4.7GB drives/media and will be in FULL production in Q4. That's about the time the Group of Three will BEGIN

delivering 3.0GB product.

5. DVD-RAM already reads all CD formats and all DVD formats. Can ANYONE send you a production +RW drive that will do the same?

6. DVD-ROM drives are available that READ DVD-RAM. How many are available that will READ DVD+RW? Incidentally, Toshiba, Hitachi and Panasonic - the shipping manufacturers of DVD-RAM - ALSO manufacture over 90% of all DVD-ROM drives that are being shipped today. None of these firms have plans of making their DVD-ROM drives capable of reading +RW and EVEN if they wanted to they'd have to wait until SOMEONE began shipping product rather than press releases.

7. If the Group of Three/OSTA want MultiRead to cover DVD-RAM and their PROPOSED products, how will ANY software developer be able to test their product to ensure cross-platform compatibility since they have NO drives to use in testing?

8. If the Group of Three/OSTA IS working for the good of the consumer, then why are they not including DVD-RW, MMF, ASMO, PD, Quinta, Papyrus and the many other formats that are available/discussed under the same umbrella?

9. DVD-RW (also a DVD Forum standard) is a serial writing technique that was proposed and developed to meet a specific need in the DVD industry. It allows software and content developers to store on a temporary basis their development efforts so they can review and test it BEFORE sending the product to mastering facilities to produce millions of DVD-ROMs. The media is read serially, not randomly. The media has 1,000 overwrites as opposed to more than 100,000 provided by DVD-RAM.

10. Dr. Bell's (IBM) makes some salient points especially when ALL of the leading computer manufacturers, drive manufacturers AND content developers are members of the DVD Forum and have ALREADY established the standards without the "assistance" of the Group of Three/ OSTA.

11. The MultiRead patent is administered by OSTA but who OWNs the patent? HP. HP is drawing income from EVERY drive that is produced that carries the MultiRead logo. Okay in fairness what about DVD-RAM? DVD-RAM is administered by the 200 member DVD Forum. Every manufacturer that has technology that is incorporated in the DVD-RAM spec receives a payment proportional to their technology contribution. That's about seven different companies. Not one as with MultiRead or two as with CD.

12. In the press announcement, Mr. Nemirosky is quoted as saying the "battle for supremacy...has inhibited market growth," which is a little off. The word games of the Group of Three/OSTA "solutions team" did exactly what it was supposed to accomplish. It extended the life of CD-R and CD-RW. Most industry analysts will say that the use life of these formats have now been extended 3-5 years because of the strong push by the +RW group (also the owners of the CD revenue stream). The CD technology patent holders have had a 25+ year revenue stream. That revenue stream (currently estimated at $400 million each year for Philips and Sony), while decreasing over time, will continue for a long time to come. Perhaps the Group of Three accountants who developed the +RW standard should put aside their bottomline self-interest and listen to what the market says

IT wants to do. If so they will acknowledge that the 200 members of the DVD Forum (system manufacturers and content developers) have spoken and that PERHAPS the consumer, not the manufacturer, knows what is best for the marketplace.

13. Interestingly, the Group of Three's priorities are first to develop a logo and a market name. THEN they will focus on their "standard." Of course it is a little hard to get too specific on a spec UNTIL THEY have a product.

Of course that is about as logical as their approach as to what is in the best interest of the customer. When it comes to profits the Group of Three accountants probably won't listen to logic.

Interdata Access Completes Merger With Spatial Technology...

InterData Access, Inc. (IDA), a developer of product data sharing and exchange solutions for engineering and manufacturing companies, announced that it has completed its merger with Spatial Technology Inc. of Boulder Colorado. Spatial Technology is a developer of open, component 3D modeling technology. The ACIS 3D Toolkit, Spatial's flagship product, is a 3D modeling kernel for the MCAD, CAM, CAE, and AEC industries. With over 480 ACIS licensees and more than 1.3 million end users of over 180 ACIS-enabled applications, ACIS is likely the most widely used 3D modeling kernel in the world. Spatial and IDA expect the deal to be accretive to Spatial's earnings per share for 1998, prior to the recognition of one-time costs associated with the acquisition. IDA, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Spatial, was accounted for as a pooling of interests.

Ahearn & Soper Signs Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Image Machines...

Image Machines Corporation, a developer of document imaging solutions, announced an agreement with Canadian-based Ahearn & Soper for exclusive distribution of Image Machines software throughout North America. The agreement includes three of Image Machines software products: CopyStream (digital reprographics application), IMageCenter (raster image manipulation and management application), and PaperQueue (network-oriented print server application). In 1998, Ahearn & Soper Inc. expanded throughout North America through the acquisition of Casey-Johnston Sales Inc., adding eight regional offices throughout the United States. With Casey-Johnston's previous partnership with Image Machines, the distribution agreement is a logical move for all involved.

Mesa Systems Guild and Artemis Management Systems Partner to Create Web-Based Collaborative Project Management Solution...

Mesa Systems Guild, Inc., a provider of tools for web-based project management, announced it has signed an exclusive 10-year partnership agreement with Artemis Management Systems. Artemis, one of the world's largest independent project management software and consulting company, is planning to incorporate Mesa's innovative Mesa/Vista collaborative framework technology into future products to provide its customers with complete web-based project management solutions.

HUMMINGbird to Acquire PC DOCS Group...

Hummingbird Communications Ltd. (TSE: "HUM" and NASDAQ: "HUMC") and PC DOCS Group International Inc. (TSE: "DXX" and NASDAQ: "DOCS") announced that they have entered into an agreement pursuant to which Hummingbird would acquire PC DOCS Group. The acquisition will be effected by way of a plan of arrangement whereby each outstanding common share of PC DOCS Group will be exchanged for 0.3333 of a common share of Hummingbird. As a result of the transaction, PC DOCS Group will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hummingbird. The transaction values PC DOCS Group at approximately US$155 million, representing a 38% premium for PC DOCS Group shareholders based on the average closing prices of the two companies’ shares over the last ten trading days prior to the announcement of the transaction. Following the completion of the transaction, which is estimated to be during May 1999, PC DOCS Group will become an operating division of Hummingbird, continuing to serve and support its customers in close collaboration with the Hummingbird organization.

In another release, PC DOCS/Fulcrum, a subsidiary of PC DOCS Group, announced it has acquired the technology and key personnel of the Ottawa-based ExoVision Technologies, Inc. (formally RocketSoft of the 5th Dimension Group), a developer of technical document management solutions. This move is intended to further entrench PC DOCS/Fulcrum as a player in the manufacturing and technical drawing management markets, the focus of one of six business units (along with Financial, Professional Services, Government, OEM, and ISO). ExoVision's Technical Document Management solutions integrate DOCS Open with CAD systems to track engineering drawings as part of an enterprise solution for manufacturing clients and other CAD users.

Arlington County, VA Awards Radian Systems Contract...

Radian Systems, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a contract from Arlington County, VA, to design, build and install an advanced imaging system. The contract, which value exceeds $500,000, was awarded after a competitive Request For Proposal (RFP). The imaging system, consisting of Radian Systems' WorldScan(tm) and EASTMAN SOFTWARE Imaging and Workflow for Windows NT, will initially be used to scan and index county land records. The images and corresponding data will then be made available to county employees via a client/server or Web access solution, also provided by Radian Systems. In the future, the system will also process wills, judgements and financing statements. Additional custom programming will be written by Radian to create a Recording Station application that enables users to verify Real Estate Property Codes (RPC) and calculate the cost of recording property deeds.

In another release, Radian announced today that it has been awarded a contract by a major Maryland corporation to provide a high-end document imaging system for their Human Resource Department. The Department currently manages over 40,000 files, containing about 2.1 million images. The solution is composed of Kodak Digital Science scanners, Radian Systems' WorldScan, an Eastman Software Imaging solution for Windows NT. Because of the contracting corporation's internal policy, they could not be identified for this press release.

SINCOR Awards EDMS Implementation Contract with TELUCO...

SINCOR C.A., a company for the production and upgrading of Orinoco heavy oil, has recently awarded to TELUCO, Inc. a lump sum contract for the implementation of an Electronic Data and Document Management Solution for engineering information. This system will be used by the SINCOR Interfaces Group to store and manage data and documents received from the four primary downstream EPCC firms during the Engineering/Construction/Commissioning Phases of the project. The solution being implemented by TELUCO makes use of the Documentum EDMS for data and document management and control. The solution will be initially implemented in Perryville, New Jersey where the SINCOR Interfaces Group is currently operating. The system is scheduled to be relocated to José, Venezuela at the end of summer 1999. The completed solution will also provide the capability to easily transfer the pertinent data and documents to the SINCOR operator once production operations begin. SINCOR C.A. is one of the consortiums currently operating in Venezuela for the development of heavy oil from the Orinoco belt. The operating principals in SINCOR are Total, PDVSA and Statoil.

VisionShape Announces Partnership with Laserfiche...

VisionShape, a provider of price/performance production document scanners, announced a partnership arrangement with LaserFiche Document Imaging whereby VisionShape bundles its high performance VS-7590 paper scanner and batch capture software with the Laserfiche Plus Document Imaging solution, all for the same price as a VS-7590 scanner alone. The VS-7590LF CD Archive Solution System is available immediately at a cost of US$14,995.00, domestic price. It is targeted at users who scan at least 5,000 pages a day.

Xerox Networked Document Centre Printing Launched Worldwide...

Xerox Corporation today announced capabilities to bring data center printing to office locations by linking its Document Centre 265 family of digital systems with midrange and mainframe computers. The new printing capabilities enhance the Document Centre 255 and 240 digital copiers to full system status. They allow the high-speed Document Centre family to connect through office networks to midrange AS400 or back office mainframe computers, enabling the printing of data center documents-normally done in remote locations and physically delivered to recipients-at Document Centre printers in the office at the point of need. As part of the print capability expansion, Xerox announced the availability of upgrade packages for its in-place 255 and 240 digital copiers to bring them to full "ST" or system status. In addition, the company said the 255 model will be made available as a 255LP, a modular laser printer than can be further upgraded to ST status as a copier/printer. In addition, the Document Centre 265 family models are being equipped with built-in Internet servers with IP addresses that enable them to be accessed from personal computers and workstations around the world. As such, the 265ST, 255ST, 255LP and 240ST can accept print jobs over the Internet, meaning that an American company can access a Document Centre printer in China and print the full job, saving vast amounts of shipping time and expense.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR COMPANY NEWS INCLUDED HERE, PLEASE REFER TO THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OUR 1999 MEDIA KIT, LOCATED IN THE "ABOUT" SECTION, or CALL 602-502-2285, or EMAIL docmanage@aol.com!