Verity First To Provide "Hybridization" Of CD-ROM And Internet Publishing; Topic WebAgents Publisher's Toolkit combines CD-ROM publishing with on-line World-Wide Web Access - Integrates HTML, SGML, PDF and Text document formats

Business Wire, July 24, 1995

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 1995-- Recognizing the potential of combining CD-ROM and Internet technologies, Verity, Inc., the leading provider of content retrieval software applications, introduced today Topic WebAgents Publishers Toolkit.

With Topic WebAgents, publishers can now disseminate information on CD-ROMs and provide access to live updates on the Internet, therefore providing customers with the speed and convenience of local data coupled with the timeliness of Web access.

"By integrating the Topic search engine with Web browsers we have a developed a product that offers the rich, cost effective and mass distribution capabilities of CD-ROM with the immediacy and ease-of-use of the Web," says Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO of Verity, Inc. "Now with a single Mosaic interface users can browser and search a CD-ROM containing HTML, SGML, PDF and text documents and look for updates on a Web server."

Topic WebAgents Publishers Toolkit - Easy to Use, On or Off the Internet

Topic WebAgents lets users search for information using a standard Web browser to access a desktop CD-ROM, a local network and the Internet. By entering a query, which can be as simple as one or a few words, Topic WebAgents can search for information on the local CD-ROM with links to retrieve original documents stored on the CD or anywhere on the Internet (where the information is located is transparent to the user). Additional information, including up-to-the-second updates to the CD can be retrieved from Topic WebSearcher, using the same search form. Users are then presented with a relevancy-ranked list of documents based on search criteria.

Topic WebAgents Publishers Toolkit standardizes on one set of documents and indexes for both Web and CD-ROM publishing. It consists of three powerful Verity indexing tools: -0-

-- Topic Remote Web Indexer allows the publisher to build an index to HTML and text pages located on the Web.

-- Topic File Indexer builds and maintains an index to a directory tree.

-- Topic advanced indexing utilities include CD-ROM optimization and Adobe Acrobat PDF and SGML indexing support.

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The toolkit includes installation examples and a customizable CD-ROM layout template to create a single, cross-platform CD. The toolkit runs on all three major operating systems - Windows, Macintosh and UNIX. WebAgents is bundled with Enhanced Mosaic from Spyglass and will soon be available with other industry standard Web browsers.

"The combination of CD-ROM and Internet publishing and the integration of Web browsers and PDF create a great opportunity for using Verity's search capabilities," said Mike Homer, vice president of marketing for Netscape Communications. "We are pleased to see Verity continuing the development of products that add significant search technology to the World-Wide Web."

Topic WebAgents Offer High Returns

Cisco System's technical support organization has used Topic products to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. Cisco found that the traditional approach to support - teams of technicians answering phones - was expensive and limited in its ability to meet demand. Cisco's CD-ROM and Web publishing solution is already providing significant benefits. Nearly two-thirds of Cisco's callers find the technical solutions they need using automated tools. Most product documentation is now bundled electronically, resulting in paper and printing savings of over $1 million a month.

Pricing and Availability

Topic WebAgents Publishers Toolkit will be available for general release in September 1995. Pricing is $9,995 for the Publishers Toolkit and $3 to $8 per CD-ROM for run-time licenses depending upon quantity.

Verity, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, CA, develops and markets the Topic family of information retrieval tools and applications for publishing and disseminating information across the Internet, enterprise and CD-ROM. The company's products and services are used by more than 650 corporations and organizations worldwide as well as by hundreds of development partners. Verity's Topic search engine is the engine of choice for Adobe Systems, Lotus Development Corporation, Netscape Communications, Quarterdeck Corporation, Frame Technology Corporation, Saros Corporation, PC Docs, Odesta Systems Corporation, Documentum, Inc., Restrac and many other software developers.

For more information contact Verity at info@verity.com or at the World Wide Web site http://www.verity.com/ or by calling 415/960-7600. -0-

Note to Editors: Verity and TOPIC are registered trademarks of Verity, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Verity, Inc. is not related to the International Stock Exchange of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland Limited, which provide computerized information under the name Topic. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Verity, Inc.

Sue Barsamian, 415/960-7600

or

Fineline Communications

Mary Carlisle, 408/867-9070