Microsoft Mail users can easily connect to Internet e-mail with Fabrik service

Business Wire, Nov 27, 1995

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 27, 1995--Fabrik Communications Inc., a service provider for connecting LAN e-mail systems to Internet e-mail, today announced it has extended its service to support Microsoft Mail.

Introduced in August 1995 for cc:Mail, Fabrik's extension to Microsoft Mail doubles the number of possible users to about 15 million. Fabrik's service solves a glaring incompatibility problem in e-mail communications.

Local Area Network (LAN) e-mail -- essential to most internal corporate communications systems -- cannot connect with Internet e-mail, MCI Mail and on-line services like America On-Line because of incompatible protocols. Fabrik's service solves the problem better than other available options, according to Chris Logan, Fabrik founder and president.

According to Christopher Shaffer, supervisor of information systems for Bragg & Associates, a California-based risk management firm, and a Fabrik customer, Fabrik provides and easy solution. "Without Fabrik, getting onto the Internet was just too hard," he said. "However, the installation of the Fabrik service took minutes, and that was it. We didn't even need additional training."

"LAN e-mail is like talking on a PBX telephone system that has no outside lines," Logan said.

"To reach the rest of the world, you're forced to use the pay phone in the parking lot. Fabrik, however, brings e-mail to the desktop, through an easy-to-install, use and manage service. Without changing software programs, Fabrik provides all of the customer's employees an Internet address and gives each corporation an Internet domain name, almost instantly after starting the service.

"Fabrik believes that e-mail communication should be as simple as talking by phone," Logan said. "If you're on AT&T, it doesn't matter if the other end is on MCI. If you're on cc:Mail or Microsoft Mail, Fabrik makes it irrelevant that the destination is a CompuServe or an Internet address."

Richard C. Spence, DataQuest analyst for on-line strategies, likens Fabrik "to Centrex for e-mail."

Instead of requiring major changes in additional gateway hardware, software and management, Fabrik makes use of wide area communications capability embedded in Microsoft Mail. Fabrik extends communications capability of the Microsoft mail post office just like a Central Office (CO) line extends a PBX beyond corporate walls.

The user has the same LAN e-mail at his or her desktop, but the communication access has been extended to the Internet. Because no new software is required, no additional training is needed.

The market is large and getting larger, according to industry analysts. Eric Arnum, publisher of Electronic Mail and Message Service, an industry newsletter, estimated in June 1995 that there were about 35 million WAN e-mail users and 32 million LAN e-mail users worldwide.

According to combined estimates by the publishers of cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail, there are 175,000 corporate sites that use one of these LAN e-mail programs. And, as of June 1995, the total number of registered cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail users was approximately seven million. If current trends continue, these numbers will double by December 1996.

To get started, the network or information systems (IS) manager uses Fabrik's software disk to adjust the LAN e-mail's server-based post office software. This enables access to the Fabrik Message Service which then communicates with all popular WAN e-mail services. Fabrik handles the difficult outbound delivery tasks, including name resolution, protocol conversion, attachment encoding and delivery management.

Fabrik identifies each inbound Internet e-mail destination and delivers it -- in readable form -- to the appropriate user's desktop. Fabrik provides consolidated, itemized monthly reports that make tracking and management efficient and easy. Users are supported around-the-clock, at no charge, on toll-free phone lines.

Fabrik charges a monthly base rate of $60 for each site. Most outbound messages are 20 cents. Most inbound messages are free. As an introduction, Fabrik is offering Microsoft

Mail subscribers 30 days of free access. An identical offer to cc:Mail new subscribers has been extended until year's end.

Since Fabrik first announced its service for cc:Mail in August, it has been sustaining significant growth. More than 80 corporate customers with over 75,000 registered users are now on the service. Customers range from less than 10 employees to more than 20,000.

Founded in 1994, Fabrik is privately held and based in San Francisco. Investors include Crosspoint Venture Partners of Los Altos; Vanguard Venture Partners of Palo Alto; and Dantz Development Corp. of Orinda.

CONTACT: Fabrik Communications Inc.

Chris Logan, 415/986-4933 ext 106, logan@fabrik.com

or

MorseMcFadden

Paul Owen, 206/889-0528, paulo@morsepr.com