Interliant and NTT Group Link Notes Mail Services; Cooperation Between Independent Network Service Providers Expands Utility of Notes for Customers Worldwide

Business Wire, August 13, 1997

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 1997--Interliant announced today an agreement with the NTT Group (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, NTT PC Communications Inc., NTT Data Corporation) to provide interconnected Notes Mail services to meet the demands of customers seeking global networks. The agreement means that customers using the NTT service can exchange Notes mail with contacts using the Interliant network worldwide.

Generally, 'NSPAPs ('Net Service Provider, Alliance Partners) deploy their Notes and Domino-based services independently with little interconnectivity available to customers. Therefor, customers are forced to abandon Notes for other communications vehicles, such as faxes or Internet messages, to collaborate with contacts, even if those contacts use Notes and are connected to a Notes network. Notes Mail interoperability between the Interliant and NTT services enables customers to benefit from the more robust Notes mail product, including encryption, digital signatures, file attachments, delivery priority settings and privacy flags. Interoperability also simplifies addressing issues for users of both networks. This agreement reflects a new commitment on the part of network service providers to provide seamless global messaging solutions to Notes users.

"Interliant was founded to provide organizations with the services they need to meet the growing challenges of intra-enterprise and inter-enterprise workgroup computing. Interoperabilty with like-minded network service providers, such as NTT, is a logical component of that strategy," said Jim Lidestri, president and CEO of Interliant.

The interconnected service will be rolled out in phases. Notes Mail interconnectivity will be available for beta test this month. Interliant and the NTT Group are also exploring the option of offering more robust Notes services, such as replication.

The cooperation between the NTT Group and Interliant is one result of the work of MSAF (Multimedia Services Affiliate Forum). MSAF is an open forum that works to foster interconnectivity among multimedia service providers through non-exclusive relationships. MSAF's plan for Global Multimedia Services was announced in Tokyo earlier this year. Both NTT and Interliant are members of MSAF, and NTT is one of the organization's founders.

"A major objective of Lotus 'Net Service Providers, Alliance Partners (formerly Lotus Notes Public Networks) is to bring down communications barriers while making it easier for end-user customers around the world to transact business via Domino-based and Notes-based services. The agreement between Interliant and NTT to interconnect their respective services--the first such agreement between Lotus 'NSP Alliance Partners--represents a major step towards attaining the global interconnectivity sought by all member companies of the Multimedia Services Affiliate Forum (MSAF). Lotus applauds Interliant and NTT for taking such an important step together and for setting the stage for other similar agreements between other 'NSP Alliance Partners," said Mary Murphy, general manager of the Telco and ISP Solutions Division at Lotus Development Corporation.

NTT PC has been providing public 'NSPAP services under the service name NNAS (NTT Network Application Services for Notes) to Japan since August 1996. NTT DATA provides 'NSPAP features tailored to customers' specific requirements as a component of their system integration offering. Again, this service is already available in Japan.

NTT International Corporation will provide global customer support services for customer client systems, including consultation and support (by Japanese staffs), installation and maintenance.

Interliant has been providing a wide range of Notes/Domino related services worldwide since 1994 through partnerships with networks carriers.

The negotiations were accomplished through the supervision of the NTT corporation, which is committed to continue promoting the further globalization of multimedia services.

INTERLIANT

Interliant is a network service provider specializing in groupware. Companies use Interliant to share public or corporate databases, to publish on the World Wide Web, to exchange e-mail, and to connect multiple offices worldwide. In addition to dedicated or dial-up X.25 access, companies also can connect to Interliant's network over 1-800 numbers in North America, the Internet and frame relay. Interliant network services have been commercially available since January 1, 1994 and include 24 hour a day, seven days a week technical support. Interliant is a Lotus 'Net Service Provider, Alliance Partner. For more information on Interliant, call 713/650-6522 or send e-mail to info@interliant.com . Access the Interliant home page at http://www.interliant.com . Interliant is a trademark of Interliant, Inc.

MSAF:

MSAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting global multimedia services. It was founded in March 1996 with 25 member companies, including major telecommunications operators and software vendors. At present, the number of member companies stands at 46.