ICL's GamesZone Uses Portal Software to Manage Online Games Service; Portal's Real-Time Functionality Enables Improved Levels of Service for GamesZone Customers

Business Wire, Dec 9, 1997

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1997--Portal Software Inc., the leading provider of customer management and billing software for Internet businesses, today announced that ICL, a leading European information technology company, is using Portal's Infranet(TM) software at the heart of its emerging pan-European online games service.

GamesZone.net offers a wide range of multi-player online games and entertainment, including adventure, strategy, and action games as well as trivia quizzes. The venue is hosted on ICL's secure network and servers, where players can register and subscribe to the game services. Portal's Infranet software will be used to rate and charge customers for the games they play, and it will allow GamesZone to offer a wide range of incentives and promotions.

"Portal's real-time functionality allows us to track up-to-the-minute player activity, which means we can respond to our customers' needs with a wide range of attractive ways to use our service," said Ian Nairn, GamesZone Project Director.

"Portal is a solution which in our opinion provides us with the greatest flexibility going forward, so we can offer and provide the highest level of online service to our customers as the market evolves."

"ICL is leading the way with an imaginative selection of Internet-based entertainment services for the European market," said Steve Sommer, vice president of marketing and business development for Portal.

"This reflects a growing trend of companies who are discovering new ways to do business over the Internet. ICL understands the importance of doing business in real-time, and is taking advantage of these capabilities in Portal's software to offer innovative, multi-player online games to Internet users."

Designed specifically for the Internet, Portal's Infranet software unifies the management of all core business operations including the ability to register, track, manage, and bill subscribers. Infranet's real-time and open development environment makes it a unique solution for the exploding Internet market and differentiates it from traditional billing systems. Competitive advantages include: -0-

    -- Comprehensive customer management and billing capabilities for
       registering, tracking, managing and billing customers;

    -- Real-time functionality that enables increased revenue,
       reduced costs, and increased customer satisfaction;

    -- Complete out-of-the-box functionality that can be customized
       to any need;

    -- Integrated management of basic and value-added services;

    -- Industrial-strength, massively scalable architecture with
       proven support for millions of subscribers.
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