Business Services Industry

AnaServe Partners With Microsoft and Open Market in Exclusive Pilot Program; FrontPage Users Offered Easy Commerce Solutions

Business Wire, July 21, 1998

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1998--AnaServe Inc., a leader in providing Web-hosting solutions since 1995, Tuesday announced that it will run a pilot program offering Open Market's (NASD:OMKT) ShopSite(TM) Express e-commerce software to Microsoft FrontPage users.

The partnership between AnaServe and Open Market, a leading provider of Internet commerce and information management software, will result in a wide range of easy-to-use, and cost-effective commerce solutions, allowing Microsoft FrontPage users to commerce-enable their Web sites through AnaServe.

As a ShopSite Express service provider, AnaServe is offering the use of one of its commerce servers free of charge to Microsoft FrontPage customers, allowing the customers to add electronic commerce functionality to their Web sites.

"This partnership with Microsoft and Open Market eliminates several barriers to entry by combining easy-to-use commerce functionality and a vast array of cost-effective services," Summers said.

ShopSite Express, developed by ICentral Inc. (recently acquired by Open Market), is a server-based software program that offers an easy-to-use Web-based interface for entering product name and pricing information into an online database. Moreover, it interfaces with the rest of the ShopSite family of products, enabling small to medium-size companies to sell products and services on the Web.

"AnaServe, which supports the full line of Open Market ShopSite products, including ShopSite Manager and ShopSite Pro, offers several turnkey solutions for small to medium-size businesses that outgrow the ShopSite Express shopping cart and require a more feature-rich commerce service," Summer added. "By upgrading to other ShopSite products, customers can perform real-time payment processing and other value-added e-commerce functions through AnaServe's expert Web-hosting capabilities."

As an added incentive to users of Microsoft FrontPage and ShopSite Express, AnaServe, an Open Market Hosting Partner, will offer e-commerce Web-hosting services at a special discount. These services include same business day set-up, allowing Microsoft FrontPage/ShopSite Express users to upload their sites on the Web in a matter of hours.

"Open Market acquired ICentral and its ShopSite family of products in order to facilitate the entry of small to medium-size businesses into successful Internet commerce," said Gail Goodman, vice president, Commerce Products Group at Open Market. "In enabling FrontPage users to quickly and easily commerce-enable their Web sites, we are helping to create a new generation of online retail shopping sites."

"We're delighted that Open Market is offering FrontPage users the opportunity to easily add commerce functionality to their FrontPage-based websites," said Pat Kirtland, group product manager, Microsoft Corp. "This will enable the tens of thousands of FrontPage users to inexpensively grow the functionality of their sites and get started in e-commerce."

"AnaServe is uniquely qualified, as a known world leader in e-commerce Web-hosting, to offer FrontPage users sophisticated commerce solutions as their presence over the Internet expands," Summers said. "By taking advantage of AnaServe's e-commerce expertise, Microsoft FrontPage customers will benefit from the growing number of electronic commerce services that are available now and long into the future," he added.

AnaServe currently houses 200 servers, hosts 10,000 Web sites, and sells its services through more than 425 resellers, making AnaServe one of the largest and fastest-growing Web-hosting services in the world. As a complete Web-hosting solution provider, AnaServe specializes in electronic commerce, site management, and Web-promotion products and services for Internet-based businesses. AnaServe provides value-added services designed to globally expand a business' online sales and market reach, and implement the latest developments in Web technology.

AnaServe's headquarters are located at 1300 Bristol North, Suite 220, Newport Beach, Calif. 92660. The phone: 949/250-7262. Fax: 949/250-7265.

Additional information about AnaServe is available at www.anaserve.com.

CONTACT: GreenLight Communications

Les Goldberg, APR

Aleta Walther

awalther@grnlt.com

lgoldberg@grnlt.com

949/719-6400

Fax: 949/719-6414

AnaServe Inc.

Michelle Ruyle, 949/250-7262, Ext. 290

Fax: 949/252-7265