Tribal Voice Advances Interactive Corporate Communications With PowWow for Private Networks

Business Wire, July 26, 1999

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 1999--

New Instant Messaging, Interactive Communication

Suite and Online Community Solution

Runs Behind Firewall on Company's Own Server

Recognizing the growing importance of instant messaging, interactive communications and online communities in today's workplace, Tribal Voice(TM), the leading provider of instant messaging and online community software, today introduced PowWow(R) for Private Networks(TM), the first corporate-tailored interactive communications suite/online community solution that runs on companies' servers behind their firewalls, combining the best of online communications with the security of a protected corporate environment.

PowWow for Private Networks (PWPN) takes the interactive communications power of Tribal Voice's PowWow software, already used by more than five million people worldwide, and adapts it for the corporate environment.

Recognizing that today's internal communications are evolving from static e-mail to interactive messaging, collaborative chat and real-time chat -- all of which take advantage of "online presence" and the ability to communicate immediately with co-workers and customers -- Tribal Voice created PWPN to give business users a full range of interactive communication tools on both a one-to-one and group/collaborative basis, all while staying within their protected corporate environment.

Unlike other online communication products from companies such as America Online (NYSE:AOL) and Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO), PWPN runs on a company's own server behind the corporate firewall, combining all the benefits of the consumer version of PowWow with the added control and security demanded by corporate IT departments.

By simply opening the firewall, the PWPN solution can be extended to the outside world, allowing customer and supplier interaction.

"We've been beta testing PowWow for Private Networks for over a month and we are very pleased with the results," said Mitch Scimemi, PDS Web Developer, Desktop Support Division, at ATT WorldNet. "Running behind our firewall on our server, PowWow for Private Networks provides the interactive communications solution we've been looking for without compromising our security."

PowWow for Private Networks is built upon the highly scalable PowWow User Registration and Query Server (PURQS) which manages buddy lists, online presence and user registration.

This enterprise solution also includes a dual mode PowWow client that enables interactive communication and online community creation/participation in both public and private PowWow networks, allowing users to move beyond the firewall and into the larger Internet realm when appropriate.

"1999 will be remembered as the year that companies recognized that only interactive communications move as quickly as the business world and embraced the instant messaging phenomenon sweeping the consumer sector," said Tribal Voice Vice President of Marketing Richard Dym.

"Up until now, businesses wanting to use popular instant messaging solutions could only do so by exposing their internal users' online presence to commercial services, resulting in an unwanted mingling of their users with general consumers. PowWow for Private Networks changes the game.

"Now IT departments can provide users with proven interactive communications and online community capabilities while preserving their privacy behind the corporate firewall."

Features and Benefits

Key features and benefits of PowWow for Private Networks include: -0-

--   A Full Interactive Communications Suite:

     --   Buddy List: Enables users to detect the online presence of
          co-workers for increased communication efficiency;
     --   Instant Messaging: Gives users the ability to send both text
          and voice instant messaging, offering an excellent,
          real-time complement to e-mail and voicemail; and
     --   Peer-to-Peer Activities: Opens a whole new world of
          interactive tools, including voice chat (saving telephone
          charges), web touring (allowing multiple users to surf
          together for use in competitive analysis, training and
          ongoing education), white boarding (enabling real-time,
          on-the-fly diagrams and charts), and file transfer (allowing
          files to be shared much quicker and more efficiently than
          via e-mail).

--   Online Communities:

     --   Departmental Communities: Lets system administrators or
          other designated individuals create unlimited departmental
          communities to allow online meetings/chats to take place in
          one central virtual meeting, eliminating geographical
          constraints and saving travel dollars;
     --   Online Directory: Makes each online community an instant
          online directory including individuals' pictures and
          profiles;
     --   Logging: Lets community sessions be documented to ensure
          accuracy and save time in creating meeting minutes; and
     --   Administration: Comes with comprehensive administrator
          options, including welcome messages, passwords, web links
          and moderation capabilities, to allow groups to work
          efficiently and securely.

--   PowWow User Registration and Query Server (PURQS)

     --   Firewall Protection: Runs behind the corporate firewall to
          create a completely secure and private interactive
          communication/online community system that is completely
          under IT control;
     --   IP Address Management: Allows for the easy tracking of buddy
          lists, online presence and user registration, making it
          simple to track usage; and
     --   Scalability: Enables network administrators to grow with
          user demand via a server capable of handing 185,000 or more
          connections per hour.