Interliant Provides Global Access for World Book Online; ASP's Dedicated Hosting Services Help Keep Popular Encyclopedia's Users 'In the Know'

Business Wire, Oct 17, 2000

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2000

Interliant, Inc. (Nasdaq:INIT), a leading global application service provider (ASP), today announced that it has been selected by World Book, Inc., publishers of the most widely used print encyclopedia in the world, to host, manage and maintain its Web-delivered encyclopedia, World Book Online(TM). Interliant's INIT Managed Hosting(TM) services provide key components of the World Book Online site infrastructure, enabling World Book to provide its users all over the world with uninterrupted access to the globally popular reference site.

World Book Online features thousands of articles and maps, as well as pictures, sounds, videos and animation, delivered in a searchable Web format. Libraries, states, cities and towns now can purchase online licenses, based on the number of users, to the constantly updated Web encyclopedia. World Book Online contains all articles from the 22-volume print set, plus thousands more.

"When we launched World Book Online in 1998, we found that the Internet provided a strong base for us to expand World Book's reach quickly and efficiently," said Garrett Ellison, World Book director of electronic products. "With as many visitors to our site as we have and with more and more schools, libraries, and consumers subscribing every day, reliable access to the reference is critical. As our Web customer base grows, we're now looking to Interliant to build, house and maintain our infrastructure so that we can make the most of a robust Web presence while staying focused on our core mission -- education and content publishing."

"World Book is an ideal candidate for a hosted solution," said Herb Hribar, Interliant president and chief executive officer. "We are delighted that this standard bearer in the world of reference publishing has seen the value in taking its product to the Web and in relying on Interliant's expertise to ensure the reliability and availability of World Book Online. We think World Book's success will make enterprises in other data-intensive industries take a realistic look at the advantages of working with a world-class ASP to host their mission-critical applications."

IBM lead project manager for World Book Online, Al Konieczka, noted that Interliant's data centers "provide the reliability, flexibility, and security capabilities required to ensure around-the-clock performance. Interliant's Web-hosting solutions and expertise serve as the foundation for World Book to build and expand its online services." IBM is responsible for technical implementation and posting content updates developed by World Book staff.

Interliant is hosting World Book Online on 12 IBM RS6000-SP servers that are clustered to provide load balancing to maximize site performance. Interliant also is utilizing multiple Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide redundant access in the event that one ISP is temporarily off line.

About World Book

Since 1917, World Book, Inc., has set the standard for providing accuracy, objectivity, and reliability in research materials for both children and adults. Based in Chicago, Illinois, World Book is an industry leader in the production of award-winning encyclopedias, reference sources, multimedia, and online products.

In 1998, World Book launched World Book Online, an online reference resource lauded by the Los Angeles Times, Yahoo, the Lycos Top 5% Award, and the syndicated column Surfing the Net with Kids for providing a broad range of accurate and age-appropriate articles and links, as well as carefully crafted multimedia features.

For over 80 years, World Book has been committed to publishing an encyclopedia that meets the highest standards of editorial excellence while keeping pace with the technological developments that define the computer age. Today, World Book seeks to create innovative products that extend beyond the printed word without leaving tradition behind. For more information, contact Julie Connors at 1-800-255-1750 or visit the World Book Web site at www.worldbook.com.

About Interliant

Interliant, Inc. (NASDAQ: INIT) is a leading global application service provider (ASP) and pioneer in the ASP market. Interliant's INIT Solutions Suite includes messaging and knowledge management, security, e-commerce, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, distributed learning, Web-site hosting and Web-based rental applications.

Interliant, headquartered in Purchase, NY, has forged strategic alliances with the world's leading software, networking and hardware manufacturers including Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Dell Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:DELL), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL), BMC Software (NASDAQ:BMCS), Network Solutions (NASDAQ:NSOL), IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Lotus Development Corp.

For more information, visit www.interliant.com.

Interliant is a registered trademark of Interliant, Inc., in the US, other countries, or both. World Book Online is a trademark of World Book, Inc. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.