Tumbleweed Introduces Secure Guardian OneChannel Offering For Trusted eCommunications

Business Wire, Jan 9, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2002

Secure Solution Suite Gives Companies a Single, Online Channel to

Safely Deliver Critical Information to Customers and Partners

Tumbleweed(R) Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:TMWD), a leading provider of secure content management solutions for enabling the business Internet, introduced today Tumbleweed Secure Guardian OneChannel(TM), the first software solution suite that enables companies to develop a single, secure channel for all e-communications with customers and/or partners. Now companies can offer their customers and partners a convenient, trusted and branded online vehicle to communicate business-critical information safely. OneChannel is the first bundled suite offering under the Tumbleweed Secure Guardian framework and contains options for customers to use all of Tumbleweed's solutions for extending the network. Solutions include Secure Messenger, Secure Statements, Secure Redirect and Secure Public Network.

The network extension solutions included in OneChannel help companies leverage the business efficiencies and benefits of the business Internet. Tumbleweed solutions allow companies to secure communications between trading partners, move paper-based processes -- such as statement presentment -- online, and deliver and store aggregated enterprise communications into a single, branded secure inbox for each customer or partner. For example, if a company wants to deliver communications to partners, it can use Secure Public Network and Secure Redirect to enable both S/MIME encryption and SSL-based delivery processed at the gateway. To reach individual customers using any email client and a Web browser, customers can use Secure Messenger, Secure Statement and Secure Redirect.

"Companies should consider simple-to-use and easily accessible online applications complemented by responsive customer service," said Avivah Litan, vice president and research director at Gartner Group. "In addition, by adopting a secure platform for online business processes and communications, businesses can improve the quality, security and privacy of customer services. Based on current adoption trends, it is clear that consumers find greater value in online account management."

At the heart of Secure Guardian OneChannel is the Secure Inbox(TM), a central online location where a company can deliver, manage and receive critical customer communications on an encrypted server. The Secure Inbox offers a single, personalized point of interaction for each customer and can be easily integrated into a company's existing portal solution. Using the various solutions in OneChannel, companies can deliver customer service responses, statements of accounts, transaction confirmations, invoices and targeted marketing. All paper communications traditionally mailed to customers can easily be delivered using email and the Web, generating cost-savings for businesses.

"OneChannel is the next generation of Internet-enabled communications that enables companies to combine the push of email with the pull of the Internet to create a customized, interactive experience for their customer account management in a safe and efficient manner," said Michele Wrath, vice president of product marketing at Tumbleweed. "Companies can now offer a unique service to their customers -- without forcing their customers, internal employees or customer service reps to change their behavior. Because Tumbleweed's extension solutions are built on open Internet standards, we operate with existing, universal infrastructure so internal employees can continue to use standard email and back-office systems and all customer communications can be delivered to the customer in a centralized, online inbox."

The solutions in Secure Guardian OneChannel are part of Tumbleweed Secure Guardian, consisting of a platform -- the Tumbleweed Secure Policy Gateway(TM) -- and a series of protocol enablers that allow virtually any application to connect to it. Secure Guardian allows organizations to safely extend communications from enterprise applications, groupware and legacy systems over the Internet.

Pricing and Availability

A unique feature of OneChannel is that it allows companies to purchase blocks of licenses that can be mixed and matched for any of the Tumbleweed network extension solutions in the suite: Secure Redirect, Secure Messenger, Secure Statements and Secure Public Network, depending upon which online channels they use to communicate with their customers and partners online. OneChannel's CPU-based pricing gives businesses of all sizes the ability to develop Secure Inboxes based upon varying usage and customer adoption. Base pricing starts at $40,000 for a suite of 4 CPUs.

About Tumbleweed Communications Corp.

Tumbleweed is a leading provider of solutions for managing secure communication and collaboration to enable the business Internet. Tumbleweed's robust policy-based framework empowers organizations to safely share and protect critical information, increase customer loyalty and privacy and dramatically reduce costs. Tumbleweed is trusted by 1,000 blue-chip customers including American Express, Chevron, Datek Online, the European Union's Joint Research Council, First Union Wachovia, John Deere, Merrill Lynch, Nike, Northern Trust, NTT, Salomon Smith Barney, Travelers and US Food and Drug Administration. Eight of the Fortune 10 and 100 of the Fortune 500 are Tumbleweed customers. Tumbleweed Communications was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with offices around the world.