Internet 25: best of class! - 25 companies that provide enterprise-class Internet software are evaluated - includes related articles on corporate Web sites, Mosaic graphical Web browser, making money with start up companies and tribute to panel of evaluators - Company Business and Marketing - Cover Story

Software Magazine, April, 1997 by Colleen Frye

Dazel Corp. Austin, Texas

"Imagine delivering SAP-style information over the Internet," says Mark Sherman, a principal with Robertson Stephens. Without reprogramming, or using Web authoring tools. That's the promise of the MetaWeb product from Dazel Corp., a pioneer in distributed output management.

MetaWeb is an extension to Dazel's Output Server, which deliver documents to any destination with their original look. MetaWeb enables an organization's production applications to deliver files, faxes, pages and E-mail across corporate intranets for printing or viewing via Web browsers.

William G. Bock, Dazel's recently appointed CEO, says MetaWeb helps IT organizations leverage the Web in a productive manner. "MetaWeb plugs into everything else we do to give IT organizations an opportunity to take existing internal application output [and publish to the Web] without having to reprogram or come up with new programs."

The company has also launched the Dazel Output Management Envi- ronment (DOME), a third-party partnering program. "It's an environment in which we provide interconnections," says Bock. "A lot of firms will find they can partner with Dazel effectively to improve the corporate effectiveness of specialty Internet products." He adds, "We initiated an effort around SAP R/3 that is proving successful."

This is also the year in which Dazel will look to turn its first profit, says Bock. Revenues for 1996 were about $10 million, up from $4.1 million in 1995.

In the near term, Bock plans to build up the corporate infrastructure. "We've been spending a lot of time building up customer support, developing the domestic channels of distribution, and we're now beginning to launch our international efforts." With a healthy amount of capital in the bank from its last round of venture financing, Bock says he is in no hurry for an IPO.

"I'd like to be further along the road before exposing the company" to quarterly scrutiny, he says.

Coming this year from Dazel will be Output Server 3.0, with full support for NT, which Bock says "is every bit as important as the MetaWeb technology." With the industry's insatiable desire for all things Internet, though, Bock acknowledges that MetaWeb will be key to their future. "I do expect that MetaWeb is going to become a central component of the enterprise transactionswe'll do in '97-'98."

Finjan Software Netanya south, Israel Java became a reality in 1996, opening up security opportunities for two camps: those who want to breach it, and those who want to protect it. Israel-based Finjan emerged in the latter camp in August 1996 with SurfinBoard1.0, a personal firewall for protexting Java applets against attach at the desktop level. One month later, the company raised $3.1 million in a second round of financing. Its backers are Bessemer and Star Fund of Israel.

The firm was founded by CEO Shlomo Touboul, a veteran of the Israeli high-tech startup-up scene, who had formerly founded Shany ComputersLtd., an application management tool development firm that Intel eventually bought. (A finjan is an ornate vessel used to prepare coffee, often considered the symbol of hospitality in middle-eastern tradition.)