Open Text Corporation’s FirstClass division announced the release of FirstClass 8.0, a major evolution of the company’s suite of integrated communication and messaging capabilities. The release includes both the FirstClass Business Edition and the FirstClass Education Edition, which is tailored to meet the requirements of FirstClass’ education customer base. FirstClass 8.0 new features include advances in system security and manageability, in performance and scalability, and in collaboration and customization capabilities. The new FirstClass Directory Services (FCDS) module facilitates the integration of FirstClass into corporate meta-directory environments including LDAP and Microsoft Active Directory. FCDS enables bi-directional user administration between FirstClass and meta-directories, as well as providing access to FirstClass directories from end-user client applications. FCDS also provides single sign-in support through external authentication. FirstClass 8.0 will be available on a wide variety of computing platforms, including Microsoft Windows (95, 98, NT, 2000, and XP versions), Apple Macintosh (OS 8, OS 9 and OS X versions), HTML/Web, and Linux. FirstClass 8.0 is available for free to all customers who are members of the FirstClass Support and Maintenance Program. www.opentext.com