Agile Software Corporation, a supplier of product change collaboration solutions for the electronic supply chain, announced it has partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in an initiative to establish standards for efficiently sharing printed circuit assembly (PCA) data between electronics manufacturers and their supply chain partners. As an industry partner in NIST’s Internet Commerce for Manufacturing (ICM) testbed project, Agile Software is providing its Agile Workplace engineering change management technology for use in creating an environment that demonstrates and validates the use of open systems and standards for efficiently sharing both technical and business data across organizations. NIST’s ICM initiative aims to create an easily replicable scenario for Internet-based electronic commerce spanning the complex supply chain common in today’s electronics industry. Part of Agile Software’s contribution to the NIST initiative is its XML-based technology, which is a key facility within the next generation Agile products. In making its XML specifications available to NIST, Agile is proposing its adoption as an industry standard for exchanging XML-based product information between electronics OEMs and their EMS providers. These documents include Build Packages, Engineering Change Orders (ECOs), Manufacturing Change Orders (MCOs), and bills of material (BOMs). XML is a platform-independent, Web-based language that lets users categorize and structure data to be transmitted over the Internet. www.agilesoft.com

DataChannel Inc., and ISOGEN International Corp., announced that they have merged to provide a comprehensive set of XML solutions. ISOGEN will become a DataChannel Inc. company. The merger allows DataChannel to extend the DataChannel XMLFramework by providing enhanced professional services while delivering the benefits of formal standards to a larger market. ISOGEN International will retain its name and remain in Dallas where it is strategically located to easily service the new company’s combined user base. George Kondrach, Chairman of ISOGEN, will become General Manager, and Carla Corkern, President, will become Vice-President of the combined professional International Professional Services organization.www.datachannel.com

CSI USA Inc., an international supplier of secure document exchange software and services, announced today that it will release several new products. These products make the Internet secure for the exchange of business-critical documents and data. CSI debuts BDX, Business Document Exchange Service, a subscription service for the secure exchange of business-critical documents and data over the Internet. The only requirements are an Internet connection and a Java enabled PC or workstation. The BDX service presently has the capacity for thousands of users and is readily scalable to meet any future demands. CSI also introduces the latest version of its Business Document Exchange enterprise server software, BDE 2.01. BDE is portable (100% Java), scalable, and based on open system services including FTP, SQL, MIME and SMIME protocols. BDE and BDX are licensed on a per-user basis, and not based on data volume or throughput, a distinct advantage over private networks. This latest release of BDE features a new graphical interface and an enhanced command API, optimized encryption and database protocols (including support for Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and MS-SQL), and many other enhancements to the server, client, and remote administration components. CSI also announces BDC, Business Document Conversion, a new product designed specifically for the secure exchange of EDI data over the Internet. File formats and data conversion mappings are expressed in BDC-X, CSI’s proprietary XML-based language, which enables professionals and consultants, not just programmers, to write data conversion maps. www.csiusa.net

PC DOCS/Fulcrum announced DOCSSite, a Web publishing solution for PC DOCS/Fulcrum customers. DOCSSite provides non- technical users with the ability to automate the creation of linked HTML publications from any source document from any application, without any manual coding. Consistent, uniformly formatted, fully linked Web pages can quickly be produced and published on intranets and the Internet for immediate access by other users. DOCSSite generates industry standard HTML from such disparate sources as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect and popular CAD applications, creating a uniform site appearance. Linking the various documents together, DOCSSite automatically creates navigation controls and ensures the resulting content conforms to the appropriate corporate image. DOCSSite is built on PC DOCS/Fulcrum’s existing DOCS Binder XML- based compound document solution, which provides users with the ability to manage complex, multi-format documents as a single XML file within the document repository. DOCSSite will be available from PC DOCS/Fulcrum and select partners in June, 1999. www.pcdocs.com

Lutris Technologies has unveiled Enhydra, a new Java/XML application server and development framework for building dynamic, adaptable multi-tier Internet applications. Enhydra is designed for companies ranging from midsize to the Global 2000. With Enhydra. Many parts of the Internet are built on the Open Source foundations built by pioneers such as Linux, Apache, PERL, Tcl/Tk, and even Netscape’s browser. Enhydra is written entirely in Java and supports all tools and infrastructure necessary for multi-tier Internet application development and deployment. Enhydra enables users to take advantage of the emerging Internet business model with the ability to dynamically process information from multiple sources. Enhydra and its source code can be used by anyone for any purpose at no charge. This presents a much more flexible and affordable solution than commercial application servers which start at around $10,000 and can reach $100,000 in Internet deployments. In addition, users can take full advantage of the combined power of hundreds of developers and testers, a capability that exceeds the teams working on even the largest commercial products. Enhydra is the first and only Open Source application server to feature XML based technology to simplify the interactive relationship of graphic designers and Java developers during the development of dynamic HTML presentations. Enhydra technology supports any potential server platform including Unix, Linux, Windows and NT, as well as industry-dominant Web servers including Apache, Netscape Enterprise Server and Microsoft IIS. The only platform requirement is the presence of an installed JVM for Java 1.1.6 or higher. Enhydra is available immediately under FreeBSD-style licensing, and may be downloaded today from www.enhydra.org. On-line demonstrations and FAQs are provided for quick evaluation. www.lutris.com.

AIIM International and the International Information Management Congress (IMC), announced at that the world’s two premier document technology associations have officially combined to form a single, worldwide organization dedicated to bringing industry vendors and users together. The combined organization will be known as AIIM International. The Boards of Directors from both AIIM and IMC met in Atlanta during AIIM ’99 and voted unanimously in favor of combining the two associations. The official agreement takes effect immediately. AIIM International’s European Region will be a pan-European organization with a semi-autonomous structure, controlled by a European Board of Directors. Focusing exclusively on the needs of the regional document technology industry, its goal will be to unify the region’s market and expand membership there. The first event to be produced by AIIM International’s European Region will be IMC ’99. This will take place in Amsterdam at the RAI June 8-10 1999. John Mancini, the current president of the AIIM International, will become the new chief executive of the combined association. Paul Carmen, current president of IMC will become the president of the AIIM/IMC European Region. AIIM International will continue and expand its predecessors’ activities in the fields of conference, exhibition and trade show organization, publications and membership. The AIIM and IMC brand identities will be retained for existing events. www.aiim.org, www.iimc.org

NeoPlanet Inc., developer of the NeoPlanet “browser/portal” available free for downloading at www.neoplanet.com, today previewed a next-generation NeoPlanet 5.0 featuring support for the Netscape Gecko browsing engine and a “toggle switch” that allows users to choose between Microsoft and Netscape browsing technologies. NeoPlanet’s browser gives consumers and business users freedom of choice and the ability to seamlessly switch between Netscape and Microsoft browsing technologies while browsing Internet content and accessing Web-based applications and services using a consistent user interface.. Business users and Web application and content developers have the convenience of quickly and easily toggling between browsers. With the ability to view their Web sites in both environments they can ensure optimum viewing. Neoplanet 5.0 is the first consumer browser to implement Netscape Gecko, the next-generation browser engine first announced last December. Gecko is in full compliance with key W3C open standards, including CSS, DOM, HTML 4.0, RDF, and XML.www.neoplanet.com