Financial Watch:

DataLabs/Microsoft Collaboration in Pharm'l Industry

DataLabs announced its collaboration with Microsoft Corp to bring pharmaceutical companies DataLabs' flagship product, DataLabs CTMS (Clinical Trial Management System).

The relationship facilitates co-marketing opportunities between the two companies, as well as DataLabs' adoption of Microsoft's .NET technology. DataLabs CTMS is built on the Microsoft Windows 2000 network operating system and Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers, and is designed to lower drug development costs, accelerate the time to market, increase efficiencies and improve the quality of research.

DataLabs CTMS is the first product in the pharmaceutical industry to integrate project management, data management and document management into a single Internet-based application -- providing a seamless flow of information and streamlining the clinical development process in ways never before possible. The product was designed and developed by clinical trial and information technology specialists. It was also created to be compatible with most commercial, clinical development software applications and most Web-based technologies.

"DataLabs CTMS is a mission-critical solution that demonstrates the agility, scalability, reliability and cost-effectiveness of Microsoft's technology in the pharmaceutical industry," says Steve Chin, R.Ph., Worldwide Pharmaceutical Industry Manager at Microsoft. "We look forward to working with solution partners like DataLabs to address the needs of pharmaceutical companies through applications and services built on the .NET Enterprise Servers and other Microsoft .NET technologies."

DataLabs CTMS is built using Microsoft's .NET development tools and servers, including the .NET Framework, Visual Studio .NET, SQL Server 2000, SharePoint Portal Server, BizTalk Server 2000 and Exchange Server 2000. The product also integrates with Microsoft Project, the market-leading project management software, and Project Central, Microsoft's online version of Microsoft Project. In addition, DataLabs CTMS integrates with features of Microsoft Office, a platform found on most networks and desktop computers within the biopharmaceutical industry.

"Until DataLabs CTMS, the three components of clinical trials -- project, data and document management -- were kept in separate software 'islands' that couldn't communicate with each other," says James Langford, president and CEO of DataLabs. "DataLabs CTMS provides clients with the big picture -- a 360-degree view of their project's status. Microsoft's technologies and support have been critical elements to developing DataLabs CTMS. We are thrilled to be working with them in this initiative."

DataLabs is a software company specializing in integrated Internet-based applications for the biopharmaceutical industry -- specifically the clinical development process. DataLabs relies on its management team's long history within the pharmaceutical industry, and has a deep commitment to provide solutions that provide measurable results. For more information about DataLabs, visit www.datalabs.com.

Contact DataLabs, Austin, Carol Bailey, 512-479-6237, carol@nourzads.com.

Ericsson Selects Sybase Industry Warehouse Studio

Sybase Inc announced that Ericsson has selected Sybase's Industry Warehouse Studio (IWS) as a key component of its Cenaxis Call Centre Portfolio. The Cenaxis Call Centre Portfolio provides customer-interaction services to companies that use call centers to support their customers. IWS software features pre-built data models for the communications industry that help Ericsson provide an integrated, customer-centric view of data customers through their Cenaxis Call Centre Portfolio.

The Ericsson Cenaxis Call Centre Portfolio provides a wide range of customer-interaction services that companies can deploy on any network. The portfolio offers service applications for network operators and service providers as well as business application services for their corporate customers. With the IWS application, Ericsson has now added full analytical capability to its call center solution.

Anette Malling, manager of channel development and product management for Ericsson's call center solutions, said, "We chose Industry Warehouse Studio because it provides Ericsson with the best framework for incorporating our management-information-system data with the Cenaxis platform. IWS gives us a more open-platform and more flexible data models. We also felt confident that Sybase would deliver what we needed because of our on-going relationship with them over the past several years."

Because of the IWS data models, Ericsson's customers have been able to analyze call center data in ways that were not possible previously. "Our customers can analyze their operations more in-depth now because they can compare their call-center performance in relation to factors such as customer profiles, marketing campaigns and product launches," Malling said.

Industry Warehouse Studio (IWS), a product of the Sybase Business Intelligence Division, is an enterprise-analytic infrastructure that "jump-starts" the design, development and implementation of focused business intelligence applications. Corporations use IWS to create world-class analytic applications that analyze key performance indicators to better understand their customers and their business.

Peter Back, Nordic regional manager of Sybase Business Intelligence Division, said, "Ericsson is a perfect example of how Sybase partners with leading application vendors to help them sell their integrated business intelligence applications. Industry Warehouse Studio supplies the infrastructure that enables the further development of next-generation business intelligence applications."

About Sybase Business Intelligence Division

The Sybase Business Intelligence Division offers software and professional services that transform data into actionable information so businesses can increase market share, reduce customer turnover, and up-sell products to existing customers. The division partners with leading business intelligence vendors to provide solutions to specific markets, including financial services, credit cards, media, insurance, banking, telecommunications and the Internet. Key products include Industry Warehouse Studio for complete industry-specific analytical CRM; Adaptive Server IQ Multiplex for high-performance data warehousing; and seePower -- dynamic visualization analysis software. For more information, visit the Sybase Web site: www.sybase.com/bi.

About Cenaxis and Ericsson

Cenaxis is Ericsson's total solutions product portfolio for network-based customer interaction. The portfolio is designed to meet the needs of network operators, service providers and their customers. Cenaxis provides a wide range of fully-featured customer interaction service services. It has powerful enabling architectures that can be deployed in any network. For more information, visit the Ericsson Web site: www.ericsson.com/NI/ni_cc/code/ni_cc.html.

Ericsson, headquartered in Sweden, is shaping the future of mobile and broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

About Sybase Inc

Sybase provides enterprise-class software solutions that fuel e-Business and enable access to Information anytime, anyplace. With its industry-leading Enterprise Portal (EP), mobile and wireless, business intelligence and vertical-market solutions, Sybase is one of the largest global independent software companies in the world. For more information, visit the Sybase Web site: www.sybase.com.

Contact Daniel Speranta, Nordic Marketing Manager of Sybase Business Intelligence, +46 (0) 8 5871 1051, daniel.speranta@sybase.com.

Informatica Corporation Expands Operations Into France

Informatica Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise analytic software, announced further expansion of its European operations into France. This move is in line with the company's goal of continuing to increase its presence in Europe, and more effectively satisfy its French customers' demand for direct sales, service and consulting resources. Former Nortel Networks executive Luc Hollande has been named country director of the newly formed Informatica France subsidiary.

The expansion is the result of the acquisition of Informatica Partners S.A., a distributor that previously represented Informatica in France, and is the company's third European acquisition of a distributor this year. Currently Informatica has direct operations in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and France and distributor representatives in seven other European countries.

The award-winning Informatica data integration platform and analytic applications enable companies to integrate data from disparate sources, analyze the information consistently across their business, and deliver personalized, timely insight to a wide range of corporate information consumers. Ultimately, this can help businesses improve operational performance, accelerate revenue growth and increase competitive responsiveness.

"This move furthers our global expansion and enables us to serve our European customers more effectively," said Ediz Ertekin, vice president, Europe, Informatica. "Since the beginning of our fiscal year, Informatica has increased its European customer base by nearly 40 percent."

"We are pleased to announce the addition of Luc Hollande to our senior management team," added Ertekin. "He brings a blend of applications market development and sales management experience that we need to drive our vision and strategy for enterprise analytics."

Previously, Mr. Hollande served as Southern Europe managing director of Nortel Networks eBusiness Solutions and was responsible for defining business targets and fostering relationships with key prospects, partners and customers. Under his direction, Nortel Networks eBusiness Solutions experienced tremendous sales growth, including a 100% increase in Clarify product license fee revenue in 2000. Prior to Nortel Networks, Mr. Hollande held several sales positions, including director of sales with PeopleSoft France and applications sales executive in charge of the financial services industry with Oracle France.

About Informatica Corporation

Informatica provides enterprise analytic software that enables decision makers to transform business insight into competitive advantage. Informatica provides the industry's only integrated set of analytic products, including a powerful data integration platform, a suite of cross value chain analytic applications, and soon the real-time delivery of personalized analytics via web, wireless and voice. More than 1,300 customers, including 60 percent of the Fortune 100, rely on Informatica software to integrate, analyze and deliver critical information to managers, executives and other decision-makers to optimize business performance. The company's list of global customers includes 3Com, AMD, American Airlines, BMW, Borders Group, Chevron, Cisco, CNET, the Department of Justice, Deutsche Bank, eBay, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, MetLife, Motorola, Philips, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sprint, UBS and the U.S. Postal Service. For more information, call 800-970-1179, or visit the Informatica Web site at www.informatica.com.

Contact Samantha Moore of Informatica Corporation, 650-385-5259, smoore@informatica.com.

Insightful Purchases Predict AG

Insightful Corporation, a leading provider of scalable enterprise software solutions for data analysis, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Predict AG, a leading provider of business analytic solutions in Switzerland.

This acquisition provides Insightful with a European professional services headquarters consisting of a multi-lingual team of business and technical experts in analytic CRM, business intelligence, data mining, data warehousing, predictive modeling, and statistical analysis. Insightful will enhance the team with sales and support personnel for S-PLUS, StatServer and S-PLUS Analytic Server.

"The establishment of our European professional services hub will play a crucial role in our business growth throughout Europe," said Shawn Javid, chairman, president and CEO of Insightful. "The expertise, deep customer relationships, and entrepreneurial spirit of the Predict team will be fundamental to the expansion of the Insightful analytic services practice in Europe. I am pleased to welcome Patrick Schunemann, the CEO of Predict, to the Insightful executive management team in the role of vice president and general manager of European operations."

"The synergies of Insightful and Predict are incredible and the combined entity will serve our customers better than either could have separately," said Patrick Schunemann. "The combination of our respective technologies and intellectual capital will enable us to take a leadership position in the global analytic CRM market. Business intelligence requires accurate data analysis and, as part of Insightful, we are able to deliver superior technology and expertise to our customers."

With the establishment of this new subsidiary, Insightful now has European direct sales, professional services, and customer support presence in France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Insightful customers in Switzerland include: Credit Suisse, ETH, Novartis, Roche, UBS, and Viseca.

Under the terms of the agreement, Insightful acquires 100% of the outstanding stock of Predict AG for approximately $1.5 million in cash, $0.7 million in Insightful stock, plus stock options. This transaction is accretive and will be accounted for in the third quarter of 2001 using the purchase method of accounting. All 20 Predict employees, headquartered in Basel, have become Insightful employees.

About Insightful

Insightful Corporation provides enterprises with scalable data analysis solutions that drive better decisions faster by revealing patterns, trends and relationships. The company is a leading supplier of software and services for statistics, data mining and predictive analysis, which expedite accurate decision-making and improve business performance.

Insightful's products, including S-PLUS, StatServer and S-PLUS Analytic Server, play a key role in data warehousing and business intelligence initiatives by delivering analytical tools and graphical reports that convert data into insight. Insightful also provides consulting, application development outsourcing, data integration and training focused on data analysis and predictive modeling. The company has been delivering data analysis solutions for over a decade to thousands of companies in financial services, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, telecommunications and manufacturing, plus many research institutions.

Headquartered in Seattle, Insightful has offices in New York City, North Carolina, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom with distributors around the world. For more information, visit www.insightful.com.

Contact Insightful Corporation, Sar Ramadan, 206-283-8802, sramadan@insightful.com.