Financial Watch:

DataFlux Announces Its New Alliance Program & Partners

DataFlux Corporation, a SAS Company and a leader in the development of data quality and data integration solutions, announced the creation of the DataFlux Alliance Program (DAP). The DAP is dedicated to establishing strategic relationships with partner companies to integrate the DataFlux suite of data quality and data integration management solutions into business intelligence applications. DAP members leverage the technical excellence of DataFlux technology and gain competitive advantage by providing dfPower Studio (an end-user product) as a complementary product offering or by embedding Blue Fusion SDK (a software developer kit) into their product offerings.

Tony Fisher, DataFlux president said, "We are excited about the DataFlux Alliance Program because it affords industry leaders and start-ups alike the ability to leverage our leading data quality and data integration technology. We will work closely with our alliance partners to meet the dynamic challenges of a data-intensive business climate."

The DAP consists of three types of partnerships: Development, Software, and Referral. Detailed information on the program and levels of membership can be found at www.dataflux.com/alliance.asp. Initial DAP member companies include: The Center for Data Quality, a Reston, VA based data quality consulting company; Transitions II Inc, a Mountain View, CA based marketing database development and analysis firm; and Britemoon, a Methuen, MA based provider of ASP-based email marketing software.

Bill Spruill, Business Relations Manager for DataFlux stated, "Our partners are companies that understand the data challenges that face most organizations today. We are committed to providing the technology, training, and support required for our partners to help customers significantly enhance their data quality and to streamline their data integration projects."

The DAP features comprehensive marketing, training and technical support for alliance members. For more information about the DataFlux Alliance Program, contact Bill Spruill at DataFlux via phone 877-846-3589 or email bill.spruill@dataflux.com. Additional information is available on the DataFlux Website: www.dataflux.com.

About DataFlux Corporation

DataFlux is a North Carolina-based software company that provides leading edge, award-winning technology for data cleansing, data augmentation, data consolidation and conversion and data scrubbing. The versatile DataFlux products are designed to significantly improve the accuracy, consistency and usability of an organization's critical data, enhancing the effectiveness of data-driven applications and initiatives such as data warehousing, e-commerce systems, data mining, customer information systems, sales force automation, marketing databases, customer/prospect profiling and list management. Some of the companies currently using DataFlux solutions include Bank of America, US Patent and Trademark Office, Wells Fargo, and Microsoft. DataFlux is a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS Institute, the leader in decision support and data warehousing, providing integrated enterprise information-delivery solutions and e-business solutions.

Contact Steve Traugott, Demaree Public Relations Inc, 603-428-4411, straugott@demaree-pr.com.

Gain Insight and Take Action with digiMine

digiMine Inc, a leading provider of data mining and business intelligence solutions, announced three customers that have deployed digiMine eBusiness Analytics.

Fidesic Corporation, The .tv Corporation and Zones Inc represent a cross-section of Internet-based businesses. All three have chosen digiMine to provide actionable insight about Web site traffic and online customer interactions, in order to help grow online revenues and enhance customer loyalty.

Zones Inc is a single-source direct reseller of name-brand information technology products and services to the fast growing small to medium sized business market. The company Web site, www.zones.com, is a key sales channel. Zones management recognized that analytic understanding of the company's online business is key to maximizing marketing, merchandising and sales. Zones chose digiMine eBusiness Analytics to meet this need. digiMine's solution allows Zones merchandisers to measure product performance and provides the company's marketers with a complete grasp of the trends and patterns of online customer behavior.

"Zones sells more than 150,000 products, so a solution to determine which products are viewed most, which products are viewed in combination and how well we are converting browsers to customers is extremely valuable," says Diane Parks, chief marketing officer at Zones. "With digiMine, we have a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of how online customers are engaging with us, providing us with reliable business intelligence to develop and execute strategy."

Like all of digiMine's offerings, eBusiness Analytics is a fully managed solution, including a custom-built data warehouse that is specifically designed for data mining and analysis. digiMine customers access daily Web-based reports providing deep, detailed analysis of Web site traffic, customer interactions, marketing campaign response and transactions. The result is powerful insight and decision support that enables clients to boost customer acquisition, increase the effectiveness of online merchandising and continually optimize Web site design. digiMine also offers solutions for enterprises and wireless businesses.

The .tv Corporation also values the business intelligence digiMine eBusiness Analytics delivers. .tv is a leading provider of Web identity services and the exclusive worldwide source for Web addresses ending in .tv. The company operates a high-traffic Web site (www.tv) for a global audience of businesses and individuals. digiMine enables .tv to better understand how its diverse clientele navigates across its site and browses its services, such as domain name registration, Web site building tools, email services and video broadcasting.

"We have a truly international business, with Web sites in eight different languages. Not only have we had tremendous global success selling .tv Web addresses, but we also offer a variety of other domain names as well as related services to build online identities," says Rob Kostich, vice president of marketing at .tv. "The ability to understand which of our services is resonating with which customer segment is invaluable to us. digiMine helps provide us with the metrics to make the right decisions so we can keep growing our business."

Fidesic, formerly CheckSpace Inc, is the premier provider of electronic invoicing and payment solutions for banks, businesses, home offices and individuals. With several distinct customer groups, Fidesic relies on digiMine analysis to measure and interpret Web site usage, helping strengthen relationships with each market.

"digiMine's managed service model is ideal for Fidesic. digiMine takes on the hardware, software and operations of data analysis and we simply access the analytics over the Internet," says Naseem Tuffaha, the Fidesic's CEO. "There is minimal risk and up-front cost with digiMine, in terms of equipment and personnel. We're able to focus on our business, not on building and operating business intelligence infrastructure."

About digiMine

digiMine is setting new standards for the delivery of powerful data mining and analytics. Our managed data mining solutions transform raw data into actionable business intelligence for more profitable marketing campaigns, sales interactions and customer relationships. Our solutions are powered by a fully managed data warehouse and delivered via the Internet, providing fast deployment, a low total cost of ownership and outstanding return on investment. For additional information about digiMine call 425-460-5000 or visit the company Web site at www.digiMine.com.

Contact digiMine, Joel Sider, 425-216-1842, joels@digimine.com.

Entel Selects NCR Teradata

Entel, one of the leading communications companies in Chile, selected the Teradata warehouse from Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation, for customer data analysis and acquisition and retention tracking.

Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, Entel provides over 1.5 million customers with long distance and full Internet services including ISP, VPN, dedicated, dial-up, Internet Data Center and Web Hosting, enabling customers to develop e-business strategies for business-to-consumer and business-to-business commerce. With the Chilean market undergoing deregulation and many competitors vying for market share, Entel needed to improve its collection and analysis of financial, traffic, customer-care and market-promotion information.

Until now, Entel has utilized data marts to gather, store and analyze mission-critical data. This information across different divisions could not be merged using Entel's primary data marts. Performing trend analysis, customer segmentation and traffic analysis were difficult tasks that provided inaccurate results.

To maintain its strategic and leadership position in the market, Entel's IT and commercial departments decided to perform an in-depth study on data warehousing and the benefits the company would achieve by having a 360-degree view of its customer data. After meeting different vendors, getting customer references and attending Teradata's Best Practices Workshop, the two departments concluded that the Teradata warehouse, using the communications industry's logical data model, would provide Entel the business intelligence required to maintain its leadership position.

"During our in-depth search for the strongest data warehouse solution for our growing telecommunications company, we attended the Teradata Best Practices Workshop. The unprecedented opportunity to learn how the most successful, worldwide companies in this industry are leveraging data warehousing technology to ensure future success was both comprehensive and thought provoking," said Marcos Rodriguez, Entel customer relationship management manager. "All aspects of data warehousing technology were presented, with a clear vision of how the solution could improve customer relationships, data management and analysis, and ultimately, profitability for long-term leadership in the industry."

"Teradata consultants have worked closely with Entel to understand their present and future business goals. With the Latin American region increasingly becoming more competitive, leveraging data and having a 360-degree holistic view of your customers through Teradata's solution is the best way to compete in this market," said Leonardo Gonzalez, solution sales specialist from Teradata division in Chile. "The Teradata Communications Solutions Portfolio will provide Entel the business intelligence required to achieve a quicker and more accurate response to their customers' changing communications requirements."

About Entel

Entel is a leading provider of long distance, Internet and PCS telecommunications services in Chile, as well as El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Its state-of-the-art technology allows the company to have global access through direct connections with over 40 international carriers. One of Entel's most recent ventures is long distance and Internet services targeting the Spanish-speaking market in the United States, made possible by Americatel, www.americatel.com, a communications company owned by Entel and located in Miami, Fl. To learn more about Entel and its services, go to www.123.cl.

About Teradata Division

Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation, offers powerful analytical solutions that help businesses drive growth. Teradata solutions include the Teradata database, and analytical applications for customer relationship management, operations and financial management, business performance management and e-business. To learn more about Teradata Division and its solutions, go to www.Teradata.com.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation is a leader in providing Relationship Technology solutions to customers worldwide. NCR's Relationship Technology solutions include the Teradata database and analytical applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) and demand chain management, store automation systems and automated teller machines (ATMs). The company's business solutions are built on the foundation of its long- established industry knowledge and consulting expertise, value-adding software, global customer support services, a complete line of consumable and media products, and leading edge hardware technology. NCR employs 32,900 in more than 100 countries, and is a component stock of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. More information about NCR and its solutions may be found at www.ncr.com.

Contact Dian Terry, Teradata Division of NCR Corporation, 937-445-2225, or dian.terry@ncr.com.

Insurance Design Administrators (IDA) Contracts with OASYS

Insurance Design Administrations (IDA), the largest independent Third Party Administrator (TPA) in New Jersey, announces the signing of a strategic contract with Outsourced Administrative Systems (OASYS) to utilize the OASYS ATP application to create enhanced timeliness, efficiency and accuracy into the claims processing workflow.

ATP is a virtual electronic processing solution, patented in May 1998, that acts as a robotic, remote processor within claims or other transaction processing workflows. Within the health care market, ATP emulates and automates the human logical decision process in workflows such as provider matching, pended claim error correction, system updates, eligibility determination, and medical review. Additionally, it provides automated application to application services such as claims re-pricing and reinsurance reporting. The ATP procedures are non-invasive, custom-designed software processes in which business rules are codified and real-time communication is established with host computer systems utilizing a secure Internet connection. In addition to performing repetitive tasks much faster and with greater accuracy than a human processor, ATP creates a 100 percent audit trail. The service has been utilized in the Medicare arena since 1994 and in the commercial market since 1997.

"A key aspect of IDA's mission is efficient administration," stated IDA CEO Bob Gallo. "We offer the most responsive administration service in the industry today and are always researching ways to utilize the latest technology to further enhance efficiency of claims management. That is one of the aspects that attracted us to the OASYS ATP product. It will allow us to automate labor intensive tasks while delivering a 100% audit trail that fits with our crucial system of checks and balances on claims payments."

OASYS Chief Information Officer, Scott Mingee, commented, "We are excited to add IDA's claim system platform, Luminex, to our growing list of ATP system interfaces. Currently, ATP is integrated with the Arkansas and FISS Medicare claim systems; RIMs, CSC, HSD Diamond, and HCPS managed care systems; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nine HIMR host sites maintaining Medicare eligibility throughout the nation; and multiple PPO and reinsurance carrier systems for our application to application service delivery model."

Health claims administration business is a series of complex processes. Final determination on any one claim is dependent upon a combination of rules, benefit plans, provider reimbursement, claims history and many other policies and procedures. While health care payers have spent millions of dollars on systems that are designed to streamline adjudication, the fact remains that many claims, PPO and reinsurance interfaces still require manual, paper intensive workflows to bring claims to resolution. ATP fills a niche that easily connects to existing systems automating those labor intensive practices.

About IDA

IDA was founded in 1981, and is now the largest independent Third Party Administrator (TPA) in New Jersey, providing service to companies and governments covering more than 125,000 member lives. IDA designs cost-savings programs for any size firm or government employer. IDA services clients with 50 employees to 5,000 employees whether they are all located in one area or spread over several states. IDA has become a recognized national leader in designing and administering self-funded health benefits plans for employers. For more information visit www.idatpa.com.

About OASYS

OASYS, an Indianapolis, Indiana-based health care information technology company uniquely focused on the health care payer community has been delivering automation and outsourced solutions via Application Service Provider (ASP) and business process outsourcing (BPO) models since 1990. OASYS' ASP operations develop, supply and manage remotely hosted, fully integrated technology applications providing all aspects of plan administration in a turn-key approach that can be leased by clients in its entirety, or by application customized to best fit the needs of a particular plan. OASYS' applications integrate web-based applications, data warehousing, imaging and other automated transaction processing technologies. For more information visit www.oasys.com. OASYS is based in Indianapolis, IN, with regional offices in Atlanta, GA and Columbia, SC.

Contact Peggy Johnson, OASYS, 317-614-2054.

Sand Reports Year-End Results -- Annual Revenues Up by 63%

Sand Technology Inc, a leading software provider of business intelligence and high-performance online analytical processing, announced year-end results that show an increase in sales of 63% over the previous year, highlighting the Company's continued growth and marketing momentum.

Arthur Ritchie, president and Chief Executive Officer of Sand, said that, "The results of the past fiscal year are gratifying and confirm our marketing strategy of getting our Nucleus product suite adopted by a wide range of organizations. The growth in implementations of Nucleus are starting to produce significantly larger revenues, as customers who have experienced our 'Proof of Value' program realize immediate benefits and begin to move to larger Nucleus deployments."

For the year ended July 31, 2001, the Company posted a loss of $8,522,676 or $0.71 per share on sales of $11,258,528 as compared to a net loss of $2,866,907 or $0.32 per share on sales of $6,895,016 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2000. The amount of the loss for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2000 was reduced by a profit of $3,792,296 on the sale of an affiliated company.

Sand continues to be strongly optimistic about its prospects for Fiscal 2002 despite the very challenging economic environment. According to Arthur Ritchie, "The Company is again looking to strong year-over-year revenue growth during the current fiscal year. However, our revenues and operating results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter during the current fiscal year as a result of the timing of the recognition of revenues. We expect dismal sales in the range of $1.5 million for our first quarter, but revenues for our second quarter should be in the range of $7 million to $8 million, and, at this time, we anticipate that revenues for the current fiscal year ought to reach $25 million."

Mr. Ritchie concluded by stating: "We continue to see robust demand for our products even in the current economic slowdown. We expect the Nucleus Product Suite will continue to be sought after by companies looking to enhance organizational efficiencies and maximize operating margins in areas such as Customer Relationship Management. Nucleus capabilities are also beginning to be recognized in key arenas such as research, profiling and intelligence gathering."

A replay of Mr. Ritchie's conference call is available at www.sandtechnology.com as of 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, October 31, 2001; it runs for one month. Listening to the replay of the call requires Windows Media Player and appropriate hardware.

About Sand Technology

Sand Technology is much more than just a software company. True, we offer a unique, innovative data management technology, with a level of analytical functionality that qualifies it as part of the "next generation" of computing software. However, we know that software is only one of the components that a business needs to realize value from corporate initiatives. Therefore, we have structured Sand Technology as a new kind of software solution provider, with a philosophy that is strongly focused on the delivery of business-driven solutions and a corporate culture centered on integrity and customer service. This is embodied in the Sand Guarantee, which links our commercial rewards to the delivery of real business benefits to our customers. We help leading organizations across Europe and North America cope with "data overload", by giving them rapid access to the exact information they need to make the right business decisions. Our solutions are extremely powerful and highly scaleable; they empower legacy systems and data access tools; they leverage existing IT investment, require no additional human resources, and deliver business value quickly, with a rapid return on investment. Organizations across Europe and North America use Sand's solutions for both analytical and operational purposes, including amongst others, CRM and CRM analytics, web analytics, supply chain management, inventory & production optimization, financial analysis, and strategic planning. Sand Technology is headquartered in Montreal, with offices in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. For more information on Sand Technology, or our solutions, visit www.sand.com.

Contact de Jong & Associates, 760-943-9065, sndt@dejong.org, for Sand Technology Inc.