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Monday March 15, 9:01 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
ComputerLiteracy.com Expands
Successful Business-to-Business
E-Commerce Model Into New Markets
Fast-Growing E-Commerce Player to Extend Focus Beyond IT Market, Rename
Company
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 1999-- In a move which extends its successful
business-to-business e-commerce model beyond the information technology market,
ComputerLiteracy.com (Nasdaq:CMPL - news), today announced plans to deliver the most
comprehensive selection of professional books to organizations in the engineering, science,
mathematics and financial services industries. The company's expansion represents a significant growth
in its targeted markets within a business-to-business e-commerce sector predicted to reach $251 billion
by the year 2000, according to Forrester Research. In addition, ComputerLiteracy.com said it expects
to announce a new company name -- one that reflects its expanded market strategy -- by the end of
March.
To address these additional industries, ComputerLiteracy.com will build on the growth of its FindITnow
intranet bookstore program, which has been successful in helping technology companies deliver
employees the professional books and resources they need to increase business efficiency and
effectiveness. The FindITnow program has won industry-leading customers in the IT sector including
Microsoft, Sun, Hewlett-Packard Company, Raytheon, Cisco, Siemens Information and Communication
Networks and others.
''The tremendous customer response to our business-to-business e-commerce model within the IT
market has attracted significant interest from potential customers in other professional markets,'' said
Chris MacAskill, president and CEO of ComputerLiteracy.com. ''The FindITnow program is singular in
its laserlike focus on professional growth materials, and this approach lends itself well to serving similar
industries. There is a strong correlation between the value proposition that we bring to our IT customers
and that which we can now offer to a broad range of new customers. Fueling this growth is the fact that
all of these industries place a powerful premium on learning, advancement and currency of knowledge,
at both the individual and organizational levels.''
As part of the new strategy, ComputerLiteracy.com has broadened its areas of content and expertise in
books, training materials and documentation to include the engineering, science and mathematics
endeavors, allowing the FindITnow program to serve a number of key professional markets, including
business and finance, aeronautics, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing, for example. In these new
markets, ComputerLiteracy.com will continue to deliver the same world-class subject expertise and
special services to which its customers have become accustomed, such as powerful search tools,
expert reviews and custom recommendations.
''With information on the critical path to effectiveness for employees and the whole organization,
companies need to address how they're purchasing these resources,'' said Yatman W. Lai, manager of
learning technologies for Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc. ''Right now,
organizations have two alternatives to outsourcing with the FindITnow approach, and they're both costly
and time-consuming. They can let employees loose in the free market to find the resources they need,
which costs the company in productivity and cost-savings. Or, organizations can bring the function in
house; this is an even more limited and time-consuming enterprise. FindITnow provides the most
simple, painless way for companies to outsource knowledge resources.''
''ComputerLiteracy.com should be able to successfully leverage its existing infrastructure and corporate
alliances to expand its reach into additional vertical markets,'' said Michele Pelino, senior analyst,
Internet market strategies, The Yankee Group.
About FindITnow
Introduced last fall, ComputerLiteracy.com's FindITnow intranet bookstore program allows businesses to
provide customized professional bookstores within their corporate networks, providing every employee
with a quick, easy way to find and order technical and business resources specific to individual needs.
In addition, the FindITnow program integrates with existing business processes to give organizations
control over procurement. The program offers personalized service by a designated
ComputerLiteracy.com account manager and unique expertise in professional, technical and business
books, training materials and documentation. Significant cost savings can be obtained through
FindITnow by leveraging the corporate discount program, the corporate intranet and existing processes.
About ComputerLiteracy.com
Computer Literacy, Inc. is the leading online retailer of information resources singularly focused on
professionals. Best-known for its expertise in the technology industry, Computer Literacy delivers the
broadest, most comprehensive selection of professional books and resources to organizations in the
business and finance, engineering, science, mathematics and technical fields. The company offers
discounts of up to 40 percent on books and resources, and all in-stock orders placed by 4 PM PST ship
the same business day. Visit Computer Literacy on the Web at www.computerliteracy.com.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties
including, among others, ComputerLiteracy.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, the
unpredictability of its future revenues, competition, risks associated with system development and
operation risks, management of potential growth, and risks of new business areas, international
expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. Actual results could differ materially from
those discussed. More information about factors that potentially could affect ComputerLiteracy.com's
financial results is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Registration Statement filed on Form SB-2 on November 19, 1998, as amended. All forward
looking statements are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the
Company assumes no obligation to update such statements.
Note to Editors: All company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with
which they are associated.
Contact:
A&R Partners
Amy Nemechek, 650/298-3930
anemechek@arpartners.com |
