Net Shepherd Inc WEB
Shares issued 30,015,151 Sep 17 close $2.35
Fri 17 Sept 99 News Release
Mr. Don Sanford reports
Net Shepherd's majority-owned subsidiary, Answers.com Inc, has reached
agreement with Orbital Software to use Orbital's patent-pending Organik
software. It will be used by Answers.com to identify on-line experts and
offer their commercially valuable expertise in both the
business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketplaces.
"In the roadmap that we issued in August, we wrote about the introduction
of Domain Expert identification software in the areas of customer relations
and knowledge management," said Don Sandford, president and chief executive
officer of Net Shepherd Inc. "Orbital's software provides that capability.
"This is very important," Mr. Sandford explained, "because it will enable
Answers.com to charge a range of fees for providing a variety of
increasingly expert answers to questions in this multibillion dollar
market. The more expert the answer, the higher its potential commercial
value will be."
The following are excerpts from the Answers/Orbital Announcement, which was
published today in Pasadena and Mountain View, Calif.:
"Answers.com will be relaunched later this year," explained Answers.com's
CEO, Bill Fogg. "We will be supplying Web-based services in the areas of
on-line customer relations and corporate information management. There is
enormous potential for us here. Computing Canada magazine reports that U.S.
companies alone spent $5.5-billion last year on contracted customer support
activities. Parts of this customer relations activity are already moving to
the Internet. E-commerce companies will need on-line customer response
capabilities with low overhead features. As Answers.com offers to meet
these needs, Orbital's software will enable us to identify experts in an
on-line community of possible participants. This means that we will be able
to offer a high level of revenue-generating expertise to those who need
quality, expert advice. The economic benefit to customers will be
immediate. We are offering a high-speed response, which is based on
economies of scale and the low cost and high speed of communication across
the Internet."
Kevin Dorren, CEO of Orbital Software, commented: "Orbital has been seeking
a strategic partner that can be the flagship installation of our software
on the Web. We believe that our expertise engine will provide an invaluable
tool for any site that is building a strong sense of community.
Answers.com's use of Net Shepherd's Virtual Community epitomizes the next
generation of Web communities and we look forward to working closely with
them to deliver an innovative solution."
Orbital will also become an investor in the Answers.com business and will
provide its experience in both the business-to-business and consumer space
to extend the Answers.com offering.
The deal is subject to the approval of the boards of Net Shepherd and
Orbital on Oct. 8. Details have not been disclosed.
WARNING: The company relies upon litigation protection for
"forward-looking" statements.
(c) Copyright 1999 Canjex Publishing Ltd. canada-stockwatch.com
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