MessageMedia Adds Secure Messaging Capabilities to Service Offerings
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 24, 2000--
Secure Messaging Opens Way for Lucrative New Financial Services,
Health Care, E-Commerce Applications
MessageMedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MESG), the leading provider of strategic messaging solutions and services, announced today it has added secure messaging to its messaging platform by licensing Tumbleweed Communications' (Nasdaq:TMWD) Integrated Messaging Exchange(TM) (IME(TM)). MessageMedia clients can then utilize end-to-end security for a wide variety of purposes including delivery of financial statements, confidential records or sensitive correspondence.
"The ability to provide secure e-mail capabilities to our clients opens up a powerful new dimension in strategic messaging," said Larry Jones, president and CEO of MessageMedia. "There are significant applications -- such as delivery of financial statements, secure order confirmations, and internal corporate communications -- for which security is a vital component in the messaging equation. We expect security to generate an excellent new revenue stream among existing MessageMedia clients as well as attract new clients whose business requires a security element."
In a MessageMedia secure messaging application, the recipient receives a "package notification." To view the secure message, he then launches a web page and uses a dynamically assigned personal identification number (PIN) to access the information. Data cannot be copied from the secure window, although the message can be archived for later viewing or can be automatically deleted after a set amount of time has elapsed.
"MessageMedia's client base is getting ready to experience the next stage of messaging technology," said Mark Pastore, vice president of corporate development at Tumbleweed Communications. "Our IME platform makes e-mail a true secure one-to-one interactive communication channel."
Analysts estimate the potential market value for secure message delivery to stretch into trillions of dollars in the coming five years, with numerous uses in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business applications. International Data Corporation estimates that B2C e-commerce transactions will grow from $32 billion in 1998 to more than $426 billion in 2002. Specific market segments driving such growth include business-to-business messaging, healthcare and insurance filing, electronic presentation of bills and other financial transactions.
In the B2B arena, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates value of domestic electronic inter-company e-commerce transfers to rise from $115 billion currently to more than $1.5 trillion by 2004. Employment services such as payroll automation and other employer-to-employee communications and communications in the health care industry, legal services, financial advisory, and document distribution services all represent high-growth markets.
The secure messaging offering will be available in the fourth quarter of this year.
MessageMedia Solutions and Business Applications
MessageMedia delivers e-mail marketing, secure messaging, online customer intelligence and online customer care services as well as a full line of hosted and enterprise software applications designed to advance a complete online dialogue between organizations and their customers. The company's renowned client services team -- with more than 125 marketing professionals -- provides quantitative analysis of campaign and customer data, opt-in program design and custom implementation for every customer based on current needs and future business strategies. MessageMedia offers specialized industry solutions for the publishing, ISP/portal, retail/e-tail, financial services, high tech and travel and entertainment arenas.
About Tumbleweed Communications
Tumbleweed is a leading provider of advanced e-mail solutions for business communications. Our products and services enable companies in a broad range of industries to create and manage secure online communication channels that leverage established e-mail networks and enterprise applications.
About MessageMedia Inc.
MessageMedia (Nasdaq:MESG) provides e-commerce services, permission-based direct marketing, ongoing customer communication and real-time customer feedback solutions using industry standard Internet protocols. MessageMedia's customer portfolio features Cisco, E*TRADE, AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft, GeoCities, CMP Media, Barclays Bank, EDS, Universal Studios, Hoover's Online and Bertelsmann.
Investors in MessageMedia include SOFTBANK and its affiliates, which constitute the world's largest investors in the Internet and Pequot Capital Management, a Connecticut-based research-intensive investment firm.
"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the integration of a new senior management team, MessageMedia's limited operating history, the integration of recent acquisitions, risks associated with pending and future acquisitions, the anticipated fluctuations in operating results, the uncertain acceptance of new services being offered, and undeveloped and rapidly changing market and other factors detailed in MessageMedia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MessageMedia undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
MessageMedia Inc. 6060 Spine Road, Boulder, Colo. 80301 Phone: 303/440-7550; Fax: 303/440-0303 www.messagemedia.com Investor Relations inquiries should be sent to investor@messagemedia.com.
CONTACT:
MessageMedia, Inc.
Tom Ferrell, 303/440-7550
tferrell@messagemedia.com
or
Shandwick International
Carol Felton, 650/532-4000
cfelton@shandwick.com
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