Itemus's latest investment
TORONTO, Sept. 6 /CNW/ - itemus inc. (TSE: ITM, OTCBB: ITMUF) is pleased
to announce today it has invested three million dollars (U.S.) in cash and
services in NetCertainty Inc. The Atlanta-based company provides digital
identity hosting services for individuals and organizations within the
Business-to-Business e-marketplace.
"NetCertainty is on the leading edge of the Internet and solves one of
the biggest stumbling blocks to the success of Internet-based trade -
transaction security," said itemus President and CEO Jim Tobin.
"NetCertainty's revolutionary technology lets users take full advantage of an
exciting new era, one in which the United States has declared an electronic
signature to be legally binding."
NetCertainty is currently focusing on the paperwork-intensive online
financial services and employee benefits markets. The company plans to offer
digital identity services in four areas: legal digital signing of electronic
documents; secure storage of digitally-signed documents; highly reliable
authentication of an Internet user's identity; and presentation of
authentication information necessary for granting Internet commerce
permissions.
"itemus' investment in NetCertainty demonstrates our continued commitment
to the emerging area of next generation networking, building the backbone
services for Internet 2.0," Mr. Tobin added. "itemus and its 20 member
companies look forward to helping NetCertainty succeed."
A key competitive advantage of NetCertainty's solution is that it
eliminates the requirements for specialized infrastructure or special
hardware, software and training required by existing digital identity
services. The technology also provides users with the ability to digitally
sign documents without requiring special storage or service of those
documents, while still allowing digital identities to be safely used in
unsecured environments from anywhere on the Internet.
"Unlike traditional systems, NetCertainty's solution works independent of
location, platform and device," said NetCertainty CEO Timothy Gelman. "That
means businesses can now easily execute secure transactions with their
employees, customers and partners- while cutting costs and improving
productivity."
Mr. Gelman added: "NetCertainty welcomes itemus' investment in our
growing company. As an Internet Operating Company, itemus adds tremendous
value to our business with its talented team of people and its extensive
network of industry contacts. We believe NetCertainty is now well positioned
to take advantage of a burgeoning market many estimate will be worth up to 135-
billion dollars a year by 2003."
About NetCertainty
NetCertainty Inc. provides digital identity hosting services for
individuals and companies within business-to-business e-marketplaces.
NetCertainty's patent-pending technology eliminates procedural and
technological burdens previously associated with digital identities.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, NetCertainty was founded in 1999. The
company is a member of the Advanced Technology Development Center at Georgia
Tech, a public/private incubator in Atlanta that has helped launch several
successful Internet businesses. For more information on NetCertainty, please
visit the company's Web site at www.netcertainty.com.
About itemus
itemus inc. is an Internet Operating Company that seeks to create value
for shareholders by building and investing in companies with leading
applications and revolutionary business models for the Internet. The company
operates through wholly owned itemus Solutions, providing services and
applications in the areas of security, network infrastructure, application
management and rich media. itemus inc. also focuses on identifying and
investing in promising Internet technology and content companies. itemus is
positioned as a value-add investor, offering ideaPARK R&D Environments and
Acceleration Services to its investee companies in order to accelerate their
growth and development. For more information on itemus, please visit the
company's Web site at www.itemus.com. |
