Russel:
This release from Phoenix keeps the company in the forefront of service desk technology.
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. (Sept. 11) BUSINESS WIRE -Sept. 11, 1996--Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:PTEC), a leading supplier of standards-based compatibility software for the PC industry, and CyberMedia, Inc., the developer of First Aid 95 Deluxe, the best selling PC diagnostic and repair utility, today announced an agreement that names Phoenix as the exclusive marketing and engineering support provider of First Aid products to manufacturers of PCs and PC motherboards.
This alliance leverages Phoenix's systems technology relationships with leading hardware OEMs and its intimate understanding of the interaction between PC system software and hardware with CyberMedia's expertise in application software and the Windows operating system.
Technical support costs are growing at a rapid pace in the PC industry. According to Dataquest, over 200 million help desk calls are made each year at a total industry cost of $3.9 billion dollars.
"The teaming of Phoenix and CyberMedia provides a synergy that promises to transform the concept of self-healing PCs into reality," said Patrick Bultema, president of The Bultema Company and former chairman of the Help Desk Institute. "Both companies have demonstrated an ability to create technology to make PCs easier to use and support, and their credibility as industry leaders positions them to integrate with other key players to enable robust end-to-end support solutions."
CyberMedia's First Aid 95 is an easy to use software product that detects, diagnoses, and fixes a wide range of PC problems involving software applications, multimedia cards, modems and networks. With First Aid's AutoFix technology, users can quickly solve many computer problems on their own, without calling overburdened support lines. That means increased user satisfaction, with fewer support calls for PC hardware manufacturers to field and less money spent on technical support.
First Aid 95 has sold over one million copies to date, and, according to PC Data, was one of the top ten retail business software titles in the United States during the first half of 1996.
Phoenix has strong worldwide OEM relationships with most of the industry's leading PC manufacturers. Phoenix currently provides system software for over 17 million PCs through more than 200 OEMs worldwide. Phoenix will customize the First Aid product to meet specific OEM and product requirements. The software will be pre-installed on computer systems, further simplifying ease of use.
"Technical support is one of the most serious issues facing the computer industry today," said Jack Kay, president and chief executive officer of Phoenix Technologies. "System complexities and technical support call volumes are increasing dramatically, creating headaches and escalating costs for the PC industry, corporate help desks and users alike. There is a huge new market for technology that can intelligently intercept and fix these problems on the PC itself, before users need to call the corporate help desk or a technical support hotline for help."
Phoenix Technologies, an industry leader in developing technologies that simplify PC usage, co-developed Windows 95's Plug and Play technology with Intel, Microsoft and Compaq. Phoenix also helped develop the specifications for the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) and software for PCs that enables diagnosis, system management and support for PCs.
"Phoenix is the perfect partner for us -- we both share the same vision of making personal computers easier to use and less expensive to support, " said Unni Warrier, chief executive officer of CyberMedia. "The computer industry is pushing PC technology out to the masses, but it's still too difficult to use. You don't need to take a class to learn how to use a microwave oven. You don't need to call a tech support hotline to figure out how to use your stereo. CyberMedia's mission is to help make PCs as easy to use as an appliance."
First Aid 95 is like having a smart user manual and a support technician, all in a box! First Aid 95 keeps PCs problem-free, automatically fixing Windows 3.1 and 95 problems and correcting software conflicts. Users simply click on the AutoFix button and First Aid does the work. By empowering users to fix their own problems with the click of a button, it avoids long waits on technical support lines.
Phoenix Technologies is the world's largest supplier of standards-based compatibility software to the personal computer industry. The company's system-level software products, such as PhoenixBIOS for desktops, NoteBIOS for portables, and ServerBIOS for servers, allow PC manufacturers to increase product differentiation, reduce product cycle time to market as well as cut internal engineering costs. Phoenix PICO line provides products and services for Special Purpose PCs, and the Virtual Chips line supports interconnect standards including PC Cards/CardBus, PCI, Universal Serial Bus and other emerging interfaces. Information on all Phoenix Technologies' products is available on the World Wide Web at ptltd.com.
CyberMedia's mission is to empower computer users to fix computer problems on their own - before they need to call technical support hotlines for help. The company's Active Help products include First Aid 95, the Tech Support Yellow Pages and Oil Change, a service that gives PCs a "digital oil change" by automatically updating software over the Internet.
They have a product shipping while SYSF is still in beta. <bg>
Good investing,
Marc |
