SystemSoftr Corporation (NASDAQ:SYSF) is the industry's leading provider of
advanced system-level, automated problem-resolution and connectivity software for
desktop and mobile personal computers manufacturers. The company's mission is
two-fold: to deliver enabling technologies that improve end-users' computing experience
by increasing PC functionality and simplifying usage, and to allow original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) to differentiate their products through innovative and highly
expandable system designs.
Since its founding in 1990, SystemSoft has established itself as an industry innovator and
technology leader in multiple areas, including problem-resolution, BIOS (Basic
Input/Output System), PC Card, power management, Universal Serial Bus (USB) and
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) software and firmware. As a result,
virtually all of the world's leading PC manufacturers have licensed one or more
SystemSoft's technologies to enhance their products.
After initially establishing itself as a leading system-level software supplier for mobile
computers, SystemSoft is aggressively pursuing a significantly larger market for
problem-resolution software with desktop and mobile PC manufacturers, as well as
independent software and hardware vendors (ISVs, IHVs) and service providers. The
company has pioneered the development of this new category of software applications
with its SystemWizardT product family.
Automated problem-resolution software significantly reduces end users' reliance upon
PC manufacturers' technical support lines by automatically diagnosing and solving
common PC usage and configuration problems. In so doing, SystemWizard increases
user satisfaction and reduces OEM technical customer support costs.
Furthering its commitment to providing the industry's most comprehensive solutions for
PC technical support, SystemSoft earlier this year added the acclaimed VoiceView call
efficiency technology to SystemWizard through the acquisition of Radish
Communication Systems, Inc. VoiceView, now renamed VoiceWizard, is a modem
protocol firmware technology that permits the use of a single telephone line for voice and
data communications. VoiceWizard extends SystemWizard's automatic problem detection,
analysis and resolution capabilities to include a computer-assisted support process that
streamlines, and in many instances, reduces the length of those support calls that still
must be made to OEMs.
SystemSoft's Partnerships
A major competitive advantage for SystemSoft is its strategic relationships with the
industry's IHVs, ISVs, operating system software companies and major firmware vendors.
Major partners and customers include Acer, Apple Computer Corp., Compaq Computer
Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., Hewlett-Packard Company, Hitachi
Corp., IBM Corp., Intel Corp., Lotus Development Corp., Lucent, Micron Electronics, Inc.,
Microsoft, Motorola, Packard Bell, Sykes Enterprises, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and
U.S. Robotics.
These partnerships have enabled SystemSoft to identify, and quickly respond to major
PC industry developments and emerging standards. These relationships also have
enabled the company to be first-to-market with innovative solutions that give users more
power and flexibility, while allowing manufacturers to provide high-value systems that
exploit the next-generation of hardware components, software and peripherals.
Key Technology Areas
SystemSoft offers the industry's most comprehensive suite of system-level software.
These products include:
PC Card Software: The World Leader
PC Cards -- the credit-card-sized peripherals that provide fax/modem, network
adapter, storage, and other capabilities - are used on virtually all portable PCs
sold today. Dataquest and GIGA Information Group estimate that 96 percent of
laptops are PC Card-compatible today, versus only five percent in 1991. These
firms also predict that 41 million PC Card devices will be in use this year.
SystemSoft has dominated the market for compatibility between PC Cards and
mobile computers with a complete line of PC Card software. Its first product,
CardSoft, was selected by Microsoft for inclusion in Windows 95. Additional
products for Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 -- CardWizard,
CardWizard PRO and CardWorks -- serve as companion products to the
operating systems by supporting legacy and next-generation PC Cards, allowing
more than 500 PC Cards to be "hot-swapped" (exchanged while the PCs are
running). In particular, SystemSoft's CardWizard products have been widely
recognized by analysts, journalists and end-users for the simplicity they deliver to
PC Card usage.
Today, SystemSoft is the world leader in PC Card software. The world's top five
notebook computer manufacturers - and 14 of the top 15 -- now license and ship
SystemSoft's PC Card products. More than 85 percent of notebook computers
shipped today are manufactured by SystemSoft's PC Card software customers.
SystemSoft has also successfully migrated its PC Card expertise to the Windows
95 and Windows NT-equipped desktop and mobile computers.
Furthering its PC Card leadership, SystemSoft was first to market with PC Card
software for the Windows NT 4.0 platform, a large and rapid-growth area, given
its widespread acceptance in corporate environments. Today, 35 of the top 20
OEMs ship CardWizard for Windows NT 4.0. SystemSoft PC Card is the only
product of its type to receive the MS logo certification.
Problem Resolution Software: Addressing the PC Support Crisis
The industry's most comprehensive, automatic problem-resolution software,
SystemWizard is the first product designed specifically to help OEMs reduce the
volume and associated costs of technical support calls, and to help streamline
customer calls that must be handled by technical support representatives.
SystemWizard diagnoses and automatically fixes the most common PC usage and
configuration problems - with little user intervention required - often eliminating
users' need to call technical support.
By using expert system technology combined with SystemSoft's extensive
low-level software expertise, SystemWizard addresses the industry's
overwhelming need to reduce the escalating number of technical support calls to
PC OEMs, IHVs, ISVs and service providers.
Designed for Windows 95 and Windows NT-based desktop and notebook PCs,
SystemWizard automatically resolves problems by analyzing system data
available through the Windows 95 or NT registries, the Plug and Play BIOS,
CMOS and other system data files, via an expert system diagnosis engine and a
continuously updated knowledge base of general and system specific
configuration issues.
With SystemWizard, SystemSoft targets both the broader desktop computer
market, as well as the mobile PC market where the company is a dominant supplier
of PC Card, BIOS and power management software. Today, large computer makers
can receive 10,000-20,000 technical support calls each day, with an average cost
per call exceeding $25. Each fractional improvement in the number and/or length
of these calls can save the industry hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
SystemWizard has been embraced by numerous PC industry leaders, including
Adaptec, AST, Digital, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, Lotus, Microsoft, Micron, Netscape,
Packard Bell NEC and U.S. Robotics. These companies have signed licensing
agreements to bundle SystemWizard with their products, provide comprehensive
solution sets to SystemSoft for inclusion in SystemWizard Knowledge Bases, or
both.
For mobile computing professionals, SystemSoft recently introduced
SystemWizard Mobile Client, the industry's first problem-resolution software
designed specifically for notebook PC manufacturers. By pairing SystemWizard's
expert engine problem-resolution software with its industry-leading CardWorksT
and CardWizardT PC Card configuration software, SystemWizard Mobile Client
helps OEMs improve the usability of their products by providing mobile-specific
"Knowledge Bases" that can automatically identify and solve hundreds of mobile
problems associated with PC Cards, power management, Plug and Play, docking
stations/port replicators, networking and software applications typically found on
notebook computers, such as communications and remote e-mail.
Training/Security Software: Making PCs, Internet Easier, Safer
SystemSoft recently began marketing a suite of software applications and tools
aimed at home PC manufacturers that help reduce frustrations encountered by
first-time PC buyers and novice users. The SystemDirectorT Series includes
three highly complementary applications that provide basic PC lessons, file
protection and system access privileges. SystemDirector also helps users protect
critical files and applications; create multiple, customized secure user profiles for a
single PC; and it helps reduce their reliance upon technical support staff through
multimedia tutorials on dozens of basic and intermediate tasks.
SystemSoft also offers KiddoNetT, a Web-based software environment for home
PC and peripheral manufacturers that allows children to visit safe, age-appropriate
Internet sites for educational and entertainment purposes. KiddoNet includes a
secure and dynamic Web and computing environment designed specifically for
children ages 4-8, combining a child-friendly interface and parental controls that
ensure that children have access only to permissible Web sites and content, and
can limit access to local files and applications. It also includes a locally-resident
entertainment and learning area, which offers continuously updated,
child-appropriate content via an Internet connection.
Automation Software: Taming the Build To Order Challenge
Targeting the growing number of OEMs and VARs who are adopting a
"Build-to-Order model for PC manufacturing, SystemSoft recently began
marketing BuildManager, an innovative software application that will help OEMs
and VARs expedite and simplify the installation process of factory pre-loaded
software. BuildManager, targeted at desktop and notebook PC manufacturers and
VARs, is a customizable pre-load automation tool that allows OEMs and VARs to
more effectively manage the complex and time-consuming process of configuring
multiple bundled software "formats" or "pre- loads."
Universal Serial Bus Software: Enabling "Out-of-Box" Plug and Play
SystemSoft, through its USB Technology Center in Oxnard, Calif., helped pioneer
USB technology and helped develop and write the core USB specification
released in January, 1997. Consequently, SystemSoft was first to market with its
Universal Serial Bus Software Suite, a complete family of standard and
customized system-level firmware, device drivers and user "control applications"
designed to help PC peripheral-device manufacturers to quickly and easily
support the new USB standard. USB is rapidly being adopted by PC vendors and
peripheral manufacturers to provide "Plug and Play"-style ease of use to
monitors, printers, keyboards, scanners and more. USB can accommodate
hot-swapping and concurrent configuration of up to 127 devices. SystemSoft's
USB suite has been licensed by leading peripheral manufacturers, including
Canon, Daewoo, Lucent, TI and VISION.
BIOS: The Essential Software Layer
BIOS software permits PC hardware components to deliver and accept commands
to and from the operating system. SystemSoft offers several BIOS products that
support desktop, portable and embedded systems. The modularity of its software
enables SystemSoft to quickly respond to changes in the hardware design
provided by each system manufacturer. Typically these changes may require
modifications only to a particular module of the BIOS software.
SystemSoft can rapidly incorporate its new technologies, including PC Card, Plug
and Play and power management, into either its own BIOS or a customer's
proprietary BIOS. SystemSoft's MobilePROT BIOS suite leverages the growing
complexity of Windows 95-based mobile systems. MobilePRO complements the
rigorous requirements of Windows 95 and delivers numerous advanced
technologies to support complex features such as hot docking, intelligent power
and battery management, and Plug-and-Play under Windows 95. The first BIOS
software to support hot docking, MobilePRO has been licensed by numerous
leading mobile PC manufacturers and proved instrumental in helping several
OEMs to obtain Microsoft's designation as Windows 95-compatible.
Power and Battery Management Software: Extending System Performance
SystemSoft's power management software for Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and
Windows NT 4.0 reduces consumption for desktop and mobile computers and
other electronic devices by monitoring both the hardware and the operating
system. It reduces power consumption by monitoring a computer's operating
system and hardware for idle states, stopping or slowing a CPU's clock after a
predetermined period of inactivity, or suspending or powering down system
components.
In mobile systems incorporating high-performance microprocessors, SystemSoft's
power management software extends battery life and reduces heat and power
consumption. In addition, it also helps desktop systems reduce power
consumption to meet newer U.S. EPA "Energy Star" guidelines. SystemSoft also
targets manufacturers of smart cellular phones and other mobile devices for its
power management software.
ACPI: Helping OEMs Quickly Develop Compliant PCs
ACPI, a requirement for Microsoft's PC '97 and '98 designs and a key element of
Microsoft's OnNow and Simply Interactive PC (SIPC) Initiatives, benefits
end-users by improving overall system power management and plug and play.
However, desktop and mobile PC OEMs face significant pressure in developing
ACPI-compliant systems.
SystemSoft's ACPI ROM and ACPIBuilder reduce the time and cost associated
with developing ACPI-compliant systems. SystemSoft's full-featured ACPI ROM
provides complete ACPI 1.0 compliance for the base system chipset/
motherboard). Unlike other ACPI solutions which require BIOS upgrades,
SystemSoft's ACPI ROM is BIOS-independent, giving it the ability to be easily
and quickly layered on top of third-party or in-house developed BIOS. This
results in immediate ACPI 1.0 compliance, helping OEMs reduce product
development time and costs to meet time-to-market requirements. ACPIBuilder is
the industry's first ACPI development tool. A breakthrough product that
automatically generates ACPI Source Language (ASL), ACPIBuilder saves
desktop and mobile PC vendors engineering resources and minimizes costs and
valuable ROM space.
Distribution
SystemSoft markets its products primarily through the OEM channel and licenses its
software to manufacturers of PCs and PC cards. The company has licensed its software
to more than 100 PC manufacturers, including Acer, Apple, AST, Compaq, Dell, Digital,
Gateway 2000, HP, IBM, NEC, Packard Bell, Toshiba and Zenith Data Systems (now
owned by Packard Bell), and has provided its PC Card software or services to more than
80 PC Card manufacturers, such as Adaptec, AMP, Megahertz, Motorola, New Media,
Panasonic and U.S. Robotics. Operating systems software customers include Geoworks,
Microsoft and Microware. Customers in the embedded systems market include Ericsson,
Intermec, Norand, Panasonic, Philips, Sony and Symbol.
Financials
SystemSoft is publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol SYSF. In the
fiscal year ending January 31, 1997, SystemSoft reported total revenues of $39.7 million,
an increase of 61 percent over the $24.6 million recorded in the previous fiscal year.
Revenues for the second quarter ending July 31st 1997 were $12.9 million, an increase of
39 percent from $9.3 million in the same period last year. This sustained growth is a result
of new products, an increase in the number of SystemSoft customers and continued
acceptance of SystemSoft's SystemWizard, PC Card and USB products.
Operations
SystemSoft's corporate headquarters in Natick, Mass. serves as the company's core
facility for product development and engineering, finance and administration and sales
and marketing. The company also has U.S. facilities in Santa Clara and Oxnard, Calif.,
Boulder, Colo. and Seattle. Internationally, SystemSoft has subsidiaries in Taiwan and
Japan and representatives in Europe and Taiwan. SystemSoft employs more than 275
worldwide.
Management
Robert Angelo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Deborah Besemer, President and Chief Operating Officer
William O'Connell, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales
Jonathan Joseph, Executive Vice President, Business and Product Planning
Tom Higgins, Vice President, Worldwide Sales
Paul Pedevillano, Chief Financial Officer
Paul Sereiko, Vice President, Business Planning
John Ambrose, Vice President, Corporate Marketing |
