Anyone got any thoughts about whether the product described below will sell, and what revenues OpenText could expect ?
Open Text Corporation Announces Search Technology Software Developers Kit (SDK)
WATERLOO, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 1996-- Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ OTEXF )
DEVELOPERS CAN SEARCH VIRTUALLY ALL DATA REPOSITORIES, IN NUMEROUS LANGUAGES
Open Text Corporation (OTEXF - NASDAQ) of Waterloo, Ontario today announced availability of the Open Text Search SDK (Software Development Toolkit) for
software developers that require powerful application programming interfaces (APIs) to write feature-rich, custom search applications.
Unique features of the new SDK include the industry's most powerful "language definition system," by which textual data in virtually any language - single
(Latin-based) or multi-byte characters (Asian) - can be defined and accessed from the same search engine. And the SDK's three-level API provides three
programming interfaces, including a unique Data Storage interface which allows developers to write custom modules capable of searching virtually any file or
data repository - even those with proprietary data formats such as Lotus Notes or encrypted data.
"Full-text search technology is an Open Text strength, as proven by the Open Text Index on the world-wide web, and Livelink Search and Livelink Spider - the
search and indexing abilities of our intranet offerings available to our corporate customers of Livelink Intranet, our intranet applications suite," said Tom Jenkins,
President and CEO of Open Text. "With our new SDK the software development community can now use this powerful search technology to write applications
that access both open and proprietary databases, measuring in the tens of gigabytes. Microsoft and Derwent have already taken advantage of this powerful SDK
for a new generation of full database products."(1)
(1) See "Open Text Livelink Search Technology to Power Patent Database Solutions from Microsoft and Derwent Information" press release, Oct. 29/96.
(http://www.opentext.com/corp/pr_derwent.html)
The Open Text SDK ships with the core search engine, Livelink Search (Open Text's full-text search and retrieval web product). and APIs. Livelink Spider, a web
crawler that collects and indexes documents from remote web sites for use in a central search site, is available as an option. Both Sun/Solaris and Microsoft
Windows NT versions are planned for release in Q1 1997. Price is to be announced upon shipment. Open Text Search Technology
Since 1988, Open Text has offered various full-text search engine toolkits. During the past few years, Open Text has redesigned its core search technology and
re-written the search engine to successfully search the ever-increasing and large quantities of data now available. Unlike other search engines, Open Text has
designed their new search engine to handle tens of gigabytes as opposed to the hundreds of megabytes common with other search engines.
The Open Text Search Engine offers a complete set of features and functions that one would expect from the industry's most powerful search engine. In addition,
our search algorithm easily finds technical data in digitized formats that conform to the CALS specifications and standards, which are widely used in the Far
East, including Japan and Korea.
Application Programmable Interfaces
The Application Programmable Interfaces or APIs are object- oriented, C-callable libraries for developers to interact with the Open Text Search Engine
components. There are three programming interfaces: Search, Index, and Data Storage.
The Search API gives developers complete access to the search engine, performing advanced querying and structure handling to meet the needs of any
application. This is an extremely powerful API, allowing access at the lowest possible level for complex structure querying and result set manipulation.
The Index API gives a developer access to the dynamic online update system for the Open Text Search Engine. This API allows an application to update the
searchable index in real time by adding, deleting and replacing documents.
The Data API is the interface that describes where the data to be searched and indexed resides. The default storage mechanism is the file system and can be
replaced with virtually any type of data repository. This powerful approach is accomplished through a dynamic linked library (DLL) enabling the developer to write
an unlimited number of custom objects connecting to multiple data repository in their company to a single Open Text search engine. The engine architecture was
designed to be open to permit developers to link in their own file or database access software, which enables the search engine to access virtually any data
repository in any format. Developer Support
For Subscribers to the Customer Assistance Program, support for the API product is provided by a team of highly qualified Product Specialists in the Open Text
Customer Support department. This support includes assistance on the use of the API functions, the ability to report bugs, and updates to the product as they
become available. For those customers who have a need, application design assistance can be contracted from the Open Text Professional Services
department. In addition, there are many courses available to the database administrator and the developer. They include Livelink Search Configuration Course,
Livelink Spider Course, Livelink Search Database Administration Course, Livelink Search System Integration Course and Introduction to HTML/SGML Course.
Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ - OTEXF) is an intranet applications company whose mission is to Put The Web To Work. Open Text enables organizations to
leverage the power and global reach of Internet technology by providing applications, tools and services that transform intranets into platforms for collaborative,
distributed computing. Global 2000 companies use Open Text solutions to find and manage information and documents, empower teams and drive critical
business processes.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward- looking statements, specifically
those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are
detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the final prospectus for the company's initial
public offering of common stock in January 1996, and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 1996. |
