Eicon Technology and Farabi Announce Canadian Business
Partnership Agreement - Farabi and Eicon Combine Forces
to Extend and Enhance e-Commerce Opportunities
APRIL 29, 1999
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--Eicon Technology, a worldwide provider of remote
access products for personal computers, announced today that it
has signed a Canadian business partnership agreement with Farabi
Technology Corporation, a major provider of IBM host connectivity
solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, Farabi will market
and support Eicon's Wide Area Network access products and Aviva
family of PC-to-host access products, to customers and other
resellers across Canada. This strategic partnership is designed
to take advantage of the explosive growth of e-commerce in Canada
while further strengthening the long-term relationship the two
companies currently have selling to the Middle East.
According to Statistics Canada, the e-commerce growth in Canada
(representing business-to-business, business-to-consumer and
government resource transactions) is estimated to represent
approximately 5 percent of the global e-commerce market.
Forecasts by Forrester Research, Inc. of Cambridge, Mass.,
indicate that this market will soar from approximately $22 billion
(US) last year to about $350 billion (US) by the year 2003.
Currently, a large number of Fortune 1000 Canadian corporations
have mission-critical data stored on legacy mainframe systems that
until recently, could only be accessed locally by a select group
of users. Farabi will be positioning Eicon's Web-to-host
connectivity solutions as an ideal forum for users to access this
valuable data from any desktop from virtually anywhere in the
world and to distribute it securely over the Internet. By
leveraging Eicon's Web-to-host technology solutions, businesses
will be able to extend their corporate reach and participate in
the explosive growth of business-to-business and
consumer-to-business e-commerce.
"The rapid growth of e-commerce is precipitating an increased
demand for companies with expertise in collapsing SNA into IP
technology," said Robert Clarke, General Manager for Canada and
Latin America at Eicon Technology. "Farabi has over a decade of
experience working with AS/400 integration. The valued-added
support they can provide will be of tremendous value to this
market and will no doubt drive future opportunities for Eicon and
our product line within Canada."
"Our long-standing relationship with Eicon in the international
market has proven to be very successful over the past 12 years.
We are particularly excited about extending this relationship to
cover the Canadian market as both companies recognize a
significant opportunity," explained Michel Kassar, president of
Farabi Technology Corp. "With this new partnership, Farabi will
be focusing on addressing e-commerce and Web-enabling applications
for legacy systems through a complete suite of advanced products
and professional services." About the AVIVA Family
Eicon's Aviva PC-to-host access products provide access to IBM
mainframes and AS/400 systems over SNA and IP-based networks,
including the Internet. The software is used by banks, insurance
companies, federal and provincial governments, as well as airlines
that require access to mission-critical information residing
within data processing centers. About Farabi Technology Corporation
Founded in 1987, Farabi Technology Corporation designs,
manufactures, and markets advanced 3270- and 5250-connectivity
solutions. Farabi's connectivity solutions are implemented in
major corporations and organizations worldwide. For more
information about Farabi products, call 1-800-565-3455 or visit
the company Web site at www.farabi.com. About Eicon Technology Corporation
Eicon Technology Corporation is a worldwide provider of remote
access products for personal computers. The Company develops,
markets and supports hardware and software products for connecting
network servers and desktop and notebook PCs to corporate
networks, host computers and the Internet. Its products are sold
in more than 70 countries through a network of certified channel
partners and Original Equipment Manufacturers. Eicon Technology
shares are traded on the Montreal Exchange and Toronto Stock
Exchange under the symbol "EIC." Information about Eicon and its
products is available at eicon.com. |
