Critical Path Agrees To Acquire Leading Internet-Application Service Provider
BUSINESS WIRE - June 23, 1999 07:55
SAN FRANCISCO, Jun 23, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE via COMTEX) --
Acquisition Provides Critical Path with Leading-Edge Calendaring and Resource Scheduling Services Accessible Anytime, Anywhere
Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH), a leading provider of business-to-business Internet messaging solutions, today announced it has signed a definitive acquisition agreement to acquire Amplitude Software Corp., a leading provider of Internet calendar and resource scheduling solutions. Critical Path will incorporate Amplitude's leading-edge calendaring and resource scheduling suite with its proprietary email outsourcing solution to offer enterprises, Internet portals and Internet service providers (ISPs) an integrated messaging platform with increased functionality, ease-of-use, information access and scalability.
Amplitude, founded in 1996 and based in San Francisco, builds Web-based business solutions to address resource sharing and calendaring demands across an enterprise. By leveraging the Internet, the suite of applications unites employees, customers and partners and allows them to benefit from improved communications and collaboration, optimized resource utilization and dramatic bottom line savings. The software is built on open standards and is interoperable with other enterprise databases, operating systems, and directory stores in order to allow an organization to take advantage of their existing IT investments. Amplitude's more than 250 customers represent a wide range of industries and include Chevron, Cisco Systems, Lucent, KPMG, Macy's and Pharmacia Upjohn.
"Critical Path is dedicated to staying at the forefront of technology and to quickly bringing to market a complete suite of solutions that satisfies the full range of email and messaging demands presented by customers and prospects," said Doug Hickey, Critical Path's president and CEO. "Amplitude has developed a compelling suite of products based on the Internet allowing for maximum scalability with unparalleled performance, while also allowing users ubiquitous access via any standard Web browser. We believe that Amplitude's calendar and resource sharing solutions add a critical layer of value on top of our formidable messaging platform for the enterprise and Internet markets."
"Amplitude has developed some of the most robust and powerful calendaring and resource sharing applications," said Randall Sosnick, Amplitude's president and CEO. "We believe these services combined with Critical Path's patent-pending technology will create a powerful messaging solution that will benefit current and future customers. Amplitude is looking forward to joining the Critical Path family and is committed to the success of Critical Path."
Expanded Services to Meet Customer Needs
As a means to support demands of its broad customer base, Critical Path is developing a full spectrum of messaging solutions to complement its core email hosting solution. Services such as calendaring extend Critical Path's relationships with current customers, attract new customers and differentiate Critical Path in the email service provider market.
These services also allow Critical Path to target large corporations through its expanded "midsource" strategy. (SEE RELATED MIDSOURCE RELEASE) This strategy enables enterprise customers to take advantage of new messaging services without altering their existing IT infrastructure. The Gartner Group projects the high-end application service provider (ASP) market will reach $2 billion worldwide by 2003, rising an average 91% annually.
"With some 400 billion emails generated in the US in 1999, the market for providing email and messaging solutions is exploding," said Steve Robins, Internet analyst at the Yankee Group. "Historically, corporations have invested heavily in infrastructure and have been hesitant to outsource critical business functions such as messaging. Now, we see enterprises beginning to release one aspect of messaging at a time. Critical Path is positioning itself to take advantage of this shift by expanding their services."
Web portals and ISPs are increasingly using email and messaging solutions to differentiate their service offerings and attract new and retain current customers. By offering expanded services, Critical Path provides Web portals and ISPs more opportunities to synch up the needs of their users and the sales goals of their advertisers.
Outsourcing and midsourcing applications provide many benefits to customers such as access to the most advanced email and messaging systems available, while reducing the typical infrastructure and support costs, faster time to market, and scalability to meet business growth, giving businesses and ISPs of all sizes an alternative to purchasing, deploying and managing messaging applications internally. Critical Path plans to extend its services by offering other premium services such as unified messaging, certified delivery, advanced directory services, permanent archiving and instant messaging.
The Amplitude Advantage
Amplitude has pioneered enterprise Web-based applications which provide businesses the benefits of increased productivity, optimized resource utilization and dramatic bottom line savings. Amplitudes calendaring and resource scheduling suite consists of the following products:
EventCenter(R) -- Calendaring Solution
EventCenter is an Internet calendar solution that has broad reaching appeal to both the enterprise and Internet market. In the enterprise space EventCenter is designed for executives who oversee many costly and complex events and who seek a unified means of communicating and coordinating these events across their enterprise. EventCenter creates a single source of event information to streamline planning and coordination process, reduce paperwork and improve communication across the enterprise.
For portals and ISPs, EventCenter delivers the calendaring solution already experienced by Amplitude's enterprise customers to individual users. Amplitude has a strategic partnership with Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq:LCOS), the second most visited hub on the Internet, to provide their users with personal or community calendars. The significant and unique benefit of using Amplitude's calendaring technology is that users have a single calendar to view for their personal appointments, community events, and public activity calendars.
Reserve(TM) -- Shared Resource Scheduling Solution
Designed to provide real estate and facilities executives managing millions of dollars in shared resources with an efficient means of scheduling resources across geographically dispersed locations. Reserve provides a standardized means of automated resource scheduling, as well as detailed reporting on usage. It eliminates double-bookings while increasing productivity and resource utilization, leading to reduced expenditures and a significantly higher return on assets.
Mobilize(TM) -- Alternative Workspace Management Solution
Mobilize automates the reservation and coordination processes for shared workspaces. Using a web browser mobile personnel select and locate their workspace, route phone lines and arrange for needed equipment. Mobilize creates a convenient and standardized way to make workspace reservations, increasing efficiency of office space, increasing productivity and eliminating of scheduling conflicts, leading to reduced real estate and equipment expenditures anda significant return on assets.
About Critical Path, Inc.
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