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Technology Stocks : Viador (VIAD) - Enterprise Portal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Carl R. who wrote (8)	8/26/1999 11:33:00 PM
From: Walter Morton	Respond to of 294

CHARLES SCHWAB'S CIO JOINS VIADOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Brings Sophisticated Enterprise IT Vision and Experience to Fast Growing Viador SAN MATEO, CA, August 18, 1999-Viador Inc.(TM), a leading provider of next generation Enterprise Information Portals (EIP) for global e-business, today announced the addition of Dawn Lepore, vice chairman and chief information officer for The Charles Schwab Corporation. (NYSE: SCH), to its Board of Directors. The Viador E-Portal Suite is a web-based suite of products that provides a single, highly adaptable architecture for securely searching, analyzing, and delivering all types of corporate data, giving users a "portal-like" view into a corporation's business information. Lepore, responsible for Schwab's worldwide use of information technology, including all telecommunications, operations, and customer and business applications, has played a leadership role in the expansion and redesign of Schwab's information systems. The sophisticated understanding of enterprise information technology she brings to Viador, coupled with her industry vision and expertise, will help guide the company as it continues to develop and deliver solutions for the growing enterprise information portal market for e-business. "I am delighted to be joining Viador's Board of Directors," said Lepore. " It is my goal to provide whatever insight and guidance I can to Viador's management team to help them continue to develop and deliver technology for the Enterprise Information Portal market." "We are extremely excited to welcome such a high caliber individual as Dawn Lepore to our Board as we continue with our efforts to demonstrate industry leadership in the EIP marketplace," stated Stan Wang, Viador's president and CEO. "Dawn brings to the Board vast experience at an advanced technology adopter company such as Schwab, and deft management of enterprise technology development." Prior to her appointment as CIO of Schwab, Lepore served as the company's senior vice president of information technology, and led a strategic initiative for redesigning Schwab's entire technology platform. She came to Schwab in 1983 from Informatics, an information consulting firm in San Francisco. She has an impressive array of industry accolades, including the 1998 Lattanze Information Systems Executive Award, and responsibility for Schwab's winning the 1997 Gartner Group Excellence in Technology Award. The San Francisco Chronicle featured her as one of the Bay Area's Most Powerful Corporate Women in December 1995, Information Week named her as one of the top CIOs in 1996, and she was included in Network World magazine as one of the 25 most powerful people in networking in 1995. Lepore also serves on the board of directors of the Times Mirror Company, which publishes the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Baltimore Sun, and a wide array of other leading dailies and specialty publications. She earned her B.A. degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. About Viador Inc. Viador Inc. is a leading developer of Enterprise Information Portals (EIPs) that help corporations leverage their information and technology assets to gain business advantages. The company's Viador E-Portal Suite gives thousands of users, including business managers and analysts, rich yet easy-to-use functionality based on a thin-client architecture that supports widespread deployment at a low cost of ownership. Viador's innovative technology is used by customers including 3Com, FedEx, Internal Revenue Service, Lucent Technologies, Sprint PCS, and Xerox. Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., Viador is a privately held company backed by CDIB Venture, Crosslink Technology Partners, ITV, JK&B Capital, Mitsui & Co., and Technology Associates. For more information, call 650-685-3000 or visit the web site at viador.com.

To: Carl R. who wrote (8)	8/27/1999 12:44:00 AM
From: Walter Morton	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 294

Carl, I have had a chance to look at the companies and your analyst and must admit that you made very good points. However, VIAD considers INFA a partner: "Viador E-Portal Suite introduces a substantial advantage for customers by enabling faster, more educated decisions about business performance." -Diaz Nesamoney, President, Informatica Corporation While not arguing with any of your points, I would like to mention a few observations: If the IPO does not not raise the $46 million as planned, then investors like me can buy the stock cheap. If the IPO is successful then VIAD will have more cash than most of of the competitors that you mentioned. The high R&D spending that you mentioned may result in a superior product which may result in sales growth. The increases in selling expenses could be due to an increase in the sales force (new presence in Switzerland announced recently). A good sales force is a trained sales force. Training may explain the lack of sales relative to selling expenses. The way this industry is growing, a larger sales force seems appropriate. Merril Lynch predicted that it would be a 14 billion industry in just a few years. That suggests that there is ample opportunity for several companies. If VIAD is able to attract or keep good management they have a very good chance of doing well in this industry. In fact, an article in Computerwire ( viador.com ) claims that top level executives are flocking to EIP's. It would seem that that is the case also at VIAD: - CIO from Charles Schwab joined VIAD's board of Directors - Charles-Andre Fraefel, former Managing Director of Platinum Switzerland, brings nearly 20 years of experience in information technology to the position of Managing Director, Viador AG. - Raja Venkatesh, new Viador VP & CFO, "brings over fifteen years of experience in financial operations, business strategy and technology to Viador's management team. Venkatesh was Corporate Treasurer at Maxtor Corporation, Director, Corporate Strategy and Development at the Pacific Telesis Group, and worked for six years at General Motors Corporation in various capacities. At Maxtor, Venkatesh led the company's $345 million IPO. At The Pacific Telesis Group he helped develop an Internet strategy and oversaw minority investments in technology start-ups. He has an MBA from the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia. Now, I didn't know that this was going to happen when I started this thread. However, I would not be surprised if other high quality individuals joined the company prior to the IPO. Now, I feel better about VIAD than I did a few weeks ago. Your feedback/opinion is welcomed.