ASTAware Technologies Announces New Product Releases
Toronto, Ontario, Canada - February 19, 2001 -
ASTAware Technologies INC. ("ASTAware "/ the "Company") announces a significant enhancement to its solutions with the completion of its new release of SearchDiscTM v.3.1 and SearchKey PROTM v3.1, ASTAware's JavaTM-based search and index applications for Internet, intranet, CD-ROM / DVD and Desktop.
We firmly believe that these enhancements, in combination with additional developments that are planned and underway, will position ASTAware at the forefront of the search and retrieval, knowledge management (KM) and enterprise information portal (EIP) industries. With these new enhancements, ASTAware will be able to convert market opportunities that would otherwise be unattainable into substantial and sustainable revenue. Some of the new features built into the latest releases include: support for new document types, multi-language capabilities, advanced security and advanced searching capabilities.
ASTAware has recently extended the document types it supports, beyond HTML, text, PDF, PostScript and Digital Paper file formats, to include MS Word, XML and RTF files. The significance of this extension is that with these new document types we are able to extend our solution appeal beyond the Internet and have it used as an important ingredient to large enterprise knowledge management and enterprise knowledge portal initiatives. XML is rapidly becoming a familiar acronym for agencies looking to exchange information, conduct online business, publish documents to the World Wide Web and archive records; therefore, ASTAware's support for XML proves again its commitment to deliver up to date technologies to the market. ASTAware is also actively working through its product plans to offer support for additional MS Office documents, and audio/video support.
Our new advance searching capabilities enable hundreds of users to concurrently create complex queries to multiple indexes and have the results returned in a consolidated and completely configurable results page. The queries now extend beyond simple Boolean operators to include exact phrase, paragraph and cascading (simultaneous search of multiple on-line servers) searching.
The new security associated with our solution assures customers of extreme sensitivity to their content. We have used an advanced encryption algorithm to enhance our user-id and password controlled access to our products. This approach compliments our already implemented security enhancement to SearchKey PRO, to make use of Port 80 (monitored and default port for most of the web servers). We have plans to continue to enhance the security associated with our product as we recognize the value that advanced security provides to our customers.
Finally, our products now support all European languages, which is essential to support our global customer base. In addition, we are actively planning for the introduction of a 'Unicode' version that will enable symbol or hieroglyphic languages such as Chinese, Greek, and Arabic languages.
SearchDisc is the first true multi-platform search and retrieval application that can run on all platforms (i.e. Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux, etc.) supported by a Java Virtual Machine and can be accessed by any popular browser, such as Netscape or Explorer. SearchDisc does not install any software on the user's hard drive and automatically boots the CD-ROM without any cumbersome installation. The tool kit provides an option to conduct a simultaneous search on both the CD and the customer's website (or multiple servers), providing a seamless mechanism to update its CD's with the most current information.
SearchKey PRO is a Java-based, search engine application for intranet and Internet servers. It operates on any platform and enables end users to search multiple indexes, domains or servers concurrently or individually. SearchKey PRO together with SearchDisc, offers a comprehensive solution for simultaneous online and CD-ROM searching.
ASTAware is a leading provider of Java-based, search and retrieval technology. The company's information retrieval solutions include, SearchKey API, SearchKey PRO, SearchDisc and E-Cat. ASTAware's current licensees include: Hewlett Packard, Hunter Engineering, IBM, Lockheed Martin Tactical Systems (UK), Ontario Hydro, Qualcomm, RedBack Networks, Rogers Media, Siemens Telecom Networks, Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems and Transport Canada. For more information on ASTAware's products and services, feel free to contact the company at its websites: http://www.astaware.com, http://www.searchkey.com, or e-mail: ejewell@astaware.com.
