Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 to Support Microsoft SQL Server

VANCOUVER, B.C., NOVEMBER 9, 1998 - Multiactive Software Inc., formerly Maximizer Technologies Inc., today announced the release of Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 SQL Server Edition, the latest upgrade to its sales force automation (SFA) software for workgroups. Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 is the first Multiactive Software product to be developed and optimized for Microsoft SQL Server, a move which reflects Multiactive's commitment to providing customers with powerful, affordable sales and customer management solutions based on industry-standard technology.

"Multiactive has always employed powerful relational databases as the back engine for its Maximizer line of software products," says Brent Halverson, Chief Operating Officer of Multiactive Software Inc. "By supporting Microsoft SQL Server, we give our customers the added benefit of even stronger security, scaleable performance, and industry-standard technology to better support companies, and more specifically, IT departments implementing our sales automation technology."

Microsoft SQL Server has become the database of choice for many Microsoft Solution Developers and their enterprise customers seeking robust functionality, scaleability and lower cost of ownership. Similarly, Maximizer Enterprise is highly regarded in the sales automation industry for its robust feature set, rapid deployment, and reduced cost of ownership. Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 includes a number of enhancements for the corporate user, and is one of the first SFA products to specifically address the needs of mid-market organizations -- defined as companies with 10-200 people in their sales organization, and annual revenues of $25 to $500 million.

New features in Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 SQL Server Edition include:

• Forms Editor for creating customized data entry forms.
• New OLE Automation calls and external triggers to allow integrators and VARs to further integrate Maximizer Enterprise with other applications.
• New workgroup productivity features, including a PegBoard to monitor users' whereabouts, a Marketing Campaign Planner, and Group Scheduling with RSVPs.
• New custom and management-level reports, and the option to print reports to HTML and view in a Web browser.
• Remote data synchronization via WAN and FTP for increased speed and reliability.
• Enhancements to the E-mail Center, Opportunity Management System, and Marketing Library.

Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 SQL Server edition, currently in Beta, will be available in December 1998. Multiactive Software is actively seeking new value-added resellers with Microsoft Certification as Solution Partners. Maximizer Enterprise 5.0 SQL offers a Microsoft-centric solution that allows resellers to quickly realize high value-added service ratios.

Multiactive Software Releases Codie Award-Winning ecBuilder 4.0 into Retail Channel

Helps Small Business Create Professional E-Commerce Web Sites for Under $100

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA, APRIL 13, 1999 - Multiactive Software Inc. announced that its award-winning electronic commerce solution, ecBuilder 4.0, has been launched into the North American retail market. The announcement came from Robert Saare, Multiactives Director of North American Distribution, as part of a presentation to delegates of RetailVision Spring 99, the premier show that unites the technology industrys retailers and vendors.

ecBuilder 4.0 offers small and home-based businesses the opportunity to create their own commerce-capable Web sites easily and affordably. Using wizard-driven screens, ecBuilder can create a Web site for any individual from their own PC in under an hour. The customization features enable all users to create unique and attractive sites even if they have no technical or design skills.

ecBuilder 4.0, which retails for $99, is the latest retail product released from Multiactive Software, makers of Maximizer contact management software. Maximizer has been the leading Internet Savvy customer management tool since its release 12 years ago.

"Our software enables small and home-based businesses everywhere to compete globally," said Brent Halverson, President, Multiactive Software. "With our move into the retail market, your neighbor who sells antiques out of his or her garage, can pick-up a copy of ecBuilder 4.0 from their local software retailer, build their Web site while dinner is cooking, and have received their first online inquiry by the time they are ready for dessert. ecBuilder 4.0 has brought e-commerce to the masses."

ecBuilder 4.0 was recently recognized as the "Best Internet Commerce Software" solution when it won a prestigious Codie Award in March of this year. Multiactive and ecBuilder 4.0 beat out major industry players including Microsoft, Adobe Systems, and Net Perceptions, maker of the e-commerce technology behind giant Internet bookseller Amazon.com, to win the award.

"We have a large number of premier retailers wanting to display our product," said Saare. "They believe that this is a software package that their customers will definitely want. The software is easy-to-use, it solves a business need, and its affordable in short, its everything that people want and need to get their business online."

Key Benefits of ecBuilder 4.0

• ecBuilder 4.0 allows computer users (with little technical or design experience) to create and update a commerce-capable Web site from a PC for less than $100.
• Easily begin to accept orders, using a series of wizard-driven screens that walk the user through the steps to answer inquiries, and provide product and marketing information online.
• Built in ecOrderDesk receives and manages orders; visitors to an ecBuilder 4.0 Web site can purchase multiple items and pay for them with credit cards and other electronic payment methods.
• Over 30 customizable templates provide users with a wide variety of design options to choose from. With easy-to-use business templates, users can add up to 100 catalog items and an additional 10 content pages or marketing messages to their site.
• ecBuilder 4.0 allows users to showcase products and services with photos, graphics, animations, and sounds by supporting 35 graphic file formats, as well as any audio, video, or document files they have on their PC.
• User sites are automatically promoted to popular search engines and can be hosted by any Internet Service Provider or Web Presence Provider.
• Easily integrates with popular contact management software, such as Maximizer.

MultiActive "Eagle Business Intelligence Service" Delivers Data-Based Info from Internet to PC

VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Maximizer Technologies has taken the high ground -- becoming the first true Internet contact manager -- with its newest product, MultiActive Maximizer 3.0is for Windows 95. This, thanks to the MultiActive Eagle database developed by sibling corporation MultiActive Data, Inc. " The Eagle" is a searchable online database linking users to current, detailed information on ten million U.S. businesses. This information is supplied and updated by one of the world's leading business data sources, Omaha-based ABI (American Business Information).

Using any World Wide Web browser, such as Netscape, Maximizer 3.0is users can search and develop business leads via " The Eagle" by contact name and title, zipcode, S.I.C. code, city, state, company name, sales volume code, or employee size code. One of the industry's leading contact managers, Maximizer 3.0is serves as a "front end" to this data, which can be directly downloaded from the Internet onto desktop or mobile PCs, in Maximizer format.

Specifically designed for sales professionals and others wanting to manage sales contacts and leads, Maximizer users will receive 25 free "lookups" per month, once they have subscribed to "The Eagle" service. Business, direct marketing and other types of sales and contact leads can be developed, targeted by location, type of business, and so on, defined as narrowly or as broadly as the user wishes.

In a typical Lookup, the user types in search criteria, then receives a screen count of how many records match the query. The user receives a listing of the search by company name, city, and state or province, then scrolls through the list and can then receive one listing, with company name, address, city, state or province, zipcode, and phone number.

For business-to-business direct marketing programs where no follow-up is required, mailing labels can be generated from within Maximizer via "The Eagle," contact name, title, company name, address, city, state or province, and zipcode. Where sales follow-up is used, additional data for phone number, SIC codes, sales volume code, and employee size code.

Registering Maximizer users will choose an Eagle user ID and password to access "The Eagle" Web Site, and will have an account for downloading data from "The Eagle" Web Site. Additionally, first-time visitors to the Web Site can view "The Eagle" and register for the service.

Pricing for "The Eagle" includes a membership setup fee of $20.00 (U.S.), a data charge (per record list price) of 18 cents for mailing label records, and 35 cents for sales lead records.

System requirements include: 486 with 8MB Ram; TCP/IP connection to MultiActive server; ISDN Line connection to MultiActive; floppy drive; MultiActive Maximizer 3.0is for Windows 95; Netscape or Microsoft Internet Browser with Eagle Membership maintenance program.

Available now at a retail price of $149.00 (U.S.), MultiActive Maximizer 3.0is for Windows 95 is available through major distributors such as Ingram, Merisel and Tech Data and is sold at retailers including CompUSA, Egghead, and Computer City.

Maximizer Technologies, Inc. debuts the latest SFA technology, leapfrogs competitors, by making the Internet the latest contact management tool.

SAN JOSE, - In a midday press conference held today, Maximizer Technologies, Inc. announced MultiActive Maximizer 3.0is for Windows 95, the first Internet contact management software. With it, a user can access, search and download contact information on 11 million North American businesses directly into Maximizer via the Internet, to instantly initiate and manage new sales procedures.

Scheduled for March 1996 release, this latest version of Maximizer leapfrogs competitors in functionality by providing its users with the industry's hardest-working contact manager -- now designed to harness the full power and business potential of Windows 95 -- and the industry's first Internet-savvy (the "is" in 3.0"is") contact management software.

The enabling Internet-savvy technology behind Maximizer 3.0is for Windows 95 is the MultiActive Eagle database. Developed by Maximizer Technologies parent corporation MultiActive Technologies, Inc., the Eagle is a searchable online database linking users to current, detailed information that is supplied and updated by one of the world's leading business data sources - American Business Information, Inc.® of Omaha, Nebraska.

Utilizing any World Wide Web browser, such as Netscape, Maximizer 3.0is users can develop sales lead searches via the Eagle database by contact name and title, zipcode, S.I.C. code, city, state, company name, sales volume code, or employee size code.

With user-selected data instantly imported into Maximizer format, the entire sales contact and management process can be conducted with the familiar look-and-feel of Maximizer 3.0 for Windows, as well as by using these additional, powerful Windows 95 features:

• Internet Broadcast E-mail and Xpedite Broadcast Fax capabilities, for global transmission of documents and data;

• Document management via Microsoft's OLE standard;

• Enhanced, 32-bit speed and performance;

• Access to the same data as Maximizer 3.0 for Windows without the need to upgrade entire networks at once;

• A "triple installation" feature, for all Windows environments (3.x, NT, 95); and

• The industry's fastest, most secure (Btrieve 32-bit) database engine.

The Maximizer product line has been acclaimed by major computer magazines as being the best contact management software in the market today. Introduced in 1987, Maximizer helped pioneer a new class of software for DOS.

The Windows version of Maximizer, used by hundreds of thousands of independent professionals and company sales representatives, takes full advantage of the Windows graphical environment and Btrieve database architecture.

A powerful, full-function contact manager, Maximizer takes full advantage of Windows capabilities and offers a wide range of features critical to contact management.

Maximizer tracks both people and organizations, classifies clients, provides a "hotlist" for appointments and to-do's, dials and tracks fax and phone calls automatically, offers powerful searching capabilities, has a flexible appointment calendar, a built-in word processor, and much more.

Available in March 1996 at a retail price of $149.00 (U.S.), Maximizer 3.0is for Windows 95 will be available through major distributors such as Ingram, Merisel and Tech Data to be sold at retailers including CompUSA, Egghead, and Computer City.

Maximizer Technologies equips sales professionals, corporate management and other business users with current, comprehensive contact information and business data through its progressive family of products: Maximizer 3.0 for Windows, a leading desktop and mobile PC-based contact manager; MaxExchange, a Maximizer add-on that can automatically synchronize field and home-office databases; and Maximizer Enterprise, an opportunity management system for complex business-to-business sales environments.

With sales force automation as its primary focus, specifically targeted industries and professions that use Maximizer Technologies products include: banking and brokerage; consumer packaged goods and consumer goods manufacturing; apparel; personal care; food products; chemical products; aerospace; professional sports; healthcare; accounting; education; and real estate.

MAXIMIZER SOFTWARE GROUP ACQUIRED BY LEADING PACIFIC RIM ENTREPRENEUR

Vancouver, B.C. - Terry Hui, President and C.E.O. of Concord Pacific Developments Corp. and MultiActive Technologies Inc. today announced that the MultiActive Technologies group has acquired the MAXIMIZER contact management system, through the wholly owned subsidiary MAXIMIZER Technologies Inc.

The MAXIMIZER software product line, which includes MAXIMIZER and MAXIMIZER ENTERPRISE, boasts an installed user base of more than 250,000 and is distributed globally, providing office automation and sales support solutions. The award-winning MAXIMIZER is a recognized world leader in business productivity software and MAXIMIZER ENTERPRISE is an advanced corporate sales management system.

"It is our intent to realize the significant growth potential of MAXIMIZER products." said Hui. "We intend to provide the necessary resources to achieve significant market share for this outstanding product line both in its present format and in the new media environment.

"The addition of the established MAXIMIZER sales, support and technology groups to MultiActive Technologies will further enhance our position as an integrated new media organization" said Hui.

Mr. Hui and his family are leading developers of real estate and advanced communication products in North America and in Asia. Mr. Hui is responsible for the development of Concord Pacific Place, a C$3 billion real estate development in downtown Vancouver which is recognized as North America�s first fully integrated fibre optic community. MultiActive Technologies develops products and services for the Internet and other online environments.

Corporate ERP: Standard vs. Rich functionality - Microsoft Great Plains

Traditionally we were considering functionally rich systems, such as SAP, Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft, JDEdwards as the fit for large publicly traded corporation. There might be multiple opinions for the future corporate ERP/MRP systems. We would like to give you our prognosis: high-end systems will be losing market to generic granulated standard functionality systems. Customization will be in high demand - but it will be appropriate to go for light of medium customization versus purchasing high-end functionality system. It is not a secret, that nowadays multiple companies from Fortune 500 list use midmarket solution, such as Microsoft Great Plains as their corporate ERP. In this small article we'll try to defend our position and give you highlights on deploying Microsoft Great Plains for large corporation.

• Computer Hardware Technology Breakthrough. Imagine you are back in old-good 1990th - high tech boom. If somebody would tell you that you can go to the store and purchase of the shelf 400GB IDE hard drive for $300 - you would probably laugh. We were used to 20GB hard drives those days and believed that such a high capacity devices attributable to mainframes. Another example - 1GB RAM memory stick for $100. Intel Xenon and AMD Optron based Servers are direct successors of IBM PC platform, designed in the 1980th as personal computer (PC). These are signs of the maturity in the industry and time to revise hardware pricing strategy - it should definitely drop.

• Elite DB Platforms Time is Over. Yes, it might be surprise, but Microsoft, which in the 1990th was targeting small business and developers community is now out there on the marketplace with Microsoft SQL Server, which is similar in its power and is a way more simple to support, than Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Progress, Ingress, SAP database and other "elite" platforms. Midsize companies switched to MS SQL Server and do their reporting, analysis and datawarehousing/OLAP on the Microsoft platform

• Custom Logic versus Functionally-Rich Module. The trends in the ERP/Accounting applications software industry ended up with required annual maintenance/enhancement program fee, which is usually close to 20% of the software list price. If you purchase expensive module and use 10% or its functionality, because the whole bundle has what you need among other features, then you are in trap of paying 20% annually for the logic you don't need and don't use. If you hire consultant to customize generic platform - you pay one time

• ERP Granules Standardizing. This should happen. We believe in this - seeing signs of maturing ERP software industry.

First CRM for Google Apps Out of the Gate

Etelos is basically a bare-bones CRM application with little functionality around service, marketing or contact center operations. In its favor, though, it does address the security issue. "Enterprise customers will have the ability to select the hosting environment for their application and implement any security measures they see fit," Eric Berto, a marketing specialist for Etelos, wrote in a blog posting.

Etelos, a provider of open source hosted Web 2.0 applications , has released a beta version of a CRM tool designed to work with Google Apps, a commercial suite of office applications Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) introduced last week. The Etelos product is integrated into Google's platform...