Kirland WA, June 1998

ADVANCED BusinessLink CEO, Chris Lategan today revealed the name of the company's newest product as "Strategi by ADVANCED BusinessLink", and confirmed today's rollout of the product to selected beta testers.

This product, code-named "Javalin", was first previewed in April at Spring COMMON in New Orleans and has already generated an unprecedented level of interest.

Strategi is a highly secure, native AS/400 e-Business solution. It provides AS/400 client services such as 5250/3270 emulation, printing and file transfer to web browser users.

It is comprised of the Strategi Server, which runs directly on the AS/400 and the Strategi Client - a secure Java applet that runs in most popular web browsers or other Java compatible environments, such as network computers.

Despite its tiny size (approx. 80K), the Strategi Client applet delivers features not found in bloated desktop installed-client solutions. The list includes 5250/3270 emulation with on-the-fly GUI, printing and file transfer using an in-built Push Technology engine, data queue API's for client/server application development, and comprehensive AS/400-centric user and security management.

Since the server runs directly on the AS/400, it is positioned as the native choice for companies concerned with the added complexity of extra hardware, gateways, etc. With Strategi, high end AS/400's continue to provide client scalability and performance well beyond the reach of solutions which require an intermediate NT server or PC gateway.

In addition to not requiring any additional hardware or software, Strategi is a significant milestone for the AS/400 industry in the level of security it provides. It is the first native AS/400 client in the world to deliver digital client certificate authentication, applet provider authentication, and 128bit SSL cryptographic support - particularly in a Java-based client applet.

The Strategi Server Suite also includes a native, high performance secure web server and HIGH SPEED MESSAGING (HSM), BusinessLink's massively scalable client/server architecture.

As the developers of the AS/400 industry's first Java client applet, BusinessLink is closely watched as a significant innovator in AS/400 communications. Lategan comments, "Two years ago, when we introduced BusinessLink for Java, the marketplace was stunned that Java held a potential for something more useful than webpage sprites. Today, Java is the hot topic and it seems as if every company out there has produced its attempt at a BusinessLink clone. We take that as a high compliment, but we also recognize our responsibility to keep BusinessLink customers 'ahead of the curve'. So while other companies have been rushing to get their version of a Java client (or even just an emulator) to market, we have been working diligently through two more versions to make ours smaller, faster, more robust, and native."

In naming this product, ADVANCED BusinessLink turned to its customers for help. "They actually suggested to us that we use a name which tries to explain how effective our products can be in deploying scalable e-business solutions against competitors," Lategan says. "They tell us that they see us not as remote connectivity software, but as the infrastructure for an entire strategic communications initiative. Hence, Strategi."

Strategi is currently being rolled out in beta form to selected companies and is targeted for general release by July 1.

Media Contact: Paige Longdon
Phone (425) 602 4777    Fax (425) 602 4789