Press Release: Reef Debuts EveryWare [nee Edapta]

[Notes:  "Reef EveryWare" is the new name of the technology
          developed by Edapta, who was acquired by Reef last
          December.  Reef is my employer.]

REEF DEBUTS REEF EVERYWARE

Latest Product from E-Business Innovator Enables Companies to Make
Web Content Wireless-Accessible and Implement Cost-Saving Web
Content Transformation Strategies

San Francisco
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03/14/2001
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Reef® (www.Reef.com), a leading global provider of internet software
applications for the management of e-business, today announced the 
immediate availability of Reef EveryWare™. Reef EveryWare gives web
publishers the ability to dynamically transform web content for a1
range of devices used to access the web, including mobile phones, PDAs, enterprise terminals, web pads and home server devices. In addition, an advanced content transformation technology built into Reef EveryWare – the Reef EveryWare Adaptation Engine – enables web content to be adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, who may require the use of a screen reader to interact with websites, for instance.

Reef EveryWare addresses emerging issues of global content management faced by IT executives and content managers: the steep costs associated with developing, integrating and maintaining code dedicated to supporting devices other than computers traditionally used to access the web. Reef EveryWare lowers the total cost of running websites by offering support for multiple devices ‘on the fly’ while eliminating the need for hard-coding the adaptation of the content for each device.

Now, web publishers can deploy their web content and deliver it to various web-compatible devices and formats — including PDAs, handheld devices, WAP phones, internet appliances and PDF print-ready files — while maintaining only one version of the content itself. Reef EveryWare automatically detects which type of device is being used to access the information and dynamically transforms it accordingly for optimum display on that device. For example, Reef EveryWare allows online content to be instantly print-ready with no additional software or filters, lending the web to be a more traditional publishing environment.

Reef EveryWare also supports technologies to assist those with disabilities and also supports language translation and text-to-speech applications. Recent legislation enacted in the US (the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act on 1998) requires technology vendors interested in doing business with the government to make more products that are accessible to people with disabilities. The law also requires federal agencies to make their own technology efforts and resources, both internal operations and external contacts with citizens, more available to people with disabilities. Similar legislation is underway in the European Community.

Mike Paciello, founder of WebABLE™ in New Hampshire (www.webable.com) is a pioneer in the area of using emerging technology for providing accessibility to people with disabilities. WebABLE plans to use Reef EveryWare as a core component of its accessibility projects for clients. "Our goal is to create an application server environment that performs personalization on the fly for people with disabilities," said Paciello. "This will enable companies to render web content that is completely accessible for people with disabilities, no matter what these disabilities are. This is a huge market opportunity for companies doing business on the web since recent reports show that millions of people are currently prevented from interacting with websites due to their disabilities."

Reef developed Reef EveryWare after acquiring San Diego-based Edapta, a software developer recognized for its advanced content transformation technology. Edapta’s technology was already completely Java-based which meant Reef was able to quickly integrate it with Reef’s InternetWare™ suite of internet applications. Since the acquisition in December of 2000, Reef has extended the Edapta technology to encompass the content management functionality needed for wireless and handheld devices so that online content can be delivered to any type of device, anywhere. The result is Reef EveryWare.

"Handheld devices of various formats continue to proliferate, and IT managers are realizing that the limited screen real estate and narrow bandwidth inherent in these devices will inevitably impact the design of their websites and will need significant IT resources to deploy and maintain," said , Reef’s co-founder and CEO. "Our new Reef EveryWare web content transformation software enables non-technical users to build, deploy and sustain an internet presence that caters to the needs of mobile users and people with disabilities and, in so doing, extends the reach of their content to totally new classes of customers while reducing associated operating costs. That’s really a huge achievement."

Pricing and Availability

Reef EveryWare is available for immediate delivery. It is designed for use with Reef InternetWare, Reef’s suite of e-business internet applications and is also available for any OpenXML environment. Pricing starts at $35,000 when purchased with Reef InternetWare. When sold without Reef InternetWare, pricing for Reef EveryWare starts at $50,000. Volume pricing is available upon request.

About Reef

Reef is a leading global Internet software company that provides an open, integrated, software-based foundation for managing dynamic e-business. Companies of all sizes use Reef Internetware® to embrace continuous change and maximize e-business efficiencies by empowering non-technical business professionals to directly manage online content, commerce, community services, and business process coordination using a standard Web browser. Recently named one of Europe's 50 Hottest Technology Firms by TIME Magazine, Reef is a privately-held company funded by Goldman Sachs, 3i, Cisco Systems, Net Fund Europe, Profrigo, Viventures, and other investors. Led by a seasoned management team with proven industry success, the company serves a broad mix of industries, including media/entertainment, telecommunications, healthcare, information technology, finance, and retail. With offices in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America, Reef can be found on the Web at www.reef.com.

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Kynn Bartlett  <kynn@idyllmtn.com>                http://kynn.com/
Technical Developer Liaison, Reef             http://www.reef.com/
Chief Technologist, Idyll Mountain Internet   http://idyllmtn.com/
Online Instructor, Accessible Web Design     http://kynn.com/+d201

Received on Wednesday, 14 March 2001 12:02:34 UTC