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News Release

Netkey Releases Netkey Express; Industry's First Kiosk ASP Offering

Hosted Application Brings Internet Kiosk Benefits to Small Businesses

BRANFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2000--Netkey Inc., the leading end-to-end solutions provider for Internet kiosks, today unveiled Netkey Express, an online kiosk application design site which helps small businesses revolutionize their e-commerce and customer management strategies by displaying their Web sites and other online information right on the showroom floor.

Express (http://express.netkey.com) is the newest addition to Netkey's award-winning line of kiosk software solutions, used by leading companies including Borders, Yahoo! and Microsoft. Express is the industry's first kiosk product to be deployed under an application service provider (ASP) model, where the software is hosted off-site and delivered via the Internet, with the end-user paying for the application through a monthly service fee.

Demand for Internet kiosks used for sales, marketing and customer service is growing. Forrester Research estimates that 80 percent of retailers intend to add kiosks to their stores by 2002. Netkey Express meets the needs of small retailers and other emerging enterprises by providing an inexpensive and easy-to-configure kiosk solution without the specialized hardware and software used in traditional networked kiosk systems.

"Kiosks are quickly becoming an important tool for retailers and other businesses to increase sales and improve customer relationship management," said Alex Richardson, chief executive officer of Netkey. "With Netkey Express, small businesses now have access to the power of the kiosk channel, and can quickly and easily deploy a professional-looking kiosk in their showroom or front desk. Netkey is proud to be the first to launch a kiosk solution using the ASP model and expects it will expand the overall market uses for kiosks, and result in big savings for small businesses."

Express kiosks can be custom-designed on any standard personal computer with a connection to the Internet. No special programming skills or software development tools are necessary to create a variety of kiosk applications using Express. Netkey hosts the Express Web application as an ASP offering, reducing users' up-front hardware and software expenses and minimizing on-going development and maintenance costs. Netkey is a member of the ASP Industry Consortium (www.allaboutasp.com), an international advocacy group.

"Application service providers give small business customers a viable alternative to purchasing, installing and maintaining complex information technology systems themselves," said Rufus Connell, research analyst with Frost & Sullivan. "ASP users also are able to control more precisely the total cost of technology ownership through scheduled payments. The ASP model has not previously been available in the kiosk industry. Delivering ASP capability to the kiosk market through Netkey Express will allow small businesses to bring their kiosk projects to market more quickly, help manage their costs, and provide their customers with improved service."

Build Custom Kiosk Applications Quickly and Easily with Netkey Express

Netkey Express can be used for a variety of applications, including:

-- Front Desk Receptionist

-- Customer Service Attendant

-- Self-service Product Order Center

-- E-mail Center for Visitors and Customers

-- HR/Employee Communications

-- Visitor Information Center

-- Credit Card Application Center

-- Gift and Loyalty Registry

Netkey Express enables business owners to set up Web kiosks in three simple steps:

-- Select the kiosk options that they want from Netkey's pre-built templates

-- Customize the look and feel of the Express site with text and logos using Netkey Express's online Web Kiosk Manager

-- The finished site is then routed to Netkey's ASP hosting server and immediately published to the Web

Following the step-by-step directions and using pre-formatted templates, businesses can turn any PC into a networked kiosk with an easy-to-use interface and application navigation using buttons, bold graphics, and customizable content. Kiosk applications built with Express' user-friendly screens allow computer novices to access information, register to receive special offers, or visit the business' Web site to purchase a product or service.

Features include a visitor or customer registration page that gives businesses the ability to capture customer information for valuable marketing and research purposes. Other Express functions include links to Internet e-mail, connections to news and weather, a business directory of company employees or departments, human resource links including employment opportunities, and an eye-catching "attract loop" or animated presentation to draw customers to the kiosk.

Netkey Express kiosks can also be quickly modified to provide custom announcements such as sales or promotions, links to calendars and events, and access to a company's intranet or email for employees without computer access. The online Netkey Express management tool gives Express users the ability to dynamically update their applications.

Growing Advertising Agency Uses Express Kiosk for Customer Information

Linking a kiosk to a business' Web site is one of the most valuable features of Netkey Express, according to small business users. Mascola Advertising, a growing full-service advertising and marketing communications agency based in New Haven, Conn., has deployed Netkey Express to display their Web site (www.mascola.com) in their office lobby.

"As a growing business, we often don't have someone available to sit at our front desk full-time to greet visitors," said Chuck Mascola, president of Mascola Advertising. "We needed a tool that would expose our customers to our online offerings and give them valuable information about our services. Netkey Express allowed us to quickly turn a PC at the front desk into an animated kiosk where visitors can learn more about our business."

Netkey Express Available Immediately; Free for 90 Days

Netkey Express is available immediately for use at http://express.netkey.com. Netkey Express is free for registered users for the first 90 days, and then at $9.95 per month afterward. Volume pricing for multiple kiosks is available. Users can also easily increase the functionality and power of Express by integrating other Netkey kiosk software products.

About Netkey Inc.

Netkey Inc. is the leading provider of innovative end-to-end solutions for Internet kiosks. Netkey provides patented self-service e-commerce systems to a wide spectrum of industries, bridging the gap between "dotcoms" and traditional businesses by Web-empowering storefronts, bank branches, payphones, transportation centers and other public areas via Internet kiosks.

Netkey's list of forward-thinking customers include Yahoo!, JC Penney, Microsoft Corp., Borders Inc., Hong Kong WebPhone Network, J.C. Decaux, and Bayer Corp. Netkey investors include Zero Stage Capital, and CyberStarts. The company has headquarters in Branford, Conn. and offices in New York and San Francisco. For more information about Netkey and its award-winning solutions, call 1-800-443-7924, email [email protected], or visit www.netkey.com.

CONTACT: Netkey Inc.
Robert Ventresca, 203/483-2888 x150
[email protected]
or
Jacobs & Prosek Public Relations
Jennifer Whittle, 203/378-1152
[email protected]


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