Open Text Named Market Leader in International Data Corp. (IDC) Web-Document Management Report

Livelink Intranet application suite has three times as many installed seats as closest competitor; 20 times as many as Documentum

Waterloo, ON - 1997-02-11 - Open Text Corporation has been declared the market leader for 'web-enabled electronic document management' in a market review issued today by International Data Corp. (IDC) of Framingham, MA. "Open Text's Livelink Intranet captured the top spot in total users for Web-enabled EDM, with 60,000 users" noted IDC, which listed Information Dimensions in second place with 20,850 users. Documentum placed a distant third with 3,000 users and several other traditional document management vendors' products failed to meet IDC's definition of a true, Web-enabled document management solution.

"The facts are in, and they're not surprising, given the overwhelming customer acceptance of Livelink Intranet Suite 7 as the only document and process management suite engineered specifically for intranets, as evidenced by our consistent announcement of customer wins," said Tom Jenkins, President and CEO of Open Text Corporation. "We've had two major versions of our product and several upgrades released over the past 18 months, while other vendors, including Documentum, are still struggling to convert their complex and expensive client/server solutions to web versions."

IDC said that "The Livelink Intranet product is unique in [having] a collaborative 'project' approach to managing documents..." while noting that many vendors only provide access to documents in a repository through a Web browser, which is a far cry from providing all the functionality of a document management system through a browser.

"Firms that are creating enterprise-wide document and process management systems based on intranets need applications and we've been very successful in selling Livelink to meet this need," said Jenkins, noting that "in just nine months since Livelink was first introduced, we have installed approximately 70 Livelink Intranet suites, with ten of those accounts having purchased additional software in 1996."

"The initial momentum of our first major accounts - combined with the recent deployment of Livelink Intranet Suite 7, the most powerful and comprehensive release yet - clearly demonstrates our potential for market leadership and continued growth," said Jenkins. "As Interactive Week stated in its December 16, 1996 issue, 'While almost every software company is trying to carve out an intranet niche, Open Text Corporation is well ahead and lengthening its lead with a new release of its Livelink suite.' The IDC report is proof of that assertion," he added.

Cutting Past the Hype in Intranet Marketing Game

Jenkins welcomed the research-based findings from IDC Corp. "The hype has got out of hand, with many vendors claiming to be Web-enabled, while at the same time having only alpha and beta products shipping. Our customers know the difference and judging by the number of prospects interested in Livelink, so does the market. And it's important to realize that, although IDC's report concentrated on document management, the Livelink Suite is much more, with features such as integrated workflow and project management for advanced business processes across the entire enterprise."

Many Livelink customers initially do their own internal studies of so-called intranet document management and process software. Rick Lyons, special projects manager with Schein Pharmaceutical did exactly that. As quoted in a recent issue of the Financial Post newspaper, Mr. Lyons said the company looked at software made by Documentum Inc., PC Docs Group International Inc. and Saros Corp. before it selected Livelink. "We felt Open Text offered a more flexible environment, and it was Web-based. It's also more economical."

"Misconceptions abound in this market," added Jenkins, "and it's telling that at Mecklermedia's Internet World conference in New York in December - the key conference in the intranet industry - none of the vendors in the IDC survey had booths, with the exception of Open Text. Customers attending this conference viewed our open architecture as a positive factor, as we're agnostics in the cyber turf wars, intent on leveraging the power of Netscape's SuiteSpot, Microsoft Exchange and Lotus' web products for the benefit of customers."

Web-based Electronic Document Management Year-End Market Review, 1996, (#B12915) can be purchased by contacting Cheryl Toffel at 800-343-4952.

Release Disclaimer

This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements, specifically those concerning future performance, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the final prospectus for the company's initial public offering of common stock in January 1996, Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 1997, and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended September 30, 1997, and December 31, 1997. Note to Editors: Livelink Pinstripe, Livelink 8, Livelink Search, Livelink Library, Livelink Workflow and Livelink Project Collaboration are trademarks of Open Text Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

For more information, please contact

Margaret E. Dobbin
Director, Industry Analyst Relations
Open Text Corporation
+1-519-888-7111 ext.2410
mdobbin@opentext.com