SAN FRANCISCO (July 23, 2002) – Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPTH), a global leader in Internet communications, today announced its Instant Messaging (IM) solution for wireless carriers and service providers. The solution can be integrated with existing SMS and WAP deployments, allowing carriers to leverage their network infrastructure to extend messaging services without additional infrastructure investment. With this announcement, Critical Path also offers the first carrier-class, secure IM product built to support industry standards such as SIP/SIMPLE, Wireless Village and SSL/TLS. The Critical Path IM solution bridges the gap between wireless and wireline IM users, enabling subscribers to communicate seamlessly regardless of IM client or device type. Critical Path’s solution benefits wireless carriers and service providers by helping to reduce subscriber turnover and drive revenue through increased wireless traffic generated from phones, mobile messaging devices and PCs.
Users who are familiar with SMS text messaging or desktop instant messaging will find the transition to Critical Path’s IM solution seamless. In addition, the Critical Path IM solution lays the foundation for innovative, intelligent messaging solutions by enabling the integration of presence information across Critical Path and third-party applications. Intelligent messaging will benefit subscribers by giving them more control over how and when they receive messages, and will help carriers drive more traffic by way of “presence” notifications sent across their networks.
By supporting SIP/SIMPLE, Critical Path’s IM solution enables cross-network communication by facilitating interoperability with other instant messaging and telephony systems. In addition, Critical Path also supports Wireless Village, which enables messaging between mobile phones, mobile computing devices and desktop applications by leveraging such transports as SMS, WAP, and HTTP, regardless of platform or manufacturer.
“By creating an IM and presence solution that interoperates with other standards-based messaging systems and consumer products, Critical Path is creating a compelling solution for global service providers,” said Philip Marshall, an analyst with the Yankee Group. “Given the current economic conditions facing service providers around the world, solutions such as Critical Path’s that leverage existing infrastructure and enable the addition of revenue generating services at a lower cost will be of significant value in the deployment of next-generation technologies.”
“From day one it was important for Critical Path to establish itself in this market by delivering the first comprehensive, carrier-grade IM solution to support emerging industry standards,” said Gerry Goldstein, director of carrier product marketing at Critical Path. “Like all Critical Path messaging technology, the Critical Path IM solution offers superior scalability, low total-cost-of-ownership and powerful functionality. By integrating presence information across our communications platform we are laying the foundation for the next-generation of intelligent messaging applications.”
Critical Path Adds Advanced, Modular Presence Capabilities
A major component of the Critical Path IM Solution is its presence capability. Presence information provides the ability to determine if a person is “available” on their PC, PDA or mobile phone. Critical Path’s IM solution provides carriers and service providers with the opportunity to leverage presence information throughout multiple Critical Path applications, including personal address book, calendar, and Webmail. A subscriber’s presence can be updated automatically based on entries in the calendar or when the person picks up the telephone, for example, enabling messages to be routed in an alternative fashion when the person is “unavailable.” Critical Path also enables compelling new third-party applications such as presence-enabled games that will differentiate carrier service offerings from the competition. The company expects that the Critical Path IM solution will be generally available late in the third quarter, 2002.
About Critical Path, Inc.
Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPTH) delivers software and services that maximize the value of Internet communications. The company provides messaging and collaboration solutions -- from wireless, secure and unified messaging to basic email and personal information management -- as well as identity management solutions that simplify user profile management and strengthen information security. The standards-based Critical Path Communications Platform, built to perform reliably at the scale of public networks, delivers the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership for messaging solutions and lays a solid foundation for next-generation communications services. Critical Path’s customers include more than 700 enterprises, 190 carriers and service providers, eight national postal authorities and 35 government agencies. Critical Path is headquartered in San Francisco with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. More information on Critical Path can be found at www.cp.net.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements by the Company and others regarding endorsements of and performance of our products and services, including our customers’ and partners’ testimonials, our belief as to the ability of our products and technology to enable cost-savings, security, scalability and reliability and the market for outsourced services like ours. The words “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “strive for,” “anticipate,” “estimate” and similar expressions are intended to identify the Company’s forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks include, but are not limited to, our evolving business strategy and technology, the competitive, emerging and changing nature of the market for our products and services, our ability to deliver on our sales and strategic objectives, the ability of our technology and our competitors’ technologies to address customer requirements and demands, changes in economic and market conditions, unplanned system interruptions and capacity constraints, software and service design defects. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in more detail in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov) made from time to time, including Critical Path's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001,and the quarterly report for the quarter ended March 30, 2002, both as may be amended and in effect from time to time.
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Note to Editors: Critical Path and the Critical Path logo are the trademarks of Critical Path, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their holders.
Contact Information:
For Reporters:
For Investors:
Michelle Cox
Mike Bishop
(415) 905-4039
(415) 541-2619
mcox@horngroup.com
mike.bishop@cp.net
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