Gaylord, Michigan – March 10, 2003 – Deerfield.com®, a leading provider of Internet connectivity, messaging, and security software, announces the development of VisNetic WorkGroup.

“Sharing Outlook data is a feature we’ve sought to deliver to our customers for several years. The addition of workgroup technology is a natural progression to our messaging suite further building upon the recent release of VisNetic MailFlow,” said Mike Deerfield, CEO of Deerfield.com. “However, identifying an existing product with the intuitive architecture necessary for seamless support has been a challenge. Because our vision for this technology includes a fully functional solution that is natively supported by the email client most often used by our customer-base [Microsoft Outlook], we announce the development of VisNetic WorkGroup. VisNetic WorkGroup provides the best technical implementation to capitalize on collaboration technology while minimizing user inconveniences, such as the need for specialty mail servers, Outlook plug-ins, or specific data formats.”

Why workgroup technology is required

Conceptually, workgroup technology creates a collaborative workspace from which colleagues may share information centrally while minimizing redundancy, maximizing productivity, managing daily duties and appointments, increasing mobility, etc. In practice, the best examples of workgroup technology exist with Microsoft (the integration between Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Outlook), Novell Groupwise, and Lotus Notes, which today are unmatched in the small/medium business market. The ability for an organization to share data such as calendars, address books, task lists, and folders provides the highest level of flexibility and collaboration.

To date, however, workgroup technology is a solution available primarily to those who can afford the initial and administrative costs of the solutions required. Typically the combination of required IT budget and know-how is found in larger organizations. Nonetheless, similar needs exist within the small and medium business workplace, yet funding and a dedicated IT department are likely unavailable. Because of this, other software has been developed in an attempt to address the opportunity of collaborating without the financial burden. However, technical shortcomings often plague these products that lack native Outlook support creating instability, security vulnerabilities, and limited workgroup functionality.

With these facts in mind, Deerfield.com has committed its development resources to creating a solution, which will replicate the best and most sought-after workgroup technologies without the expense, maintenance, or management overhead, while minimizing the negative impacts of products designed as work-arounds.

About VisNetic WorkGroup

VisNetic WorkGroup is server software installed between the mail server and the email client, Microsoft Outlook, to offer private and shared Outlook Calendars, Task Lists, Contacts, and Folders. VisNetic WorkGroup supports Outlook Offline Folders providing access to data when a connection to the server is unavailable and then syncing any changes once the client is online with the server again. VisNetic WorkGroup also supports Exchange-compatible mobile devices and web-access via VisNetic WebMail Pro.

VisNetic WorkGroup is compatible with virtually all SMTP/POP3/IMAP mail servers, including Windows servers, Unix servers, Linux servers, etc. Additionally, if email services are not required, VisNetic WorkGroup may function independent from a mail server. VisNetic WorkGroup may utilize the existing accounts from the mail server, Windows, or new authentication accounts manually entered into VisNetic WorkGroup. VisNetic WorkGroup installs on Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows .NET and is administered via a web-based interface.

Through unique architectural differences from its competitors, VisNetic WorkGroup seamlessly integrates into the existing infrastructure without requiring configuration changes, either client-side or server-side. VisNetic WorkGroup is natively supported in Outlook 2000 and Outlook XP, eliminating the need for an Outlook plug-in. Outlook is simply configured as if it were authenticating to Exchange.

VisNetic WorkGroup utilizes a robust and open data store, which is user selectable from File System, MS SQL, or MySQL. For flexibility, VisNetic WorkGroup also supports custom application development via the data store.

“From a technical perspective, VisNetic WorkGroup provides three distinct advantages to customers,” said Mike Courterier, CTO of Deerfield.com. “First, VisNetic WorkGroup is essentially mail server independent, allowing customers to use existing infrastructure without additional investment; use VisNetic WorkGroup to extend collaboration between literally any mail server and Outlook. Second, no Outlook plug-in is required when implementing VisNetic WorkGroup; although third-party plug-ins are supported within Outlook, they are often the cause of technical problems and Outlook instability. And finally, VisNetic WorkGroup supports open standards and information formats to extend its compatibility. Overcoming mail server specific requirements, Outlook plug-ins, and closed data stores is both the goal and reality of VisNetic WorkGroup.”

VisNetic WorkGroup Pricing and Availability

VisNetic WorkGroup will be available for purchase during the third-quarter 2003. Pricing will start at $180 USD for a 6-user license and increase to support Unlimited users. For additional information and screen shots of the software, visit www.deerfield.com/products/visnetic_workgroup.

About Deerfield.com®

Deerfield.com is a leading Internet software and services provider. The company, founded in 1994 and headquartered in Gaylord, Mich., specializes in Internet software solutions designed to optimize Internet connectivity for small-to-medium sized businesses and organizations. Deerfield.com publishes a leading suite of Internet connectivity, messaging, and security products distributed via ESD (Electronic Software Distribution) globally through both direct and multi-tiered Distribution Channels. From its flagship Internet sharing solution including proxy/firewall/VPN support: WinGate®, to its dynamic DNS service: DNS2Go®, Deerfield.com continues to bring its Vision of the Internet to its customers via a newly commissioned family of products, appropriately named VisNetic.

For more information on VisNetic™ visit www.visnetic.com.

For more information on Deerfield.com® visit www.deerfield.com.