Introducing Switchboard 7

Microkey is focusing its present efforts on preempting the ISDN/Internet-driven telecom market in its infancy. The company believes that it has an excellent chance to establish a significant software presence early on in this market. The company plans to build up to a fully compatible product line of ISDN-based telecom solutions under the "Switchboard 7" (SwB7) trade name. For all products, the company intends to offer periodic software upgrades on approximately an annual basis. The working names of the product offerings and their anticipated contents and release dates are as follows:

• SwB7 Lite, consisting of the software that is currently under development, is intended to be included with all ISDN access hardware distributed by Microkey and by hardware suppliers, such as 3Com, who obtain a Microkey license and pay a per unit royalty to the company. Sales are expected to start in first quarter of 1996.

• SwB7 Professional is intended to be included with advanced ISDN access hardware that the company expects to develop in collaboration with access hardware vendors such as 3Com. It is planned to include an advanced version of the browser, integrated with PC-enabled voice telephony features. This product is intended for the business and the telecommuter markets and is planned to be compatible with the other products listed below. Sales are targeted to start during the second quarter of 1996 after in-house, operational testing by Microkey.

• SwB7 Office is planned as an add-on software package for group telephony features, similar in functionality to some of those developed for the MCMS system. It is intended for an office or business with up to 20 phones with the ability to also maintain voice and data communications with a small number of remote agents or telecommuters. The planned release date is during the fourth quarter of 1996.

• SwB7 Business Server is planned as the complementary software package for SwB7 Professional and SwB7 Office. It is intended to support businesses using the Internet (or other networks) for purchasing, sales and similar functions. This software server provides pathways to enable switched voice calls to be initiated from within the SwB7 browser so that Internet transactions can be securely completed by voice with a sales person. Product release is also planned for the fourth quarter of 1996.

• SwB7 Corporate is planned to add "core" hardware consisting of a communications router (to be procured from a strategic partner), working in conjunction with a dedicated Microkey hardware "server" that will complete and log all connections. Associated Microkey software will implement many advanced voice telephony features (comparable to full MCMS functionality) and will support network access with dynamically allocated bandwidth to reduce data transfer times. It is intended for use by larger corporations and organizations with existing, outside Centrex service and up to about 3,000 phone lines, which can also be connected to PCs using SwB7 Professional capabilities. Product release is anticipated to be during late 1997, dependent upon the timing of suitable strategic associations and the schedule of pilot installations.

• SwB7 Toolkit is intended to reduce the effort for experienced software developers to add custom features to SwB7 or to undertake related telecom developments. The company expects that this product will enhance the acceptability of the SwB7 product line amongst developers to whom potential customers frequently turn to for advice in product selection. The release goal for this product will be set on the basis of perceived demand and competitive offerings.