LOS ANGELES, CA, June 22, 2001 – Vertical Computer Systems, Inc. (OTC BB: VCSY) and Strategic Media Alliance, Inc. (SMA) have announced the formation of WorldBridge Webcasting Services, LLC (WWS). Vertical will receive a 51% interest in the LLC in exchange for providing a capital investment. WWS is being formed to produce and market corporate webcasts globally utilizing the production and marketing resources of SMA, marketed by VCSY’s theWorldBridge.com, one of its collection of international Home Country Gateways (HCGs), which are powered by its Emily (TM) Solutions Technology.
Strategic Media Alliance is a leading provider of online and offline video products and marketing materials, including live and archived webcasts produced in the United States and Europe. It has produced audio and video programming for IBM, AT&T, Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank of America, United Air Lines, Sheraton, the Fairmont and Ritz Carlton hotels, Intel, Cisco, Oracle and the U.S. Postal Service. SMA is currently producing and marketing a series of webcasts for Forbes.com focusing on business and technology trends. Its primary offices are in Los Angeles, California and it maintains satellite facilities in Washington, DC, London and the Silicon Valley.
VCSY’s President Richard Wade commented, “Webcasting has emerged as a major channel of corporate communications for SEC compliance, product launches and global marketing. Our new partner, SMA, has produced outstanding webcasts from diverse locations, including the United Nations, the National Press Club in Washington, DC and Government House in London.”
“We see an opportunity in the internationalization of finance and the expansion of demand for high-quality webcasts as adoption of the Internet continues worldwide. VCSY’s Bridges provide a natural collection of marketing channels as we expand our webcasting commitments around the world,” he added.
Webcasts featuring public company earnings and related information have gained prominence with the enactment by the SEC of Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure.) It prohibits publicly traded companies from selectively disclosing potentially market-moving information to analysts. The SEC mandate references webcasting as an acceptable method for keeping a level playing field for all shareholders and potential shareholders when corporate information is distributed. As a result of Regulation FD, plus technological advances making webcasting more cost-efficient, corporations of all sizes are now moving to webcast their briefings with analysts as well as industry conferences and quarterly outlook sessions.
Strategic Media Alliance (SMA) is a global leader in providing customized online and offline audio and video materials for multinational corporations, growing firms and government agencies throughout the United States and internationally. SMA specializes in the presentation of executive briefings, seminars, annual meetings, analyst sessions, tradeshows and conferences and the delivery of broadcast and webcast services related to them.
Experts from SMA have been featured on 60 Minutes, the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, Larry King, Crossfire and 20/20. SMA has been a featured participant in leading tradeshows including COMDEX, PC Expo and The Wireless Show. SMA has been a prime contractor for IBM with respect to online production of Innovation Showcases focused on both IBM products and IBM partner achievements.
During 2001, SMA has produced webcasts from key global locations, including United Nations headquarters in New York, which featured former presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Ralph Nader. In addition, SMA has been recognized as the leader in producing webcasts dealing with Internet security issues.
Vertical Computer Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of Web-based multilingual gateways, developer of proprietary software and e-commerce solutions. The company is based in the United States. VCSY's products and services, technology and distribution channels complement each other and are supported by its e-commerce business model, the Home Country Gateways (HCGs).
Utilizing its growing global network of online HCGs, the company offers B2B, B2G and B2C solutions through its wide range of accessible resources that specifically cater to the needs and desires of targeted communities around the world. VCSY has also acquired Globalfare.com -- a complete online travel information center at www.globalfare.com.
At present, VCSY has five HCGs in operation: www.theWorldBridge.com, www.theIndiaBridge.com, www.theUSBridge.com, www.theBrazilBridge.com, www.theChinaBridge.com, and is working to establish other HCG partnerships, including www.theKoreaBridge.com.
The company is continuously developing Emily(TM) Solutions, (www.emilysolutions.com), proprietary XML-based technology providing unique software for e-commerce, information technologies, Web-based data management and process control. VCSY also offers a free, easy and personalized e-mail service for all Web users (www.thepostmaster.net). For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.vcsy.com.
This release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, competition from other portals, the company's ability to integrate and market the Emily(TM) software, the market reception to VCSY'S new products, the potential benefits to customers, the conversion of sales leads into customers and the ramp-up of ASP users and other factors over which VCSY may have little or no control such as those described in the company's filings with the SEC.