SoftArc's FirstClass to Connect 5,000 Ontario Schools

School Boards From Canadian Province Select FirstClass Groupware for
Students & Teachers 

Deal Represents Sale of Over 365,000 FirstClass Licenses

MARKHAM, Ontario, May 20, 1996 -- SoftArc Inc., the number four vendor of
LAN-based e-mail and groupware worldwide, today announced a significant
licensing arrangement with the Ministry of Education and Training (MET) in
Ontario, Canada. The deal will make SoftArc's FirstClass group
communication software available to school administrators, teachers and
students in grades K-13 in 5,000 public schools throughout Ontario. 

The software was purchased by MET on behalf of Ontario Software Acquisition
Program Advisory Committee (OSAPAC), which was responsible for the
province-wide selection of FirstClass. OSAPAC -- made up of local school
board members -- surveyed teachers, administrators, school boards and
other local officials to learn what communications software they would
like to see purchased on a province-wide basis. FirstClass was the choice
of those surveyed.

Explained John Hindle, OSAPAC chair, "With FirstClass, Ontario schools can
accomplish different objectives with one communications tool. Some schools
are anxious to get out on the Internet and take advantage of sophisticated
services; other schools will begin improving collaboration internally.
FirstClass will help us meld the goals of a diverse educational community,
integrating numerous levels of technical expertise, multiple operating
systems and a variety of communication needs."

"Education has always been important to SoftArc. It's exciting to see
FirstClass adopted throughout Ontario as a result of grass-roots
movement," said Steven Asbury, SoftArc president. "It's a wonderful
testament to how popular our product has become among educators and
SoftArc takes the compliment to heart."

The FirstClass packages purchased by MET are comprised of Windows and Mac
OS servers and are bundled with a variety of FirstClass licenses and
services- including client licenses, Internet gateways and Virtual
Classroom graphical interfaces. Based on completed surveys and expressed
need, packages are being sent to school boards province-wide. The school
boards will then parcel out the software to individual schools. As part of
SoftArc's agreement with MET, Ontario schools are being given the
opportunity to purchase additional FirstClass products on their own at a
discount until the end of March 1997. 

The Virtual Classroom interface is a series of preconfigured FirstClass
files with customized education-specific forms and graphics. The turnkey
solution's conferences, preconfigured security permissions, contemporary
graphics, etc. have been designed specifically for education, alleviating
both time and resource constraints of busy school network administrators.
Developed by Dream Weaver Communications Inc., Virtual Classroom has been
certified as a "Works With FirstClass" product through the SoftArc
Developer Partnership Program. 

The MET sale puts SoftArc's FirstClass mailbox count over 4.6 million users
worldwide (behind only Lotus cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail and Novell
GroupWise). 

FirstClass is a client/server workgroup communication system that
integrates advanced e-mail with replicable discussion databases, remote
access, forms processing, enterprise database access and online
information services. The product offers a number of unique features
designed to improve information communication and management. FirstClass
offers the same ease of use, functionality, and robust performance over
network or modem, and operates in Windows, Macintosh, DOS, OS/2 and
terminal emulation environments. The product is used by businesses,
educational institutions, governments and private individuals at more than
20,000 sites in 30 countries. SoftArc is supported by a worldwide network
of Certified Consultants. The Company is headquartered in Markham,
Ontario, Canada. 

SoftArc Inc
100 Allstate Parkway
Markham, Ontario
Canada L3R 6H3
905-415-7000,  fax 905-415-7151
 
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