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EDS & IBM Team to Deliver Internet Solution for Dealerships

6 September 2000

EDS & IBM Team to Deliver Unique Internet Solution for Automotive Dealerships

    TROY, Mich., Sept. 5 EDS and IBM announced they will join
forces to deliver the most effective and cost competitive Internet service and
e-mail capability specifically designed for automotive dealerships in the
United States.  The arrangement brings together the best of what the two
parties have to offer -- EDS' broad automotive industry experience and
applications solutions, and IBM's Internet technologies and e-business
leadership.
    EDS' DealerPath is a total business Internet/e-mail/security offering that
incorporates IBM's WebConnections and Whistle InterJet II technology, a
solution that provides all the hardware, software and services a company needs
to harness the power of the Internet through a single connection.  EDS will
integrate, implement, and support DealerPath and WebConnections into any
dealership IT environment.
    DealerPath with WebConnections is specifically designed to eliminate the
need for automotive dealerships to work with multiple providers when
attempting to access the World Wide Web and respond to e-mail inquiries.  It
will give dealers immediate Internet access and control, supported by business
class e-mail and firewall security.
    The combined EDS/IBM DealerPath solution with WebConnections is delivered
in a similar format to cable TV, allowing end-users to subscribe to the
offering at a low monthly fee with no hardware or software to purchase.
DealerPath has been designed to deliver on the promise of plug-and-play IT
solutions that have eluded dealerships for years.
    "DealerPath exhibits the type of solution that could only be developed by
a combination of industry leading IT companies such as EDS and IBM," said
Linda Judd, EDS Automotive Retail Group President.  "As dealers evolve their
business operations to take advantage of the Internet and electronic
solutions, it is critical they have solid partners in terms of innovative
products and services that can bring proven solutions from other market arenas
to the front-door of automotive retailing."
    Neal Callahan, Vice President of Sales, IBM Global Small Business, said,
"As more and more enterprises become e-businesses and link their supply chain
and customer relationship applications to the Internet, it's important that
their dealers, suppliers, distributors, and partners also have Internet
access.  IBM WebConnections is the perfect technology to couple with
DealerPath to deliver that capability."
    "Many dealerships today struggle with issues such as multiple employees
accessing the Internet from a single connection point, increases in internal
communications using e-mail, and overall security and control of critical
business applications and data," said Matt Parsons, EDS ARG Vice President of
Marketing.  "DealerPath is the industry's first totally encompassing product
that takes all of these concerns into consideration and delivers not just a
set of disparate hardware and software products, but a total solution that can
be implemented within minutes, in any dealership environment."

    The DealerPath Offering with WebConnections, Includes:

    Integration within any dealership IT environment
      *  Independent of Dealer Systems Provider (DSP) or Internet buying/lead
         generation service
    Unlimited Internet Access
      *  Access for up to 100 users
      *  Select from available 56K analog, ISDN, DSL, and T1 connection
         options
      *  Website blocking and Internet access control
      *  Web hosting
    E-mail for Everyone
      *  Internal business e-mail for memo distribution
      *  Common domain name for business entity
      *  Spam blocking
      *  Mail list, mail forwarding, and vacation reply functions
    Firewall Security
      *  Pre-configured for end-user
      *  Protects internal network
    Secure Remote Access
      *  Allows 10 remote users to securely access internal network via the
         Internet
      *  Retrieval of e-mail and office LAN files
    Retail Internet and Intranet Sites
      *  Ability to create own website in minutes
      *  Establishes automotive retail portal
      *  Internal department pages to facilitate internal communications and
         file sharing
    World-class Support
      *  24x7 Helpdesk services
      *  On-site installation and Training