ISID and Cisco Systems conclude agreement for business alliance in the fields of net finance and digital content distribution

      
Information Services International - Dentsu, Ltd. (ISID, headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo; Jutaro Takinami, CEO; ¥743 million in capital) and Cisco Systems K.K. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku Tokyo; Yasuki Kurosawa, CEO; "Cisco" hereafter) recently reached a partnership agreement on the provision of total solutions to the net finance field and in the field of digital content distribution.

Since the second half of 1999, the popularization and expansion of Internet banking and net trading activities, together with the trend in financial restructuring, have fueled a sharp upsurge in demand for the creation of financial portal sites and a variety of other offerings in the so-called "net finance" arena. The market itself has been growing and building additional momentum with the entry of ventures from other industrial fields, such as elements of the distribution trade that recently entered the settlement banking business. To gain a head-start in the race to accommodate this emerging financial market, ISID began working early to develop new systems for the field of net finance. As such, it has already begun to list accomplishments with the establishment of several large-scale, mission-critical WWW systems, including one utilized by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi for Internet banking operations.

Cisco is the Japanese market leader in the provision of Internet hardware infrastructure, and currently offers a variety of network solutions to major corporate clients. The new ISID-Cisco alliance can be expected to better position both companies for the early provision of total solutions to users in the net finance field.

Major advances in communications infrastructure are also now under way in Japan. For instance, plans have been rolled out to expand the nation's fiber-optic network, popularize xDSL-based connection services, establish IMT-2000 and other next-generation wireless communications standards, and introduce new broadband services driven by satellite-based digital data broadcasts and interactive features. The evolution in network devices is also moving forward at a blinding pace, as witnessed by the debut of more-advanced cell phones and personal data assistants (PDAs), information appliances, and mobile car terminals, with these developments having a profound impact in practically every dimension of daily life. It is now widely anticipated that this new climate will accelerate the transition of digital distribution from conventional transaction data content to richer, multimedia-driven content. That prospect has given way to forecasts of growth in the popularity of a range of new, content-rich services for such purposes as E-learning.

The digital content business has to do with far more than pure information technology (IT). ISID is aware that it will also be vital to provide clients with strategic expertise support, marketing plans, and content authoring services. ISID is thus already working on a framework that will allow it to supply clients with such services in an integrated fashion. Drawing from Cisco's two important network solutions, content networking and AVVID (architecture for voice, and video and integrated data), Cisco and ISID plan to work together in providing total solutions for optimizing the distribution of digital content.

In particular, the two companies will collaborate in the areas described below.

• Both will work together to develop and offer "net finance" total solutions at an early date, with ISID assuming responsibility for the development of applications based on Cisco network hardware and technology.

• In the arena of digital content distribution, ISID will put together a framework for the provision of total solutions based on content networking and AVVID architectures supplied by Cisco.
• Both companies shall be actively involved in joint publicity and sales campaigns (including the presentation of case studies, seminars, co-marketing efforts, project consulting, and the coordination of individual projects).

      
Several factors influenced Cisco's decision to select ISID as its partner in this collaborative undertaking. In particular, Cisco recognized that ISID has an established track record in the development of business applications for banking, risk management, and cash management as well as for Internet banking and other facets of the net finance industry; is actively committed to the development of EC/EDI system solutions; and considers the provision of total solutions to the large, high-profile Japanese companies which compose its client base to be its central corporate mission.

Predictions are that the fields of net finance and digital content distribution will expand strongly in the years ahead. By pooling their strengths in these areas, both companies hope to enhance the value-added in the solutions they offer, multiply their opportunities for new business, and expand their respective client bases.

Both companies plan to launch an aggressive promotional campaign aimed at institutions in the financial sector (companies in banking, securities, insurance, etc.), digital content providers that utilize the Internet, and other companies that distribute digital content through their own, internal information systems. Together, they aim to win at least three major contracts within the remainder of the current business year.

About Cisco Systems K.K.

  Established in 1992, Cisco Systems K.K. is a Japanese subsidiary of the U.S. firm, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), a global purveyor of infrastructural networking hardware for Internet and intranet applications. Cisco provides many major corporations and multinationals with an end-to-end lineup of networking merchandise, including everything from Cisco-series routers, Catalyst-brand LAN switches, and hardware for ATM and frame-relay applications to the Cisco IOS (the de facto global standard in router software) and the innovative new networking technology, Voice over IP (VoIP). Many of its products are sold in Japan through stores affiliated with Oki Electric, Itochu Technoscience, and Net-One Systems.

Cisco Systems' corporate profile and other, related information are available through the following web site:
< http://www.cisco.com/japanese/warp/public/3/jp/ >

Cisco, Cisco IOS, Cisco Systems, Catalyst, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems Inc. and its affiliates in the U.S. and other regions. Other listed product or company names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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