CMP Media's Internet Group Unveils New B-To-B Online Workspace-howiwork™

Internet Group Answers High-Tech Professionals' Need For A Single-Point Provider of Tools and Services

PRNewswire
BOSTON
Oct 23, 2000

The Internet Group of CMP Media Inc. (http://www.cmpnet.com/), a leading provider of high-technology news and information, today launched howiwork™, a new online workspace that helps high-tech professionals do their jobs with greater speed and efficiency by providing the content, tools and services they need in a single place.

The launch of howiwork is the first step in the Internet Group's overall strategy to deliver high-technology professionals the means to manage the increasing complexity of the Internet economy. howiwork is a business-to- business workspace that provides users with the most relevant content from CMP's 162 award-winning print and online publications as well as access to the tools and services necessary for making business decisions throughout project lifecycles.

"High-tech professionals are constantly looking for ways to gather information and execute business transactions in less time and with better results," said Seth Nichols, CEO of CMP's Internet Group. "We created howiwork as a companion for professionals who want to work more efficiently online, and to deliver tools and services in a context that makes sense in terms of the overall project lifecycle."

Recognizing that most high-technology projects begin with an information need, howiwork puts the most relevant CMP Media content into a contextualized workspace, providing users with the information that they need to make educated decisions.

Based on market research and its coverage of the high-technology market, the Internet Group realized that while information is a starting point, technology professionals were underserved in terms of a central point on the Internet that would help them move past the information stage of a project. There was a tremendous market need for a workspace that would allow them to take action based on the information.

As high-tech professionals take a business initiative from idea to implementation, howiwork offers personalized tools and services at each stage, such as Web-based employee training programs and online procurement solutions. Ultimately, howiwork will help professionals across the high-tech value chain work collaboratively.

In future phases, the Internet Group will be able to license howiwork to Fortune 500 companies that need personalized internal workspaces to help facilitate collaboration while working on company-wide projects. These licensing agreements will provide an additional revenue stream for the Internet Group.

howiwork is not a destination site but rather a workspace that is accessible through Web sites of leading CMP publications such as InformationWeek, CRN and EETimes and through CMP's four industry focused Web communities: EDTN Network (http://www.edtn.com/), ChannelWeb (http://www.channelweb.com/, PlanetIT (http://www.planetit.com/) and CommWeb (http://www.commweb.com/). Each howiwork workspace is modified to provide the specific tools, services and content for each respective audience that the Internet Group serves.

CMP Media's Internet Group serves the entire spectrum of the growing high- tech market, including manufacturers and developers of hardware and software, distributors, resellers and business end-users. According to IDC, Dataquest and Goldman Sachs, this was a $385 billion market in 1999 with growth rate of nearly nine percent per year in 1998-2000. The high-tech industry is rapidly moving its business processes online, with b-to-b e-commerce forecasted to surpass $200 billion by 2004, according to Goldman Sachs.

"We are pleased to announce the official launch of howiwork, which is both a natural extension of CMP Media's rich legacy of covering the high-tech market and a reflection of our overall strategy of utilizing the Internet to move beyond traditional definitions of content," said Gary Marshall, president and CEO of CMP Media. "This initiative represents the future of CMP Media's online properties, and howiwork is strong first step toward that future."

About CMP Media's Internet Group

CMP Media's Internet Group is a single-point provider of integrated business-to-business information, tools and services designed to enable high-technology professionals to overcome the speed and complexity of working in the Internet economy. The Internet Group's products, tools and services are featured on the Web sites of leading CMP publications (e.g. EETimes, InformationWeek, CRN) and on CMP Media's four industry-focused branded web communities: EDTN Network (http://www.edtn.com/); Channel Web (http://www.channelweb.com/); Planet IT (http://www.planetit.com/) and CommWeb (http://www.commweb.com/). The Internet Group, which is headquartered in Boston, is a division of CMP Media Inc., a leading provider of high-tech news, information and services.

SOURCE: CMP Media Inc.

Contact: Liz Thompson of Middleberg Euro rscg for CMP Media, Inc,
212-699-2581, or e-mail lizt@middleberg.com, or Alexandra J. Raine of CMP
Media Inc. 516-562-7827, or e-mail araine@cmp.com

Website: http://www.cmpnet.com/