This is a dated announcement. The material in this announcement could be superceded by more current announcements.

CHICAGO --06/28/01 -

The analytical power of SPSS, used by more than 250,000 organizations around the world, is now available for the first time as a software development kit for analytical Web applications. SPSS WebApp Framework from SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq: SPSS) enables companies to build customized Web-based applications for predictive analysis. SPSS WebApp-built applications bring powerful analytics to tasks such as forecasting sales figures, processing survey results and increasing the value of customer relationships from any computer with access to the Internet, with no need for additional software or browser plug-ins. SPSS WebApp is available now.

“SPSS WebApp represents a giant step forward in our ability to put sophisticated analysis in the hands of a broad range of users,” said Marcus Hearne, SPSS WebApp marketing manager. “Applications created with SPSS WebApp bring SPSS’ predictive analysis to people that are widely dispersed and have a broad range of analytic experience. Instead of setting up network access and purchasing copies of SPSS for employees at remote locations or having a flood of analysis requests pour into the central office, organizations can now give employees, clients and partners access to customized analytical applications on the Web.”

The Gallup Organization uses SPSS WebApp to provide analytical solutions to its customers around the world. Gallup, one of the world’s largest management consulting firms, helps organizations improve business performance by analyzing and understanding human attitudes and behavior.

One of Gallup’s goals is to provide its clients with easy and immediate access to information. In the past, Gallup faced some typical barriers when trying to meet this goal: time-consuming data preparation and distribution, hardware and software incompatibility and lack of  sufficient computing resources on the client end. To overcome these barriers, Gallup and consultants from the SPSS MR (market research) division used SPSS WebApp to develop a Web-based data access and analysis application for Gallup clients.

“There are only two simple requirements for our clients to use SPSS WebApp applications: a current Web browser and a connection to the Internet,” said Eldin Ehrlich, Gallup system engineer. “This means that our ability to provide research consulting services to clients around the world is greatly enhanced. Gallup consultants and clients are no longer constrained by time zones, holidays or other distance-related barriers. SPSS WebApp offers access to data analysis when convenient to the user’s schedule and work demand and makes collaboration and sharing of discoveries extremely easy and convenient.

“Additionally, the flexibility of the SPSS WebApp architecture makes it adaptable to specific user needs,” continued Ehrlich. “Gallup has long been an advocate of providing the right tool to the right user, and SPSS WebApp fits in perfectly with this goal. SPSS WebApp enhances our clients’ analytic experience through its ease-of-use and the ability to create client-specific functions which greatly reduce user errors, saving both time and money.”

Applications built with SPSS WebApp are highly customizable, which gives organizations a large degree of flexibility and openness in building analytical applications that best fit their needs. Developers can tailor applications to any end user’s needs, from basic report creation to full control of the analytical process. This means that applications can be created for everyone from executives who want automatic reports with “drill down” capability to analysts who want to select and prepare data sources, choose analytical procedures and control the presentation of results.

SPSS WebApp analytical applications can also be made to look any way an organization wishes. Developers can build customized user interfaces that, because they work in a Web browser, deliver high information value with a short learning curve. And SPSS WebApp can incorporate logos and color schemes to match the look and feel of an organization’s Web or intranet site.
SPSS WebApp applications are thin-client analytical applications—all processing work is performed on the server, ensuring fast operation and efficient use of computing resources. SPSS WebApp applications can access native SPSS files (.SAV) and relational databases for which JDBC and ODBC drivers exist.

“The SPSS WebApp Framework provides an extensible development platform that should appeal to both ISV's and IT departments,” said Andrew Braunberg, senior analyst, data warehousing with Current Analysis Inc., an IT industry analyst organization. “Now developers can create customizable, Web-based analytical applications that can leverage the complete SPSS product line's predictive, reporting and OLAP functionality. These applications can be deployed to a wide variety of people inside and outside an organization for better decision making. This is of critical importance as SPSS pushes its sophisticated analytical tools further into the enterprise and mid-tier markets.”

"With SPSS WebApp Framework we are once again leveraging our leadership in predictive technology into the analytical applications space," said Jon Otterstatter, executive vice president and chief technology officer of SPSS Inc. "Our analytical technology is now available in a form to meet every organization's needs: desktop and server products that can be used straight out of the box, components that can be incorporated into other companies' applications and now we provide the ability to develop custom, thin client Web-based applications. Further, SPSS now offers a ‘trifecta’ in predictive analytics: data collection, data analysis and information distribution. This means that the potential audience for SPSS analytics is now bigger than ever."

More information about SPSS WebApp can be found at www.spss.com/spsswebapp.

Pricing/Availability
SPSS WebApp pricing begins at $100,000 and is determined by the number of server CPUs and the breadth of analytical functionality. SPSS WebApp is available from all divisions of SPSS Inc. Contact SPSS Sales at sales@spss.com or 800-543-2185.

Minimum Server Requirements

• Windows NT Server 4.0/2000 Server/2000 Advanced Server (2 CPUs    
• 350 MHz processors
• 20 GB hard disk space
• 1 GB RAM

About SPSS Inc.
SPSS Inc. is a multinational computer software company providing technology essential to the analysis of data in decision making. SPSS Inc. is comprised of five divisions: SPSS BI, SPSS MR, ShowCase, CustomerCentric Solutions and Enabling Technologies. Headquartered in Chicago, SPSS has more than 40 offices, over 1,200 employees and 2000 pro forma revenues of $198 million. For more information, visit www.spss.com.