5/12/2006

Dear Friends,
This week, WAND issued a press release announcing the launch of the NEC Business Directory (www.nec-bd.com), the newest directory on the WAND Directory Network. This is an exciting new partner on the network and it benefits all of the other partners on the WAND Directory Network with a marketing partner in Japan that is second to none: NEC Corp.  NEC is tireless in its due diligence and insistence on the highest quality when it licenses a technology from a third party; WAND is honored that they selected the WAND Product and Service Taxonomy to power the directory.

Adding NEC as a partner on the Directory Network is exciting, but this announcement is also significant in that it marks the first directory in which the WAND Taxonomy and company data is delivered via web services.  WAND was an early pioneer in delivering data via XML and web services when it participated in the IBM UDDI network back in April 2001. Web services were a brand new technology at the time.  Now, five years later, the technology is more mature and WAND has taken its web services delivery to a new level of quality, speed, and responsiveness for the NEC Business Directory.  It is a way of delivering directory data that allows the NEC Business Directory to enjoy the benefits of the WAND Product and Service Taxonomy and being a member of the WAND Directory Network while still getting to have hands on control of the look, feel, and functionality of its directory.

WAND will be adding 5-10 more directories to the network in the next 12 months to further strengthen this value.  NEC’s participation shows that the concept distribution across a network of locally marketed directories in major markets around the globe is as strong as it has ever been.

Best regards,

Ross Leher
WAND CEO

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