Filed by DSET Corporation
Filed Pursuant to Rules 165 and 425 promulgated under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and deemed filed
Pursuant to Rule 14a-12 promulgated under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
Subject Company: ISPSoft Inc.
Commission File No.333-65898
[GRAPHIC OMITTED] PRESS RELEASE
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DSET Announces New Program to Assist Competitive Service Providers
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Bridgewater, NJ - October 4, 2001 - (Nasdaq: DSET) - DSET Corporation today
announced a program intended to alleviate a major problem faced by beleaguered
competitive service providers (CSPs). The new program can reduce the risk and
lower the costs associated with implementing electronic-bonding gateways, which
are the cornerstone of an electronic Trading Partner Network.
The lack of gateway purchases by many CSPs over the last year has not been
because of technology issues or the actual functionality in gateways. Most DSET
customers use less than 75% of the functionality in the gateways they have
deployed.
CSPs are confronted with macro regulatory and other issues, some even being
addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court, that have put the survivability of this
group of service providers in question. As a result, many of them simply aren't
making major capital commitments requiring up-front cash. IT managers have not
been willing to run a million dollar proposal up the chain of command.
To provide significant relief to CSPs in this situation, DSET is now offering
its electronic-bonding gateways on a month-to-month rental plan, with a 90-day
cancellation clause. This hopefully will address the issue of reluctance on the
part of CSPs to make a substantial financial commitment for one, two, or three
years. DSET believes its rental program will lower the risk perceived by CSPs
when it comes to buying gateways and encourage them to move ahead with the
deployment of DSET solutions that can be a key to success in the telecom
marketplace.
To substantially reduce the cost of gateway acquisition for CSPs, DSET's new low
monthly rental fee includes technical support, software upgrades, and
change-management services. This should allow CSPs to avoid major capital
expenses in these operating areas.
"The DSET program should help CIOs to make a strong case to their companies for
implementing our software," said Bill McHale, DSET's president, chief executive
officer, and chairman of the board. "Our current base of 30 CSPs recognizes that
electronic-
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bonding gateways assist them in dealing with their adversaries, the RBOCs, in
a way that reduces expenses and helps them provision new phone services in
significantly less time than if they did it through other means.
"A recent report by the New Paradigm Resources Group (NPRG), titled `The
Competitive Carrier Survivor Report' highlights 51 competitive service
providers, of which 18 use DSET gateways. We believe that 5 to 10 of these
providers use our competitors' solutions and that the remaining ones are
prospective customers. We hope our program will be the catalyst for them to now
invest the time and resources to implement electronic-bonding gateways.
"The money that CSPs save on DSET gateways could be put to use in implementing
provisioning software that can help them offer IP-based VPNs to their customers,
in turn enabling the CSPs to generate more revenue from these new services. Our
announcement in June of our intent to merge with ISPsoft, Inc., and our ability
to resell their software prior to the completion of the merger, allows us to
offer a state-of-the-art provisioning solution that competes with products from
Orchestream, Syndesis, Dorado and others. Providing IP-based VPNs so that CSPs
can generate more revenue at lower cost is another way that we are trying to
help these providers compete in this difficult market environment.
"As we look forward, we believe that the IP-provisioning segment gives us the
greatest chance for long-term growth and profitability. The gateway segment has
the potential to be a profitable cash contributor to this goal. And if
competitive service providers are truly rejuvenated, we will still be in the
middle of this market, with gateways and IP-based solutions to help them compete
more effectively."
DSET's rental program is available for additional gateways to current DSET
customers in the United States. It is also available to all other competitive
service providers in the U.S., whether they are using our competitors' software
or not.
To take advantage of this program, a CSP will need to contract with a system
integrator for implementation services. Some of the DSET business partners that
can provide these services are BusinessEdge, Danet, Fathom Solutions, Foxfire
Consulting, Fuegotech, and KPMG Consulting.
For information about the DSET gateway rental program, please send e-mail to
info@dset.com to be put in touch immediately with a DSET representative.
About DSET
DSET Corporation is a leading supplier of electronic-bonding gateways and
software solutions that automate the provisioning of Internet Protocol
(IP)-based services. DSET gateways enable communications providers to implement
electronic Trading Partner Networks (TPNs). A TPN plays a critical role in
lowering the cost of acquiring customers, reducing the amount of time required
to provision new phone services for
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customers, and minimizing the time required to resolve service outages to
ensure higher customer satisfaction and less customer churn. DSET IP
provisioning solutions facilitate the creation of virtual private networks
(VPNs) and other services at a fraction of the cost and time of conventional
provisioning methods. DSET is headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and
the company's Web site can be viewed at www.dset.com.
Statements regarding financial matters contained in this press release, other
than historical facts, are forward-looking. Since all statements about DSET's
plans, estimates, and expectations are based on current projections that involve
risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change at any time, the company's
actual results may differ materially from expected results. Investors should
consider these risks and uncertainties, which are discussed in documents filed
by DSET with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents identify
important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from
those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements. DSET expressly
disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
x x x
DSET Contacts:
Media Relations: Dean Maskevich, Marketing Communications, 908-526-7500
Ext. 1366, e-mail: dmaskevi@dset.com
Investor Relations: John P. Murphy, Westfield Investor Relations, 908-233-1558,
e-mail: westfieldir@worldnet.att.net
DSET and the DSET logo are registered trademarks of DSET Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Caution Required by SEC Rules
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Investors and security holders are urged to read DSET's proxy
statement/prospectus regarding its proposed combination with ISPSoft Inc.
because it will contain important information about the transaction. The proxy
statement/prospectus has been filed with the SEC by DSET. Investors and
security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus and
other documents filed by DSET with the SEC at the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov.
The proxy statement/prospectus and these other documents may also be obtained
for free from DSET. DSET and its executive officers and directors may be deemed
to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders of DSET
with respect to the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement.
Information regarding such officers and directors is included in DSET's
proxy statement of its 2001 annual meeting of stockholders dated May 17, 2001.
This document is available free of charge at the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov
and from DSET.
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