Ketchum Press Release

May, 1999 - IncorporationSan Jose, Ca - With the emergence of a standard communications protocol (IP), analysts predict that the convergence of telephony services into the data network will accelerate at unprecedented levels in the next five years. Recognizing a need for expertise in the realm of voice data integration, Ketchum Integration today announced its incorporation. Sam Adicoff, founder and president of Ketchum Integration, brings to this effort more than 15 years of data networking industry experience and previous success in starting, growing and subsequently selling a services firm and realizing significant returns for his investors. In 1997 Mr. Adicoff sold his firm, Edge Information Systems, to Sarcom, a national system integration company; at the time of the sale, Edge had grown to 70 employees and $30 million in revenue. With Ketchum Integration, Mr. Adicoff has built the core of a team with which he can repeat his previous success. Service firms with the skill sets to sell, implement and support integrated voice/data technologies are playing essential roles in the growth of this new VoIP market. Traditional business telephone systems -- PBXs and key systems -- have reliably served businesses for many years. However, the emergence of IP-based technology exposes and addresses many drawbacks in the telephony status quo and provides a compelling case for eventual market dominance. Among the benefits convergence systems offer are: Open systems economics - Use of the NT and Linux operating systems reduces costs, promotes interoperability, and encourages the wide community of software vendors to develop cutting-edge, productivity-enhancing applications. Better use of knowledge assets - Converged systems integrate smoothly with the Internet and with e-business applications. Companies get better real-time access to stored knowledge, improving customer service and selling opportunities. Scalability - Most convergence systems easily add "seats" through enabling of software licenses or the addition of relatively low-cost components, greatly extending the service life of the investment. Reduced communication costs - Voice-over IP enables companies to send voice traffic over their wide-area networks, significantly lowering their communications costs. Greater control - Users and administrators get more control of their communications options. Customers can self-serve for configuration changes that they formerly needed their telephone systems dealer, an "interconnect", to provide. By focusing exclusively on convergence technology, Ketchum Integration is rapidly developing deep expertise, and promises to become a significant player in this market.