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1995-1998: Harnessing the Power of the Internet

Livelink, the first Web-based document management product, enters the scene and the intranet is born

1998

  • Acquires Information Dimensions, which adds offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Ohio.
  • Acquires software/services firm, Lava Systems, to extend OpenText's reach in financial markets; satellite office in Australia.
  • Molson Breweries, TMA, Nortel Networks, and BPB Gypsum deploy Livelink.
  • IDC names OpenText the market leader by revenue (42.1 percent) in enterprise-centric Electronic Document Management.

1997

  • Acquires OnTime—the first enterprise-wide, real time group scheduling product using client/server architecture; creates OpenText office in Detroit (Livonia).
  • Motorola deploys Livelink as its enterprise infrastructure.
  • Affinity Solution Provider program launches: helping third-party software developers maximize corporate intranets.
  • IDC report declares OpenText the market leader (64 percent share) for Web-enabled electronic Document Management.
  • The Delphi Consulting Group recognizes Livelink as the fastest-growing product (revenue up by 248 percent) of its kind.

1996

  • Initial public offering of 4.6 million shares raises $61 million US net of offering costs.
  • OpenText acquires NIRV, one of the world's first ISPs, which becomes the new OpenText Network Services team.
  • Employs almost 300 people, up from 20 in mere months; 18 sales representatives out of 15 cities.
  • Alliance with Siemens Nixdorf.
  • Product license agreement with Netscape.
  • Customers include Canon, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Schein Pharmaceutical, Chiron Corporation, and BellSouth.net Inc.

1995

  • Acquires Chicago-based Odesta and its key collaborative technology, Livelink.
  • OpenText ships its first Web-based product, Latitude Web Server (later renamed Livelink Web Server), which lets Yahoo! search every word on every Web page.
  • OpenText sees the Web's real potential as the application of technology and standards to business (later known as 'intranets').
  • Co-develops ArchiveLink and the first standard ArchiveLink product for SAP.
  • Microsoft® Explorer integration announced.
  • Oracle integrates OpenText search technology.
  • Customers include Booz Allen & Hamilton, Union Bank of Switzerland, Mutual Life Assurance Co. of Canada, Grolier Publishing, and Peugeot Inc.