BackWeb to push new client

BackWeb Technologies Inc. will announce at Internet World in New York this week its next-generation product, BackWeb 4.0, which rounds out the enterprise push product with knowledge automation and delivery, according to sources close to the company.

BackWeb 4.0 - code-named Transformer - will mark the debut of the Lanacom Inc. Headliner push tools that BackWeb obtained in July when it acquired Toronto-based Lanacom.

The Headliner tools provide capabilities to filter, manipulate and display customized information from Web sites, newsgroups, databases and E-mail systems in both Internet and intranet environments. When combined with BackWeb's core push technologies, the knowledge management tools will allow integrators and resellers to create customized vertical-market push channels.

The current release of the BackWeb push suite is part of the enabling software technology behind the Franchise Extranet Solution announced by Microsoft Corp. today. The Franchise Extranet offering is designed to provide small businesses with secure virtual-community capabilities. BackWeb's technology will allow franchises and association headquarters to "proactively deliver information" to their members in a variety of formats, including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, company officials said.

The Franchise Extranet Solution is one of the services Microsoft and the American Society of Association Executives pledged to provide as part of a technology alliance unveiled today.