For Immediate Release:

CENSA (Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association) Releases RFP for Electronic Recordkeeping Services Version 1.0

--Electronic RecordKeeping Services Version 1.0 Products will meet the special needs of regulated industries--

Medford, MA March 31, 1998--Rich Lysakowski, Ph.D., Executive Director of CENSA (the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association), Medford, MA announced, today, release of RFP (Request For Proposal) for Electronic Recordkeeping Services Version 1.0. He also issued an immediate call to software and hardware suppliers for proposals to build the new and highly productive infrastructure tools-fully-electronic recordkeeping systems for both scientific and general business purposes that will eventually eliminate paper as the preferred medium for recordkeeping.

CENSA is an international industry association with a top priority to create electronic recordkeeping systems that transform research, product development, and testing recordkeeping activities from obsolete paper-based systems to electronic systems.

According to Rich Lysakowski, "The Electronic Recordkeeping Services software is an integrated set of components to support a fully-electronic recordkeeping process-domestically or internationally-for any company, but, specifically, to meet the complex needs of companies in regulated industries such as the chemical, agrochemical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, aerospace, automotive, and defense industries."

"CENSA's release of the RFP results from a broad exchange of views and information among CENSA experts and executives, industry end-users, U.S. and European regulatory agencies, regulatory affairs specialists, patent attorneys and other legal experts, archivists and records managers. From these exchanges emerged a consensus-and a general set of principles and guidelines-regarding the implementation of Electronic Recordkeeping Services for industry" said Dr. Lysakowski.

CENSA's Electronic Recordkeeping Services product development efforts include selecting system integrators; product suppliers for recordkeeping, electronic document management, groupware, and other information management systems; products for secure system access, time-stamping, and digital signatures; products for electronic records storage and permanent archiving; and records migration products.

The end result will be technologies and systems for eliminating paper recordkeeping completely, while maintaining the same level of record integrity and legal defensibility--truly a paradigm shift for organizations large and small.

CENSA's call to action is directed at suppliers who can respond quickly to the RFP in order to build products and, also, to end users who are urged to join CENSA and get involved in implementing these and subsequent electronic systems in their respective companies.

According to Lysakowski, "This is a product development association - not a standards group or a research effort; it will quickly result in new products for end users - and immediate business opportunities for suppliers - not simply paper specifications. The RFP process is open to all suppliers with products in its focus areas. We will attract market leaders to provide the infrastructure, components, and frameworks for Electronic Recordkeeping Services. This is also the first of many RFPs, so stay tuned for others, which will be less generic and targeted at more technical and scientific processes."

Three key business factors are driving CENSA to catalyze the market for fully electronic recordkeeping systems: 1) the high cost, inefficiencies, and poor information access of paper-based systems; 2) the high cost of application development and systems integration; and 3) the inflexibility of existing data management systems and applications to meet the needs of rapidly-changing processes in R&D, testing laboratories, and business.

The business case for CENSA's ERS was substantiated when the return on investment (ROI) measured from cost-benefit studies showed some organizations will get 40% or more productivity improvement due to greater efficiencies in electronic recordkeeping alone. This increase does not include greater availability of information that today is locked up on paper, or the positive effect on creativity and productivity which greater access has on organizations.

RFP Packages can be requested from CENSA Executive Office, Request For Proposal, CENSA-01-1998, 19 Bowen Avenue, Suite 100, Medford, MA 02155 USA.

Questions regarding the RFP should be directed to: Rich Lysakowski or Carl Soeder,

19 Bowen Avenue, Suite 100, Medford, MA 02155 USA, telephone (781) 395-3004

e-mail for RFP questions