Stamps.com and Microsoft Strengthen Relationship and Develop Closer Software Integration
Stamps.com to Enable Microsoft Office 11 Beta to Print Electronic Postage with Ease
SANTA MONICA, Calif, — October 23, 2002 – Stamps.com Inc., the leading online postage service, today announced that it has signed an expanded three-year strategic relationship with Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT). Separately, the companies are working to forge tighter integration of Stamps.com’s online postage technology with Microsoft’s widely-used Word software. The enhanced electronic postage printing functionality is currently being tested in the beta version of Microsoft Office 11.
“We believe that users of Microsoft Word will benefit from easier access to electronic postage printing through this integration,” said Jeff Olund, general manager of Office eServices for Microsoft. “We collaborated closely with Stamps.com to provide our users with a seamless experience when finding, signing up for, and printing electronic postage directly from Microsoft Word.”
Users who print envelopes using Microsoft Word 11 will be offered the option of checking a box to add electronic postage. When they do so, they will be able to print the address and postage on the envelope in an easy, one step seamless process powered by Stamps.com, all without leaving the familiar Word interface.
“By integrating our service into mail preparation tools such as Microsoft Word, our customers can complete their mailings more easily, achieve greater work productivity and reduce their mail hassle,” said Ken McBride, chief executive officer of Stamps.com. “We believe this new and deeper level of integration with Microsoft adds value to our service, increases access points to our technology and gives us the opportunity to reach new customer markets.”
In addition to easier access to postage, Microsoft users will benefit from features provided by Stamps.com such as:
- Adding graphics or company logos to the mail piece for a personalized or professional look;
- Keeping track of postage use through reports and accounting codes;
- Minimizing undeliverable mail through automatic address correction and verification;
- Automatic calculation of postage rates based on mail class and weight of mail piece.
The integration of Stamps.com online postage technology signals the first implementation of functionality within Microsoft applications through a growing strategic relationship. It is also an important achievement in Stamps.com’s efforts to seamlessly integrate its postage solution into partner products and services.
About Stamps.com
Stamps.com (Nasdaq: STMP) is a leading provider of Internet-based postage services. Stamps.com enables customers to print U.S. Postal Service-approved postage with just a PC, printer and Internet connection. The company targets its services to small businesses, home offices, and individuals, and currently has partnerships with companies including Auctionwatch, Comp USA, Earthlink, HP, Microsoft, NCR, Office Depot, PayPal and the U.S. Postal Service.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors, including the company’s ability to complete its products and obtain regulatory approval, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, are detailed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made from time to time by Stamps.com, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001, its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K. Stamps.com undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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