Interleaf’s BladeRunner Content Management Solution Enables Microsoft Word Users to Create Valid XML

Company Announces the Industry’s First End-to-End Content Management System

CHICAGO, IL – July 15, 1998 – Today at Summer Internet World 98, Interleaf, Inc. announced BladeRunnerÔ , a complete content management solution that harnesses the power of industry standards such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and Microsoft Wordâ to deliver the reusability and personalization benefits of structured information in content-critical business solutions. BladeRunner is a business-to-business system designed to enable organizations to improve the flow of information and facilitate business transactions throughout the distribution value chain that connects corporations with their customers, suppliers and distributors.

In an Impact Statement published by Aberdeen Group of Boston, Katherine Jones wrote, "Interleaf’s sophisticated enterprise content management architecture provides business-to-business advantages through easing access to information previously tied to the "document" world."

BladeRunner addresses the three critical areas of XML content management: creation, management, and publishing. By placing the ability to create structured information in the hands of knowledge workers, BladeRunner solves one of the most significant problems that has limited the adoption of structured document systems based on Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). BladeRunner enables companies to effectively manage intellectual property at the content component level, enabling widespread reuse of customized information through multiple output mediums including corporate intranets, CDs and print.

"Corporations will achieve the potential benefits of XML only if users are able to easily create structured documents with their current authoring tools," said Ralf Harteneck, Microsoft’s General Manager of Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. "BladeRunner aims to deliver on this goal by generating and applying the document structure in the background, while presenting users with their familiar Word environment."

"Our company is committed to becoming the leading provider of content management solutions by leveraging XML to solve business problems," stated Jaime Ellertson, Interleaf’s President and CEO. "Interleaf’s approach will break down the content management learning curve by enabling the most widely used authoring environment to output valid XML. With BladeRunner, companies will strengthen the information value chain that connects them with their customers, suppliers and distributors."

Interleaf’s BladeRunner is comprised of five key components that utilize technology from Interleaf and its industry partners. The components of BladeRunner include:

• Creation – BladeRunner transforms Microsoft Word and Interleaf’s workgroup publishing system into valid XML authoring tools by generating a Word or Interleaf template from an XML Data Type Definition (DTD). The author simply creates a standard Word or Interleaf document using the template. BladeRunner then automatically generates XML and validates it against the DTD from within Word or Interleaf. Valid XML is structured information that is tagged for reuse at the component level. By validating the document against a DTD, BladeRunner goes well beyond the "save as XML" feature of many authoring tools that simply use XML as a data exchange vehicle. BladeRunner also accepts input from authoring tools that produce valid XML.
• Management – Interleaf will provide an open repository to effectively store information at the content component level. The system will burst XML documents into Reusable Units (RUs) of information and perform security, version control, navigational linking and content reference management. The initial release of BladeRunner will include an object repository. Integration with other repositories, including Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server, are planned for later releases.
• Publishing – Interleaf’s core publishing technology will employ business rules to reuse and repurpose content components to produce new valid XML documents using both scheduled and dynamic publishing techniques across multiple mediums including corporate intranets, CDs and print. The BladeRunner publishing engine will include a user-friendly eXtensible Style language (XLS)-based tool to specify document content, layout and style that is unique for each application based on output medium and user profile.
• Data Adapters – Blade Runner will include data adapters to popular enterprise applications and corporate repositories such as SAP, Baan, Oracle and others. The data adapters will enable documents to include external information and will allow the publishing to drive the selection of content based on stored information such as a Bill of Materials or user profile.
• Value-Added Solutions – Interleaf will provide turnkey manufacturing applications based on the BladeRunner system and will partner with industry-leading solutions providers to deliver BladeRunner-based applications in other vertical and horizontal markets. Specific applications and partnerships will be announced in the coming months.

BladeRunner will be available this summer for client and industry partners participating in the Early Adopter Program. General availability is scheduled for the end of the calendar year. Applications for the BladeRunner Early Adopter Program are currently being accepted.

Operating Environment

The initial release of BadeRunner will run on Microsoft Windows NT/IIS servers and Microsoft Windows 95, 98 and NT clients. Electronic document output will be accessible through standard Web browsers.

About Interleaf

Interleaf, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAF) provides enterprise-wide software solutions for content management and complex publishing. These solutions enable customers to deploy document-based applications that improve their operating efficiency and customer satisfaction, and drive revenue and profitability. Interleaf’s software products integrate electronic publishing, content management, document management, distribution and Web technologies, making it easy for customers to assemble, manage, retrieve, distribute and publish business-critical information across the enterprise and beyond. Interleaf is headquartered in Waltham, Mass., with offices around the world. Information about Interleaf's products is available from Interleaf Direct at 1-800-955-5323 or on the World Wide Web at http://www.interleaf.com.

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Interleaf and BladeRunner are trademarks of Interleaf, Inc. Microsoft Word and Microsoft Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Interleaf’s actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Certain factors that might cause such a difference include, among other things, the failure of XML to emerge as a market standard or to play an important role in describing data on the Web or to gain market acceptance, difficulties in product development, delays in product release, changes in technology, and those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" on page 15 of the Company's Annual Report to Shareholders, as incorporated by reference into Item 7 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K dated June 30, 1997.