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Fwd: Ovid Response to CSA Announcement (Ovid Info Posting)

I had earlier distributed to the selectors who purchase CSA databases "rumor information" about the withdrawal of Cambridge Scientific databases (content owned by CSA) from the OVID/SP interfaces. I've since had this confirmed by CSA reps who also stated that they will not be withdrawing their content from NISC (Biblioline) or OCLC (Firstsearch) interfaces.

This is OVID's response to the situation. I don't believe there's anything in the below that says the withdrawal intent can or will be reversed -- it's simply OVID's refutation of some of the reasons CSA has given for that withdrawal.

An example of corporate hardball games, I would guess.

--Kim


Date:         Tue, 7 Oct 2003 17:08:02 -0400
From: Gerry Hurley <GHurley@OVID.COM>
Subject:      Ovid Response to CSA Announcement (Ovid Info Posting)
To: SPIN-L@LISTSERV.SILVERPLATTER.COM

Dear Valued Customer:

We have read with dismay both the recent communication
made by representatives of CSA at NFAIS, as well as the
publicly posted information on CSA's website regarding
their relationship with Ovid Technologies. We would like
to take this opportunity to clarify inaccuracies in these
statements.

In the Spring of 2003, CSA notified us that they were
terminating Ovid's right to distribute their content in
the academic market on either the Ovid or SilverPlatter
platforms. CSA devised a "transition plan," and presented
it to Ovid. Upon review, it was determined that neither
Ovid nor its customers would have been well served by
their plan.

CSA's assessment of Ovid's investment in the SilverPlatter
platform is incorrect. Ovid remains firmly committed to the
academic market:

 * More than 70% of our global customer base is represented
   by the academic market,
 * Over the past 12 months, Ovid has invested nearly $10
   million in hardware and software upgrades, as well as
   database loads for the SilverPlatter platform -- both
   local and online versions,
 * Our new, third-generation universal linking technology
   is a terrific enhancement to the SilverPlatter platform,
 * And finally, features already released in the past year
   for the SilverPlatter platform, such as the French,
   German and Spanish interfaces and ERL software version 5,
   have been well received in the academic market.

Ovid's ability to serve consortia well on both the
SilverPlatter and Ovid platform is facilitated by our many
customizable options, our four worldwide regional data centers,
and our breadth of quality content. We are disappointed that
CSA chose to remove its product from our platform. There are
many customers who continue to require the CD access that we
are able to provide, and we look forward to continuing to
serve our markets with more than 300 licensed databases, and
100 information producers.

We would like the opportunity to speak with you directly if
you have any additional concerns about these issues. Please
feel free to contact me at ceo@ovid.com, if you need more
information.

Sincerely,
Dean Vogel

Chief Executive Officer
Ovid Technologies Inc.


**************************************************************
                  Ovid Technologies
North/South America                Europe/Middle East/Africa
Phone: 781-769-2599                Phone: +44 (0)20 7981 0600
       800-343-0064 (North America)  Fax: +44 (0)20 7981 0500
email: support@ovid.com            email: eusupport@ovid.com

Asia/Pacific
Phone: +61 2 9231 5599
Email:  ausupport@ovid.com
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