NewsCast

Group 1 Revises and Expands Its Coding Strategy

At last year’s Group 1 Users Conference, we announced plans to develop PrimeCode, a single best-of-breed CASS™ coder that would replace both Finalist and CODE-1 Plus. Additionally, during subsequent communications, we shared information indicating that we would roll out a PrimeCode beta in April 2006 and have a commercially available, CASS Cycle K-compliant product to our customers in June 2006.

Discussions with our National User Group, several focus group meetings, and many one-on-one customer discussions indicated that this transition would be acceptable – if accompanied by a reasonable amount of time to parallel test PrimeCode during Cycle K with the production coder. This timeline would enable Group 1 to sunset CODE-1 Plus and Finalist in August 2007, leaving PrimeCode as the remaining CASS coder moving forward.

However, during the past few months, concerned feedback from the Group 1 CASS community prompted us to review our PrimeCode timeline and strategy. We received the following key messages from our customers:

1. A more comprehensive rollout schedule from Group 1 is required to properly budget time and allocate appropriate resources.
2. Customers require earlier release of documentation and conversion tools in order to accurately scope the migration effort.
3. Customers are concerned about significant migration costs.

Based on these responses, we believe it is in our customers’ best interest for Group 1 to modify the PrimeCode strategy, release schedule, and objectives. The following modifications will be made to better align with your schedules and needs:

Customer Concern 1:
A more comprehensive rollout schedule from Group 1 is required to properly budget time and allocate appropriate resources.

Group 1 Response:
Group 1 has reevaluated the Finalist and CODE-1 Plus CASS schedule and has adjusted accordingly:

Finalist:

• Extending CASS certification through CASS Cycle L


• Sunset August 2008 instead of August 2007

CODE-1 Plus:

• Extending CASS certification thru Cycle L


• Sunset August 2008 instead of August 2007

Customer Concern 2:
Customers require earlier release of documentation and conversion tools in order to accurately scope the migration effort.

Group 1 Response:
Group 1 will develop and deliver, per a published schedule, conversion tools and supporting documentation to enable Finalist and CODE-1 Plus customers to accurately determine migration effort.

Conversion Tools:

• Finalist API conversion tools will be created for major functions.

Conversion Documentation:

• Documentation supporting the conversion tools will be prepared and delivered to customers to enable scoping of the ensuing migration.


• Documentation will be delivered in three stages:
  • Alpha, Beta and Final

Customer Concern 3:
Customers are concerned about significant migration costs.

Group 1 Response:
Group 1 is sensitive to customers’ migration costs. As a result, we have updated the PrimeCode strategy to include a migration goal to diminish customer migration costs and efforts.

All Finalist and CODE-1 Plus customers will receive PrimeCode 100. PrimeCode 100 will contain the best-of-breed features and functionality of both coding products. All customers will receive supporting conversion tools and documentation, which will assist in minimizing migration costs and efforts.

All customers will have the option to upgrade their current coding product to PrimeCode 200. This product will offer improved coding percentages, along with all the features and functionality of PrimeCode 100.

PrimeCode Mainframe:

• CODE-1 Plus Mainframe Customers:
• PrimeCode Mainframe will be deployed to CODE-1 Plus Mainframe customers with complete compatibility requiring minimal to no change.
• Finalist Mainframe Customers:
  • PrimeCode Mainframe will be deployed to Finalist Mainframe customers

PrimeCode Workstation/UNC:

• CODE-1 Plus Workstation Customers (going forward, all non-Mainframe CODE-1 Plus platforms will be referred to as “CODE-1 Plus Workstation”)
  • PrimeCode Workstation will be deployed for both CODE-1 Plus Workstation and Finalist Workstation customers
• Finalist Workstation Customers:
  • PrimeCode Workstation will be deployed for both CODE-1 Plus Workstation and Finalist Workstation customers

In addition to customer feedback regarding PrimeCode, we are also hearing the need for international coding solutions. It is becoming increasingly clear that international addressing needs are rising in both the international and domestic markets. In response to this feedback, we have expanded our current PrimeCode Workstation technology project to include global address coding.

As you can imagine, this change to our strategy is exciting, yet more complex than our prior direction. We are asking you to become part of the strategic planning process – as a major voice and input provider. During the months of April and May, we are seeking your input to assist us in finalizing our plans. You will soon receive a survey that asks specific questions regarding our global coding solution and areas for open comment. Using your feedback and market analysis, we will be able to refine our extended strategy. We anticipate sharing our expanded strategy, expected deliverables and timeline with the Group 1 customers at the annual Group 1 Users Conference in July. Customers not attending the conference will be able to join us for a live webinar where we will share the same message.

We trust you will find our expanded coding strategy beneficial to your company. Our goal is to provide you with the best software solutions in the marketplace that will deliver long-term growth, extensibility and stability.

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Horizons 2006: Register Today and Receive a 3 for 2 Special!

3 for 2 Special!

Register TODAY!
Offer ends July 21, 2006

Don't miss out on this great opportunity to save – register three Users Conference attendees for the price of two! To take advantage of this great discount, register online at http://www.g1.com/uconf or via fax at 301-683-6544, Attention UC2006 Registrar. This offer will end on July 21, 2006.

Horizons 2006 will offer you informative sessions presented by Group 1 associates and leading industry experts, along with hands-on product labs and the opportunity to interact with our Technical Support Representatives in person. In addition to these great conference opportunities, we are offering several Intensives on the Monday and Tuesday preceding the conference, and are providing both a User Orientation and a Guest Orientation on Tuesday evening.

Intensives
Come early to the Users Conference and attend the Intensives! Unless otherwise noted, the intensives are $500 per student. They will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following dates:

Monday, July 24, 2006
Introduction to Data Quality (NEW CLASS!)
VeriMove
Message1 Series 5*
DOC1 Series 5 (Basic)**

Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Merge/Purge Plus
MailStream Plus
DOC1 Series 5 (Quick Start)*
DOC1 Series 5 (Basic)**

* If you attend both the Message1 Series 5 class and the DOC1 Series 5 (Quick Start) class, you will receive $100.00 off the total cost of the classes.
** DOC1 Series 5 (Basic) is a two-day class. The price is $1500.

The cost for each class includes breakfast, lunch, and a snack on the day(s) it is held. For more information, or to enroll, please visit the Intensives page of the Users Conference Web site at http://www.g1.com/UConf/intensives.asp.

User Orientation
Whether this is your first or your twenty-fifth Group 1 Users Conference, we want you to join us at the User Orientation on the evening of Tuesday, July 25, 2006 from 7 to 7:30 p.m. First-time attendees: bring your questions about conference sessions, networking, the Technical Help Center, and the Solutions Center; we’ll bring the answers. Veteran conference-goers: we would be pleased to have you join us – we're always happy to have your input. You may be able to offer an attendee's perspective and provide some valuable advice and insight to the first-time attendees. If you have questions, we can answer those too!

This year there will be Group 1 associates at the meeting who can field questions concerning all tracks on the session grid. The sessions will be posted to the Users Conference Web site, http://www.g1.com/uconf, shortly and Program Guides will be available from the conference registration desk, which will open at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Review the sessions and tracks along with the other information on the Web site and in the Program Guide and come with your questions!

Guest Orientation
Come to the Guest Orientation, July 25, 2006 from 7 to 7:30 p.m., and meet other non-conference attendees, learn about what is happening in Chicago in July, and find out what the local hot spots are. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask – other guests may benefit from your inquiries!

For more information about Horizons 2006, including conference highlights, track descriptions, guest speakers, and hotel accommodations, visit the Users Conference Web site at http://www.g1.com/uconf.

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Group 1 University: Free Webinars for New Releases!

What's New in CODE-1 Plus 3.0.0 for Windows, Unix, and Dispatcher4 and
What's New in CODE-1 Plus 3.0.0 for All Other Platforms
Group 1 University will be offering a free "What's New in CODE-1 Plus 3.0.0" class for all CODE-1 Plus customers. This class will be offered via eLearning. Please visit the Group 1 University Web site, http://www.g1.com/education, for information on the dates and times available or to register for a class.

What's New in Finalist 7.80 for All Platforms
Group 1 University will be offering a free "What's New in Finalist 7.80" class for all Finalist customers. This class will be offered via eLearning. Please visit the Group 1 University Web site, http://www.g1.com/education, for information on the dates and times available or to register for a class.

What's New in MailStream Plus 7.7.1 for All Platforms
Group 1 University will be offering a free "What's New in MailStream Plus 7.7.1" class for all MailStream Plus customers. This class will be offered via eLearning. Please visit the Group 1 University Web site, http://www.g1.com/education, for information on the dates and times available or to register for a class.

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Points of Interest...

...A Secured Login option is available on the Support Site
In case you have not yet seen it, the Support Site offers a Secured Login option. This feature is located on the login page, under the LOG IN button. When you click on the Secured Login link, you will notice that “http” changes to “https” in the address bar URL. HTTPS is a form of the http protocol that allows for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption of User ID and Password information. Everything else works exactly as before. If you want to log in to the Support Site with the Secured Login feature, simply use your Support Site User ID and Password.

...Stay in the Know with the Mailers Companion and the DMM Advisory
If you would like to keep track of Domestic Mail Manual (DMM^®) and International Mail Manual (IMM) revisions, recent postal decisions, and issues related to mail processing networks, address management, postal technology, and mailing standards, you may be interested in the Mailers Companion. A free publication of the USPS^®, the Mailers Companion is available in both hardcopy and online versions.

You can access the Mailers Companion online at http://www.usps.com/mailerscompanion/ or request a subscription by emailing your name, title, company name, complete delivery address, and daytime phone number to mncsc@usps.com.

Another offering of the Postal Service, the DMM Advisory, is a message board that the USPS uses to communicate changes and developments related to mailing standards, services, prices, and other issues. You can view the DMM Advisory on the USPS Web site at http://pe.usps.com/dmmAdvisory.asp.

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