Automated problem prevention, intervention and resolution save users and companies down time and time lost to dealing with support. Automated problem resolution saves the computer industry a significant portion of its high support costs.

Resolves problems at the user's desktop itself or as close as it's possible to get.

CyberMedia, Inc. (Santa Monica, CA; NASDAQ\NMS: CYBR) is directly addressing the increasingly significant issue of TCO, the Total Cost of Ownership of a PC, in its new First Aid 97 product.

By combining a panoply of techniques for the automatic and semi-automatic prevention, detection, intervention and resolution of computer problems in the Windows environment, it helps effect ownership cost savings on many levels.

The cost of down time involves the cost of replacing work lost due to a system failure, the cost of lost productivity while the system is unavailable, and the additional cost of deploying personnel and other resources to restore productivity.

While users in larger organizations may have access to Help Desks, often, it is left to expensive, skilled workers, managers, professionals and executives to resolve computer difficulties themselves. Do-it-yourself is also the usual alternative chosen by users at home or in smaller organizations.

First Aid 97 follows a logical philosophy of trying to resolve problems at the user's desktop itself, or as close as it's possible to get. It first attempts to prevent problems, often by automatically correcting system settings that can engender problems. If a problem does occur, its priority is to detect it, to instantly diagnose it, to intercede before damage can occur, to offer an opportunity to save work that would otherwise be lost, and wherever possible, to automatically correct the cause of the problem. Its built-in expert system with knowledge of tens of thousands of possible problems is supplemented by its ability to reach across the Internet for vendor-provided information on solving particular problems.

For industry vendors, the high cost of technical support can include both the direct cost of technical support operations and the later cost of sales lost to eroded brand loyalty. According to DataQuest, the growing complexity and unreliability of today's PC systems mean 200 million help requests annually from frustrated users, which cost vendors $4 Billion to service.

From the perspective of the computer industry, First Aid 97 promises to resolve a significant number of user difficulties before they become technical support incidents.

First Aid 97 attempts to resolve tens of thousands of potential technical support episodes itself, using its built-in case-based expert system and knowledge base. Its next recourse is to automatically access vendor support sites on the Internet.

(Note that its sibling product, Oil Change, provides a mechanism for automated third-party software updates over the Internet; software updates are a common way for vendors to deliver software, firmware and driver bug fixes, and Oil Change offers a way to automatically retrieve and install such updates before many users will experience the effects of bugs in earlier versions).

"The Total Cost of Ownership issue is a real dollars-and-cents issue for every computer user, from the kitchen table to MIS," says CyberMedia President Unni Warrier, "just as the cost of technical support is a major overhead component for every computer industry vendor. We deliberately price our solutions for reducing TCO at a point where any one incident can fully cost-justify them. Today, we're beginning to see an era where third-party vendors buy and bundle our solutions for their users because it makes bottom-line sense to do so. No one likes problems, especially when having them and solving them can be so expensive. With First Aid and Oil Change, we cut those costs."

CyberMedia, Inc., founded in 1991, develops and markets software products that help Windows PC users fix or avoid problems on their own, reducing their dependency on vendor hot lines or help desk technical support. Its First Aid 95 product family has consistently been on top-ten Windows 95 business software best-seller lists since November, 1995, and has sold more than one million copies. Its newer Oil Change software updates Windows software automatically over the Internet.

For additional information contact CyberMedia, Inc., 3000 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405; phone (310) 581-4700; fax 310-581-4720; e-mail info@cybermedia.com

First Aid is a registered trademark and Oil Change is a trademark of CyberMedia, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.