Title	Scout does automatic updating on contacts
Date:	1/23/2001
Author:	RON TRUJILLO
Source:	Santa Barbara News Press

Ants.com will build a high-tech tunnel connecting e-mail contacts, unveiling its Scout software today.

The Santa Barbara-based company -- best known for connecting companies with contract employees online at www.Ants.com -- is focusing heavily on Scout, a free application that automatically updates contact information on Microsoft Outlook.

"It's mission critical" for businesses to have up-to-date contact information, said Rick Davis, president and chief executive officer of Ants.com. "This will be the fountainhead for managing business contact information."

Basically, Ants.com has created a system of e-mail forwarding and notification to sender, much like an electronic version of the service provided by the U.S. Postal Service. But Ants.com's application will automatically change information -- such as address, phone number, e-mail address or job title -- for all users of a system when one person updates it.

The contact's e-mail address serves as the unique identifier. If anyone changes the data on a contact, the data, from a name change to a new title, will be updated for everyone automatically. The contact himself can choose how much, or little, information is revealed.

"You are your e-mail address" in the business environment and through Scout, said Davis, whose company has been working on the software for the past several months.

As more companies change locations and employees find new jobs, the traditional "business card" can become outdated quickly, said Davis, who estimates that 8 billion business cards are exchanged yearly.

In fact, almost one of every five people will change addresses annually, and another 47 million phone customers are facing an area code change soon, according to industry reports.

Therefore, an application that connects business contacts through e-mail addresses and makes changes to information as needed can be a money- and time-saving tool.

"It's a great product," said Laurie Lussier of Methuen, Mass., who downloaded the software last week "It keeps the information all in one place, everything in sync."

Privacy, always a concern online, has been addressed with application users controlling information. The changes are made in the computer's address book rather than on a Web site, Davis said.

"I go back and forth about that (privacy)," Lussier said. "But it's information anyone can find out in the phone book. It's not like you're giving out private information.

"The convenience outweighs (concerns about privacy). And there are always ways to block people."

Also, consumers can choose who receives the information and the updates, Davis said.

The application is now available free for Microsoft Outlook '98 and 2000 versions. Next-generation versions will be compatible with Outlook Express, Lotus Notes, Palm, Act!, Goldmine and earlier versions of Outlook. Macintosh and wireless versions are also planned, Davis said.

The company's debut of Scout will have the start-up stepping into new territory -- as an application provider.

"This is like turning back the clock for the company," admits Ants.com investor Dennis Cagan, president and chief executive officer of Santa Barbara Technology Group.

But if Ants.com can attract more customers, including an eventual fee for the Scout software, the move could be profitable. Meanwhile, Ants.com will also continue its company-to-employee online service, matching up contractors with companies' job vacancies.