IIS Infotech's StarTech creates waves in cyberspace

Delhi headquartered IIS Infotech is all set to globally launch its latest offering StarTech - an Internet Sharing Software (Proxy Server), which allows two or more users to share the same internet connection/account. The major benefit to the user is the cost savings incurred by only having to purchase one modem, one telephone line and one Internet Service Provider (ISP) account regardless of the number of users.

In an exclusive interview here on Friday, IIS Infotech managing director Saurabh Srivastava who is also vice president Nasscom, said the product was developed in collaboration with a North American company. "StarTech was a finalist for the Best Internet Product Award at the prestigious Retail vision Fall '97 show in San Diego, California, StarTech was edged out by Netscape which was named winner in the Internet product category."

StarTech is primarily targeted towards the SOHO (Small Office Home Office) segment with its ease of set-up and use "that is its main advantage over its competitors."

An average system can be up and running in less than 10 minutes and does not require extensive user knowledge of the complexities of Internet and related protocol.

The product will be marketed as a stand-alone software or as an Internet Kit complete with its range of modems, cybercables and so on. The product is already on retail store shelves in Canada and will hit stores in the US this week.

Prices range from US.20 for 2-user evaluation copy, $99 for 5 users and $149 for unlimited users. Evaluation copies are available for download from the StarTech internet site http://www.startechcomp.com.

"We'll launch StarTech in India in the near future. It makes marketing sense to enter India after the product has proven a success in the US what with it ensuring a saving of at least $300 per user each year," he said.

The product supports all major Internet protocols such as HTTP (WEB), FTP, Telnet, NNTP (news), SMTP, POP3, IRC, TCP and UDP Mappings and SOCKS4.

StarTech incorporates a Dial-On-demand for the automatically dialling whenever a request comes in and a built-in DNS resolver that dials out if a DNS request is detected. It also features a security engine to restrict user access to protocols, sites or even sites containing specific words.

Version 2.0 is on the anvil with even more advanced features such as HTTP and DNS caching, VDO Live, DHCP server, Real Audio, SSL support, advanced security and firewall.

IIS Infotech with a turnover of Rs 60 crore is a major player in Y2K solutions and has entered into a joint venture with XOX, USA to explore such niche sunrise technology areas as virtual reality, multimedia geometric modelling and simulation.

(Courtesy The Times of India Sept 29)