NASA.L Regulatory News (NASA)

26 Sep 2007 07:00

Nasstar PLC26 September 2007 Nasstar plc - Partnership Agreement Nasstar Plc ("Nasstar" or "the Group", AIM: NASA), which provides software ondemand and Viking Direct, the UK's leading office supplier ("Viking Direct")have entered into an agreement whereby Nasstar has exclusive rights to marketits hosted exchange email, Blackberry and Hosted Desktop services to VikingDirect's customers. Viking Direct has 670,000 active customers in the UK atpresent. The Agreement is part of a new range of business services launched byViking Direct under the name "The Business". The Agreement is for a 12 monthterm and Nasstar will pay Viking Direct commission based on a percentage ofsales generated under the Agreement. Su Roberts, Marketing Manager - Brand & Communication for Viking Direct, said:"The Business is an important strategic development for Viking Direct andprovides Viking Direct with the ability to leverage its considerable marketingpower to enhance revenue earnings from its existing customer base. The Businesswill enhance the services Viking Direct can offer its customers and includes thelatest technologies for on-demand services provided by Nasstar. We are veryimpressed by the Nasstar vision of on-demand services enabling users to accesstheir email and desktop from anywhere and to access their email on mobiles andBlackBerry. We believe our customers will benefit greatly from subscribing toNasstar's services." Charles Black, Nasstar plc Chief Executive said:"We are pleased to be one of the original partners in The Business. VikingDirect have well over half a million customers so this partnership provides agreat opportunity for Nasstar to generate sales by offering them our on-demandservices and to further enhance Nasstar's brand as a market leader in the newworld of on-demand software services." ENDS Contact information Nasstar plcCharles Black, Chief Executive0870 240 1634 - Telephone W.H. Ireland Limited, Nominated Adviser to Nasstar plcNicola Rayner0121 616 2101 - Telephone Viking Direct The Business Su Roberts, Marketing Manager - Brand & Communication for Viking DirectSu.Roberts@Officedepot.com0116 234 4187 - Telephone About Nasstar plcNasstar was founded in 1998 by Charles Black with the vision of providing ondemand software as an alternative to traditional on-premise software. Nasstar'ssoftware broadcasting service distributes business software from a centralsource to end users so that businesses can access their software on asubscription basis in the same way they subscribe for cable and satellitetelevision services or mobile phone services. Software broadcasting provides aninnovative alternative to the traditional on-site local PC and perpetual licensemodel of software delivery. Hosted Desktop is Nasstar's core subscription package enabling subscribers toaccess their 'My Documents', company data and software applications includingMicrosoft Office, accounts software, other applications from anywhere, providinga subscription based 'pay monthly' service. Hosted Exchange is Nasstar's hosted email service which enables subscribers toaccess their email, calendar and contacts from anywhere including using Windowsmobile phones or BlackBerry. Nasstar is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a BlackBerry Alliance Member andCisco Partner. Nasstar plc was admitted to trading on the London Stock ExchangeAlternative Investment Market in December 2005, (AIM:NASA). About Viking DirectViking Direct is the UK's leading office supplier and is part of the OfficeDepot group of companies. Office Depot provides more office products and services to more customers inmore countries than any other company. Incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., Office Depot hasannual sales of over $15.4 billion, and employs approximately 52,000 associatesaround the world. Currently, the Company sells to customers directly or throughaffiliates in 43 countries. Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel -- from retail stores andcontract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. As of June 30, 2007, Office Depothad 1,186 retail stores in North America and another 369 stores, eithercompany-owned, licensed or franchised, in other parts of the world. OfficeDepot serves a wide range of customers through a dedicated sales force,telephone account managers, direct mail offerings, and multiple web sites. With$4.7 billion in online sales during the last twelve months, the Company is alsoone of the world's largest e-commerce retailers. Office Depot's common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under thesymbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press informationcan be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange