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Dialog Implements Pricing Initiatives Announced in June
Connect-Time Offers New Way to Measure Usage; DialUnits Now More Consistent

CARY, N.C., USA (October 22, 2001) - Dialog, a Thomson business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services, today announced the launch of two major initiatives stemming from the recent launch of its pricing strategy, announced in June of this year.

Today's announcements — detailing the roll-out of Dialog's connect-time option and the completion of a series of technical projects designed to make its DialUnits pricing option more consistent across the different Dialog® platforms— further the company's goal to better meet the needs of its customers.

"We have committed ourselves to listening to our customers and then to using that feedback to make changes in the way we do business," said Roy M. Martin, Jr., Dialog president and CEO.

"The dual foundations of our pricing philosophies are trust and value. The announcements today build solidly on that foundation. At the center of our value proposition to customers are the methods for measuring usage and determining price on our online systems, and providing choices that suit the unique needs of different customers.

"We promised we would take the steps necessary to allow our customers to choose options based on what works best for their unique, individual searching patterns, as well as for the budgeting and billing processes of their companies," he continued. "The implementation of these two initiatives are the latest results in this ongoing process."

Connect-Time available January 1, 2002

The launch and commercial availability of connect-time beginning January 1, 2002, will add a second option for Dialog customers to measure their usage of Dialog branded systems, in combination with the existing DialUnit option. Customers will be able to easily toggle back and forth between the two options by setting the preference in their user profiles.

The commercial launch of the option, initially scheduled for October 2001, was delayed by the company in order to educate customers on the impact of the choices on their billing, and to provide them with a preview period. During the next two months, Dialog account executives will introduce customers to the new option via preview demonstrations, giving them the opportunity to absorb the relative advantages. Also during this period, Dialog will collect customer feedback, make any necessary adjustments to interfaces, and incorporate further final changes from information providers. Feedback received in this period will be integrated into the connect-time offering and rate table, which will be available for commercial customer use January 1, 2002.

After November 1, 2001, a list of proposed connect-time charges will be available at http://support.dialog.com/pricing/. Final pricing will be determined by mid-December.

DialUnits made more consistent

Dialog also announced today the completion of technical enhancements to its systems to make its DialUnit option consistent among different Dialog-branded products. Now, the same search in Dialog Classic, DialogWeb, or DialogClassic Web will generate comparable DialUnit calculations. Additionally, other system improvements, implemented at the same time, have resulted in the generation of faster search results.

Martin emphasized that the changes to DialUnits are revenue neutral for the company, although the specific impact of the changes on individual customers may vary somewhat depending on the product being used.

"We made DialUnits more consistent across different platforms not because of any financial reason, but because our customers asked for consistency and greater simplicity in how DialUnits are calculated," Martin explained. "Because ensuring consistency of DialUnits across different Dialog platforms involved modifying a host of different internal systems that generate DialUnit calculations, different users of the various Dialog-branded products may see either increases or decreases — depending on the specific platforms — to their actual usage charges. However, these should be relatively minor, except in the case of DialogClassic Web, as the biggest component of a DialUnit charge remains the price of the content itself. All DialogClassic Web users should enjoy a significant price decrease."

DialUnits, first introduced in 1998, are an activity-based approach to measuring online system usage, with more intensive use of Dialog functions or research using higher priced content resulting in higher DialUnit calculations. DialUnits are determined by the amount of system resources required to execute search and other system commands and the nature of the content being searched. Each command that is executed (except administrative commands, such as HELP) generates some portion of a DialUnit.

Choosing Connect-Time or DialUnits based on individual behaviour

By providing dual options, customers can maximize the value they derive from Dialog systems based on their own unique situation, usage patterns or expertise in a given area. The January 1 introduction of connect-time will allow users to choose between the "clock time" of connect-time, which tracks usage by the minute, and the "work time" of DialUnits, which tracks usage by commands performed and the complexity of the searches conducted. The option an individual user selects is best determined by that individual's searching and document retrieval behavior.

When using connect-time, customers measure their time on the system based on when they log on and log off of the system, with rates varying by the length of the session and the nature of the content that is being searched. Customers who may find the connect-time alternative more appealing would include those searching for a specific document with a known citation, title or author, or those with significant system expertise.

In contrast, the DialUnits option does not measure "think time," but instead measures usage based on when system resources are actually used. Therefore, there are no DialUnits calculated for frequently used functions such as consulting help screens and Bluesheets, browsing or reviewing previously displayed title lists and search output, configuring Alerts, and establishing delivery options and user preferences. The DialUnits option might be favored by customers who prefer to browse search results online or for infrequent and new users, as well as those researching an unfamiliar subject.

"Now that the basic elements of measuring customer usage are in place," Martin commented, "we will focus on the various existing fee structures that are part of the Dialog pricing model, as well as the development of new pricing programs and structures for all Dialog product-line platforms. Our pricing transformation will continue, with ongoing progress being made in a structured and disciplined fashion."

The company said that today's announcement is the latest initiative in its ongoing review of its pricing strategy. Additional pricing initiatives are expected to be announced in the first quarter of 2002.

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About Dialog
Dialog is the worldwide leader in providing online-based information services to organizations seeking competitive advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law. Its products and services, such as Dialog®, Profound® and DataStar™, offer organizations the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 800 million unique records, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise Intranets. For almost three decades, Dialog's brands have been known for their breadth and depth of content, precision searching and speed. The Winter Corporation recently recognized Dialog for its breadth and depth of content when they named the company the Grand Prize-winner in the Database Scalability Program 2000.

Headquartered in Cary, N.C., USA, with direct operations in 30 countries, Dialog products are used by more than 20,000 corporate customers in over 100 countries. Dialog is a subsidiary of The Thomson Corporation, a leading global e-information and solutions company in the business and professional marketplace with 2000 revenues of approximately $6 billion. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the Toronto (TSE:TOC) and London stock exchanges.

For more information about Dialog, call 1-800-3-DIALOG or visit www.dialog.com. For more information about Thomson, visit www.thomson.com.

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All designated trademarks used herein are the property of The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries. Registered marks are registered by The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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