U.K. Neighbourhood Statistics to be Disseminated using Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server

The Office for National Statistics in the U.K. joins a growing number of organizations in dynamic dissemination of statistics on the Web.

Ottawa, Canada - February 15, 2002 - Beyond 20/20 announced today that Office for National Statistics (ONS), the leading producer of official statistics in the United Kingdom, has licensed the Beyond 20/20 Toolkit and Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server for their prototype Neighbourhood Statistics Service. As a developer of data dissemination and knowledge discovery software, Beyond 20/20 is pleased to work with the Office for National Statistics.

Within the National Statistics Web site (www.statistics.gov.uk) ONS maintain a database of Neighbourhood Statistics, which is part of a program to deliver information for small areas to support the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. The Neighbourhood Statistics database contains an ever-growing variety of information down to district and ward level on such topics as population and other vital statistics, employment, education, and deprivation indices.

The Neighbourhood Statistics Service is currently available as a prototype service and ONS is developing this further by using the Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server (WDS) to publish and disseminate the data over the Internet. It will offer users the opportunity to generate statistical reports online, with charting and graphical capabilities. Users will be able to select areas of interest using a GIS mapping service, then view and manipulate data for those areas using WDS.

Forvus, Beyond 20/20's valued partner in the United Kingdom, played a vital role in the arrangements of this contract, and continues to provide ONS and all other UK customers with ongoing support. Forvus' sales and marketing manager, Steve Flack said: "We are delighted that ONS have chosen Beyond 20/20's Web Data Server for this particular application, as we know it will give users the opportunity to quickly and easily access precisely the information they require, and have it presented in just the way they want. ONS are to be congratulated on making this valuable source of data freely available to the general public".

"By using Beyond 20/20 on its prototype Neighbourhood Statistics system, ONS joins many others including some of the world's top statistical agencies, who are using our product for Internet data dissemination," says Jean Carr, vice president of Beyond 20/20 Inc. "The direction they have decided to take by using Beyond 20/20 web technology, unmistakably shows their dedication to providing quality data output."

About Office for National Statistics

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the United Kingdom's government department that provides statistical and registration services. ONS is responsible for producing a wide range of key economic and social statistics, which are used by policy makers across government to create evidence-based policies and monitor performance against them. The Office also builds and maintains data sources both for itself and for its business and research customers. It makes statistics available so that everyone can easily assess the state of the nation, the performance of government and their own position. If you would like to learn more about the Office for National Statistics, visit the Web site at www.statistics.gov.uk, or for information about Neighbourhood Statistics, visit www.statistics.gov.uk/neighbourhood.

About Forvus

Forvus, a London-based company, specializes in the management, analysis and dissemination of very large, complex datasets. Producing results to a very high degree of accuracy within challenging timescales, Forvus continues to meet its client's needs. Using a range of advanced software tools to deliver desktop, intranet and Web based information collection and dissemination systems, Forvus' skills have been recognized by many major government departments, local authorities and Blue Chip companies. If you would like to learn more about Forvus, please visit www.forvus.co.uk.

About Beyond 20/20 Inc.

Beyond 20/20 is the market leader in data dissemination and knowledge discovery software. Many of the world's largest statistical agencies, international organizations and corporations use Beyond 20/20 products to process massive amounts of data quickly and cost effectively. Beyond 20/20's customers include the OECD, US Census Bureau, STAT-USA, Statistics Canada, CIBC Insurance, Moody's Investors and many others. Beyond 20/20's extensive family of desktop and Internet-based software products empowers end-users to process and analyze statistical data. Users can create customized views and generate reports in a fraction of the time required by other software programs. Going beyond static formats such as PDF, XLS and HTML, Beyond 20/20 provides dynamic access to complex data through tabular presentations, charts and maps. Founded in 1987, Beyond 20/20 is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with an additional office in Washington, D.C.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Beyond 20/20, Beyond 20/20 Web Data Server and Beyond 20/20 Professional Browser are registered trademarks of Beyond 20/20 Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Editors, for more information please contact:
Lisabeth Laprairie
Beyond 20/20 Inc.
(613) 563-3993 ext. 305
lisabeth@beyond2020.com