Cleveland, Oct. 7, 2004 -- Government agencies have a new solution for searching their archives and internal networks. The Thunderstone Search Appliance, a cost-effective, turn-key system, is now available through the Federal Supply Service of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

The Thunderstone Search Appliance is intended for organizations needing sophisticated and accurate document retrieval while maintaining the simplest possible software administration. The Appliance indexes most document formats including Microsoft Office, other word processor files, PDFs, presentations, and web sites. A business administrator can easily customize the Appliance's operation via web-based menus.

The GSA Federal Supply Service provides government buyers a pre-negotiated "best price." The Thunderstone Search Appliance is listed on the GSA Information Technology Schedule, also known as Schedule 70. Products available through Schedule 70 may be purchased by government customers "off-the-shelf." These transactions satisfy requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act and Federal Acquisition Regulation. Some state and local governments also have arrangements to purchase through GSA Schedule 70.

According to numerous studies, office workers spend large proportions of their time--as much as 30%--trying to locate information. The Thunderstone Search Appliance can dramatically reduce this figure and have a direct positive impact on an organization's ability to accomplish its mission.

The Thunderstone Search Appliance has received high marks from independent reviewers. InfoWorld Magazine's Test Center gave it an "Excellent" rating. EWeek Magazine said its search results were "uniformly excellent." EWeek also noted that the Thunderstone Search Appliance price "works out to less than half the starting price of... rival Google Search Appliance."

Thunderstone's GSA contract number is GS-35F-0914P. GSA pricing for the Search Appliance can be obtained directly from Thunderstone. For more information, call 216-820-2200 or email .

ABOUT THUNDERSTONE SOFTWARE

Thunderstone Software LLC is a pioneer of search engine technology, providing text retrieval products to industry, government, and educational institutions since 1981. Applications of Thunderstone technology include: publishing; catalogs; classified advertising; document management; text mining; categorization; and intelligence. Thunderstone's products are used on major web sites worldwide. Customers include eBay, Corbis, QVC, About.com, and Associated Press. Thunderstone's web site is http://www.thunderstone.com.