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The truth shall set you free Verity's Topic software is designed to seek and retrieve text stored in computer networks and on the Internet. Founded in 1988, Verity today enlists an army of partners and licensees in the publishing and software industries to implement the company's search technology in their product lines. For Verity, necessity was the mother of high tech invention. When Michael Pliner, who co-founded and headed Sytek, joined Advanced Decision Systems (ADS), he found that the firm was using an archaic text-retrieval program. Pliner suggested rewriting it to accommodate topic-based queries, which would then be routed to a host database. With help from John Lehman, Clifford Reid, and other eager venture capitalists, Pliner launched Verity. Dollar sign dilemma The company's premiere product, Topic, debuted late in 1988, but failed to set the company's finances on fire (it didn't even turn a profit - this at a time when investors expected solid high tech companies to flourish). In a last-ditch attempt to revive the fledgling enterprise, Verity hired Philippe Courtot as CEO. Courtot: the man with a plan Courtot's first move was to slash prices in order to make products accessible to more users. He increased the research and development budget by 30% and started a program to inculcate the company's search engine into a large volume of 3rd-party applications. In 1996, Verity entered into agreements with software producers Informix and Sybase, and later that year sought expansion via the purchase of UK groupware developer InSite Computer Technology. Getting stronger Verity's products are currently used by more than 1000 corporations, government agencies, e-commerce sites, on-line service providers, internet publishers, and software developers worldwide. The company's alliances are becoming increasingly extensive. Verity now has agreements or partnerships with Adobe Systems, AT&T, Broadvision, the Bureau of National Affairs, CNET, Cisco, Compaq, Dow Jones, Easy GmbH, Ernst & Young, Financial Times, IBM, MD Consult, NewsEdge Corporation, Informix, iXL Inc., Lotus, NEC, Netscape Communications, Oracle, Regent Pacific Management, SAP, Siemens Nixdorf, Sybase, Tandem, Time Warter's Pathfinder, WeddingChannel.com, and Yahoo!, among others. In January 1999, the Xerox Corporation adopted Verity's Information Server and Verity Spider. April 1999 marked another partnership, this one between Verity and EarthWeb, a provider of Internet-based online services to the IT industry. EarthWeb will use Verity as the core information retrieval technology for its Web site. The company has also sought to increase its Asia Pacific presence by opening an office in Sydney, Australia. Furthermore, Delphi Consulting presented Verity with a Market Recognition Award based on a survey of 600 corporate users in 1999. That same year, Open Systems Advisors presented the Verity Information Server with the Crossroads 99 A-List Award for Knowledge Management. The Crossroads A-List Awards recognize best-of-the-breed enterprise products based on customer reviews. Recent Verity accolades also have included the Best Core Competency Award from Software Business Magazine, and the "1999 Large Company Turnaround of the Year" award from the Turnaround Managment Association. Trouble looming? A class-action lawsuit filed in January 2000 by Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP charged Verity with withholding pertinent information from sharholders. Verity has denied such allegations of misrepresentation, however. A decision against Verity could overshadow the company's User Conference 2000 that will take place this fall in Orlando, Florida. The conference will exhibit companies that have succeeded by using Verity software.
Verity employs more than 300 people worldwide. Insiders applaud the company's extensive benefits package, which includes thorough health, dental, and vision plans; life and dismemberment insurance; sick leave; short and long term disability; paid jury duty leave; bereavement pay; retirement plan; employee bonus plan; employee stock purchase plan; and stock option plan. Verity seeks applicants who are energetic, motivated, and well informed about the industry. Jobs are listed on the company's home page at www.verity.com. Most employment opportunities fall into the following categories: administration, consulting, documentation, information services, marketing, sales, technical support, research & development, and software quality. U.S. applicants should send or email their resumes to Verity Recruiting; 892 Ross Drive; Sunnyvale, California 94089; Fax: 408 541 1600; resumes@verity.com. Canadian applicants should send or email their resumes to Verity Recruiting; Suite 400; 926 Fifth Avenue SW; Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 0N7; Fax: 403 213 8930; E-mail: resumescan@verity.com. Note that only ASCII text format resumes will be accepted via e-mail. Other hard copy and electronic formats will be accepted by regular mail or courier. Do not call the company; only to-be-interviewed candidates will be contacted.
Money crunches Insiders at Verity find that they are often "lost in a deluge of e-mail, vacations, and out-of-town trips." As one person put it, "It's nice work if you can get it." Verity has an "exciting product line" and our informants are "constantly challenged and project-motivated." Nevertheless, more than one person expresses concern over the company's stability, since the firm is "going through some minor growing pains because of money crunches." Con Corazn The company, "like many Silicon Valley companies," is "peppered with a mix of ethnicities" and is "definitely progressive in terms of promoting women to high profile positions." The pay is competitive, and the company strives to keep its employees happy, with twelve paid holidays, including two "floating holidays." There is a "family-friendly maternity leave plan," as well as a bereavement plan that "pays up to five working days following the death of a loved one." Exclaims one appreciative insider: "Verity is a high-tech company with heart!"
Rena Schaut Human Resources
Search/retrieval software (Topic)
Excalibur Technologies;Infoseek;PC DOCS;Reed Elsevier More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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