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-=> Quoting Bruce Wilson to All <=-
 BW> PC WEEK: Corel, Softbank increase WordPerfect support  
 BW> partnership
 BW> Corel Corp. is expanding its relationship with Softbank  
 BW> Services Group for WordPerfect technical support.
 BW> The two companies entered into a help-desk relationship earlier 
 BW> this month.
 BW> Softbank Services Group is a Softbank Corp. company, as is
 BW> Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., the publisher of PC Week.
Hi Bill:
The following information was published in the Saint John NB paper
The Evening Times Globe on Sept. 19/96.
---- Quote Mode On! ----
Headline: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia in draw for new call centre
HALIFAX - Michael Cowpland, president of Corel Corp., Canada's
largest computer software maker, says he wants to locate his next
customer support call centre in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia.
"We're encouraging our associates at Softband [Services] Ltd. to
locate to the East Coast.  We've definitely recommended it highly to
them and we think they'll do it before long."
Asked if that meant he would recommend moving the entire operation
to the Maritimes, Mr. Cowpland clarified, "What we foresee is an
expansion."
He was not able to give any specific dates or deadlines for a
decision to expand.
Jordan Levy, the president of Softbank Services Group, was
travelling and unavailable for comment.
Softbank Services Group, which currently handles Corel's call-centre
needs from Buffalo, N.Y., is a subsidiary of Softbank International,
a Tokyo-based international computer services company.  Softbank
Services provides sales support to computer hardware and software
companies in the U.S. and Canada.  It has about 1,000 people working
in call centres in several U.S. locations.
The company runs call centres in Monterey, Calif., and Buffalo.  It
is expected to merge the two within four months.
Mr. Cowpland said that roughly 200 Softbank employees are currently
dedicated to providing 1-800 customer service and technical support
for Corel's software products.
Its product lines include such well known brand names as CorelDRAW!,
a graphic design program.  Corel has also purchased WordPerfect, a
word-processing software company based in Orem, Utah.  Corel sells
WordPerfect as part of a suite of software products called
WordPerfect Suite 7, which has such extras as Quattro Pro
Spreadsheet, Sidekick personal organizer, Internet software and
10,000 clip-art images.
Corel currently employs approximately 1,500 people in Canada,
Ireland and Utah and has market capitalization of about $1.2-
billion.
While Mr. Cowpland's message appears positive for New Brunswick, it
is also an indicator that Nova Scotia's competitiveness in call
centres has grown in recent years.
Mr. Cowpland took care to praise the "East Coast" for having
established a positive reputation for call centres, rather than
singling out one province over the other.
Though he noted he has received visits from Premier Frank McKenna
and his call-centre promotion team, Mr. Cowpland added that Nova
Scotian call-centre experts, the president of Maritime Telephone and
Telegraph and Premier John Savage have also met with him in person.
Mr. Savage and Mr. McKenna have both made clear to Mr. Cowpland that
they are avid users of WordPerfect word-processing software.
"There's a little rivalry going between the two.  Either way it's
good for the East Coast," said Mr. Cowpland, smiling.
Nova Scotia had an added chance to pitch Mr. Cowpland during his
trip to Softworld '96, a software dealmaking show being held in
Halifax.  Mr. Cowpland visited the show to speak and later met Colin
Latham, president of Maritime Telephone and Telegraph, to discuss
Nova Scotia's call-centre system.
Up until two years ago, Corel Corp. ran their customer support
centres in Ottawa.
"We made the decision to outsource our call centres.  So we don't
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