PROVO, Utah -- January 29, 2004 -- One year after relaunching its corporate identity, Dynix, the world's leading provider of automation technologies, solutions, and services for libraries, reports on the numerous successes of 2003. In January 2003, the company returned to its original name in recognition of its long-standing history as a pioneer in the library industry. In 2003, the company consistently demonstrated its unique ability to combine progressive technologies with library expertise through a number of key achievements.
"Over the past year, Dynix has focused specifically on returning to the principles on which it was founded: technology leadership and dedication to its customers, a fact that's reflected in the number of new products that have been brought to market and the growing momentum we've achieved in both existing and new customer sales," said Dynix President and CEO Jack Blount. "Dynix, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year, has an extremely successful history and a truly bright future, thanks to the hard work of its employees and the loyalty of its customers."
Sales Highlights
In the United States, new customer sales increased by more than 250 percent over 2002. Abroad, international new sales increased by 50 percent, while customer sales increased by 33 percent. As a result of tremendous company-wide sales in 2003, Dynix now serves more that 11,000 library sites around the world.
Dynix continued to strengthen its presence in the academic and consortia markets, both at home and abroad, with key customer wins such as Maricopa Community Colleges (Tempe, AZ), the Glasgow Colleges Group (Scotland), University of Nantes (France), and Arrowhead Library System (Mt. Iron, MN). Dynix continued to receive support from large public libraries, as well.
"When we decided to implement a new information management system, we went looking for a long-term partner that we felt would continue to lead the industry in years to come," said Bryan Sands, Information Technology Manager for Pasadena and Glendale Public Libraries. "Dynix has had a remarkable year, and we're eager to see what's ahead."
Product Highlights
In 2003, Dynix shipped a total of 14 new products, demonstrating to customers old and new that product leadership is still the hallmark of the company. Horizon 7.3 and Horizon Information Portal 2.1 were two of the biggest new releases for the year, while Horizon Kid's Information Portal, Reciprocal Borrowing 1.0, Horizon Authority Loader, and Horizon Debt Collect 2.0 rounded out the most robust suite of library technology currently on the market.
Horizon 7.3, for which Dynix announced full general release in July 2003, added more than 100 new features to the industry-leading information management system. In addition, Horizon 7.3 is fully integrated with Horizon Information Portal 2.1 and Horizon Reciprocal Borrowing 1.0, based around the new NCIP standard.
After seeing Horizon 7.3 at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association in June in Toronto, Canada, Biblio-Tech Review Editor Peter Evans reported, "This is possibly the most important release in the history of Horizon. Dynix has addressed two key issues: the perceived lack of loved Dynix functions in Horizon and the difficulty of migration between the two products."
"Dynix has made outstanding progress over the past year on the product front. At first we were reluctant to migrate from Dynix ILS to Horizon, but Horizon 7.3 really captures the intuitiveness of Dynix ILS with more 21st century features, like the Windows environment and Web-based functionality," said Ruth Ann Copley, Assistant Director of Libraries for the Davidson County Public Library System (Lexington, NC).
Corporate Highlights
In addition to its return to the Dynix name, the release of Horizon 7.3, and a celebration of its twentieth anniversary of service to libraries, Dynix wrapped the year with the Second Annual Customers of Dynix Inc. (CODI) and Horizon Users' Group (HUG) Joint Conference in Salt Lake City. The two groups convened in November to participate in a variety or workshops and programs focused on leveraging the most value from library management technology.
Dynix Institute
Dynix Institute continues to win praise throughout the library industry as a valuable forum for professional development. Nearly 5,000 librarians have participated in the Dynix Institute since it launched in February 2003. To date, the Dynix Institute has sponsored 18 Web seminars, including notable speakers such as ALA President Dr. Carla Hayden and Director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Judith Krug, technology specialists from Microsoft, 3M, SUN and others, as well as several trend-setting librarians.
Dynix Institute Web Seminars, which are offered free of charge to all members of the library community, are archived at www.DynixInstitute.com. The site also includes details for upcoming events, such as Marshall Breeding's February 11 presentation on upcoming trends for 2004. Breeding is a renowned industry consultant, a regular columnist for Computers in Libraries, and a past Dynix Institute presenter.
About Dynix
With more than 20 years of service to the library community, Dynix is the world's pioneer provider of library information management systems. As a committed advocate of the library community, Dynix serves academic, special, school, public, and consortium libraries in over 40 countries. With more than 100 professional librarians on staff and proven experience in software leadership, Dynix is focused on providing customers visionary technology solutions that support the latest industry standards and offer intuitive functionality. For complete corporate information and a guide to Dynix products and services, visit www.dynix.com.
