Alta Vista Unveils New Business Software

S A N  F R A N C I S C O, June 12 -- A new line of business software introduced today by AltaVista Co. will let workers scour corporate networks, e-mail accounts and personal computers by stitching together valuable — and sometimes embarrassing — information scattered on far-flung office systems.

AltaVista hails the new product as a desirable tool for increasing productivity. A prominent computer privacy expert said it could backfire, hurting employee morale by making it easier to fish out personal e-mails and other sensitive data stored on hard drives. The software also could raise legal issues and create new security headaches.

“This could open a real Pandora’s box,” said Gregg Williams, an attorney who specializes in employment law for Fenwick & West in Palo Alto. “There are some private things on office computers that you really don’t want to know about.”

Palo Alto-based AltaVista says businesses will be able to tailor the software so certain areas of an office’s computing systems remain off-limits. The number of employees able to search the master index also can be restricted. The software will use the same patented technology that has made AltaVista’s Web site one of the world’s most popular online search engines.

The company said the search software received positive feedback in test runs by several companies, including Accenture Ltd., Putnam Investments Inc., Factiva and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Easily Searchable Data

By making it easy to retrieve information from a hodgepodge of computer servers, e-mail accounts and PC hard drives, the search software effectively creates a peer-to-peer network similar to the one popularized by the online music-sharing Web site Napster, which is battling to stay afloat after running afoul of copyright laws.

The AltaVista software is based on the premise that businesses operating in an information-driven era will be better off if more employees can sift through a community storehouse of data gathered from corporate intranets, workers’ e-mail boxes and PC hard drives.