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By Sonya Rabbitte, 22 January 2001 16:35

NEWS In today's On the Spot interview, Brian Anderson, chief marketing officer at HNC, claimed his company's latest offering, Mindwave, will pose tough competition for Autonomy and has the benefits of several patented features not available with Autonomy's product. He said: "I can't speak for every feature that Autonomy claims is a function of its software. We use similar technology, but I'd say there are a number of areas where we differentiate ourselves." However, Simon Fletcher, marketing director at Autonomy, dismissed the claims, saying HNC is still playing catch-up. He said: "Everything they say they do, we are already doing. If we're not doing it then we're not delivering on our promise. On a factual level their argument is fundamentally outdated. We' re faced with a plethora of rivals like this. It's is a sincere form of flattery, but there is an element of attempting to piggyback on our success rather than creating their own." One of the main differences between the two companies is their preferred route to market. According to Fletcher 70 per cent of Autonomy's business is conducted through partnerships. But HNC has said it will market Mindwave under its own brand name. Ian Charlesworth, research analyst with the Butler Group, warned that without the backing of partners HNC will struggle in head to head competition with Autonomy. "Autonomy's partnership with Business objects has implications for the rest of the market. It moves them onto a higher strategic level. HNC will need heavyweight partnerships if they are to compete against Autonomy. But it doesn't actually make much sense to compete head to head. Autonomy has a higher brand value. I think HNC will need to find its own vertical or niche market," he said.