WAIS is a networked information retrieval system.
Client applications are able to retrieve text or multimedia documents stored on servers.
WAIS was developed as a project of Thinking Machines, Apple Computer, and Dow Jones. WAIS uses an early version of the Z39.50 protocol to communicate between clients and servers. WAIS stands for Wide Area Information Server. Z39.50 is approximately the 50th protocol developed by the NISO committee on computer to computer communication called Z39, hence the name Z39.50.