WEBM Webmediabrands (MM)

DataDirect Technologies, the unparalleled leader in data connectivity and mainframe integration, and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), and webMethods, Inc. (Nasdaq: WEBM), a leading business integration and optimization software company, today highlighted continued momentum for their strategic partnership with joint customer engagements spanning the globe. Based on the strategic partnership and reseller agreement first announced in August 2005, webMethods is offering DataDirect�s Shadow RTE mainframe integration technology as a fully-supported component of its industry-leading product suite for business process integration, webMethods Fabric�. This joint offering works to ensure that mainframe systems and data sources are fully incorporated into the comprehensive service-oriented architecture (SOA) facilitated by webMethods Fabric. As a result, enterprises can more readily manage, monitor and improve critical business processes spanning both mainframe and distributed computing environments. Global customers benefiting from the DataDirect/webMethods partnership include: Winterthur U.S. Holdings, Inc.- a super-regional property and casualty insurance provider operating under the brands General Casualty and Unigard Spoornet � the largest provider of rail freight and rail operator in South Africa New South Wales Police � Australia's oldest and largest police organization �Mainframe applications are key components of many enterprise�s most critical business processes. What DataDirect�s Shadow RTE offers our customers is a more reliable, scalable and secure means for capitalizing on this core functionality within a service-oriented architecture,� said Arnold Huffman, senior vice president for Business Development and Industry Solutions, webMethods, Inc. �By employing this technology as a component of our webMethods Fabric product suite, enterprises can embrace a �leave and layer� strategy to control legacy investments while improving the agility and responsiveness of IT systems. This should be welcome news for CIOs confronted with the continuing need to do more with less.� �The growing adoption of service-oriented architecture is extending the viability of the mainframe,� said John Goodson, DataDirect�s vice president of Product Operations and Marketing. �With our partnership, enterprises can implement our industry-leading technology as an on-ramp to the webMethods� platform for their mainframe systems. By doing so, they�re able to take advantage of the unprecedented visibility and control offered by webMethods Fabric so that they can leverage these assets in a variety of new and value-added ways.� As the only mainframe integration technology currently offered by webMethods, DataDirect�s Shadow RTE is being supported as an upgrade for current users of the webMethods Mainframe Integration Server (MIS) that need to employ a common runtime instance. Alternatively, webMethods is offering current MIS users seeking to maintain their distributed environment the opportunity to extend current support beyond March 31, 2007. About webMethods, Inc. webMethods (Nasdaq: WEBM) provides business integration software to integrate, assemble and optimize available IT assets to drive business process productivity. webMethods delivers an innovative, enterprise-class business integration platform that incorporates proven integration technology with next generation capabilities into one interoperable set of tools that delivers a unique combination of efficiency, agility and control. webMethods combines industry leadership with a zealous commitment to customers to deliver tangible business value to more than 1,400 global customers. webMethods is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan. More information about the company can be found at www.webMethods.com. About DataDirect Technologies DataDirect Technologies is the software industry�s only comprehensive provider of software for connecting the world�s most critical business applications to data and services, running on any platform, using proven and emerging standards. Developers worldwide depend on DataDirect� products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBCTM and ADO.NET, XQuery and SOAP. More than 300 leading independent software vendors and thousands of enterprises rely on DataDirect Technologies to simplify and streamline data connectivity for distributed systems and to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS). For more information, visit www.datadirect.com. The webMethods name and logo are registered trademarks of, and webMethods Fabric is a trademark of, webMethods, Inc. All other marks mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.