VSNT Versant Corp. (MM)

Versant's Robert Greene Maps Industry Convergence in JavaPro Cover Story Greene, New VP of Product Strategy, Leads Push Into Broader Object/Relational Mapping Markets FREMONT, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT), an industry leader in specialized data management and data persistence software, today announced that the article "Leverage Today's JDO for Tomorrow's EJB", written by Robert Greene, Versant's new vice president of product strategy, is featured on the cover of the March/April 2005 issue of JavaPro magazine. JavaPro magazine is a leading resource for programmers seeking information on programming and application architecture in the Java language. JavaPro's choice to feature the article demonstrates Versant's leadership in this area. Greene's article reinforces Versant's program of products intended to expand its market position from an established object database business into a leading vendor in the rapidly growing markets for object persistence and object-relational mapping. This growth is visible within the Java market as the convergence of Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) and Java Data Objects (JDO) standards begun by the EJB 3.0 specification, where Versant is a member of the expert group drafting the specification. In the Microsoft .NET market, this growth is visible in Microsoft's recent architectural guidance and supported by Versant's announcement of Versant Open Access .NET in the Microsoft booth at the recent CeBIT show. "Robert is uniquely suited to lead Versant to broader markets in his new position of vice president of product strategy," said Nick Ordon, president and chief executive officer at Versant. "He brings his knowledge of Versant's object database technology, applications and customer base, and is uniquely familiar with object-relational mapping technology, which is gaining broad acceptance in the Java and .NET programmer communities. Robert offers the significant advantage of strategic vision coupled with a depth of technical expertise, and equally significant, experience with customers building applications." "I am excited about the relevance of Versant's technology in these changing times," said Greene. "The software development industry is on the verge of a technology shift at the application data storage and retrieval layer that mirrors the changes of the mid nineties when developers moved from procedural to object oriented program design. Versant is at the cutting edge of that movement, and new product initiatives in the works at Versant will take advantage of this shift, positioning the company and its products in the mainstream application development lifecycle." The March/April 2005 issue of JavaPro magazine is available for viewing at http://javapro.texterity.com/javapro/200503/ About Versant Corporation Versant Corporation is an industry leader in specialized data management and open data access software. Using Versant's solutions, customers cut hardware costs, speed and simplify development, significantly reduce administration costs, and deliver products with a strong competitive edge. Versant's solutions are deployed in a wide array of industries including telecommunications, financial services, transportation, manufacturing, and defense. With over 50,000 installations, Versant has been a highly reliable partner for over 15 years for Global 2000 companies such as British Airways, US Government, Financial Times, IBM, and MCI. For more information, call 510-789-1500 or visit http://www.versant.com/. Forward Looking Statements Involve Risks and Uncertainties This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding Versant's participation in object persistence and object-relational mapping markets, and the relevance of Versant's products in these markets. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility that Versant's products may not succeed in these markets, the possibility that Versant's technology my not be relevant as technology shifts and changes in Versant's product focus. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause results to differ can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recent Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NOTE: Versant is either a registered trademark or trademark of Versant Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other products are a registered trademark or trademark of their respective company in the United States and/or other countries. DATASOURCE: Versant Corporation CONTACT: press, Susan Payne of O'Grady Communications, LLC, +1-919-929-5992, or ; or investors, Scott Liolios of Liolios Group, Inc., +1-949-574-3860, or , both for Versant Corporation Web site: http://www.versant.com/

Copyright