VSNT Versant Corp. (MM)

French e-Government Application Deploys Versant Open Access JDO Global Acceptance Expands for Versant JDO, Eclipse JSR220-ORM Project FREMONT, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Versant Corporation (NASDAQ:VSNT), an industry leader in specialized data management and data persistence software, today announced that Genigraph NSK, a software systems integrator in Paris, France, has chosen Versant Open Access Java Data Objects (JDO) as a key component of e-Citiz, a software platform for e-Government. Versant Open Access JDO was chosen for object-relational mapping because it offered advanced technical features like attach/detach capability, and projections and aggregates in queries. Going forward, Versant's strategy is to evolve this technology as part of the Eclipse open source community. Parts of the e-Citiz platform are already based on Eclipse, and Genigraph endorses Versant's move to Eclipse. e-Citiz (e-Citizen) is a platform for internet-based, self-serve interaction with government for procedures such as passport renewal, identification card application and renewal, school registration, and many other routine interactions with government agencies. These remote procedures are explicitly authorized by French law and have stringent security, process, and usability requirements. Because of the very high rate of change in these processes, e-Citiz is built using software components and rules that are re-configured by analysts to accommodate change, not re-programmed by programmers. The configuration-time portion of e-Citiz is built on the Eclipse development framework. In the initial development, programmers used the Java language, but most changes to the processes are accommodated without additional programming. "Versant Open Access JDO gives us the ability to handle the complexity of any procedure and lets us scale to high peak traffic levels, as required by e-Government applications," explained Olivier Nicolas, director for the e- Citiz application. "After a battery of tests, we chose Versant Open Access JDO. The performance allows us to respond to our customers' expected traffic levels with highly responsive applications. The use of the Eclipse development framework in e-Citiz makes the Eclipse JSR220-ORM project a welcome development." Versant Open Access JDO forms the initial code base of the Versant-proposed Eclipse JSR220-ORM project, producing a standards-based, open-source, object-relational mapping (ORM) technology. Versant contributes mapping tools and runtimes for Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) 3.0 persistence and JDO 2.0 standards for object-relational mapping. "e-Citiz is an important application of Versant Open Access JDO," said Nick Ordon, president and chief executive officer of Versant. "I'm pleased that we will be able to expand the benefits of this technology to broader numbers of programmers and projects as the Eclipse JSR220-ORM project. The applications and programmers using Eclipse JSR220-ORM are important because going forward we are providing services and support to improve their effectiveness in the use of Eclipse JSR220-ORM." About Genigraph NSK Genigraph is a French software systems integrator specializing in object technology. Genigraph is expert in object-oriented programming skills throughout the entire life cycle of software development: architecture (J2EE, .Net), design (UML), development (Java, C++, C#, JDO), and maintenance (out sourcing, third party maintenance). With the acquisition of NSK Technologies in February 2004, Genigraph became the leader in object-oriented technology in France with more than 130 engineers and revenue in 2004 of 12 million Euros. For more information, call +33-1-45-33-64-63 or visit http://www.genigraph.fr/. 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, but are not limited to, statements about the use of Versant's technology by Genigraph, Versant's relationship with Eclipse, and Versant's future strategy with regards to its' technology in the Eclipse open source community. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve 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 factors include, without limitation, possible changes in the direction and emphasis within the Eclipse open source community, the possibility of other companies entering into this market segment, that this technology may not be expanded to a broader number of developers, and the possibility that Genigraph may discontinue the use of Versant's technology. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release; 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 Form 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: PR, Susan Payne of O'Grady Communications, LLC, +1-919-929-5992, or ; or IR, Scott Liolios of Liolios Group, Inc., +1-949-574-3860, or , both for Versant Web site: http://www.versant.com/ Web site: http://www.genigraph.fr/

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