$10 Million, 3-Year Contract to Lyrix, Inc. From Ernst & Young LLP for Enhanced Messaging Services.

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2000

-- Worldwide voice mail network provides messaging for 8 to 10

million calls monthly, supporting 50,000 employees

-- Reduces costs for international calls more than 50% over

traditional calling card

-- Enhanced CT features simplify communications - Platform offers

follow-me call forwarding, "hot-desking" and enterprise voice portal 

Ernst & Young LLP, one of the world's leading accounting, tax and consulting firms, has selected Lyrix, Inc., a computer telephony (CT) company providing enhanced CT solutions to Fortune 1000 companies, to provide a global, industry-standard messaging platform and enhanced computer telephony services for its offices worldwide.

The Lyrix platform is now fully deployed in more than 100 locations of Ernst & Young LLP in the United States and in worldwide locations of Ernst & Young International. The platform hosts several CT applications concurrently, including voice-mail, centralized list management and "hot-desking." Other Lyrix services provided to E&Y offices include speech-recognition auto-attendants, follow-me capabilities and an enterprise voice portal that enables E&Y to place voice traffic over its virtual private network. All of these services work together, making it easy for clients to reach E&Y's staff and for employees to conveniently access their messages.

"It's gratifying to develop a CT platform that will serve Ernst & Young's needs well into the next millennium. We responded to E&Y's requests for enhanced applications with a unique solution that gives E&Y the assurance that its increasingly mobile workforce will be able to stay connected and responsive to client needs, from any point on the globe," said Jeff Graham, President and CEO, Lyrix, Inc.

"Our vision at Ernst & Young was for a global networked platform hosting enhanced CT solutions to better support our clients in 2000 and beyond. Lyrix offered the customization and flexibility of software solutions, along with a menu of services, required to meet our dynamic requirements," said John T. McCreadie, CIO, Ernst & Young LLP. Colleen Lettieri, E&Y project manager, added, "Lyrix took the time to understand our business and has joined forces with us to build a global solution that is cost effective and flexible. It will reduce our operating expense for voice messaging by about 25 percent."

Under the service agreement, Lyrix handles all user administration and training, network and system monitoring and help-desk support. Lyrix and E&Y implemented the following services:

--  A global voice-mail network. The system currently provides
    seamless, worldwide messaging for 8 to 10 million calls per month,
    and presently supports approximately 50,000 users.

--  Management of more than 9,000 corporate and directory lists,
    ensuring that all personnel records are up to date and linked with
    E&Y's PeopleSoft(TM) and Lotus Notes(TM) databases.

--  A customized enterprise voice portal designed to provide E&Y
    employees with cost-effective global access to voice mail and
    calling services through a consistent user interface while
    offering E&Y carrier independence, thereby reducing costs.

--  Features such as speech-recognition, follow-me and hot-desking
    capabilities - all of which enable callers to reach E&Y employees
    on the first call attempt.

E&Y is testing several new features on the Lyrix platform, including unified messaging, wireless phone integration and expanded speech-recognition capabilities. "Once the CT platform is in place, it's easy to add new applications, from interactive voice response to informal call centers, without having to invest in expensive, standalone solutions," noted Jeff Gardella, vice president, Product Development, Lyrix, Inc.

About Ernst & Young LLP

Ernst & Young (www.ey.com) is one of the world's leading providers of dot-company services in assurance, consulting, corporate finance and tax. More than 85,000 people around the world act as creative catalysts, joining forces with clients to do all it takes--FROM THOUGHT TO FINISH(TM)--to achieve positive, significant change. E&Y pioneered the development of advanced solutions that connect clients, partners and employees with E&Y resources and knowledge to help them rapidly reach their goals. Ernst & Young refers to the U.S. firm of Ernst & Young LLP and other members of the global Ernst & Young organization.

About Lyrix, Inc.

Lyrix, Inc., with headquarters outside Boston, is an employee-owned computer telephony company providing enhanced CT solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Lyrix takes a consultative approach to cost-effectively address even the most complex set of business problems. Customers include Ernst & Young LLP, Telcordia Technologies, GTE and NEC Technologies. Since its establishment in August 1995, Lyrix has enjoyed 100 percent revenue growth year over year. For more information about Lyrix services, visit the company on the World Wide Web at www.lyrix.com.