Active Software and Asera Partner to Provide Real-Time Business-to-Business eCommerce Solutions; Combined Solution Provides Customers With Rapid Time-to-Market Advantage.

Business/Technology Editors

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2000

Active Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASWX), a leading provider of eBusiness integration software products, today announced a partnership with Asera, Inc., a provider of high value Internet solutions for the business-to-business demand chain. Under terms of the agreement, Asera will integrate Active Software's ActiveWorks(TM) Integration System into the Asera eService(TM). By leveraging Active Software's ActiveWorks Integration System as its integration engine, Asera can activate customer solutions rapidly, providing significant time-to-market advantages.

The Asera eService automates and accelerates the process of marketing, selling, and supporting products through a company's business-to-business distribution channels. Asera will use the ActiveWorks Integration System to seamlessly integrate its customers' enterprise resource planning and legacy systems with Asera's unique Commerce Server. Using ActiveWorks, Asera can quickly support connections with existing systems and activate customer solutions. As a result, customers can improve channel effectiveness, sales volumes, and customer loyalty.

"Selecting Active Software to provide the integration engine for the Asera eService is a critical move for Asera," said Warren Weiss, president and CEO, Asera, Inc. "With ActiveWorks as one of our strategic partners, we can deliver a best-in-class solution that is fully integrated with our customers' back-end systems. We're confident that our mission-critical, integration capability will strongly depend on Active Software's technology. Providing our customers with a tightly integrated, leading edge service is a key value proposition."

"Transforming a business into an eBusiness requires an investment of time and resources that most growing companies can't afford," said Jim Green, chairman and CEO, Active Software. "Through Active Software's partnership with Asera, customers can now enter the eBusiness world as well as shorten time to market for their solution."

The ActiveWorks Integration System

ActiveWorks is the only eBusiness solution of its kind to offer a flexible, scalable and reusable platform that enables customers to quickly become eBusinesses by linking their front-office, back-office, supply chain and eCommerce operations. This 4th generation Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technology offers InterActions, Intelligent Adapters and Visual Design Tools, all of which will help accelerate a company's time to market.

About Asera, Inc.

Asera was founded to provide innovative business-to-business e-commerce solutions that enable companies to improve channel effectiveness, sales volume and customer loyalty. Offered on a pay-for-use basis, Asera's unique solution -- the Asera eService -- is a hosted e-business application that automates and accelerates the process of marketing, selling and supporting products through all types of distribution channels. Based on an open, modular architecture, the Asera eService delivers high-impact functionality on demand and can quickly incorporate best-in-class industry innovations to adapt to business change in Internet time. Whether companies go to market via direct and indirect channels, or are building web-based marketplaces, the Asera eService can be rapidly configured and personalized to support each unique, differentiated channel strategy. With the Asera eService, companies can activate their channels faster, deliver value immediately and adapt their business ahead of the competition. Asera, Inc. can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.asera.com.

About Active Software, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Active Software, Inc, (Nasdaq: ASWX) is a leading provider of eBusiness integration software products that enable the integration of enterprise software applications within and across the extended enterprise. Active Software has more than 150 customers in industries such as telecommunications, financial services, government, technology, utilities, distribution, manufacturing and transportation. Active Software's headquarters are in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, visit the company Web site at www.activesw.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, Active Software's limited operating history, potential fluctuations in operating results, the company's substantial dependence on its ActiveWorks software products, the company's need to expand its sales and distribution channels, and the uncertain market acceptance of eBusiness integration software products. These and other risk factors are described in detail in the Company's prospectus dated August 12, 1999, in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1999, and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Note: The Active Software logo, Active Software and ActiveWorks, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Active Software Inc. Asera, the Asera eService and Asera eAffiliate are trademarks of Asera, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.