Active Software and Viquity Partner to Provide Next-Generation Internet Commerce Network Solutions for the High-Tech Manufacturing Industry.

Business Editors

SANTA CLARA & SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2000

Combined Solution Supports

Direct Procurement of Production Materials Over the Internet 

Active Software Inc. (Nasdaq:ASWX), a leading provider of eBusiness infrastructure software products, and Viquity Corp., the emerging leader for outsourced eBusiness infrastructure to automate production procurement, today announced that they have formed a strategic alliance to deliver next-generation Internet commerce network solutions for the high-tech manufacturing industry. The combined solution is expected to enable purchase orders, demand forecasts, invoices and other actionable documents to be exchanged in real-time between business partners over the Internet, providing a seamless flow of information across the entire supply chain.

"Active Software's success stems from its ability to provide the fastest path to end-to-end eBusiness integration for leading enterprise software packages," said Chris M. Grejtak, Viquity chief executive officer. "By working together, we can provide a solution specific to the high-tech manufacturing industry that enables our joint customers to automate direct procurement activities between business partners, improving responsiveness throughout the supply chain."

Within the high-tech manufacturing industry, procurement of production materials is a highly complex activity involving business partners at multiple levels or tiers of the supply chain. Although these business relationships are more collaborative, they are subject to rapid change. Viquity and Active Software have partnered to provide a solution that will enable high-tech manufacturers to respond to change instantaneously. Together, the two companies will enable high-tech manufacturers to automatically and seamlessly integrate product, inventory and customer data between Viquity's Dynamic Commerce Network, enterprise resource planning applications and customer relationship management applications. By accessing data in real-time at any point in the supply chain or procurement cycle, high-tech manufacturers will be able to efficiently manage their procurement activities in order to rapidly meet customer demand.

"In today's fast-paced global economy, companies are looking to rapidly improve supply chain automation to reduce costs and increase productivity," said Chet Kapoor, vice president, business development, Active Software. "The combination of Viquity's Dynamic Commerce Network and Active Software's ActiveWorks Integration System will provide high-tech manufacturing customers with end-to-end integration and transactional integrity within their mission-critical product environments. Our combined solution will enable direct procurement over the Internet, by providing a unified view of information that is always up to date, accurate and accessible across the entire supply chain of partners."

About the Viquity Dynamic Commerce Network

The Viquity Dynamic Commerce Network, which includes an Internet document transport service, Viquity Basis, and an intelligent commerce hub, Viquity Nexus, enables secure, reliable system-to-system exchange of business documents to eliminate the errors and delays associated with manual and point-to-point direct procurement methods.

About the ActiveWorks Integration System

ActiveWorks provides a fast path to eBusiness integration inside the enterprise. ActiveWorks allows business processes to drive eBusiness integration and enables scalable implementation, from small pilot programs to geographically dispersed solutions. ActiveWorks supports the major application, platform and networking standards required by eBusiness solutions and provides an open platform for partners to build products and solutions that expand a customer's eBusiness capabilities. These technical benefits translate into faster time-to-market, enabling new revenue opportunities for today's major corporations.

About Active Software

Founded in 1995, Active Software is a leading provider of eBusiness infrastructure software products. Active Software's eBusiness platform, the ActiveWorks(TM) Integration System, automates end-to-end business processes within the enterprise. Active Software has approximately 200 customers in industries such as telecommunications, financial services, government, technology, utilities, distribution, manufacturing and transportation. Active Software has headquarters in Santa Clara. For more information, visit the company Web site at www.activesoftware.com.

About Viquity

Viquity is the emerging leader for outsourced eBusiness infrastructure to automate production procurement. The Viquity Dynamic Commerce Network(TM) enables OEMs, contract manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of all sizes to streamline communications with strategic partners and dramatically improve supply chain responsiveness.

Founded in 1998 by recognized innovators in building large-scale, complex distributed systems, Viquity is a privately held, venture-backed company located in Sunnyvale. Viquity can be reached at 408/747-5570, at [e-mail] or www.viquity.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, risks associated with the proposed acquisition of Active Software by webMethods Inc., 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 Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Note to Editors: Viquity and the Viquity Dynamic Commerce Network are trademarks of Viquity Corp. The Active Software logo, Active Software and ActiveWorks, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Active Software Inc. All other product names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.