Actuate Corporation Named Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2002

Actuate Corporation (Nasdaq:ACTU), the Information Delivery market leader, today announced that Actuate has joined the elite ranks as a designated Gold Certified Partner of Microsoft(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:MSFT). Microsoft's Gold Partner designation recognizes companies that have proven the highest commitment and expertise in building and delivering IT solutions based on Microsoft technologies, with a specific focus on large enterprise customer markets. The Program distinguishes companies that have passed a series of stringent requirements by Microsoft and will provide Actuate with the resources it needs to continue to develop innovative solutions built on the Microsoft platform.

Becoming a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner is yet another milestone illustrating that Actuate delivers the most interoperable Information Delivery platform for global companies who need to meet the demands of Information Consumers throughout the enterprise and beyond. Actuate has reached the status of Gold Certified Partner by demonstrating superior levels of developer certification, deep real-world experience, and by providing solutions that have been independently verified by Microsoft.

Approximately one month ago, Actuate announced that its Information Delivery platform, Actuate 6, met the strict enterprise-level reliability and high availability specifications necessary to earn the Microsoft Certified for Windows 2000 Advanced Server designation. Actuate also has announced early intentions to register for Windows .NET Server certification for Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter Editions.

"In order for companies to respond more quickly to customers and understand new market opportunities, they depend on an agile technology environment to empower their company's key decision makers," said Allison Watson, vice president of Partner Programs at Microsoft. "Microsoft recognizes that companies need a high-caliber technology partner who speaks the language of both business and IT and can develop the most meaningful solutions through technology. Today, Microsoft recognizes Actuate for demonstrated customer satisfaction with previous business intelligence deployments. This distinction brings value to the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Program and makes it clear that Actuate has the skills and experience to provide high-quality solutions utilizing Microsoft technology."

The Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Program provides a way for customers to identify vendors that have proven their expertise and commitment to Microsoft technologies in delivering their software products to market. This year Microsoft will continue to invest in certification programs, enhanced resources, and marketing support for Microsoft Gold Certified Partners as part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to provide customers with choice and best-of-breed product solutions via Microsoft Gold Certified Partner companies such as Actuate.

"Our strong relationship with Microsoft has been important to the success of Actuate 6," said Nobby Akiha, vice president of worldwide marketing at Actuate. "Being an Enterprise-class reporting solution opens an enormous number of opportunities to continue to work with Microsoft to deliver Business Intelligence to the masses."

Actuate 6 is an Information Delivery platform that enables organizations to provide all their constituents with the enterprise information they need in the form in which they need it, in a secure, timely and cost-effective manner. It provides the foundation for applications such as client reporting, financial reporting, executive dashboards, business analytics, and e-billing. Actuate 6 delivers hard dollar business benefits by providing the lowest total cost of ownership with proven scalability to both address the demands of internal staff as well as service external audiences. Superior performance, manageability, and straightforward integration with existing technology investments all contribute to minimizing the customer's total cost of ownership.

About Actuate Corporation

Actuate Corporation is the leading provider of Information Delivery solutions for Global 2000 companies and packaged application software vendors. Actuate provides the most effective platform for retrieving business information from corporate databases and delivering interactive Web pages and Excel spreadsheets to customers, prospects, partners and employees. Its infrastructure software is the foundation for applications such as client reporting, key performance indicators, CRM and e-Procurement delivered to communities of information consumers ranging from tens to millions. Actuate content is seamlessly integrated into corporate Web sites and packaged applications and can be printed and used to exchange data with other applications. By instantly delivering personalized content over the Web to all enterprise constituencies - without downloads - companies using Actuate can increase revenue, reduce costs and improve customer service. Actuate has over 1,900 direct customers and over 250 OEM partners.

Founded in 1993, Actuate has headquarters in South San Francisco, Calif., and has offices worldwide. For more information on Actuate, visit the company's Web site at www.actuate.com.

Actuate is a registered trademark of Actuate Corporation. Other company names and trademarks are trademarks of their respective companies.(c)2002, Actuate Corporation