Akonix Extends IM Management Market Leadership With Record Revenues and New Customers.

SAN DIEGO -- Mainstream Business Need for IM Security and Control Drives Demand For Akonix's Award-Winning Solutions

Akonix Systems, Inc., the premier provider of business solutions for secure, managed and integrated multi-network enterprise instant messaging (IM), announces record revenues in Q3 2004 and a doubling of both revenues and new customers from the previous quarter. Akonix added 190,000 new seat licenses, making significant inroads in the US, Europe and Latin America. Akonix ended the third quarter with over 400 customers and more than 500,000 seats deployed.

The company's success has been driven by enterprise-wide deployments of Akonix L7 Enterprise and Enforcer within a wide range of industries including Energy, Technology and Financial Services. Akonix customers are securing and managing public and enterprise IM within their networks, protecting against IM security threats such as viruses and malware, meeting regulatory requirements and monitoring internal controls - while giving their employees access to the benefits of instant communications with customers, suppliers, partners and co-workers.

In addition to deploying a record number of new customers in the quarter, Akonix also saw a significant increase in demand from existing customers as they expanded their use of IM. Established Akonix customers extended IM access to more users, comfortable that IM use is secure, compliant and subject to active enforcement of corporate policies with Akonix's solution.

"Companies are getting the message that when IM is secure and managed, it is a productive and beneficial business tool used to communicate in real-time with partners, customers and co-workers," said Michael Osterman, analyst at Osterman Research. "We anticipate this industry will continue to grow rapidly as innovative companies like Akonix help organizations secure their use of IM, and meet stringent compliance, security and policy demands."

Customers in a wide-range of industries and markets chose Akonix solutions over competing products for IM management. Akonix was overwhelmingly selected for its sophisticated capabilities and security foundation, displacing competitive solutions and end-of-life offerings from IM networks. Highlights included:

--Three leading energy trading and distribution firms

--One of the world's largest IT consulting and outsourcing firms

--Four publicly traded, established technology firms

--Two large government agencies

In addition to customer wins, record revenues and accelerating growth, some other key company achievements over the past quarter include:

--Established European headquarters in the UK, following the overwhelming success of its European market channel sales program.

--Expanded critical industry partnerships, receiving certification from AOL for BOTs and IM applications and announcing support for Microsoft's upcoming Live Communication Server 2005

--Selected by Network World as the Clear Choice for IM management in a head to head review against all competitors, recognizing Akonix L7 Enterprise's technology superiority and unmatched feature set

--Launched Enforcer 3.1, adding new capabilities to the first perimeter security solution specifically designed for stopping unauthorized IM and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing. Version 3.1 added detection and blocking for the BitTorrent P2P network, a new file sharing system rapidly gaining in popularity for access to copyrighted video and movie content

--Provided automatic protection for customers from IM viruses, malware and adware being spread over public networks with the industry's only dynamically updated Spim and Malware Filter

--Attracted industry leaders to its executive team, appointing Kip Quackenbush as VP of Worldwide Sales and Timothy Breidigan as VP of Business Development

"Akonix's record quarter and the momentum we have generated is evidence that leading global enterprises look to Akonix for proven, innovative, market-leading solutions for IM management, security and compliance," said Peter Shaw, CEO of Akonix. "I am excited by the market adoption of our solutions because it reflects our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

"Customers are choosing Akonix L7 Enterprise and Enforcer over competing solutions for their unparalleled track record of offering the most complete real-time management and security capabilities for IM. This award-winning functionality meets the immediate needs of global corporations while providing the flexibility and scalability to respond to future requirements as IM becomes critical to daily operations," added Shaw.

For further information on the company and its IM management and security solutions, please visit www.akonix.com.

About Akonix

Akonix is the leading provider of enterprise-class business solutions for leveraging the power of multi-network enterprise instant messaging. Akonix's award-winning products leverage patent-pending core technology, an advanced IM application development platform, and certified strategic partnerships to deliver multi-network management, security, integration and compliance capabilities across all major IM systems, including America Online(R) AIM and ICQ, Microsoft MSN, Yahoo!(R) Messenger, Microsoft(R) Live Communications Server, Reuters Messaging, IBM/Lotus SameTime and Jabber.

More than 400 customers in Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment depend on Akonix to manage, secure and enable IM for over 500,000 enterprise users. Akonix is the preferred IM management solution of some of the world's largest companies, including Cingular Wireless, Qualcomm, EMC and ING.

Akonix is widely recognized as the technology and market innovator with awards for its L7 Enterprise IM gateway from Windows & .NET Magazine, Network World, eWeek, SC Magazine, PC Magazine and UCSD Connect. Akonix is backed by leading venture capital firms Menlo Ventures, Mission Ventures, Palomar Ventures and Windward Ventures, who collectively manage over $3.5 billion in capital.

To enable secure and productive use of multi-network instant messaging in your organization, visit www.akonix.com for a free trial or to request more information.