Akonix Launches Transition Program for AOL AIM Enterprise Gateway and Yahoo! Business Messenger Customers.

SAN DIEGO -- Offers Users Seamless Move to Industry's Foremost, Award-Winning IM Management Solution

Akonix Systems, Inc., the premier provider of business solutions for secure, managed and integrated multi-network enterprise instant messaging (IM), today announced the Akonix Enterprise Transition program for customers of the recently discontinued America Online AIM Enterprise Gateway (AIMEG) and Yahoo! Business Messenger (YBM) services.

AOL last week announced the end-of-life for its AIMEG software products, leaving existing customers to choose from AIM Certified Application Partners to provide critical security, logging, compliance and policy software. Akonix L7 Enterprise is an AIM Certified application that provides a seamless transition for AIMEG users, providing the enterprise-class security, user management and real-time policy enforcement they require to continue using AIM for business.

Yahoo! recently confirmed the discontinuation of its YBM service as a separate enterprise offering. Going forward, Yahoo! offers enterprise customers local control, security and compliance through its partnership with Akonix, the only Yahoo! Authorized vendor of IM management software for the millions of business users of its Yahoo! Messenger service.

The Akonix Enterprise Transition program is immediately available and is designed to help AIMEG and YBM customers cut through the confusion created by these announcements. After consulting with many affected customers, Akonix has put together this program specifically to meet their concerns, including the following key elements:

--Immediate, supported free transition license to the award-winning Akonix L7 Enterprise IM management gateway

--Immediate, supported free transition license to Akonix Enforcer, a critical security component that blocks all unmanaged IM use, ensuring that company policies are enforced for all IM users

--Transition services from the Akonix field engineering team to plan and implement a new, long-term solution for IM security, compliance and control; including the security components not available in AIMEG or in the transition offer from AOL

--Special pricing on all Akonix products

--Immediate access to the preview edition of Akonix's IM application integration and development system, allowing users to take advantage of presence throughout their enterprise and create unique, IM aware applications

L7 Enterprise has demonstrated its technical superiority over competing products by winning prestigious industry awards such as Microsoft's "Best of TechEd 2004," as the premier messaging solution, and Network World magazine's "Clear Choice" award, in its comprehensive test of the leading solutions for securing IM.

"Akonix is well positioned to offer a strong IM management solution to enterprise IM users of Yahoo! and AOL," said Genelle Hung, analyst and communication director at the Radicati Group. "IM is a key component of the corporate communications infrastructure and organizations can get a broad security and compliance functionality from the IM gateway approach that Akonix has pioneered."

"AOL & Yahoo! customers are rightfully concerned about finding the right long-term solution for IM management," said Francis Costello, chief marketing officer at Akonix. "Akonix provides a unique combination of technology leadership, as recognized through major industry awards such as Microsoft's 'Best of TechEd' and Network World's 'Clear Choice' awards. Akonix is the only company to be certified on both the AOL and Yahoo! Networks, and now has a program to simplify AIMEG and Yahoo! Business Messenger transition to a stable long-term solution for all IM management needs."

Akonix is the leading provider of technology for IM management, helping more than 250 customers with over 300,000 enterprise users ensure that IM use is secure, complies with government and industry regulations and can be subject to corporate policies. Akonix allows the largest global enterprises to take advantage of the benefits of IM without sacrificing network and information security, risking legal exposure or burdening IT with an uncontrolled consumer application.

The Akonix Transition program is available immediately to any AIM Enterprise Gateway or Yahoo! Business Messenger customer. For more information see www.akonix.com/transition or contact Akonix at [e-mail].

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, and 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's AIM and ICQ, Microsoft's MSN, Yahoo!, Microsoft's Live Communications Server (LCS), Reuters Messaging, IBM/Lotus SameTime and Jabber.

More than 250 customers in Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment depend on Akonix to manage, secure and enable IM for over 300,000 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 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.