Altris Software Completes Strategic Financing By Spescom Ltd.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2000

Altris Software, Inc. (OTCBB:ALTS) announced today the approval by Altris shareholders and completion of the previously announced financing transaction with Spescom Ltd., a South African company.

Spescom Ltd. has provided $3.7 million in additional working capital to Altris and converted $6.0 million of debt and redeemable preferred stock plus related accrued interest and dividends into Altris' common stock. Specifically, under the agreement, Spescom has invested an additional $3.7 million in Altris for 5,285,714 shares of Altris' common stock. In addition, $3,000,000 of subordinated debt and $3,000,000 of convertible preferred stock, along with related accrued interest and dividends, was converted into 9,528,096 shares of Altris common stock. Also as part of the transaction, Altris acquired all the rights to Spescom's EMS 2000 software, a configuration management product which has recently been integrated with Altris' flagship eB product. Altris has also transferred its remaining 40 percent share of Altris Software Ltd. to Spescom.

Spescom now owns approximately 66 percent of the company's outstanding common stock. Based on issuance of shares to be issued as part of the previously settled shareholder lawsuit and exercise of outstanding stock options and warrants, Spescom's ownership is approximately 58 percent. As part of the transaction approved by Altris' shareholders, the Altris board of directors has been restructured with two Spescom representatives and three existing Altris board members. Joining the board from Spescom is Hilton Isaacman and Dr. Johann Leitner while Roger Erickson, Ross Hamilton and Larry Unruh will continue to serve as directors.

Roger Erickson, president and CEO of Altris, stated, "We are happy that the Altris shareholders have overwhelmingly approved this agreement with Spescom. The company can now move forward with a much stronger balance sheet and a strong strategic partner in Spescom. This combination of strengths will greatly assist us in our efforts to expand our e-business capabilities." Erickson added, "I welcome to the board Mr. Isaacman and Dr. Leitner, who have both already assisted the company in the area of finance and strategic marketing. I believe Mr. Isaacman's international financial experience and Dr. Leitner's technical and marketing expertise are valuable additions to the board."

Tony Farah, chairman of Spescom Ltd., stated, "We are delighted that this transaction has been successfully concluded. The Altris investment represents a major move to achieve Spescom's international growth objectives and forms a central part of our strategy to become a significant global player in e-business."

Isaacman, 46, is currently the director of Corporate Finance of Spescom. Isaacman previously served as Spescom's financial director from 1990 to 1998. Isaacman began his career with Spescom in 1988 as financial manager and has been a member of Spescom's board of directors since 1990. Isaacman received a certificate in accounting, tax, and auditing from the University of Capetown in 1982.

Dr. Leitner, 46, has held the position of director of Strategic Business Development at Spescom since 1998. Leitner joined Spescom in 1981 and has served in various technical and operating capacities within Spescom, including Group Marketing Director from 1995 to 1997. Since 1987, Leitner has also served on the board of directors of Spescom. Leitner earned a BS in Engineering in 1975 and a Ph.D. in Electronic Signal Processing in 1979 from the University of Capetown.

Altris Software, Inc.

Altris Software develops robust, scalable and highly innovative solutions that manage, control, and disseminate the knowledge contained within an organization's documents, enabling our customers to gain e-business competitive advantage. As a leading Document Service Provider (DSP) for e-Business, we provide documents as a service to customers' line-of-business and specific applications. This delivers the ability to manage and control the information content throughout the document lifecycle.

Spescom Ltd.

Spescom is one of the foremost communications and information technology companies in South Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Spescom employs more than 200 software engineers in the fields of knowledge management and digital voice processing. Spescom develops its own technology and is also engaged in alliances with several of the world's top corporations in its field.

Altris eB(R)

eB is a registered trademark of Altris Software Inc. eB is an integrated document management suite -- providing the user with document management, imaging, COLD and workflow. eB is designed to enable organizations to manage the creation and revision life-cycle for office applications as well as e-mail, engineering and computer-aided design drawings. eB extends document management to provide the necessary control of document content and the analysis of the effects of change within the organization.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release include forward-looking statements that are dependent on certain risks and uncertainties, including such factors, among others, as market acceptance, market demand, pricing, changing regulatory environment, the effect of the Company's accounting policies, potential seasonality and other risk factors detailed in the Company's SEC filings.