Attachmate and Microsoft join forces for AS/400 environments; "Ready for AS/400" promotion combines Attachmate's RALLY! with Microsoft software in free trail CD-ROM.

The Intranet Company(tm) - is now shipping its "Ready for AS/400(r)" trial kit. Attachmate(r) Corp., in cooperation with Microsoft(r), is offering this kit as part of an aggressive nationwide promotion aimed at giving customers the opportunity to evaluate the tools necessary to enhance and extend their AS/400 environments.

The Ready for AS/400 trial kit includes CD-ROMs containing free trial software from Attachmate and Microsoft, a Microsoft advertising program, and a variety of support materials for corporate AS/400 customers.

"The Ready for AS/400 free trial kit is another partnering effort by Attachmate and Microsoft that helps companies access information regardless of where that information resides." said David Veneski, vice president, product management, Specialty Products at Attachmate.

"As companies expand the scope of their enterprises to include Internet access, client/server connectivity, and Intranet services, the Ready for AS/400 kit gives them the tools they need to test desktop-to-AS/400 communications. As companies expand their information systems they need to evaluate solutions before putting them into production -- the Ready for AS/400 trial kit lets them do just that."

The Ready for AS/400 trial kit gives companies a CD containing Attachmate's premier AS/400 connectivity product -- RALLY!(tm) and another CD containing the fastest growing operating system -- Windows(r) 95, as well as Microsoft's powerful set of business productivity applications -- Office for Windows 95.

The kit helps companies enhance their AS/400 environment through Microsoft and Attachmate desktop software in a turn-key trial including: software, information, demonstrations and a complete resource kit including white papers that answer desktop software-to-AS/400 integration questions.

"As the AS/400 continues to evolve, we are happy to see industry leaders such as Attachmate and Microsoft partnering around this platform for easier integration with desktop systems," said Fritz Hayes, network manager of Platt Electric in Beaverton, Ore. "We currently use Attachmate RALLY!, Microsoft Windows 95 and Office 95 and have many projects under way which leverage AS/400 data in our PC applications."

"Our customers have insatiable demand for flexible, reliable integration of AS/400 data with PC applications. Microsoft and Attachmate have the right idea to deliver a free trial of their latest products to make this integration a reality," said Rick Gordon, president of AE Business Solutions in Middleton, Wis. "The Attachmate RALLY! product has proven to be very easy to install and the highest performing product for AS/400 connectivity."

With the Ready for AS/400 trial kit, customers receive an evaluation copy of RALLY! with a 30-day support agreement as well as 90-day trial versions of Windows 95 and Office for Windows 95. By combining these products, companies get seamless PC access to their AS/400 information and systems through RALLY! and the desktop power and flexibility of Windows 95 and Office for Windows 95.

In addition to providing customers with stable, seamless desktop-to-AS/400 connectivity, RALLY! offers customers industry-leading customer support and a value-enhancing per-CPU pricing scheme.

"Attachmate's Ready for AS/400 trial kit gives companies everything they need to enhance their AS/400 environments through the power and flexibility of the PC," said Tad Parker, midrange marketing manager at Microsoft. "RALLY! is a perfect tool to deliver the advantages of Windows 95 and Office for Windows 95 to AS/400 users."

The Ready for AS/400 trial kit is available for a limited time at no charge by calling Attachmate at 800/426-6283 and selecting option No. 3. In addition Attachmate has contributed to Microsoft's "Seminar-in-a-box" which is being distributed to Microsoft's AS/400 Solution Providers and to the Microsoft field sales offices as an additional resource to help in the creation and execution of AS/400 seminars.

Attachmate - The Intranet Company(tm)

Attachmate is a leading provider of high quality universal information access software and services that help organizations build secure Intranets. The company's object-oriented client, server, authoring tool and management software safely link together enterprise systems, Internet systems and people. These solutions allow desktop and mobile users to transparently access, manage and share any business information inside or outside the organization.

The company leverages its 14 years of corporate expertise in enterprise and Internet technologies by providing comprehensive and knowledgeable customer consulting and support services in more than 30 countries to help organizations build high-performance and secure Intranet client/server systems. The sixth largest PC software company in the world, Attachmate employs over 2,000 people.

For more information about Attachmate's products, contact Attachmate's headquarters in Bellevue at 206/644-4010 or toll free 800/426-6283. Attachmate's World Wide Web address is http://www.attachmate.com. -0-

-- Attachmate is a registered trademark and Attachmate - The Intranet Company and RALLY! are trademarks of Attachmate Corp.

-- Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

-- AS/400 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp.

-- Other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Attachmate Corp., Bellevue

Walter Conner, 206/649-6551

[e-mail]

NOTE TO EDITORS: In the Internet/email address noted in this news release, there is an "at" symbol between walterco and attachmate.com. This symbol may not appear properly in some systems.