Boole & Babbage Bundles Command MQ Management Solution with IBM MQSeries; Customers Gain Faster and Easier MQSeries Procurement, Deployment and Management.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 1999--Boole & Babbage (Nasdaq:BOOL) today announced that it will work in unison with IBM to make it easier for users to obtain, deploy and manage MQSeries via a new global MQSeries OEM agreement.

IBM and Boole & Babbage will bundle the industry-leading MQSeries message-queuing middleware and Command MQ management products to better address the market demand for the combined solution.

"IBM MQSeries is the most widely recognized and deployed solution for integrating applications in heterogeneous IT environments," said Colin Osborne, MQSeries business executive, IBM Software. "Command MQ adds management capabilities to optimize the business integration benefits of MQSeries for customers."

Command MQ provides configuration, administration, performance monitoring, automation and operations management capabilities for MQSeries. It is a unique solution in that customers are not limited to managing MQSeries in isolation, but can manage it in the context of the entire enterprise. This ability provides users with true end-to-end management from a single point-of-control, resulting in high availability, increased service levels and lower overall costs.

"We are delighted that IBM has selected Boole & Babbage to deliver MQSeries to the market in order to maximize the investment of our mutual customers," said John Haley, senior director of middleware product marketing, Boole & Babbage. "We believe this is a strong endorsement of the Command MQ solution.

"Customers benefit from having MQSeries management tools early on in the implementation phase, and they can now acquire the leading MQSeries messaging middleware and the leading Command MQ management solution all in one step. IBM and Boole & Babbage are also in a better position to address customer requirements and deliver superior results, features and benefits in future releases."

About Command MQ

Boole & Babbage is the market leader in message-queuing middleware (MQM) management with Command MQ. The only solution available that delivers central management reaching all the enterprise elements that MQM applications rely on, Command MQ provides true end-to-end availability. Command MQ is also unmatched in its depth of capabilities, which include configuration, administration, performance monitoring, operations management and automation.

Command MQ is based upon the proven and robust Boole & Babbage technology. A modular architecture builds upon the ability of Command MQ to scale from very small pilot programs to full-scale implementations in the largest heterogeneous environments: agent technology provides local, "at-the-source" monitoring and platform-based automation; a mid-level console provides centralized management (distributed or host-based) and event-driven automation; the enterprise-level option enables users to manage their entire IT infrastructure, treating the MQM as a part of their overall management strategy.

Easy to use, Command MQ offers proven, packaged "out-of-the-box" solutions that can also be custom-tailored. It is the most flexible management solution available, easily integrating into a customer's existing IT environment and providing the fastest implementation and ROI in the industry. Command MQ covers the broadest range of platforms, including MVS, HP-UX, Sun Solaris, DEC VMS, AIX, OS/400, OS/2 and Windows NT.

To make the Command MQ solution readily accessible to users, Boole & Babbage and IBM introduced a new product offering, Command MQ BonusPac. Available as a free download from the Web, Command MQ BonusPac is a full-functioning, fully-supported management offering that provides immediate value for users seeking to deploy and manage MQSeries. See www.boole.com/products/MQ/bonuspac.html for more information.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Software offers the widest range of applications, middleware and operating systems for all types of computing platforms, allowing customers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. The fastest way to get more information about IBM software is through the IBM Software home page at http://www.software.ibm.com. For more information on MQSeries, visit http://www.software.ibm.com/ts/mqseries/.

About Boole & Babbage

Boole & Babbage is a worldwide leader in application service level management for distributed systems. Its Enterprise Automation product lines provide a management solution for the entire IT enterprise that encompasses systems, applications, middleware, databases and Web technologies. The Boole & Babbage set of solutions is currently used by large manufacturing companies, domestic and international government agencies, the majority of the world's largest financial institutions, airlines, IT outsourcers and utilities to improve service levels and reduce IT management costs.

Founded in 1967, Boole & Babbage is the oldest publicly traded software vendor in the systems management industry with revenues of $226 million in calendar 1998, 970 employees and 43 offices in 26 countries. Corporate headquarters are located in San Jose. For more information, visit Boole & Babbage on the Web at www.boole.com, or call 800/544-2152.

Boole & Babbage, Inc. is a Tivoli (NYSE: IBM) premiere partner, a Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HWP) premier partner, an IBM (NYSE: IBM) BESTeam Member, and a Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Solutions Developer.

Note to Editors: Boole & Babbage is a registered trademark of Boole & Babbage, Inc. IBM and MQSeries are trademarks or registered trademarks of the IBM Corporation.