Brazil's BCP Telecomunicacoes Receives Immediate ROI from Micromuse's Netcool Solutions.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 2003

Leading National Cellular Provider Heightens Customer Satisfaction and Lowers Operational Expenses with the Netcool(R) Service Management

Solution and Icaro Technologies' Professional Services 

Micromuse Inc. (Nasdaq: MUSE), the leading provider of business and service assurance software, today announced that BCP Telecomunicacoes has deployed the Netcool(R) family of products across its service infrastructure to help streamline critical IT management and provide a centralized view of its wireless operations systems. BCP serves three million customers per year and is one of Brazil's largest providers of wireless services over voice, radio transmission, and IP networks.

"BCP is always looking for ways to improve customer satisfaction, and the reorganization of our Operations Center is a significant initiative that will help us achieve this important objective," explained Antonio Paulino, Operations Center Manager at BCP. As part of the undertaking to reorganize its Operations Center, BCP is using Netcool solutions to consolidate thousands of disparate events, which helps the operations team increase productivity, respond more efficiently to service outages, and have more time to focus on developing new and competitive customer offerings.

The Netcool suite allows BCP to collect and correlate network information, analyze potential service-impairing events, and inform appropriate personnel about how service levels are performing. Using Netcool software, BCP's network operators can view the impact of network faults on services and customers, and prioritize time and resources to manage customer quality of service (QoS) more effectively.

"Micromuse's Netcool solution for wireless infrastructures helps service providers such as BCP ensure the high service levels required to retain their current customers, while allowing them to rationalize and reduce their overall cost of ownership," said Aric Bendorf, Micromuse's Sales Director for Latin America. "Netcool provides end-to-end visibility and realtime monitoring of the wireless network infrastructure, bridging the gaps between network fault data, service-level monitoring, and customer management. Its unmatched scalability makes it the best-equipped to support the largest, most complex networks in the world."

Brazil's Icaro Technologies, Micromuse's largest training partner in Latin America, was responsible for deploying the Netcool suite at BCP. To properly implement and configure Netcool software to address BCP's expectations, Icaro used a unique implementation process (based on Project Management Institute and Rational Unified Process practices), to determine BCP's requirements, manage human and IT resources, control schedule, curb risks, develop the customizations, and deploy the system with quality. The final solution also included a series of training sessions and a period of assisted operations to ensure that Netcool reliably manages the availability of BCP's voice and data networks.

"The Netcool solution provides BCP with a clear and concise view of the network, as well as a set of reports allowing the NOC, engineering, and marketing teams to develop strategies based on the status of BCP's infrastructure and services," said Kleber Stroeh, Director of Technology at Icaro Technologies. "With this business intelligence, Netcool software will help BCP reduce operating and maintenance expenditures, and increased staff productivity," said Kleber Stroeh, Director of Technology at Icaro Technologies.

About Netcool(R)

Micromuse's Netcool(R) software solutions provide businesses with the assurance that their applications and services are up and operating. By allowing our customers to see what's happening throughout the infrastructure in realtime, Netcool applications enable them to respond to problems before revenue-supporting services are affected.

Netcool applications install out-of-the-box, deploy rapidly and scale to the largest environments. Micromuse's flagship, Netcool/OMNIbus(TM) application, includes a library of off-the-shelf software modules that allow our customers to collect and consolidate information from more than 1,000 environments spanning applications, systems, voice and IP, cable/broadband, switches and routers, and enterprise management systems.

About BCP Telecomunicacoes

BCP is one of the largest Brazilian cellular providers. With headquarters in Sao Paulo, BCP covers an area whose population is greater than 18 million people. Since 1997, BCP has achieved many realizations such as the activation of more than 150 thousand TDMA lines in a period of only two weeks. BCP is in permanent search for technologies that help them improve customer satisfaction.

About Icaro Technologies

Icaro Technologies has been a Micromuse partner since 1999, having developed large-scale Netcool(R)-based projects in Latin America, such as a voice, data and Internet networks fault and service level management solution for AT&T LA, covering five countries. The success of Micromuse's Netcool and Icaro's professional services led the partners to the deployment of Netcool in other major companies in Brazil and abroad, such as Diveo, Telefonica, BCP, Telemar and others. Icaro Technologies is the only training partner certified by Micromuse in Latin America. In addition to Network Management, Icaro Technologies offers services in E-business and Digital Security areas.

About Micromuse

Micromuse Inc. (Nasdaq: MUSE) is the leading provider of business and service assurance software solutions. The Netcool(R) software suite provides organization with the assurance that their IT systems are supporting and driving profits 24 hours a day. Unlike traditional infrastructure management systems, Netcool solutions provide realtime end-to-end visibility and accurate troubleshooting from a business perspective. Such business intelligence allows organizations to respond to problems quickly, streamline workflow processes and improve business uptime. Micromuse customers include AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, Charles Schwab, Deutsche Telekom, Digex, EarthLink, GE Appliances, ITC DeltaCom, J.P. Morgan Chase, T-Mobile and Verizon. Headquarters are located at 139 Townsend Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94107. Tel: [phone]. The Web site is at www.micromuse.com

Micromuse and Netcool are registered trademarks of Micromuse Ltd. All other trademarks and registered trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners. Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties.

The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include the following: fluctuations in customer demand, the Company's ability to manage its growth (including the ability to hire sufficient sales and technical personnel), the risks associated with the expansion of the Company's distribution channels, the risk of new product introductions and customer acceptance of new products; the rapid technological change which characterizes the Company's markets, the risks associated with competition, the risks associated with international sales as the Company expands its markets, and the ability of the Company to compete successfully in the future, as well as other risks identified in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission Filings, including but not limited to those appearing under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and on Form 10-K on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the Company's Web site.