Brightware Advances Java Platform Adding UNIX and Linux support to Brightware 2001.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2001

Brightware, Inc., a Firepond company (Nasdaq:FIRE) and the leading supplier of eCustomer Assistance software, today announced that its Brightware 2001 suite now supports Sun Solaris and Red Hat Linux. Taking advantage of the extensibility of Brightware 2001's underlying Java platform, this latest update is targeted to vertical industries such as telecommunications that have standardized on the UNIX environment for mission critical applications.

"Our customers rely on a variety of operating systems to deliver the highest performance, reliability and stability for their eCustomer Assistance initiatives," said Chris Erickson, senior vice president, eCustomer Assistance solutions for Brightware and Firepond. "The open architecture and J2EE(TM) standards of the Brightware 2001 eBusiness Platform increasingly enable us to interoperate seamlessly in the many environments our customers have installed."

"Customers should be the ones to choose their server operating systems based on application suitability, performance and other critical requirements," said Mark Levitt, research director at IDC. "Brightware's support of Solaris and Linux, both of which are popular among service providers and other organizations, provides additional options for its customers."

Already available on Microsoft NT and Windows 2000, the Brightware 2001 suite has delivered significant productivity gains and increases in customer satisfaction worldwide for companies such as Borders.com, the nation's leading online bookseller, and SkyDesk, Inc., a provider of application infrastructure and managed hosting services. The end-to-end Brightware 2001 suite is designed to deliver a superior online experience to customers visiting a web site, communicating by email or seeking additional assistance through real-time text chat. Designed to close the eCustomer interaction loop, the analytic and eMarketing components of the suite deliver insight-driven interactions across all online touchpoints and throughout the complete interaction cycle.

About Brightware

Brightware, a Firepond company (Nasdaq:FIRE) and the leading supplier of eCustomer Assistance software, helps companies build better customer relationships, one interaction at a time. The Java (TM)-based Brightware 2001 suite includes Web, Email and Live Assistance solutions to deliver a superior experience at every online touch point, plus analytics and eMarketing for closed-loop, insight-driven interactions with eCustomers. With its recent acquisition by Firepond, a leading provider of comprehensive selling and service solutions, Brightware 2001 will become part of Firepond's multi-channel selling and service solution to acquire and retain customers. Powered by proven automation technology and patented intelligence engines, Firepond-Brightware products drive new revenue streams, increase margins and manage customer interactions across all channels and throughout the sales and service cycle.

Firepond - Brightware's global customers include ABB, AT&T Wireless, Compaq, Continental Airlines, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Honda of Japan, KLA-Tencor, Sikorsky Aircraft Company, Virgin Mobile and Zurich Financial Services.

For more information, please visit Brightware's Web site at http://www.brightware.com.

As defined under Safe Harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, except for the historical information contained herein, some of the matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements regarding future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described by such statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: difficulties integrating Brightware's products and services with those of the Company, fluctuations in worldwide information technology spending, quarterly fluctuations in operating results attributable to the timing and amount of orders for the Company's products and services, the Company's ability to attract and retain additional qualified sales, engineering and management personnel, the Company's ability to successfully implement its global expansion, the timing of the implementation of the software in the customers' applications, market acceptance of the FirePond SalesPerformer Suite and the Brightware 2001 Suite and its components, the Company's ability to keep pace with changing product requirements, factors affecting the demand for e-business sales and marketing solutions, and those factors contained in the section titled "Risk Factors" beginning on page 4 of the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-90911) declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Note to Editors: Firepond, Brightware and Firepond, Brightware product names are trademarks of Firepond, Inc. All other product or company names are the properties of their respective owners.