Brightware Helps Nationwide Automate Customer Email Inquiries.

Business Editors and High Tech Writers

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 2001

Brightware, Inc., a Firepond company (NASDAQ: FIRE) and the leading supplier of eCustomer Assistance software, announced today that Nationwide will use its Email Assistance solution to handle incoming customer inquiries. The solution is being rolled out to customer service staff to help them answer customer queries about any aspect of Nationwide's business quickly and accurately.

Nationwide is the largest building society in the world in terms of revenue, the UK's fourth largest mortgage lender and the ninth largest retail banking, saving and lending organization by asset size. It is headquartered in England and offers a broad range of retail financial services. Brightware was selected to help improve the standards of customer service in response to increasing customer demand for Nationwide's financial services to be accessible over the Internet. Nationwide predicts a growth in email volumes as it continues to develop its award winning Internet site and has implemented a solution that can automate the handling of some of this increase. This will allow it to keep up with the demands on service levels without a proportionate increase in staff numbers.

Nationwide chose Brightware because of the range of services it provided, including skill-based message routing (so that messages route to the most able adviser), automatic message acknowledgement, automated response capabilities and accurate and reliable auto-suggest capabilities. The system is also being used to add value to contact channels other than direct e-mail. It has already been integrated with the Nationwide site to handle messages from its Internet Bank customers.

"The complex nature of messages received by Nationwide meant that we needed to find a solution that could handle difficult message structures as well as high volumes of email," says Mark Cromack of Nationwide. "Already, we can see that email handling times have reduced by 25% for those messages that still requiring advisor intervention."

He continues, "On top of this, over 40% of messages no longer reach our advisors due to our continued development of the Brightware Knowledge library and, when we exclude the messages where we want to respond in person, this figure rises to over 60%. We therefore feel that we have selected the right solution to help us bring the best levels of service to our customers."

"Brightware is used primarily to support and enhance existing business processes rather than replace them," says Phil Jordan, Brightware's director of sales operations for Europe. "Nationwide has identified what it needs to do to keep ahead of the pack when it comes to serving customers, and our technology is enabling it to achieve this."

Brightware also offers Nationwide the ability to compile contact history tracking reports, which removes the need to search paper or electronic archives. This management information has enhanced the visibility of activities in the contact center. Furthermore, Brightware retains all messages and actions, which makes it a useful coaching tool. Nationwide's team managers are using it for quality control and coaching to improve contact center staff tools. The system is integrated with Nationwide's corporate Microsoft Exchange server.

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, 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 and other risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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