Cap Gemini and Microsoft team up on E-Business in New Strategic Global Alliance -- Cap Gemini to Deliver Windows 2000 Solutions to the Market.

Business Editors

REDMOND, Wash. &PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2000

Microsoft Corp. and Cap Gemini Group today announced a global alliance to develop and deliver a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise services and custom solutions based on the Microsoft(R) enterprise platform. The alliance will leverage Cap Gemini's consulting and delivery excellence, and its e-business knowledge along with Microsoft's newest and future generation of technologies. This combination of services and solutions on the Microsoft Windows(R) 2000 platform will provide increased business benefits to large enterprise environments. This alliance will focus initially on solutions for the following markets: Windows 2000 enterprise infrastructure, retail market, knowledge management and electronic commerce.

Cap Gemini is focused on mobilizing the latest technologies and has chosen Microsoft as a key partner to help deliver the components of its next generation of e-business enterprise solutions and services. These solutions focus on realizing customer benefits from the rapid deployment of e-business solutions in the fast-changing business environment. This alliance will enable Cap Gemini to accelerate the delivery of complex systems under low-risk conditions while maintaining and exceeding its delivery standards of reliability and excellence.

Pierre Hessler, a member of the Cap Gemini Group Executive Board, says, &uot;In working closely with Microsoft, we gained an intimate insight into their future enterprise strategy. We now have the opportunity to expand this strategic partnership on a global basis. We also evaluated their suite of Windows 2000 products; we liked what we saw and felt it was a solution our customers will find attractive.&uot; He added, &uot;We believe Windows 2000 to be a very important technology that will open up new market opportunities and create exciting new areas of business. In response to growing customer demand, we will be leveraging our expertise to help customers migrate to this new technology and are making substantial investments to respond to and develop these areas of new business.&uot;

Cap Gemini will develop and deliver to its clients a comprehensive portfolio of Microsoft platform based line-of-business solutions and enterprise services targeting the following areas:

-- Windows 2000 enterprise infrastructure. Cap Gemini will

focus on infrastructure migration planning and

architecture, infrastructure upgrading, application

assessment, application migration and consultancy for

new projects to maximize the benefits of Windows 2000.

-- Retail market. Cap Gemini will focus on the design,

development, sale and implementation of consumer-centric

business solutions for retailers, as encompassed in Cap

Gemini's `Store of the Future' service offering. The

`Store of the Future' will be based on Microsoft's

ActiveStore(TM) architecture and the Microsoft

enterprise solutions platform. The retail initiative

will enable customers to take full advantage of the

retail business knowledge of Cap Gemini applied to their

situation using the best of Microsoft technology.

-- Knowledge management. Cap Gemini will focus on the

design, development, sale and implementation of a

knowledge platform as a basis for enterprise-scale

information sharing, enhanced with Cap Gemini's InfoWeb

offering. Cap Gemini and Microsoft will be working

together to develop solutions that deliver practical,

rapid and measurable benefits to the knowledge worker.

-- Electronic commerce. Cap Gemini will focus on the

design, development, sale and implementation of

business-to-consumer transaction systems, as encompassed

in its Infomediary-in-a-Box service offering.

Infomediary-in-a-Box will be based on Microsoft's

enterprise solutions platform. Cap Gemini has also

developed a Microsoft-component-based customised portal,

which can be installed with a lead time of less than one

month compared to an average six-month development

cycle.

To support the development and delivery of these offerings, Cap Gemini is embarking on a training investment program with Microsoft focused on the certification of Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MSCEs) and Microsoft Certified Developers (MSCDs), certification of 1500 consultants. Cap Gemini will showcase its service offerings and solutions in its demonstration centers, located in eight cities worldwide. These demonstration centres will provide an environment for customers to view solutions and experience the interoperability between Microsoft-based solutions and other applications such as networking, database and directory service environments. To facilitate the close working relationship, Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) will assist Cap Gemini with solutions architecture and practice development activities, and through its Microsoft Premier Support organization will provide Cap Gemini with direct support during client projects.

&uot;This alliance provides the next step in our move toward enterprise readiness,&uot; said Charles Stevens, vice president of the Business Solutions Group at Microsoft. &uot;We are excited to work with Cap Gemini as a global partner leveraging its proven expertise in delivering solutions in these specific areas. They are great examples of how businesses are using Microsoft technology to deliver the tools their customers need to compete and prosper.&uot;

During the term of this agreement, Cap Gemini will adopt the Microsoft platform as core to its evolving strategic architecture. Specifically, Cap Gemini will implement the Microsoft Windows 2000 and Office 2000 as core components and standards for their employees. The combination of the Office 2000 suite and Windows 2000 within Cap Gemini's strategic architecture provides the next-generation business-computing platform to address Cap Gemini's laptop, desktop and server computing needs.

The Microsoft enterprise platform is a comprehensive, integrated set of products and technologies that enable organizations to develop secure, reliable and manageable solutions for running their business. Based on the Windows NT(R) Server operating system, the Microsoft enterprise platform comprises Internet solutions, development tools, Office desktop applications, and the Microsoft BackOffice(R) family of server applications.

This global alliance expands CAP Gemini and Microsoft's relationships, building on recent successes for their shared clients, such as Swiss Online, Statoil, Koninklijke Nederlandse Hockey Bond (KNHB), McDonalds, WH Smith, Boots the Chemists, AmuGruppen, , Swedish Prison Administration and East Swedish Chamber of Commerce.

About Cap Gemini Group

The Cap Gemini Group is one of the leading European management consulting and IT services groups. Designing and delivering strategic change through ideas, people and technology, the group provides management consultancy (Gemini Consulting) and systems design, integration and outsourcing (Cap Gemini's IT services). With a work force of 40,000 operating in Europe, the United States and the Far East and revenue of 4.3 billion euros in 1999, the group is among the world's largest information technology providers.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq &uot;MSFT&uot;) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, BackOffice and ActiveStore are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries/regions. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, press only: Dawn Myrah, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, [phone], [e-mail]

or Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, [phone], [e-mail]