Chicago High-Tech Leader Calls Demise of Area Technology Scene `Greatly Exaggerated'; Spirian Technologies CEO Claims `No Shortage of Great Ideas' in Chicago.

Business/Technology Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2000

Paraphrasing a line from American writer Mark Twain, Spirian Technologies, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Al Wasserberger said today that a recent report of the demise of the Chicago high-tech scene is "greatly exaggerated."

Wasserberger, speaking this afternoon on the Chicago-based television and Internet broadcast network WebFN, said that the Chicago high-tech scene is alive and vibrant, despite recent claims in a national business publication.

"There is no shortage of great ideas and great technology companies in the Chicago area," Wasserberger said. "The fundamental difference between Silicon Valley and Chicago's high-tech market is the abundance of venture capital that fuels faster growth in California."

Wasserberger said that recent speculation that Chicago is losing its technology visionaries to the West coast couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Many people point to one or two Chicago companies as the end-all, be-all of the Chicago high-tech sector," Wasserberger added. "In truth, there are more than 1,000 high-tech companies in the Chicago area, including some of the most innovative in the country. That's because Chicago is attracting more and more technology talent from around the country. I could have started Spirian anywhere, but I came to Chicago because it has people with big city sophistication, but small town values. People in Chicago have the right work ethic and priorities, focused on delivering value to clients. Finally, the area has state and local government that support technology companies."

As an illustration of a little-known high-tech success, Wasserberger points to one of Spirian's clients, Archipelago, which has become a leading U.S.-based electronic communication network for trading stock. Earlier this month, Archipelago announced that it traded more than 100 million shares in a single day, a new record.

"How can you mention electronic trading systems, and not mention Archipelago?" Wasserberger asks. "There are hundreds of these examples of how Chicago-area high-tech entrepreneurs are leading the charge."

Wasserberger said that more venture capital firms are realizing the technology innovation in Chicago. In fact, one of the leading West coast venture capital firms, San Francisco-based WR Hambrecht + Co., made its the first investment in a Chicago-based company this summer when it invested in Spirian. Spirian also has received funding from Cleveland-based Primus Venture Capital and founders of Chicago-based yesmail.com.

The company has been a pioneer in the Management Services Provider market since its inception in 1996. Spirian offers dual IT infrastructure management services - one that uses automation methodologies to deploy software and the other manages PCs via network end-points, such as PCs. Spirian was the first technology infrastructure services company to offer such remote management services via the Internet.

About Archipelago

Archipelago was formed in December 1996 with software developer, Townsend Analytics. It is one of the original four ECNs approved in January 1997 by the SEC. Since its inception, Archipelago has offered subscribers outbound order preferencing to effectively create a national limit order book for Nasdaq stocks. Its leading-edge technology, open architecture and innovations, such as sweep functionality based on a proprietary algorithm, facilitate the best execution for investors. Archipelago is also the only ECN with major investors in both the institutional and retail financial services sectors. The Archipelago trading system provides investors fast, cost-efficient and anonymous access to the market. Its average daily volume more than tripled since June 1999. In July 2000, Archipelago and the Pacific Exchange closed their definitive agreement to create the first fully electronic national stock exchange for New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq stocks subject to Securities and Exchange Commission approval.

About WebFN

WebFN.com, the Internet's financial Superstation, is the first 24/7 worldwide financial news and information station on the Web, streaming live and on-demand video and market data directly to its "Viewsers" at work or at home. WebFN is leveling the financial news and information playing field, giving individuals access to the same information that was previously available only to professionals.

WebFN is a joint venture between Bridge Information Systems, the largest financial information services provider in North America, and Weigel Broadcasting Company, one of the nation's oldest financial broadcasters. WebFN streams video from major financial centers around the world - enhanced by the industry's most powerful professional market analysis tools and data sources -- directly to individual investors and consumers via WebFN.com (www.webfn.com), to active traders on their desktops, to the Web sites of WebFN's licensing and syndication partners all across the Internet, and to brokers and analysts' terminals in the leading financial institutions.

About Spirian

Founded in 1996, Spirian Technologies Inc. is a venture-backed, early-stage growth company offering remote IT Infrastructure and desktop management services. The company has developed unique, automated techniques that eliminate the pain and uncertainty associated with the deployment of software and management of computing devices across large and mid-sized organizations and enterprises with multiple locations or a vast remote-user base. For more information about the company, visit www.spirian.com.

Spirian Technologies, IT Reliability Services and Rapid Deployment Service are trademarks of Spirian Technologies, Inc. All other company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.