Convergent Group, MDSI Join Forces to Bring Worldwide Utilities Integrated, Wireless Mobile Services.

Business Editors

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & RICHMOND, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2000

MDSI (NASDAQ:MDSI)(TSE:MMD.)(NASDAQ:CVGP)

Alliance Between Industry Leaders in Utility Business Transformation and Wireless Workforce Management Means Better Customer

Service, Lower Operating Costs For Utilities

Convergent Group (Nasdaq:CVGP) and MDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq:MDSI)(TSE:MMD) have formed a strategic alliance to add MDSI's wireless workforce management software to Convergent Group's energy delivery resource planning suite.

By integrating MDSI(R) Advantex(TM) r7 with Convergent Group's Model Office(TM), utility companies worldwide will have an enhanced solution for improving customer service and lowering operating costs. Both companies intend to sell Advantex r7 as an integrated component of Convergent Group's Model Office.

"Wireless workforce management is critical to utility companies that are looking to fully integrate field crews with day-to-day business activities. MDSI's industry-leading Advantex solution vastly improves the level of customer service that utilities can deliver while simultaneously increasing the efficiency of their field service operations and lowering costs," said Convergent Group Vice President Greg Courniotes. "Our alliance with MDSI will allow Convergent Group to routinely offer MDSI's product to our customers as part of a fully integrated solution."

Ken Miller, CEO for MDSI, stated: "With our strategic alliance program, we are pushing hard to continue to position MDSI with leading industry solutions providers like Convergent Group to become the wireless workforce management component of choice in solution suites that they offer. Convergent Group's Model Office provides the utility market with a complete family of front and back office application software and with the services required to pull all components together into an integrated solution. Alliances like these give MDSI an additional channel to market, and the ability to improve on an already impressive win rate in wireless workforce management."

Convergent Group's Model Office is a technology platform that can integrate traditional back office and front office activities with energy delivery resource planning (EDRP) functions, allowing the enterprise to move towards becoming a fully Digital Utility(SM). The Digital Utility encompasses Convergent Group's methodologies, business models and consulting services, along with best-of-class solutions from its strategic business partners. These solutions include a geographic information system (GIS), work management systems, outage management systems, content management systems, and now a wireless workforce management system, along with customer relationship management and other front office and back office business functions.

MDSI's fully Internet-enabled Advantex r7 software solution provides utility companies with a seamless and reliable means to wirelessly manage and communicate data to mobile workers and link them to a full array of enterprise and Internet data resources. The Advantex software suite increases operational efficiency and supports customer-oriented service practices that win more customers and keep them longer. Advantex lets organizations provide faster and better field service to their customers, with increased efficiency and lower cost. Advantex schedules appointments by matching customer requests with the best available mobile resource. It efficiently and automatically dispatches workers to ensure the fastest possible response time, tracks and records worker time and resources used on a job, and automatically transfers all information collected in the field to the appropriate enterprise or Internet data resources. It eliminates inefficiency and wasted time involved in creating and transferring paper or voice orders to mobile workers and order completion information back to the enterprise. Advantex also reports on operational performance to help management make decisions. And it all happens wirelessly, in real-time.

The integrated solution is expected to be available later this year.

About MDSI

By uniting the power of wireless communications, advanced service management applications and the Internet, MDSI Mobile Data Solutions Inc. is revolutionizing how companies sell and deliver services and how people purchase them. MDSI enables companies of any size in any service market to manage mobile and on site service workers to deliver better and more efficient services, and empowers those workers via reliable, wireless links to enterprise or Internet applications. MDSI enables consumers and businesses alike to purchase, schedule, confirm and track service appointments online without any human intervention, providing the ultimate in convenience and efficiency. MDSI accomplishes this through a suite of wireless connectivity, service management, and other service and mobile solutions that can be delivered over the Internet or through traditional on-site implementations. Founded in 1993 with roots back to the 1970's, MDSI is the most experienced and trusted wireless applications company operating today. MDSI has approximately 100 major, blue chip customers worldwide, operations in the U.S., Canada, and Amsterdam, and multiple support offices around the world. More information is available at http://www.mdsi-advantex.com.

About Convergent Group

Convergent Group, founded in 1985, is the only end-to-end business transformation provider for investor-owned and municipal utilities. The company engineers, builds and manages digital business solutions that allow utilities to transform their organizations into digital business enterprises where utility employees, contractors and customers can transact business on a real-time basis using the Internet. The company's unique offerings provide utilities with both the digital infrastructure and business solutions necessary to operate in the new energy economy, a market characterized by heightened competition and unprecedented, rapid change. The company combines existing and emerging digital technologies and proprietary solution models with acute subject matter expertise, focusing on mission critical solutions that help utilities increase revenues, reduce costs, improve customer service, enhance service reliability, improve resource management and leverage information assets. The company has offices in Denver, Boston, London and Brisbane. Visit Convergent Group on the World Wide Web at www.convergentgroup.com.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in our industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this release include MDSI's and Convergent Group's plans to integrate MDSI's Advantex product suite and Convergent Group's Model Office product suite and the success and benefits of this integration; and the timing of the availability of the combined solution. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as: any unforeseen incompatibilities between MDSI's and Convergent Group's products; any product development difficulties related to incorporating Convergent Group's products with MDSI's; and any software errors in MDSI's or Convergent Group's products, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in MDSI's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. MDSI disclaims an intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.