CrossKeys expands IP market reach with membership in international ASP Industry Consortium.

Business Editors

VIENNA, Virginia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 2000

ASPs, who host Internet and telecom services for business, are a

fast-growing market for CrossKeys performance management software

CrossKeys Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:CKEY) (TSE:CKY.), today announced that it is expanding its marketing and sales reach into the application provider space through its new membership in the Application Service Provider (ASP) Industry Consortium. The ASP Industry Consortium, based in the US, is an international advocacy group developing guidelines for the growing application service provider segment of the computer and telecoms industry.

For CrossKeys, membership in the ASP Industry Consortium delivers closer ties to the key players and customers in this emerging market. Founding members of the ASP Industry Consortium include Cisco Systems, Inc., AT&T, UUNet and IBM Corporation. In a recent consortium survey, ASP companies stated that service assurance was one of their primary concerns.

"ASPs are answering the call from business customers for eCommerce and other applications to be delivered over the Internet," says Ian McLaren, President and CEO, CrossKeys. "It is critical for these providers to demonstrate the reliability of the services they deliver. This is the value CrossKeys delivers to ASPs and their enterprise end-customers in this exciting market."

ASPs free customers from the burden of technology management and help companies focus on their main business issues. They enable companies to manage their IT expenses by providing predictable costs for applications and services and by reducing the total cost of technology ownership. By leaving technology management to professional service providers, enterprise customers avoid the risks of making costly technology planning and implementation errors.

While the ASP market is relatively new, computer industry analysts foresee rapid growth for the future. Estimates of the size of the ASP market run into billions of dollars in annual revenue within two to three years.

Founded in May 1999, the ASP Industry Consortium currently has over 240 members worldwide. Information on the Consortium is available on the World Wide Web at www.aspindustry.org or by contacting consortium headquarters in Massachusetts at 781-246-9321. About CrossKeys

CrossKeys Systems Corporation (www.crosskeys.com) develops and supports carrier-scale software that enables the world's largest and most demanding service providers to manage the equipment and traffic on their telecom networks. CrossKeys has demonstrated experience with multi-vendor and multi-technology networks, including IP, ATM, Frame Relay and broadband access technologies such as DSL and cable. This expertise enables service providers to offer business applications, such as eCommerce and VPNs, with the minimum of infrastructure investment and the competitive guarantees that enterprise end-customers require.

CrossKeys Systems Corporation is a public company whose common shares are listed for trading on NASDAQ (CKEY) in the United States and on The Toronto Stock Exchange (CKY) in Canada.

CrossKeys and logo are registered trademarks of CrossKeys Systems Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders and are acknowledged by CrossKeys Systems Corporation.