Cybermation Releases ESP Espresso 1.1 for SAP Environments; New release leverages robust Agent platform to provide flexible enterprise-wide ERP scheduling.

Business/Technology Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2001

Gartner Data Center Conference - Cybermation Inc., a leading developer of integrated enterprise systems management software, announced the general availability of ESP Espresso v1.1 today at the Gartner Data Center Conference 2001. ESP Espresso is a distributed job scheduling solution that manages workload across all leading enterprise operating systems and ERP platforms, providing power, flexibility and ease of use. In addition to its many significant new enhancements, ESP Espresso now utilizes Cybermation's SAP R/3 Agent to schedule work for this leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment.

ESP Espresso provides the framework to manage the entire enterprise batch workload - regardless of processing platform or operating system. Its next-generation XML and JAVA(R) architecture provides scalability and performance, helping data centers meet increased service demands with limited resources. It employs automation disciplines found in leading mainframe scheduling applications, with an architecture and functionality based on Cybermation's ESP Workload Manager, a foundation of technology and best practices that have been successfully implemented in mission-critical data centers for nearly two decades. Utilizing an intuitive graphical user interface, ESP Espresso allows users to define, test and implement the most complex cross-platform business applications.

ESP Agents are compact, event-driven applications that extend Cybermation's job scheduling solutions across multiple operating systems, maximizing an organization's existing IT investment. Cybermation's ESP Agent technology platform has been proven stable and robust during the past decade by many of its most demanding customers. Well over a dozen ESP Agents already exist, offering a single, integrated workload management solution for UNIX, Windows NT/2000, OS/400 and other popular operating systems to define, schedule, execute, monitor and manage batch workload. Other ESP Agent platforms are under development.

Cybermation's SAP R/3 Agent v3.4/v4.0 is fully certified for Windows NT/2000(R), HP-UX(R), Solaris(R) and SAP R/3 v4.5/4.6 environments to work with R/3 systems running on AIX(R), HP-UX, Solaris and Windows NT/2000 platforms. ESP Espresso is now fully integrated with the SAP R/3 certified interface, which has been supporting complex R/3 scheduling requirements since 1999. Users monitor R/3 batch workload from the same workstations they use for all applications, log files and job states from a single point and make changes to scheduled workload within the R/3 system any time up until execution - providing significant productivity improvements and increased ROI. SAP certification entails a comprehensive technical evaluation of the interface and the commitment of the parties to respectively maintain those interfaces over time. With this certification, Cybermation makes available to its customers a standard and seamless interface that safely and securely extends their SAP solutions through to their enterprise workload management system.

"Cybermation's advanced solutions allow data-center managers to effortlessly integrate their enterprise workload management systems with other mission-critical business applications, like SAP R/3, in diverse platforms and across operating systems," said Ray Nissan, Cybermation's chairman and chief technology architect. "SAP functionality represents an important milestone for ESP Espresso to be considered a true enterprise workload management system, adding remarkable value to this world-class ERP solution through advanced scheduling functionality."

Other new features of ESP Espresso 1.1 include:

-- Support for release conditions and conditional jobs at the same level of functionality as ESP Workload Manager, including enhanced support for all valid Workload Object States and Return Codes

-- More detailed information via the Workload Director graphical view and during simulation

-- More diagnostic information in Email Notifications based on job status

-- The ability to view the start time and end time of scheduled jobs

ESP Espresso v1.1 is now available. Cybermation customers can download it from their dedicated web support portal. For more information, contact Cybermation at [phone] or www.cybermation.com.

About Cybermation

Cybermation Inc. is recognized by its many Global 2000 customers as a leading developer of automation solutions for job scheduling, workload management and software change management for heterogeneous computing environments. The company's products include ESP Workload Manager(R) for enterprise-wide job scheduling and workload management for OS/390(R), UNIX(R), Windows NT(R) and OS/400(R) operating systems as well as for SAP R/3, Oracle and PeopleSoft ERP environments; ESP Espresso(R) for distributed job scheduling in any environment; ESP Workstation graphical user interface for enterprise scheduling from a single point of control; ESP Encore(R) for automated rerun, restart and recovery; ESP Console Manager(R) for console automation; and Alchemist, software change management system for both software development and data-center production environments. Cybermation's customers include, Allstate Insurance, JC Penney, Nike, Deere & Co. and Verizon in the United States, One 2 One, Sony Europe, VHV and Janssen Pharmaceutica in Europe, and Hudson's Bay Company, Statistics Canada, and CN Rail in Canada. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and has offices throughout the United States, Europe and Australia.