DOPG Confirms First Successful Verification Test of CORBA Transaction Service Products Using 2-phase Commitment Protocol and Largest IIOP Level Interoperability.

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1999--

- Transaction Level Interoperability Confirmed for 4 CORBA Products

and IIOP Level Interoperability among 10 vendors -

The Distributed Object Promotion Group(a) (DOPG) today announced that its Transaction Working Group (Chaired by Masahiko Narita, Fujitsu Limited) has succeeded in the transaction level interoperability verification test of members' products based on the CORBA Transaction Service using 2-phase commitment protocol. In addition, the DOPG confirmed that its Interoperability Working Group (Chaired by Nobuyuki Saji, NEC Corporation) has succeeded in its largest IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol) level interoperability verification test, involving 10 vendors. The DOPG was established in October 1997 in Japan to promote distributed object technology and to verify the inter-connectivity of member companies' products.

Transaction Level Interoperability Verification Test

The Transaction Working Group succeeded in a verification test using 2-phase commitment. This is the first attempt to prove the interoperability of products based on CORBA Transaction Service using 2-phase commitment protocol, including recovery cases among multiple vendors. In March 1998 the Transaction Working Group successfully completed a Transaction Service interoperability test of three vendors' products (Fujitsu, Hitachi and NEC) using 1-phase commitment protocol. This year, the CORBA products used in the test extended to four vendors. 2-phase commitment is considered essential for future mission-critical systems. This achievement is expected to lead to the realization of a new system model, for example the online connection between systems having their own databases, and the application of this model to E-business in a multi-vendor environment.

The CORBA products used in the interoperability verification test were:

INTERSTAGE (Fujitsu Limited)

WebOTX (NEC Corporation)

Transactional ORB SYSTEM Nu (nju:) (Nihon Unisys, Ltd.)

TPBroker (Hitachi, Ltd)

The interoperability test used a typical user model in a multi-vendor environment, and had a carefully selected 13 patterns, testing both normality and abnormality covering all protocols between different vendors.

IIOP Level Interoperability Verification Test

The Interoperability Working Group conducted an IIOP level interoperability verification test among 9 vendors in December 1998. In April 1999 IBM Japan joined the test, and a successful verification test was completed among 10 vendors using C++ and Java language. This test represents the world's largest attempt to prove the interoperability of CORBA based products, in terms of the number of companies, the number of products verified, and the number of combinations tested.

The CORBA products used in this interoperability verification test were:

BEA WebLogic Enterprise (BEA Systems Japan, Ltd.)

INTERSTAGE (Fujitsu Limited)

TPBroker (Hitachi, Ltd.)

WebSphere Application Server (IBM Japan, Ltd.)

WebOTX (NEC Corporation)

Transactional ORB SYSTEM Nu [nju:] (Nihon Unisys, Ltd.)

Oracle Application Server 4.0, Oracle8i (Oracle Corporation Japan)

THE JAVA(TM) 2 PLATFORM (Sun Microsystems)

TIB/ObjectBus (TIBCO Inc.)

Orbix/OrbixWeb (Toyo Information Systems Co., Ltd. and NEC

Corporation)

The results of Transaction Service Interoperability Test and IIOP Level Verification Test will be reported at today's OMG Technical Committee Meeting in Tokyo.

Richard Mark Soley, Chairman and CEO of Object Management Group, Inc. says: "OMG is delighted to see the DOPG's new achievements in its continuing pioneering work in interoperability testing between implementations of OMG's Adopted Technologies. Mission critical systems in enterprise-wide settings rely on guaranteed out-of-the-box interoperability, and the DOPG's continuing sterling efforts in this area prove the value of open, neutral consensus-based standards.

The Interoperability Working Group and Transaction Working Group plans to call for more CORBA products to be verified and to improve the quality of the verification test.

(a)The Group's members are BEA Systems Japan, Ltd., Fujitsu Limited, Hitachi, Ltd., IBM Japan, Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric  Corp., NEC Corporation, Nihon Unisys, Ltd., OGIS-RI (Osaka Gas  Information System Research Institute Company, Ltd.), Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Oracle Corporation Japan, Sun Microsystems, TIBCO Inc., Toshiba Corporation, Toyo Information Systems Co. Ltd. All company and product names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

(About OMG)

With the support of its membership of over 800 software vendors, software developers and end users, OMG's CORBA is "The Middleware That's Everywhere." Since 1989, OMG has been "Setting The Standards For Distributed Computing" through its mission to promote the theory and practice of object technology for the development of distributed computing systems. The goal is to provide a common architectural framework for object oriented applications based on widely available interface specifications. OMG is headquartered in Framingham, MA, USA and has international marketing offices in the UK, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Australia, India and Bahrain. Additionally, OMG is a sponsor of the COMDEX Enterprise series of Trade Shows and Conferences.

(DOPG's Members)

BEA Systems Japan, Ltd.

BEA Systems, Inc., is a leading provider of mission-critical Middleware and Internet solutions for the world's largest enterprises. BEA's product line enables end-to-end, integrated solutions for electronic-commerce and business-critical systems. BEA products include BEA TUXEDO, the industry's market share leader for distributed transaction management software; BEA WebLogic, a leading application server family providing CORBA, Java, and EJB solutions; and BEA eLink, a solution for integrating enterprise applications.

BEA is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has 50 offices in 24 countries. BEA Systems Japan, Ltd. founded in Yokohama in May '96 is the 100% capitalized subsidiary company of BEA Systems, Inc. In Japan, BEA TUXEDO and other BEA products have been distributed by more than 7 major firms such as CTC, Compaq, Fujitsu, IWI, NEC, Oki Electric Industry and Unisys. BEA Japan provides complete solutions through its extensive partner network, and a full range of services including consulting, training and support.

Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu Limited is a leading provider of information technology products and solutions for the global marketplace. Founded in Japan in 1935 as a telephone equipment maker, the Fujitsu Group had consolidated revenues of $37.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998. With over 500 group companies, including Amdahl and ICL, Fujitsu is one of the world's largest suppliers of computers and information systems solutions, telecommunications and semiconductor products, software and services. The Fujitsu Group has over 180,000 employees worldwide and operations in more than 100 countries. Homepage: http://www.fujitsu.co.jp/index-e.html

Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1997 (ended March 31, 1998) consolidated sales of 8,417 billion yen ($63.8 billion)(b). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.

(b) At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the dollar.

IBM Japan, Ltd.

IBM Japan began its business operations in Japan in 1937 as a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM, now a corporation doing business in over 160 countries worldwide. Based on the current spread of the Internet and intranets, IBM Japan continues to develop its business energetically as it moves to solidify its leadership in the area of network computing. In 1996 the company recorded its third consecutive year of increased income and profit, with income of 1,425,069 million and profit of 112,111 million. As of April 1, 1997, IBM Japan had 20,689 employees. In the future, demand is expected to expand still further in the information industry.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is a leading manufacturer of electrical and electronic equipment, that is developing and manufacturing reliable, high-quality products to work toward its aim of creating a harmonious relationship between society and the field of high technology. Its areas of business range from information processing and communication systems, space equipment, semiconductors and electronic devices to consumer products, building and automation equipment, industrial products, energy-related equipment and transportation systems. URL: http://www.melco.co.jp/index_e.htm

NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) pioneered the concept of C&C, the integration of Computers and Communications, and is the only company in the world to be counted among top ranking corporations spanning the wide range of fields essential for this vision of multimedia: computers, communications and electron devices. Employing in excess of 150,000 people around the world, NEC saw net sales in fiscal year 1997-98 amount to 4,901 billion yen (approx. US$37 billion). For further information visit our home page at: http://www.nec-global.com

Nihon Unisys, Ltd.

Nihon Unisys, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1958, is the joint venture of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Unisys Corp. with fiscal year 1997 non-consolidated sales (ending March 31, 1998) of 293.2 billion yen. The company provides products and services, including mainframe computers, personal computers, software, system related and network related services.

OGIS-RI (Osaka Gas Information System Research Institute Company, Ltd.)

Founded in 1983, Osaka Gas Information System Research Institute Company, Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Osaka Gas Company, Ltd. OGIS provides information systems solutions to Japanese companies and, since 1993, has provided training, consulting, systems integration, and a full range of object technology products to Japanese customers through its Object Technology Center.

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. manufactures and markets telecommunications systems, information systems and electronic devices worldwide. The company was founded in 1881 as Japan's first telecommunications manufacturer and employs over 20,000 people worldwide. For more information about Oki Electric and Oki group companies, visit Oki's web site at http://www.oki.com.

Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company. With annual revenues of over $8.3 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in more than 145 countries around the world.

Sun Microsystems

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ "SUNW") to its position as a leading provider of hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $9 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.

TIBCO Inc. (formerly Teknekron Software Systems, Inc.)

TIBCO Inc. founded in Palo Alto in 1985, is a market leader in event driven enterprise Middleware and is integral to the IT strategy of the worlds most progressive international companies. TIBCO has 21 offices around the world, including the one in Tokyo, and revenues of US$ 144M. Already, over 400 of the world's best known companies have adopted the TIBR platform as the foundation for their distributed systems. TIBCO invented the concept of Enterprise Publish-Subscribe computing which enables businesses everywhere to access the information they need transparently, by simple scheme of subject names. It is the core of our patented, industrial-strength middleware, known as The Information BusR or TIBR integration platform. With the TIB, trillions of dollars are transacted in the financial world and it is an integral part of many manufacturing facilities conducting production in a non-stop manner. TIBCO flagship products are the TIB middleware and its CORBA 2.0 compliant object middleware supporting both the CORBA inter-operable protocol as well as the TIB quality of service protocol. These technologies are integrated in the Active Enterprise integration framework which TIBCO launched.

Toshiba Corporation

Toshiba, a world leader in high technology, is a manufacturer of products spanning information/communications systems (computer systems, telecommunications equipment, social automation systems, medical electronics equipment, space-related products, etc.), information equipment & consumer electronics (personal computers, word processors, storage devices, video products, household appliances, etc.), power systems & industrial equipment (industrial apparatus, power generating plants, transportation equipment, elevators & escalators, etc.) and electronic components & materials (semiconductors, electron tubes, optoelectronic devices, liquid crystal displays, batteries, printed circuit boards, etc.). With know-how developed over 124 years, Toshiba is today one of the world's largest integrated manufacturers of electric and electronic equipment, has over 188,000 employees worldwide, and enjoys annual sales of over US$40 billion.

TIS (TOYO INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD.)

TIS is the Japanese reseller and systems integrator of Orbix, and leads IONA's presence in this important market. TIS has 2,000 employees worldwide and net sales exceeding US$604 million. It has been providing total information solutions since 1971 through a blend of systems integration, services, consultancy, software development and network services. In 1995 Toyo chose to resell Orbix through its Object Technology Business Department. But the relationship between the two companies has been more than a simple reselling deal. IONA has helped train TIS' employees and has provided TIS with dedicated back-up services. Access to product and sales information has allowed TIS to make informed decisions both for themselves and for their clients. The companies view each other very much as partners and know that what is good for one is good for the other.