First Union Selects Peritus for Its Year 2000 Solution; AutoEnhancer/2000 Chosen for Speed and Accuracy.

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1998--Peritus Software Services, Inc., a leading provider of solutions for software maintenance, today announced that the Peritus AutoEnhancer/2000 tool was selected by First Union Corporation to renovate its COBOL applications. First Union, the nation's sixth largest bank, will use the AutoEnhancer/2000 in its internal Year 2000 factory. In a "proof of concept" evaluation, the AutoEnhancer/2000 proved to be highly accurate and automated in identifying and correcting the date-sensitive items in First Union's applications.

"There is an urgent demand for automated Year 2000 solutions that reduce human intervention, time, and cost in achieving century compliance," said Harry Wise,VP of Information Technology Services. "The proven performance of the Peritus solution provides us with the confidence that First Union has selected industry leading Year 2000 technology."

Peritus provided First Union with the choice of having Peritus perform the Year 2000 renovation, or having Peritus license the AutoEnhancer/2000 to First Union so that First Union could perform its own renovation. This enabled First Union to optimize the management and execution of their Year 2000 project in a manner that meets their specific business requirements.

The critical activity in solving the Year 2000 problem is accurately and completely identifying the date-sensitive items. The AutoEnhancer/2000 employs an automated process called "knowledge propagation" to find and track the movement of date-related information throughout a system of applications. By following the movement of the date-related information, the AutoEnhancer/2000 is able to determine the date-sensitive items from their use and format, rather than from their names. Once the date-sensitive items are located, the AutoEnhancer/2000 uses automation to correct the dates. By automating a significant portion of the identification and correction tasks, a Year 2000 renovation is greatly accelerated.

"Of the 30 largest banks, First Union is known as an innovator in addressing the Year 2000 problem," said Gareth Taube, VP of Marketing at Peritus. "The fact that First Union selected Peritus, strengthens Peritus' role as a leading provider of comprehensive, automated Year 2000 solutions."

ABOUT FIRST UNION CORPORATION

Charlotte-based First Union Corporation (NASDAQ:FTU) is the nation's sixth largest bank with assets of $220 billion following its merger with CoreStates Financial Corp. April 28, 1998. First Union serves more than 16 million retail and commercial customers and has offices throughout the East Coast from Florida to Connecticut.

ABOUT PERITUS

Founded in 1991, Peritus Software Services, Inc., (NASDAQ:PTUS) is a leading provider of solutions and technology for software maintenance. Peritus software maintenance solutions enable organizations to transform software maintenance into an efficient, cost-effective process to boost productivity and performance. For the Year 2000 problem, Peritus provides a complete solution for implementing and evaluating Year 2000 compliance. Peritus has successfully renovated more than a billion lines of code for clients worldwide. Peritus is headquartered in Billerica, MA and can be reached at 1- 800-598-7787 or at the Peritus Web site http://www.peritus.com.

Peritus is a registered trademark and AutoEnhancer/2000 is a trademark of Peritus Software Services, Inc.

    CONTACT: Peritus Software Services, Inc.
              Ted Swoyer, 978/670-0800
              [e-mail]
                or
              First Union Corporation
              Harry Wise, 904/489-1486
              [e-mail]
                or
              Fitzgerald Communications Inc.
              Kim Miller, 617/494-9500
              [e-mail]