HP Announces OpenMail Release 6.0.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1999--

Major Upgrade of Business Messaging and Collaboration Solution

Provides Reliable, Scalable, Flexible E-services Powerhouse

for UNIX System and Linux Environments

Hewlett-Packard Company today announced the availability of OpenMail Release 6.0, the latest version of its UNIX(R) system business messaging and collaboration solution. OpenMail 6.0 delivers unique and upgraded functionality, e-services capabilities and ultra-low TCO (total cost of ownership).

As the only non-Microsoft(R) server that supports the rich collaboration functionality of Microsoft Outlook, HP's OpenMail 6.0 is a unique solution. OpenMail's Outlook integration was developed as part of HP's Microsoft alliance program.

In a recent independent survey of messaging administrators(1), OpenMail was rated best for reliability, scalability and overall system functionality. OpenMail also was rated highly for its technical support and service offerings. Release 6.0 improves on these benefits, making it an ideal messaging and collaboration solution for businesses and the premier UNIX system platform for delivering Microsoft Outlook functionality to the desktop.

"We're tremendously excited about OpenMail 6.0," said Bernard Guidon, HP vice president and general manager of HP's Communications Industry Business Unit. "I want customers and prospects to know that OpenMail 6.0's extensive array of new and upgraded features underscore OpenMail's leadership and further strengthen OpenMail's proven capabilities. Our 10 million OpenMail users are representative of the world's largest businesses; we expect they'll see Release 6.0 as a tremendous evolution of the OpenMail solution."

OpenMail 6.0 key upgrades include the following:

-- improved support for Microsoft Outlook;

-- enhanced high-end business scalability;

-- native Internet and Web support;

-- unrivaled legacy interoperability; and

-- decreased IT department workload.

OpenMail 6.0's integration with Microsoft Outlook provides such advanced features as wide-area shared calendars, public folders and address-book integration. OpenMail 6.0 also includes support for delegation and improved remote/offline working.

Scalability always has been a market-leading strength for OpenMail. With its new Parallel Queuing Architecture (PQA), OpenMail 6.0 now can support as many as a million users on a single server, without splitting functionality onto separate machines.

OpenMail 6.0's Internet support is upgraded, natively offering a broad coverage of standards support, including scalable LDAPv3 directory access. OpenMail 6.0 also includes a new Web-based interface with leading performance, functionality and flexibility.

Improved interoperability with legacy desktop e-mail applications, such as cc:Mail and Microsoft Mail, eliminates the use of troublesome gateways. Interoperability with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus(R) Domino servers also is improved.

OpenMail 6.0 decreases an IT department's workload by helping ensure Y2K compliance, controlling large distribution lists and tightening integration with HP OpenView enterprise-management solutions. Today, there are several OpenMail customers that require only one administrator to support 50,000 users. This, together with OpenMail's leading scalability and reliability, drives TCO down to unprecedented levels.

About OpenMail

OpenMail is HP's UNIX system business messaging and collaboration solution based on Internet standards. It is a technology foundation for building e-services solutions, with an installed base of more than 10 million seats. OpenMail is designed for the heterogeneous environments often found in large enterprises, and is used by many world-class businesses as the core of their communications and e-services infrastructures.

About HP's Communications Industry Business Unit

Hewlett-Packard Company supplies communications IT infrastructure to every Fortune 500 telecommunications company in the world today. HP and its partners deliver management, network intelligence, billing and customer-care solutions for UNIX and Windows NT(R) system platforms, enabling service providers to migrate from network- to customer-focused business models as the Internet and telephony worlds converge.

More information and an online media kit are available at www.hp.com/telecom.

Information about OpenMail is available at www.hp.com/go/openmail.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for business and home -- is focused on capitalizing on the opportunities of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic services. HP had computer-related revenue of $39.5 billion in its 1998 fiscal year.

HP plans to launch a new and independent measurement company consisting of its industry-leading test-and-measurement, components, chemical-analysis and medical businesses. These businesses represented $7.6 billion of HP's total revenue in fiscal 1998. With leading positions in multiple market segments, this technology-based company will focus on high-growth opportunities such as communications and life sciences.

HP has 122,800 employees worldwide and had total revenue of $47.1 billion in its 1998 fiscal year. Information about HP, its products and the company's Year 2000 program can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

(1) Survey conducted by Creative Networks Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm that specializes in identifying and measuring the business value of technology.

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

Microsoft and Windows NT are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

Lotus is a U.S. registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corp.