INTERFACE ALLOWS USER TO MANAGE/CROSSTRAIN DB INFRASTRUCTURE.

Quest Software Inc. (Nasdaq:QSFT), Irvine, Calif., a provider of application management solutions, will expand its heterogeneous database management offering with Quest Central(TM).

Currently available as separate products for Oracle and DB2 databases, Quest Central is an integrated toolset that simplifies daily database management duties including administration, performance diagnostics, SQL tuning and space management. The Quest Central product roadmap will culminate in the release of a single database management console designed to optimize the performance of multiple database platforms including Oracle, DB2 and SQL Server.

"Over 90 percent of organizations who own relational database management systems are utilizing more than one type of database. And due to budget cutbacks, organizations are confronted with managing more data with limited resources," said Ray Paquet, vice president, research director for Gartner. "Whether running Oracle, DB2 or SQL Server, or all three, the ability to cross-train the staff to manage all flavors will greatly enhance worker versatility and productivity, as well as save companies from having to purchase multiple tools from a variety of vendors to manage their mission-critical systems."

Throughout the year, Quest Software will execute on its heterogeneous strategy by delivering new products and updating existing products to help organizations overcome the challenges associated with limited DBA resources and multi-platform database environments.

By allowing users to cross-train and manage their entire database infrastructure from a single interface, organizations are empowered to quickly diagnose and resolve issues within their growing and diverse database infrastructures.

Long-time Quest Software customer, Whirlpool, owns both Oracle and DB2 databases and recently transferred its call center data to DB2.

"Whirlpool has been using Quest Software's database management products for several years and when we added DB2 UDB to our database portfolio, we anticipated a significant learning curve and even considered hiring additional DBAs. As soon as we investigated Quest Central for DB2 we found that it offers an identical interface and the same robust functionality as Quest Central for Oracle," said Mark Clayton, lead DBA for Whirlpool Corp. "Our staff was able to learn DB2 using Quest Central and quickly became cross-trained in both environments.

"We are looking forward to Quest Software's single console and believe it will further reduce the footprint on our servers, facilitate installation and save us from having to hire additional staff."

"The Quest Central strategy encompasses the strength and depth of our individual database management tools and the breadth of a heterogeneous offering," said Darin Pendergraft, director of product management for Quest Central. "We intend to maintain leadership by continuing to deliver robust functionality within each individual platform with the ultimate goal of providing a single unified management console."

Pricing and Availability

Quest Central for Oracle and DB2 are available now with per server pricing starting at $2,400. Spotlight on SQL Server, the first component of Quest Central for SQL Server, is also available now, with pricing starting at $1,495 per server.

About Quest Software Inc.

Quest Software is a leading provider of application management solutions. Quest provides customers with Application Confidence(SM) by delivering reliable software products to develop, deploy, manage and maintain enterprise applications without expensive downtime or business interruption.

Targeting high availability, monitoring, database management and Microsoft infrastructure management, Quest products increase the performance and uptime of business-critical applications and enable IT professionals to achieve more with fewer resources. The company has headquarters in Irvine. and has offices around the globe.

For more information, visit http://www.quest.com or call 949/754-8536.