ISOCOR Expands Meta-Directory Product in New Release.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 1999--

MetaConnect v2.0 utilizes Microsoft's Active Directory, runs on UNIX 

platforms, provides group management and secure socket layer support

ISOCOR (Nasdaq:ICOR), a leading Internet messaging, directory and meta-directory software developer, today announced release of MetaConnect(TM) v2.0, an expanded version of ISOCOR's complete solution to the meta-directory problem.

In addition to the advantages inherent in the original release, MetaConnect's version 2.0 utilizes Microsoft's Active Directory, runs on UNIX platforms and provides both group management mechanisms and secure socket layer support. ISOCOR plans to ship MetaConnect v2.0 within the next thirty days.

According to Network World magazine, 1999 is "the year of the meta-directory." The need for a unified directory infrastructure is essential for organizations that desire a leadership position in the global electronic economy. "ISOCOR's MetaConnect family of products is the first solution that delivers the full meta-directory functionality necessary to compete in the e-commerce arena," said ISOCOR President and CEO, Paul Gigg. "With industry analysts stating that business to business electronic commerce is expected to grow to more than US$200 billion by 2001, meta-directory solutions will be a differentiating factor between success and failure for many companies."

MetaConnect unifies existing corporate data from dissimilar databases, applications and directories into one 'meta-directory' that can be centrally managed as a unified resource across the enterprise. The ability to centrally manage dissimilar corporate data greatly enhances intranet, Internet and e-commerce functionality by giving corporations accurate, up-to-date information on their customers, products, trading partners and employees while substantially reducing data management costs. Dan Blum, an analyst with The Burton Group, said, "The need for enterprise directory integration has escalated. ISOCOR's MetaConnect allows companies to enhance a directory of their choice and offers 'true' join capabilities."

MetaConnect v2.0 brings key technologies and features to this meta-directory solution, including the following:

Full Support for Active Directory

Version 2.0 includes full support for Active Directory. Customers can use the Microsoft Active Directory as the repository for all MetaConnect information. In this configuration, MetaConnect does not require any other directory services. MetaConnect version 2.0 can fully manage Windows 2000 users and groups through the Active Directory connection.

Platform Availability

MetaConnect v2.0 was simultaneously released on both Windows NT and Sun Solaris operating systems. The MetaConnect JoinEngine is built on a high performance thread model that offers exceptional performance on both NT and UNIX systems. This ensures that the performance of the meta-directory system as a whole is only limited by the capabilities of the connected directory systems themselves.

Group Management

The JoinEngine provides a powerful mechanism for building and managing dynamic groups in the directory server. It allows the administrator to define a set of search filters that it will use to determine the group members. When a change is made anywhere in the meta-directory, the JoinEngine will make the appropriate changes to its managed groups.

The MetaConnect v2.0 connectors can control and manage group objects in connected systems. This ensures that a single update to a group can propagate all connected systems (such as Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange).

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Support

The JoinEngine and all connectors support the use of LDAP over SSL to protect the transport of data between the components.

Directory Independent

MetaConnect is directory independent, which means the JoinEngine can build and manage the MetaView in any LDAPv3 compliant directory server with selected LDAP extensions to the server or to the JoinEngine to provide key services.

ISOCOR's MetaConnect family of products has won the Seventh Annual Data Communications HOT PRODUCTS competition in the network software category. The editors of Data Communications scoured the industry for the best and brightest networking technology products and services. After months of rigorous research, the editors selected 50 winners, each boasting a key technology differentiator that sets it apart from the competition and results in clear and quantifiable financial benefits (e.g., increases productivity, cuts administrative costs, prevents theft, etc.).

About ISOCOR

ISOCOR (www.isocor.com) is a leading provider of world-class Internet software; supplying high-quality, high-performance software designed to handle an organization's messaging, directory and meta-directory requirements. ISOCOR customers represent Fortune 1000 companies and service providers in the manufacturing, entertainment, telecommunications, financial, government, healthcare and other markets around the world. Customers include Texas Instruments, UUNET and New York Life, Netscape among others. Recent customer wins include BT Syncordia Solutions, Credit Suisse, Telecom Italia, TELMEX, Corporate Software & Technologies among others. Meta Alliance Program members include: Ernst & Young Consulting, Banyan Worldwide, Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Inacom Corporation.

Headquartered in California, USA, ISOCOR is a global organization with major development centers in Santa Monica, Dublin and Berlin. ISOCOR has sales/support offices in key international business centers including London, Paris, Turin, Berlin and Bern.

Except for the historical information, the matters discussed in this document are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include the impact of competitive announcements and products, continued broad deployment and use of the Internet for electronic messaging, the rate of growth of the markets in which the Company competes, the effect and rate of change in standards and platforms for messaging products, the risks associated with the year 2000, as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports, including but not limited to the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998, and/or Form 10-Q for the quarters ended in 1999, copies of which are available from ISOCOR's Investor Relations Department or through the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this document.

ISOCOR and MetaConnect are registered trademarks of ISOCOR. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.