Leading Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturer to Deploy Aras Version 6; Varian Semiconductor Drives Product Development Performance with Aras Solution.

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- Aras Corporation, a provider of practical Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions for performance driven manufacturers, today announced that Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSEA), a leading producer of ion implantation equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductors, has selected Aras (TM) PLM - Version 6 - to provide visibility and actionable metrics for product development and engineering change based on the Institute of Configuration Management's CMII principles.

"In our industry, superior quality and customer responsiveness are essential to maintain leadership," said Jim Sutton, Manager of IT Engineering Systems for Varian Semiconductor. "The metrics in the Aras solution give us the visibility we need to direct our product and engineering change processes and enable us to meet our continuous improvement initiatives."

Varian Semiconductor's market leadership requires the constant advancement of product technology and the flawless execution of business processes. Increasing product and process complexity led Varian Semiconductor to Aras for a practical solution to simplify and integrate the overall product change process for better coordination. The implementation of Aras PLM will enable cycle-time reduction by unifying and streamlining the change management process. The benefits will also include improved quality and availability of product information throughout the company.

Following a comprehensive review of PLM solutions on the market, Varian Semiconductor selected Aras PLM based on superior functionality, cost of ownership, and the ability to deploy the solution incrementally. In addition to the product change process, Varian Semiconductor plans to use Aras PLM for project management, quality systems compliance support, and the process for managing customer and engineering commitments.

The Aras PLM solution enables Varian Semiconductor to manage, measure, and improve its overall product development process. The fact that the Aras solution is based on Microsoft .NET technology appealed to the Company because of the simplicity and affordability. By utilizing Microsoft(R) .NET technology Aras takes advantage of the common Microsoft platforms in addition to being entirely based on standard Internet protocols including HTTP / HTTPS, XML and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). Every aspect of Aras solutions is designed to provide the lowest total cost of ownership for customers.

"Aras understands the challenges of semiconductor equipment manufacturers like Varian Semiconductor and that is why we are committed to delivering practical business ready solutions that deploy quickly, adapt easily, and scale rapidly," said Rick Lucier, CEO of Aras Corporation. "We are pleased that Varian Semiconductor has selected Aras and look forward to helping them achieve their key strategic goals."

About Varian Semiconductor

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. is a leading producer of ion implantation equipment used in the manufacture of semiconductors. The company is headquartered in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and operates worldwide. For additional information visit www.vsea.com

About Aras Corporation

Aras Corporation provides practical, affordable Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) business ready solutions for performance driven manufacturers. Visibility and actionable metrics focus resources on continuous improvement and value-added operations. The underlying Aras Innovator(TM) application framework is a next generation model-based, service oriented architecture that enables customers to deploy solutions quickly and adapt easily without programming delivering a Total Cost of Ownership far lower than conventional enterprise systems. Customers include CNT, Rolls-Royce, Freudenberg-NOK, and the U.S. Army. Aras is headquartered in Lawrence, Mass. For additional information call [phone] or visit www.aras.com.