Mathsoft Announces Mathcad Application Server.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2003

Web-Based System Provides Rapid, Easy and Cost-Effective

Deployment of Calculations and Technical Content

Throughout and Beyond the Enterprise

Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc., the only provider of calculation solutions that drive best practices for engineers and engineering organizations, today announced Mathcad(TM) Application Server, a server-based deployment solution for technical content and calculations. Mathcad Application Server offers anytime, anywhere access to interactive technical material via any Web browser, without requiring viewers to any install plug-ins or client software. This release extends Mathsoft's calculation-management strategy, which is designed to facilitate sharing and reuse of critical calculations in business organizations.

This new product from Mathsoft enables organizations to freely deploy Mathcad applications over the Web. Mathcad Application Server offers enterprises the power to deploy calculations in any Web-based environment--from client-accessed Web sites, intranet-based knowledge centers or simple Web pages that require calculation functionality--making the options for information sharing, display and reuse limited only by the needs and imaginations of a given organization.

"Leading corporations are using information technology to better manage and leverage their design engineering assets," said Chris Randles, CEO of Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc. "Mathcad Application Server is a step towards Mathsoft's vision of calculation management because it greatly expands the ways for organizations to centralize, share, reuse and update their calculations."

"Spreadsheets are dangerous things--they hide the actual calculations from their user. Too often mistakes go undetected," said Carol Baroudi, CEO of Baroudi Bloor Group. "The potential for serious error should unnerve any organization that relies on mathematical calculations. Mathcad Application Server can greatly reduce errors in tangible ways, including forcing consistency of units and by making calculations visible and reusable."

Anytime, Anywhere Access to Technical Content

Mathcad Application Server opens a world of Mathcad content to Web-based end users, providing them a view into new types of information as well as the opportunity to interact with math-based content at their source. This new product brings all of Mathcad's built-in mathematical functions, including numeric and symbolic processing and 2D and 3D graphing, to the Web. Mathcad Application Server makes it possible to develop easy-to-access systems for the reuse of common calculations to reduce engineering development time and calculation errors, while also enabling field engineers to retrieve technical information from anywhere.

As a server-based solution, Mathcad Application Server becomes the calculation engine for all users interacting with Web-based Mathcad content. Content authors can quickly and easily turn their worksheets into HTML for Web posting. Content users then simply enter their design parameters into form fields, such as text boxes, list boxes and buttons. Their inputs are sent to Mathcad Application Server via HTTP where they are processed in real time and returned to the Web browsers as updated results, charts and graphs.

Cost-Effective Deployment of Calculations, Minimal Training

Mathcad Application Server enables organizations to easily distribute Mathcad calculations to clients, customers and colleagues at a low cost and with minimal training. With no additional system requirements beyond a Web browser on client machines, this server-based software solution eliminates the overhead of maintenance of multiple desktop systems. Authors do not need experience with server-side scripting or HTML coding to deploy complex Web-based math applications. In addition, because end users are already used to working in a browser environment, they can easily adapt to a Web-based system, thus reducing organizational training costs for learning a new product.

Scalability and Performance

Mathsoft has designed the Mathcad Application Server to meet the increasing requirements for system scalability that its customers demand. Built on top of Windows 2000 Server, Mathcad Application Server is designed to allow organizations to scale up or scale out. Mathcad Application Server also offers IT managers and administrators full control over security and access because it is built on top of Internet Information Services (IIS).

Pricing & Availability

Mathcad Application Server will be available in July 2003. Licensing is on a per processor basis, starting at $13,750 per processor. One year of an annual software assurance plan is included to provide priority support for up to two designated IT contacts and includes interim software updates, service releases and major upgrades. Further details on the application server, including working examples of the server in action, can be found at www.mathcad.com/products/mathcad_application_server.asp.

About Mathcad

With more than 1.5 million users worldwide, Mathcad is the industry-standard applied calculation solution for technical professionals and the technical academic community. Available in single-user and Enterprise editions, Mathcad provides high-powered calculation and documentation capabilities as well as functionality for centralized management of the essential calculations that drive engineering enterprises. Mathcad Enterprise provides Calculation Management(TM) support that, for the first time, makes its possible to systematically capture, share and manage math-based information throughout the entire organization. Mathcad Enterprise integrates with Microsoft(R) SharePoint(TM) Portal Server, enabling engineering organizations to manage calculations--such as math procedures and critical design parameters--through centralized repository capabilities.

About Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc.

Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc. is the only provider of calculation solutions that drive best practices for engineers and engineering organizations. Mathsoft recognizes that calculations drive engineering processes and, with Mathcad, offers the one software solution that allows organizations to capture engineering analyses as well as the thought processes and information behind them. With Mathsoft's calculation management solutions, engineering-intensive organizations can achieve improved efficiency, greater productivity and reduced risk as they gain increased visibility into their design and development processes and continuous verification and validation of key calculations. Mathcad, with its patented self-documenting, live-math interface, is the internationally recognized standard for technical calculation and applying mathematics. Mathcad is deployed at 90% of the Fortune 1000 companies, over 500 government installations, and more than 2,000 colleges and universities. Based in Cambridge, Mass., Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc. has additional offices in the U.K. and Japan and distributors in over 50 countries. The company can be found on the Web at www.mathsoft.com.

Mathsoft and Calculation Management are trademarks and Mathcad is a registered trademark of Mathsoft Engineering & Education, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark, and SharePoint is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other product or company names or marks listed may be registered trademarks, trademarks or trade names of their respective owners.