Montauk Financial Group Selects Cypress Communications for Hosted VoIP Solution.

Financial Services Company Chooses C4 IP for Business Continuity and Productivity Enhancing Features

RED BANK, N.J. & ATLANTA -- Montauk Financial Group, a leading financial services company providing a full spectrum of investment products through a national network of independent financial professionals, announced today that they have selected Cypress Communications, one of the nation's largest suppliers of end-to-end managed communication solutions, as their hosted communications provider. Cypress will deliver the hosted service to Montauk using their flagship product, C4 IP, a fully managed voice, data and Internet solution that enables users to connect, communicate, collaborate and continue business as usual, in the face of any disaster.

"The development and management of a business continuity plan is paramount for our business. Cypress' C4 IP solution is an important part of our corporate business continuity strategy and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance with its ability to provide uninterrupted voice and data communications. With C4 IP, our business will be protected should we experience a disaster. We'll be able to quickly reroute our communications and be up and running, business as usual, in no time," said Thomas Cottingham, senior vice president and business information officer at Montauk Financial.

"As we discussed Montauk Financial's communication goals, the importance of business continuity planning became quickly apparent. With 100 employees at their corporate headquarters and 250 affiliates throughout the nation, downtime is not an option. Cypress has been providing managed desktop communications for 20 years, so our legacy as an industry veteran, with the experience, staff and innovative technology to keep our customers' communications up and running was a good match for Montauk's business needs," said Frank Grillo, executive vice president of sales, service and marketing, Cypress Communications. "With C4 IP, not only can Cypress provide a secure, reliable, redundant communications solution, but can also provide productivity-enhancing advanced VoIP and collaboration features."

Because the business intelligence is located on the Cypress network and not in Montauk Financial's office, the company can remain operational no matter what happens at their physical location. C4's cutting-edge, user-friendly Web portal and remote access tools enable Montauk to run their business from a hotel or any other temporary location that has an Internet connection.

"With our previous communication system our growth potential was limited, but we anticipate that C4 IP's inherent flexibility will allow for future growth, such as adding new locations or hiring additional employees. For us, C4 IP is the total communications package. The converged desktop capabilities and employee presence information will drive productivity daily. And the collaboration tools, such as Web Conferencing and file sharing, will facilitate improved communications between our product and field organizations," Cottingham continued.

C4 IP is an enterprise-class, hosted VoIP solution that enables multi-location companies to communicate seamlessly throughout the enterprise. Scalable and adaptable, C4 is a dynamic communications solution that streamlines and improves communications, resulting in a more productive and efficient enterprise.

C4 IP features a soft phone, allowing the user to make and receive telephone calls from their PC without the use of a traditional telephone. It also integrates with the user's Cypress-provided IP desktop phone and acts as the interface to the multimedia functionality of C4 IP--presence, chat, point-to-point video calling, file sharing, collaboration, and Web conferencing.

About Montauk Financial

Montauk Financial Group (http://www.montaukfinancial.com), based in Red Bank, New Jersey, is a leading financial services firm providing a full spectrum of investment products through its nationwide network of independent financial professionals. Montauk Financial Group and its network of independent financial professionals are committed to providing personalized financial services, insight, and advice to clients to help them achieve a well-balanced and productive portfolio. Montauk Financial Group is a service mark of First Montauk Securities Corp., Member NASD/SIPC and SEC Registered Investment Adviser.

About Cypress Communications

Boasting a 20-year legacy and more than 6,500 customers coast-to-coast, Cypress is one of the nation's largest providers of end-to-end managed communication solutions for mid-sized businesses. Cypress provides advanced IP phones and voice over IP services with cutting edge multimedia desktop applications like Microsoft Outlook integration; unified messaging; video calling and audio, video and Web conferencing. As a Deloitte Fast 50 and Fast 500 award recipient, Cypress is also recognized as one of the fastest growing telecommunication companies in North America. Cypress is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The company's Web address is www.cypresscom.net.