NASA Chooses Tumbleweed Solution; Tumbleweed IME Powers Internet-Based RFP Pilot.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 1999--

Tumbleweed Communications Corp. announced today that the NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS) and the NASA Ames Research Center have purchased the Tumbleweed Integrated Messaging Exchange(TM) (IME(TM)) as the foundation for electronic exchanges of contract documents in NASA's 'Electronic Request for Proposals' (E-RFP) Pilot -- a paperless system for receiving and tracking bidder responses to NASA's Requests for Proposals.

NASA Acquisition Internet Service creates an electronic communications bridge between NASA and thousands of suppliers. Tumbleweed IME, a comprehensive software and services solution that leverages the Internet and existing e-mail to enable secure, trackable on-line communication, provides the security, trackability and control that NASA's procurement officers require to navigate through and manage the thousands of RFPs they receive each year.

"Bringing our business processes on-line without sacrificing security and control is one of our significant goals at NASA," said Bob Brummett, Business Systems Manager, NASA Ames Research. "As we build new electronic processes, it's critical that we avoid adding complexity to our technology infrastructure. Tumbleweed IME is scalable, highly secure and easy to control and administer. It meets our goals without requiring us to install additional desktop software."

"Procurement has been a hugely paper-intensive process," said Jeffrey C. Smith, CEO and President, Tumbleweed Communications Corp. "Companies achieve significant benefits when they move the whole process on-line to get closer to their customers and suppliers. NASA is at the vanguard of this trend -- they've made shrewd choices about transforming the RFP process. We're delighted to have Tumbleweed IME play a role in implementing NASA's paperless vision."

NASA E-RFP builds on the NAIS World Wide Web posting capabilities for RFPs by integrating electronic mail, electronic forms, digital signatures and workgroup tools to eliminate manual tasks and streamline the vendor selection process. The solution also features public/private key infrastructure security allowing an end-to-end, secure, fully digital exchange of contracting documents.

About Tumbleweed Communications Corp.

Tumbleweed Communications is a leading provider of secure online communication services. Tumbleweed Integrated Messaging Exchange (IME) includes all the components necessary to develop and deploy online business applications involving the delivery of files and documents. Working with existing e-mail systems and online applications, Tumbleweed IME powers universal messaging solutions ranging from confidential, trackable business exchanges to secure, automated transactions.

Founded in 1993, Tumbleweed is a privately held corporation headquartered in Redwood City, Calif. Tumbleweed customers include the Chase Manhattan Bank, the European Commission, United Parcel Service (UPS), Pitney Bowes, and NTT. Tumbleweed partners include Sun Microsystems, Oracle, VeriSign, and RSA.

Additional information about Tumbleweed Communications can be found at www.tumbleweed.com.

Note to Editors: Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. Tumbleweed Communications assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.