Netfish and Deltek to Showcase Interoperability for Efficient Information Exchange in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction --AEC-- and Facility Management Industries.

Business/Technology Editors

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2001

Netfish Technologies, Inc., and Deltek Systems, Inc. have joined forces to demonstrate a prototype data exchange system that will enable AEC and facility management professionals to exchange project management and financial information more quickly, efficiently and accurately using extensible-markup-language (XML) technology. The demonstration, which is scheduled for April 25, 2001, at the Hotel Washington in Washington D.C., is co-sponsored by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) and the Civil Engineering Research Foundation.

Netfish and Deltek have developed the prototype data exchange system in connection with their membership in the IAI, the leading industry organization responsible for establishing the definitive aecXML standards and Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs). "Having open and uniform standards such as IFCs and the aecXML schema are critical factors for ensuring successful interoperability," says Richard Geissler, the IAI's Executive Director. "These standards will enable organizations to use their existing software applications to send, receive, access and retrieve virtually any type of project document or transactional data, empowering them to speed up the design-build process, save money and manage projects more efficiently."

Deltek's Construction Industry Director, Steve Schultz, states, "Starting with the existing data pre-processing tools in Deltek Costpoint, our fully integrated enterprise solution for sophisticated project businesses, the live interoperability demonstration will show for the first time how XML technology can extract critical financial and contract data from a project management system and automatically deliver that data to an accounting system as new items. This one example illustrates the potential major paybacks for those companies who take advantage of exchanging and accessing data electronically via XML rather than manually keying in data over and over again."

David Lynn, Netfish's Vice President of Industry and Strategic Programs, agrees, pointing out that, "Netfish and Deltek share a common vision for delivering products that expand AEC and facility management firms' capabilities for exchanging project critical data from previously incompatible sources. Automating the data exchange process greatly reduces overhead costs, increases data accuracy, and saves time by eliminating manual data entry. As a result, companies can apply these newly available resources to analyze their information more effectively and then leverage that data for making more informed decisions."

The April 25th demonstration will take place at the semi-annual meeting of CERF's Corporate Advisory Board. CERF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created by the American Society of Civil Engineers to bring together diverse groups within the civil engineering community to explore common solutions to complex research challenges facing the design, construction, and environmental industries.

About Deltek Systems, Inc.

Deltek is a leading provider of business software, solutions and consulting to more than 7,500 professional services firms and project-based companies worldwide. Deltek's solutions encompass project and financial accounting, customer relationship management, time collection and employee expense, proposal automation, project and resource management, human resources and payroll, business intelligence, and e-Business. The Company's 700 dedicated professionals have extensive insight, knowledge and experience in all areas of professional services automation. Integrated services include premium-level customer support and software maintenance, implementation and practice management consulting, and classroom training. For more information, visit Deltek at www.deltek.com or call 800/456-2009 in the U.S., and [phone] in the U.K.

About Netfish Technologies

Netfish Technologies is a leading provider of integrated XML-based B2B process collaboration solutions used by top Internet-enabled companies worldwide to facilitate B2B e-Commerce with their customers, suppliers, and partners. Netfish products deliver complete end-to-end B2B process collaboration, support all major XML protocols and EDI messaging standards, and provide seamless back-end integration to best-of-breed and legacy applications. Netfish solutions enable complete automation of a wide spectrum of business processes ranging from procurement and order fulfillment to billing and payment. Award-winning Netfish products allow corporations and both public and private marketplaces to realize a rapid return on investment, more effective collaboration with trading partners, and increased efficiency. Netfish Technologies was founded in 1997 and is based in Santa Clara, CA. Please visit www.netfish.com for more information.

IONA(R) Technologies, the leading e-business platform provider for Total Business Integration(TM) (NASDAQ: IONA), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Netfish. The transaction is subject to the approval of shareholders of both companies, as well as customary regulatory and other closing conditions, and is expected to close by the end of June 2001.

Netfish Technologies and XDI are trademarks of Netfish Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other company, brand and product names are referenced for identification purposes only and may be trademarks, which are the sole property of their respective owners.