New Device Brokerage Platform Provides Rapid Incorporation of Virtually Any Device, Machine, Instrument or Appliance Into the Business Infrastructure of Enterprises Via the Internet.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 7, 2002

Single, Turnkey Solution from Embrace Networks Simultaneously Solves

the Problems of Speedy Software Integration as Well as Provisioning

and Management of Very Large Populations of Remote Devices

Embrace Networks, Inc, an emerging leader in infrastructure for the extended Internet, today introduced the Device Brokerage Platform, a turnkey software platform that provides for the rapid incorporation of virtually any device, machine, instrument or appliance into the business or operational infrastructure of an enterprise via the Internet. The platform is the first to provide a comprehensive solution for both the rapid integration of electronic devices of widely-varying complexities into business applications or processes, and the ongoing dynamic, ad hoc operation, management, and interaction with large populations of such devices broadly dispersed throughout the world.

"There has been a rush in recent years by entrepreneurs and enterprises to connect every conceivable type of device to the Internet," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, Inc. "The drivers for this have been a desire to have such devices participate as portals into business applications, such as PDAs into a sales force automation system, or to provide for the remote provisioning, monitoring, updating, and management of an otherwise autonomous piece of equipment, such as a time clock, a hospital appliance, or even a printer. Most of this activity has been focused on connectivity - the sheer act of getting a device to `talk' over the Internet. Very few have even thought about what is a much more formidable problem - how do you dramatically reduce the complexity of integrating all of these devices into one or more applications, and how do you remotely and securely manage vast, shifting populations of devices?"

According to Maria Martinez, president and CEO of Embrace Networks, these are profound programming tasks, and a virtual black hole for critical enterprise software development resources. "Forrester Research has predicted that Internet will be extended to over 14 billion devices by the end of this decade, outnumbering computers and network appliances 25-to-1," reported Martinez. "Imagine the complexity and chaos."

Embrace conceived of the Device Brokerage Platform as a broad-based and lasting solution to eliminate much of this complexity. The platform provides the means to completely integrate an arbitrary device or family of devices into representative applications, and to generate a complete management infrastructure for those devices, in typically less than 30 days.

The Device Brokerage Platform is targeted at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that wish to provide an Internet-based management solution for their products, and to system integrators that are either incorporating remote devices into business applications, or implementing a complete management solution for large populations of machines, instruments, appliances, or other electronic devices.

One such OEM is SAGEM Morpho, one of the world's leading manufacturers of biometric access solutions. A typical SAGEM Morpho device can provide or deny premise access to individuals based upon a scan of their fingerprint. SAGEM Morpho's biometric terminals can locally store a database of several thousand fingerprints, as well as provide on-site "enrollment" - both processes that must be supported by a sophisticated central management application.

"We found the Device Brokerage Platform ideal for quickly enhancing the functionality of our Terminal Management System, as well as providing the necessary architecture for further system-wide enhancements, such as backend integration options," said Jean-Marc Suchier, president & CEO, of SAGEM Morpho. "Particularly impressive was that we were able to be fully operational on the Embrace platform in under a month, with no change to our device communications protocol."

The Brokerage Infrastructure

To resolve the profound complexity issues caused by a device-centric Internet, Embrace has introduced a new "layer" of network infrastructure that it calls the "brokerage layer." The brokerage layer is populated with distributed software services called "brokers" that provide a managed set of services for applications and devices wishing to communicate with one another.

Brokerage services include:

-- Network Abstraction - where the details of the network, such as transport method (802.11a/b, GPRS, others), locations of firewalls, etc, are transparent to devices and applications;

-- Device Abstraction - where a single broker can provide a common, simplified interface between any arbitrary application and dozens of different types of devices with varying capabilities and unique protocols;

-- Dynamic Device Administration - where individual devices that "show up" on the Network are recognized, authenticated, and assigned to the proper applications, as well as provisioned, maintained and monitored once authenticated; and

-- Context Management - where the business rules for all interactions, as well as the current state and relevant history of those interactions, is managed, for thousands - or even millions - of individual devices.

The Device Brokerage Platform

The Embrace Device Brokerage Platform is a turnkey, end-to-end software platform that permits OEMs and system integrators to incorporate arbitrary devices into business or management applications in a matter of weeks.

The platform generates a complete brokerage infrastructure, including configurable device brokers for device and network abstraction, application brokers for device adaptation to standard and custom applications, and context brokers for capturing and managing interaction rules.

In addition, the Platform includes the Embrace Management Console - an out-of-the-box application that permits OEMs to immediately start integrating their device products with existing tools and management applications. The Management Console permits simple, single- or multiple-point administration of all devices, brokers, and applications within the entire worldwide, extended Internet ecology.

For local and wide area network communications, the Platform includes Embrace MicroClient firmware, intended to be embedded in Internet-ready devices, appliances or machines, that provides secure interaction between the devices and the Brokerage Platform. This thin client features discovery and multiplexing capabilities that enable a device to identify itself to the Brokerage servers, and to communicate with multiple brokers at a single time, as well as optional AES 256-bit strong encryption, and optional MD5 Authentication.

For non-Internet devices that communicate via serial, wireless or modem legacy protocols, Embrace offers the optional programmable Device Adapter, intended to seamlessly provide all of the capabilities of the MicroClient, as well as network communications. The Device Adapter enables OEMs to bridge the gap between their existing products and future, Internet-ready devices.

Finally, the Device Brokerage Platform includes a complete development environment that includes SDKs (software development kits) for the MicroClient and broker plug-ins.

Additional technical details of the various components of the Device Brokerage Platform, are available at www.embracenetworks.com.

Pricing for a complete system, suitable for development and initial deployment, starts at $50,000. The Platform is available today through Embrace's in-house sales force.

History and Applications

Embrace has been developing the major components of the Device Brokerage Platform for over three years. The components of the Device Brokerage Platform have been thoroughly field tested in actual customer installations over the last 12 months, and have undergone three major revisions. Portions of the system have been previously disclosed; this represents the first public announcement of the complete brokerage platform and infrastructure.

Embrace's Device Brokerage Platform is being deployed for biometric security applications, energy management, premise access control, and time and attendance, among others. Representative devices are biometric scanners; energy management sensors and controls; premise access controller, time, and attendance devices; barcode scanners; devices with consumables such as printers, vending machines or ticket dispensers; or PDAs and SmartPhones.

About Embrace Networks, Inc.

Embrace is the inventor of the Device Brokerage Platform, a comprehensive, general-purpose software platform that enables the simple management and dynamic integration of nearly unlimited numbers and types of electronic devices by or into remotely-located software applications through the medium of the Internet.

The Device Brokerage Platform creates the required infrastructure for a device-centric or "extended" Internet ecology through the medium of "brokers" - powerful, secure, cooperating software services that decouple physical devices from applications while dynamically managing the context of all interactions.

The platform is a total, end-to-end, extended Internet solution that includes software tools to create and customize brokerage services, management consoles for device management, a configurable adapter for use with non-Internet devices, firmware for native device integration, and administration tools.

Embrace is an expansion-stage, venture-backed company located in Sunnyvale, California, with a development center in Naperville, Illinois. Its products are being deployed worldwide by well-known stakeholders in the extended Internet. To date, the company has raised in excess of $28 million. Investors include August Capital, JP Morgan, Intel, Thales, Crystal Internet Ventures and TechFund. The company has 45 employees. Its URL is www.embracenetworks.com.

Editors' Note: All trademarks and registered trademarks are those of their respective companies.

Additional background information is available at www.roeder-johnson.com.