Oblix Web Access Management Solution Reduces Enterprise-Wide Cost of Ownership Through Web Services and Identity Management.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 2001

- Fully XML-Enabled Oblix NetPoint 5.0 Delivers Comprehensive

Integration Options to Extended Enterprise -

Oblix Inc., a leading developer of e-business infrastructure software, today announced the release of Oblix NetPoint 5.0. The first Web access management solution to be delivered with a Web services architecture, Oblix NetPoint 5.0 enables companies to apply Web single sign-on and user identity management across large enterprise networks while reducing the cost of ownership.

"Oblix NetPoint 5.0 has been designed from the ground up to manage the needs of advanced e-business infrastructures with millions of users who each have different levels of access privileges to varied applications and content," explains Gordon Eubanks, president and chief executive officer, Oblix. "To deploy single sign-on, companies must be able to administer and manage the identities of all the constituents who need access to applications. The benefit of our integrated solution is an immediate reduction in the cost of ownership for the large enterprise, coupled with a long-term return on investment resulting from ease of integration and the ability to bring efficient business practices online."

Significant new features in Oblix NetPoint 5.0 include:

Industrial Strength Identity Management

Oblix NetPoint 5.0 enables the enterprise to cost effectively manage user access by individual, by group or by organization. Access is determined by sophisticated user identity profiles that are fully workflow-enabled, while other solutions tend to rely on more manual processes that cannot be as widely distributed. The Group Manager feature makes it easy for companies to manage access rights across internal and external groups, as well as give individuals self-subscription capability to join a group.

Unique to Oblix NetPoint 5.0 is support for dynamic as well as static and nested groups. The enforcement of real-time access privileges, based on dynamic group membership, deliver higher levels of security throughout the enterprise. These features save IT and administrative time and dollars by making self-service practical and easy, as well as by enabling enterprises to assign trusted, non-technical administrators and business users to handle the automated process.

"When we deployed Oblix NetPoint 4.0, it was quickly apparent how much more control we had managing the identity of users who have access to our business environment," states John Frazier, director of infrastructure services, i2 Technologies. "As we continue to grow, Oblix NetPoint 5.0 looks to be a solution that will scale with us and provide the flexibility needed to help secure our increasingly complex environment."

Web Services Architecture Spanning Access and Identity Functionality

Oblix NetPoint 5.0 uses XML functionality to provide the most integration options available in the industry. It is the only solution on the market with XML-based Web services that span access and identity functionality (AccessXML and IdentityXML). The new version of Oblix NetPoint also includes a complete set of programmatic APIs that span access and identity functionality.

"Enterprises need to look further than single sign-on as they develop advanced Internet infrastructures," says Joe Duffy, Americas partner, Security Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Both the complexities and costs of doing business online grow rapidly when you attempt to combine heterogeneous systems. Oblix NetPoint 5.0 offers clients a significant increase in the options for integrating user identity management and security policies into an Internet infrastructure, helping to remove barriers and reduce complexity and ultimately lowering the cost of ownership."

Oblix NetPoint comes equipped with PresentationXML that allows companies to customize the way user identity information is presented to their e-business constituents. Through XSL stylesheets, the NetPoint user interface can be customized for specific audiences and applied `on the fly' depending on the identity of the authenticated user.

Productized Integration with E-Business Software Leaders

Oblix NetPoint is the only Web access solution that has received validation for its single sign-on integration to both Siebel Systems and PeopleSoft applications. Oblix has taken the step to pre-integrate single sign-on with these leading applications, freeing the customer from this potential costly and time consuming extra step in building their e-businesses.

Enterprises that use Siebel.COM for customer service, sales, marketing and other activities within their organization can now open these applications to customers, partners, and others, improving user satisfaction by applying single sign-on across multiple applications.

Oblix and PeopleSoft are delivering an integrated Web-based solution to quickly and efficiently publish user identity information sent to the enterprise directory from PeopleSoft eProfile, an application that maintains employee data for directories, ranging from personal demographics to status within an organization.

In mid-2000, Oblix NetPoint was the first Web access management solution to support Microsoft Active Directory. With the release of Oblix NetPoint 5.0, the company has enhanced its support of Microsoft's popular directory by enabling Active Directory customers to fully leverage their existing security infrastructure with multi-domain, single sign-on across heterogeneous network environments. Users also benefit from enhanced manageability features for user identity, group, and organization data residing in Active Directory.

Certificate Management Capabilities

Through a strategic partnership announced today, Oblix NetPoint 5.0 has added certificate lifecycle management for and integration with VeriSign Inc.'s OnSite certificate service. This unifies the complex job of managing digital certificates within the automated identity management functionality in Oblix NetPoint. Trusted delegated administrators can quickly and easily manage passwords and digital certificates for both intranets and extranets from one central point. When Oblix NetPoint is used to create a new user, a Verisign digital certificate can be automatically issued. When this user is deleted, the certificate can be automatically revoked. Certificate lifecycle management gives companies the inherent cost saving benefits of automating certificate management directly within the broader user identity lifecycle process.

Availability and Pricing

Oblix NetPoint 5.0 is available immediately from Oblix and its business partners worldwide. Pricing begins at $50 per user. Volume discounts are available.

About Oblix Inc.

Oblix Inc. is a leading developer of e-business infrastructure software that securely connects the right people to the right resources on e-business networks. The company's flagship product, Oblix NetPoint, is a Web access management solution that provides single sign-on and access control capabilities in addition to a rich set of identity management functionality. Global corporations such as Amdahl, APL, Applied Materials, Hitachi, i2 Technologies, Intuit, Kinko's, Medtronic, Norsk Hydro, Stanford University, Tellabs, Xerox and many more rely on Oblix solutions. Oblix investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Patricof & Co., Van Wagoner Capital Management, Cisco Systems, Intel 64 Fund, Focus Ventures, Credit Suisse First Boston, JP Morgan, Sumitomo Corporation and Novell, Inc. Oblix is headquartered in Cupertino, California and has offices in North America and Europe. To reach Oblix, please call [phone] or visit www.oblix.com.

Oblix Inc., the Oblix logo and Oblix NetPoint are trademarks of Oblix Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company and product names mentioned are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.