Odyssey Software Announces Next Generation Version of ViaXML.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 2003

Odyssey Software 

Delivering Unparalleled Support for XML Web Services on Windows

Powered Mobile Devices Using the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework

Odyssey Software, a recognized leader in the development of mobile enterprise data access tools and infrastructure, announced today the release of ViaXML V2, a comprehensive suite of frameworks and data access infrastructure for the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework powered mobile devices and server platforms.

ViaXML V2 enables bi-directional XML Web services (both publishing from devices and consuming), as well as enabling mobile application developers to leverage Internet technologies such as XML, HTTP, and HTTPS to develop applications that access enterprise data on remote servers. In doing so, it provides the means for XML Web services to be used for seamless operation in casually connected environments, remote device management and software distribution, as well as, direct peer-to-peer interaction between mobile devices.

"This is a very important milestone for us at Odyssey Software. ViaXML V2 is a product of years worth of production use, customer feedback and enabling technology innovation from companies we work closely with such as Microsoft." according to Mark Gentile, President and CEO of Odyssey Software. "Microsoft provides great support for consuming XML Web services with the .NET Compact Framework. As a Gold Partner of Microsoft, we worked very closely with their engineers to architect ViaXML V2 in line with the .NET Compact Framework roadmap, enhancing the value of the tools and platform to enable additional scenarios with Web services, and helping to ensure deployment success," added Gentile.

Key features of ViaXML V2 include a high-performance Web services client that supports both SOAP and XML-RPC Web services; support for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 and the .NET Compact Framework; and support for native development with eMbedded Visual Tools on Windows CE 3.0 and higher devices. In addition, ViaXML V2 comes with a Web services publisher for exposing Web services from within a Microsoft .NET Compact Framework or eMbedded Visual Tools application, a high-performance general-purpose HTTP Client and Server, a bi-directional compression engine for compressing both requests and responses and a built-in general-purpose byte stream object for handling dynamic byte arrays which can be used for reading and writing files, Base64 encoding/decoding and compressing/decompressing information.

"At Microsoft, we always strive to give our partners the best tools and support possible to foster innovation," said David Rasmussen, lead product manager for the Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft Corp. "It's great to see Odyssey Software delivering ViaXML support for the .NET Compact Framework. We have come to expect Odyssey Software to push the boundaries of our technologies and deliver quality enterprise class products that expand developer's options for mobile computing."

Following a comprehensive review of Odyssey Software and seven competitors, PepsiAmericas' selected ViaXML to be integrated with an application by Extended Technologies, to manage mobile devices and keep users supplied with real-time route accounting information. A major factor in the selection of ViaXML was its support for industry standards and its ability to integrate with standard web servers for full bi-directional access to remote enterprise systems, thereby eliminating any proprietary server components that often complicate deployments.

About Odyssey Software

Odyssey Software is a recognized leader in the development of mobile enterprise data-access software infrastructure products for all Windows Powered mobile device platforms (Pocket PC, Pocket PC 2002, Windows CE, Windows CE.NET, Win32). Odyssey's products are enabling technology for remote data-access, dramatically reducing the time, complexity and effort required to build reliable, high-performance mobile applications that interact with enterprise servers over any public or private network - fully optimized for wireless. Mobile workforce solutions can be quickly developed and deployed, delivering interactive online real-time or casually-connected access to enterprise information, securely through corporate firewalls, using open industry-standard technologies such as XML Web services and standard Microsoft development tools such as eMbedded Visual Tools and Visual Studio .NET 2003. Additional information about Odyssey Software may be found at www.odysseysoftware.com

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