PREMISE SYSTEMS SHIPS BREAKTHROUGH AUTOMATION SOFTWARE CALLED SYS.

Premise Systems, Inc., the leading developer of residential and commercial automation software, announced recently that its flagship product, SYS Automation Software, will begin shipping to customers on the first day of the CEDIA Expo September 7, 2001.

SYS is the first software product engineered to intelligently connect and manage devices in homes and buildings supporting legacy and new device standards like UPnP. SYS empowers device manufacturers and systems integrators to deliver high-quality integrated automation systems to a rapidly widening market. 16,000 CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) members and their associated partners and suppliers are expected to attend the show in Indianapolis to see the latest in automation, electronics, and entertainment products and services.

SYS Automation Software is a family of products that intelligently connects, integrates and controls devices and services in homes, buildings and communities, locally or over the Internet. Adhering to industry standards, SYS is a modular, open system that enables integrators to deliver cost-effective automation solutions that are easy to install, modify and maintain. SYS makes it easy for integrators to intelligently integrate and control any devices, including those used in home theater and entertainment systems, lighting, communications, security, and heating/ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). SYS also includes sophisticated media services delivery and management capabilities, giving consumers anywhere, anytime access to the information and entertainment they demand. To the 16,000 attendees of CEDIA, SYS means higher profits and a broadening market for integration services.

Jeff Kussard, Director, Custom Business Development for the Harman Consumer Group, and recognized for his work as a CEDIA advocate, sees home entertainment as driving initial consumer demand for automation solutions. "The functionality provided by SYS provides consumers with ideal solutions for home systems integration. We look forward to working with Premise to enhance our customers' enjoyment of their Madrigal-brand products, and make the ultimate home entertainment experience more accessible."

The personal computer industry has created an abundance of standards-based, low-cost, reliable hardware and operating systems. SYS leverages this market direction, driving the ultimate cost of automation solutions down, so more consumers and businesses can avail themselves of the benefits of automated solutions.

Herman Cardenas, CEO of SMART says, "We believe SYS is a powerful software solution that along with our Connected Home product offering, provides the platform flexibility necessary to meet our customer demand." SMART is a company jointly owned in partnership with General Electric and Microsoft. SMART will provide homebuilders with a complete product and services line -- essentially a one-stop shop -- powered by GE, SMART and Microsoft technologies, now coupled with Premise' SYS, making it simple to install and maintain an Internet-ready, Connected Home.

The proprietary nature of automation solutions available up until now has created problems for integrators. Todd Rutherford, President of Manchester Interactive Systems, one of the largest installer/integrator firms in the country, says, "Customers often expect changes in programming functionality

that are very difficult with other automation systems software. As a result, we spend valuable programming time customizing these systems, which erodes our profits or risks having a dissatisfied customer. SYS solves this frequently occurring problem with its easy to use programming interface. We can now meet or exceed customer expectations while reducing programming time by as much as 80%. Now we can select the best devices for each project, and offer the customer more choices regardless of budget."

Charles Derk, Design and Development Engineer at Lutron, one of the largest and most respected lighting system manufacturers in the world, also thinks Premise has the right answer: "Lutron has always been at the forefront of technology delivering value to our customers. It's great to see a company with the same values working on taking home automation to the next level. The ability for an integrator to use Premise Systems' SYS to supply the end user with a seamless interface for all the subsystems in the home is a definite win."

According to analyst Parks Associates, by 2005 over 17 million homes will have a home network, up from 5.7 million today. "While the early portion of this market is largely networks connecting PCs at home, home controls will become more and more important over the next several years. It is solid software solutions that offer significant connection capability while reducing installer labor and thus consumer cost that will spur home control growth," says Tricia Parks, president of Parks Associates. White goods manufacturers, device manufacturers, consumer electronics manufacturers, and ISPs are currently building products and developing services to take advantage of this growth market. SYS is designed to allow devices from all of these sectors to seamlessly interoperate.

"The availability of our professional, standards-based automation software reiterates Premise Systems commitment to innovating the new generation of device networking software products." said Dan Quigley, Premise Systems CEO. "The completion of our SYS software product now provides our industry partners with a premier automation solutions development platform. It will allow us to further extend Premise Systems' lead in providing the highest-quality and most robust architecture for automated systems development for the home and commercial building automation sectors."