Progress Software and Allegrix Announce 'ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN' to Accelerate Deployment of ASP Applications.

Business/Technology Editors

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2000

ASP Pioneer Partners with Application Infrastructure Provider

Allegrix to Provide Web-Enabling and Data Center Hosting

Services for Progress ISVs

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS), a leading supplier of application development, deployment and management products and services, and Allegrix Inc., the ASP infrastructure provider for the channel, today jointly announced "ASP-in-a-Box(TM) for ASPEN," the newest element of the ASP ENablement (ASPEN(TM)) Program. The ASPEN Program, which currently features over 150 ASPs building, deploying and marketing ASP enabled applications, provides business planning assistance, technology, services, partnerships and marketing and sales support to help ISVs quickly and easily transform Progress-based applications into ASP-enabled applications. "ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN" adds more depth to the key areas of the ASPEN program, enabling existing North American ASPEN members to deploy their Progress-based ASP applications more rapidly and dramatically decrease their time to market.

"The ASPEN Program provides key web-enabling technologies and strategic sales and marketing support to our 2000+ ISVs," said Bob Palumbo, vice president of ASP Market Development at Progress Software. "Our experience moving hundreds of ISVs to ASP using WebSpeed, Progress V9.1 and the award-winning SonicMQ(TM), coupled with the creation of AppsAlive!, our online demonstration site, enabled us to partner with Allegrix and deliver 'ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN.' With their extensive Progress product knowledge and proven data center expertise, Allegrix complements and extends our capabilities to rapidly deploy Progress-based ASP applications."

"Progress Software and the ASPEN Program was absolutely critical in helping us make our decision to move to ASP," said Randy Hughes, executive director of Industry Sales at NxTrend Technology, Inc., a Progress ISV. "In addition to describing the general ASP opportunities, 'ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN' gave us clear suggestions on how to overcome our concerns with sales compensation plans and revenue models. That, combined with the Data Center analysis gave us the head start we were looking for."

Key elements of "ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN" include information and tools for the key departments in ISV organizations: sales, marketing, engineering and finance. Each `section' of the box is designed to provide these departments with the knowledge they will need to quickly become an ASP. This innovative program is designed to further enhance and extend the ASPEN Services announced earlier this quarter (see July 10th "Progress Software Announces New Professional Services to Support its Market-Leading ASP Solutions" release). ISVs participating in this program can have their application ASP-enabled by Allegrix for evaluation purposes in as little as one week.

"We are excited about the opportunity to partner with an ASP leader like Progress Software as we roll out the Allegrix `ASP-in-a-Box' channel initiative," said Chris Clabaugh, president and CEO of Allegrix. "'ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN' is based on our core `ASP-in-a-Box' foundation that we have developed for our channel partners. This program is the first of its kind to address sales, marketing, financial and technical challenges of the ASP-enablement process."

Cost of Owning versus Cost of Renting

End users who are not aware of the substantial benefits in subscribing to applications, as opposed to buying them, can utilize "ASP-in-a-Box's" Customer Savings Analysis to understand the cost relationship and inherent savings of a subscription-based model. The Margin Analysis Tool illustrates how Progress ASPs can increase their margins, achieve a more regular revenue stream and assists them in converting their current application sales price into a subscription-model price.

Sales Force Compensation Guidelines 

An ASP model presents new opportunities and new challenges to constructing attractive sales force compensation plans. With the "ASP-in-a-Box," ISVs will receive industry models and guidelines for providing effective sales compensation.

Templates for SLAs

Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are key components in the decision process for the end user and should cover availability, performance and recoverability issues. "ASP-in-a-Box" provides a customizable SLA template for Progress ISVs that can be used to initiate discussions with the end-user and help simplify this process.

Pricing and Availability

"ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN" is available to all North American Progress Software ISVs. Orders can be placed immediately and delivery is expected in the third week of August. Information for obtaining "ASP-in-a-Box for ASPEN" can be found on the ASPEN Program home page at www.aspconnections.com. There is no cost to ASPEN Program members.

About Progress Software Corporation

Progress Software Corporation is a global supplier of software products and services for developing, deploying and managing business applications moving to the Internet. The company offers messaging servers, application servers, databases, and application development and management products. Its partners include more than 2,000 application service providers (ASPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) who supply annually over $5 billion in Progress(R)-based applications and related services. Progress Software products are used by more than 10,000 organizations across 100 countries worldwide, including 60 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For more information, visit www.progress.com or call [phone].

About Allegrix

Allegrix(TM), the ASP infrastructure provider for the channel provides application web-enabling, data center hosting and marketing services for VARs, ISVs and medium to large organizations. By partnering with Allegrix, and utilizing Allegrix's "ASP-in-a-Box" channel program, ISVs and VARs can instantly become ASPs, enabling them to tap into new markets, reach new customers and create new revenue opportunities. For more information on becoming an ASP today visit www.allegrix.com

Progress is a registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation. ASPEN and SonicMQ are trademarks of Progress Software Corporation. Any other trademarks and/or servicemarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.