University of Northern Colorado Web-Enables Mainframe Student Information with NEON Systems.

SUGAR LAND, Texas -- Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb Integrates University's Legacy Systems for Student Registration, Grade Reporting and Bill Payment

NEON(R) Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NEON), a leader in enterprise-class mainframe integration, today announced that the University of Northern Colorado has successfully deployed Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb as a solution to modernize the university's mainframe-based student information systems.

The University of Northern Colorado is a comprehensive baccalaureate and specialized graduate research university located in Greeley, Colo. The university has 10,094 undergraduate and 1,696 graduate students from 45 states and 48 nations. With a large number of out-of-town students, the university wanted a solution that would improve the ease of access to information from off-campus locations.

Prior to the Web-enablement of the student registration and grade reporting applications, students registered for classes and accessed grades through a touch-tone phone system which integrated with data stored in Advantage CA-IDMS. The university wanted to use the Internet for its ability to make information sharing easier. Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb allowed application developers to rapidly Web-enable old ADS dialogs, part of the university's legacy system, to produce a more friendly online environment for students, faculty and staff.

One of the benefits of Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb is its ability to deliver direct access to applications from a Web browser without the need for an intermediate gateway server. By enabling developers to dynamically discover and publish mainframe mapsets, maps and transactions, Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb extends screen-based applications and legacy data using a COM, .NET or JavaBean programming interface. The product's high performance, server-side architecture provided the foundation that allowed the University of Northern Colorado to accomplish its goal of Web-enabling its student information systems without the costs, complexities or delays typically associated with multi-tier architectures.

The University of Northern Colorado chose Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb to Web-enable their student information because of its ability to eliminate performance bottlenecks, maximizing Web browser-to-mainframe and Web-to-host throughput and hastening response time, regardless of the number of users.

"Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb is very important for us. For instance, the online program we use it for, called 'Webster,' is where the students and faculty go for registration and grade information. If it were down for a few hours in the morning it would be chaos. So it has become an extremely important part of our day-to-day business," said Bret Naber, Assistant Director, University of Northern Colorado.

The "Webster" application allows students to register for classes, change their class schedules and perform drop/add functions. When a student registers using the browser-based "Webster" interface, the change is seamlessly integrated via Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb to automatically update the mainframe database.

Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb enables the automation of multiple business processes, allowing the University to make more efficient use of personnel, freeing other employees to focus more of their energy on their job and less on registration and grade-related tasks. "I definitely can say we provide better service now than we did prior to the implementation of Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb," said Naber.

"NEON Systems recognizes that many higher education institutions are facing the challenge of quickly making mainframe applications available to students through a Web browser. The implementation of Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb at the University of Northern Colorado is a great example of how this emerging trend can be easily managed," said Mark Cresswell, president and CEO, NEON Systems.

The University of Northern Colorado continually expands their use of NEON's Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb. "We don't add applications in mass, but we have added several over the past six to eight months," said Joe Janus, Programmer/Analyst, University of Northern Colorado.

Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb is the only product to offer unified mainframe Web-enablement for screen-based applications and legacy data including: DB2, Adabas, IMS/DB, VSAM, CICS/TS, IMS/TM, IDMS/CV and Natural.

About Shadow

NEON's Shadow technology reclaims the value of mainframe-based services and events, providing scalable, real-time legacy integration with security across a broad range of data, applications and presentation environments. Shadow is designed to enhance mainframe integration on both a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Event-Driven Architecture (EDA). With a strong commitment to industry standards, Shadow can dramatically reduce integration complexity and accelerate application development for systems based on J2EE, .NET or Web services. Delivering the flexibility to meet customers' unique implementation needs, Shadow can be cost-effectively deployed as either an infrastructure-based, programmatic integration server or a suite of mainframe adapters.

About NEON Systems

NEON Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NEON) is a leading provider of enterprise-class mainframe integration solutions, delivering a unified mainframe integration platform to support the entire range of requirements for modern Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) and emerging Event-Driven Architectures (EDA). NEON's Shadow technology is designed to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration, allowing large organizations with significant commitment to mainframe systems to streamline incumbent technologies and lower total cost of ownership. With decades of mainframe expertise, NEON is uniquely qualified to reduce the risk organizations face when supporting new business initiatives that integrate with mainframe systems. For more information on the future of mainframe integration, see our Web site at www.neonsys.com.

The NEON logo, Shadow, and Shadow Direct are registered trademarks, and Shadow z/EnterpriseWeb, Shadow z/Services, Shadow z/Events and Shadow Studio are trademarks of NEON Systems Inc. in the USA and in other select countries. All other trademarks, service marks and product or service names are the property of their respective owners.