Versant and SunSoft Drive Object Standard; Object Database Management Group Endorses Proposal For ODBMS and ORB Integration Developed By Leading Object Companies.

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 1996--Marking a milestone for the object database industry, Versant Object Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: VSNT) and SunSoft today announced that the Object Database Management Group (ODMG) has endorsed the companies joint proposal to the OMG for standards-based connectivity between object databases and object request brokers (ORBs).

The endorsement by the ODMG demonstrates the widespread commitment to achieving standards for object computing.

"As more and more companies use object databases and ORBs in production applications, it is critical to have a proposal for connectivity between object database and ORBs," said Douglas Barry, executive director of the ODMG and president of Barry & Associates. "Given the standardized nature of object request brokers, this is an exciting step for object computing in that it implies standards working with standards."

Versant and SunSoft worked with ODMG member companies to author the proposal on the integration of object databases with ORBs. The proposal, designed to support object databases as well as object mapping to relational databases, was approved last month by the eight voting members of the ODMG. The proposal describes the extension required of an object database in order for ORB vendors to properly integrate with the database. A separate specification for ORB integration with relational databases was authored by Persistence, Inc.

"At SunSoft, we believe that a standard interface will allow CORBA implementations like SunSoft's NEO to provide the business logic between clients and databases in the enterprise," said Remy Malan, director of Object Product Marketing for SunSoft. "We have chosen to work with Versant, a leader in the object database market, in order to maximize the impact for the industry as a whole."

"We are extremely pleased that SunSoft and other ODMG member companies have so strongly supported our efforts to achieve a standard for connectivity between object databases and ORBs," said Robert Freeman, vice president of marketing at Versant. "The ODMG has made significant progress since its formation, and this advancement is an acknowledgment that object programmers would like to write a common API implementation that works with any standard object software."

The ODMG is a consortium of object database management system (ODBMS) vendors and interested parties working on standards to allow portability of software across ODBMS products. By supporting a common interface for object computing, the ODMG expects to significantly accelerate adoption of a single standard throughout the industry. One of the key objectives of the group is to publish a standard set of specifications to be incorporated into database and application programs enabling access to information stored in an ODBMS. The ODMG is also affiliated with the Object Management Group (OMG).

About SunSoft

SunSoft's NEO object computing environment allows companies to construct applications from reusable software building blocks, or "networked objects," dramatically increasing the speed of development of networked applications. High end mission critical applications deployed in the NEO environment on a corporate network can easily export some or all of their services to the Internet using Java and NEO's latest technology advancement, Joe. With Java, Joe and NEO corporate information managers can now view the Web as an extension of their corporate computing architecture.

The SunSoft NEO family consists of four products: Solaris NEO, the operating environment; Workshop NEO, the development environment; Solstice NEO, the network and systems management environment; and Joe a CORBA compliant object environment designed to promote client-server Web computing.

SunSoft, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. is a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, Inc., with offices worldwide. SunSoft's charter is to design, market, sell and support the industry's highest-quality software environment for enabling business to gain a competitive advantage through information systems. The products are licensed by SunSoft and distributed through major computer manufacturers and resellers worldwide.

About Versant Object Technology

Versant Object Technology is a leading provider of object database management systems for commercial applications in distributed computing environments. Versant develops and markets the Versant ODBMS as well as related products and services, including web products for managing, vending and distributing Web pages, business objects and applets; the Versant Fault Tolerant Server; programming language interfaces to C++, Smalltalk, and Java; SQL-based legacy data integration, and a family of customer support services.

Versant has proven deployments across the range of telecommunications applications as well as in other vertical markets such as financial services, health care, energy and in the emerging market for transactional Internet applications. Versant customers include Alcatel Network Systems, EDS, HNC Software, Sabre Decision Technologies, Scotiabank, Siemens Medical Systems, Texaco and TRW. Additional information about Versant and its products may be obtained via the World Wide Web at http://www.versant.com. -0-

Note to Editors: Versant, Versant ODBMS, and Versant Fault Tolerant Server are trademarks of Versant Object Technology Corporation. All other company names and product names are trademarks of the individual companies.

CONTACT: Versant Object Technology

Jay Mellman, 415/329-7500

[e-mail]

or

The Horn Group

Shannon Hall, 415/579-6400

[e-mail]