Year 2000 Wire/WRQ Offers Channel Turnkey Program to Meet Year 2000 Desktop Threat.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 1998--For consultants, systems integrators and value-added resellers who want to help their customers face down the Year 2000 threat on the desktop, WRQ offers the Year 2000 Express Expert training program.

This turnkey program gives channel partners the opportunity to deliver a solution to the problem that will be consuming much of the IT budget this year and next. The Gartner Group has estimated that worldwide the cost of fixing the year 2000 problem will reach $400 billion to $600 billion. IT resources will be diverted to address this immediate threat.

WRQ, which has been making software for enterprise customers since 1981, has just announced Express 2000 Suite, a set of tools that will contain the danger of noncompliant desktops quickly and efficiently. WRQ's new Express Expert program trains channel partners in the use of Express 2000 Suite and in the application of the tool set to the business processes involved in bringing the desktop into compliance.

Only now are enterprises beginning to realize the magnitude of the Year 2000 problem on the desktop. Express 2000 Suite will discover and prioritize the mission-critical PCs and software that require attention before faulty date handling disrupts the business.

Quick Discovery and Prioritization

"Express 2000 Suite gives us the ability to go through the discovery and prioritization phases very quickly so that our clients can implement required fixes in the most cost-effective manner," says Lee Kirby, area director of Enterprise Services for NovaQuest InfoSystems, the largest computer reseller in Southern California.

"And once compliance is reached, Express 2000 Suite ensures ongoing compliance by actively monitoring and thereby eliminating the chance of noncompliant software being reintroduced into the environment. Having this kind of control is as critical as fixing the problem."

WRQ has built Express 2000 Suite as part of its award-winning software management product line. Once the Year 2000 crisis is past, the suite will continue to be useful to enterprises that want to understand what hardware and software assets they have and how those are being used. The Express software management product line is indispensable for making informed business decisions about purchasing and deployment.

Channel partners who have gone through the Express Expert training program will be prepared to sell complete software management solutions. The Express Expert program addresses such key IT issues as how to lower help desk costs, how to get the most out of software licenses, how to get total cost of ownership under control, how to determine end user training needs, and how to assist with platform migrations.

Channel partners will find that the combination of their services with the Express product line allows them to gain account control because they have such in-depth knowledge of their customers' environments.

"Our enterprise clients who have been unable to get funding to implement technology management tools are finding that the Year 2000 problem justifies the expenditure in terms that the business side can now understand," Kirby says. "A single enterprise may be allocating millions to deal with the Year 2000 issue. With a product like Express 2000 Suite that enterprise will realize benefit far beyond the Year 2000 and see a significant return on investment."

Just as overworked IT managers don't have time or resources to solve the Year 2000 problem, they don't have resources to implement a full software management program. They will relying on channel partners in both cases.

About WRQ's Express Software Management Products

WRQ is a leading provider of management and connectivity solutions to enterprises worldwide. WRQ Express software management tools ensure intelligent IT decisions with clear information about software assets across the enterprise. Express tools help IT drive the financial and strategic success of the company, by ensuring license compliance, reducing costs, and increasing control over software and related IT resources.

WRQ is the 16th largest PC software company in the U.S. (Soft-Letter). It has offices throughout the world and distributes products in more than 50 countries through a worldwide distribution network. For more information, contact WRQ, 1500 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109. Phone: [phone] or 206/217-7100. Fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail]. Web: www.wrq.com.

CONTACT: WRQ

Paul Davis, 206/217-7914 or [e-mail]

Linda Lewis, 206/217-7181 or [e-mail]