Arbor Software and ShowCase Corporation Team To Deliver AS/400 Data Warehousing Solution; ShowCase To Sell and Support Essbase/400, AS/400 Version of Arbor's Multidimensional Database Server

Business Wire, July 31, 1996

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 1996--Arbor Software Corporation (Nasdaq: ARSW), a leading provider of client/server software for business planning, analysis and management reporting, today announced a partnership with ShowCase Corporation, a leader in the AS/400 data access business, to deliver the OLAP (on-line analytical processing) server component of ShowCase STRATEGY, a complete, integrated AS/400 solution for data warehousing. As part of ShowCase STRATEGY, ShowCase will sell and support Essbase/400, a version of the Essbase multidimensional database server which runs natively on AS/400 servers.

ShowCase STRATEGY is the first AS/400-based solution that offers customers a phased approach to data warehousing, including consulting and support, desktop and server integration, data distribution and data analysis. The integration of Essbase/400 is a key component of this solution that enables customers to rapidly deploy high-performance, AS/400-based OLAP applications such as budgeting, forecasting and sales and marketing analysis. ShowCase STRATEGY customers utilizing Essbase/400 will also be able to leverage Essbase Ready front end tools such as Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and many other leading managed query, EIS and application development tools.

"Essbase/400 is a powerful, native AS/400 OLAP server for organizations who want to leverage the AS/400 platform for data warehousing applications," said Jim Dorrian, Arbor's president and CEO. "Essbase/400 delivers a unique solution for customers and applications companies to integrate OLAP functionality with their AS/400-based applications."

"We are very excited to have Essbase, the leading multidimensional database, available to AS/400 customers," said Van Symons, client/server executive for the AS/400 division at IBM. "Essbase, along with the AS/400's integrated relational database engine and ShowCase STRATEGY's total solution approach to data warehousing, allows AS/400 customers to rapidly implement data warehousing applications with a single product offering. This further demonstrates the AS/400's commitment to the data warehousing marketplace and support for all the leading tools and applications."

"In defining our AS/400 data warehousing strategy, we set out to identify market leading components and integrate them into one total solution designed for the AS/400 market," said Ken Holec, president and CEO of ShowCase Corporation. "Essbase's clear market and technology leadership makes it the perfect choice for our multidimensional database offering. By integrating Essbase/400 within ShowCase STRATEGY, we can deliver a high- performance OLAP solution to customers in the AS/400 market."

Essbase is a multidimensional database optimized for business planning, analysis and management reporting applications such as profitability analysis, budgeting, forecasting, planning, financial consolidations, sales analysis and EIS. Based upon a true, client/server architecture, Essbase supports multi-user read and write access, large-scale data capacity, robust analytical calculations, flexible data navigation and consistent, rapid response times. The Essbase server's open architecture supports direct data access using standard spreadsheets or leading third-party query, reporting and EIS tools.

Essbase scales from a single-user version to an enterprise OLAP solution serving thousands of users with databases that are hundreds of gigabytes in size. Essbase enables robust OLAP applications directly accessing transaction processing systems or serves as a data mart in a data warehousing strategy. Essbase operates on Windows NT, OS/2, UNIX and AS/400 servers across all major networks connected to Windows, Macintosh and UNIX clients.

Pricing and availability

Essbase/400 will be sold and supported by ShowCase Corporation as a key component of ShowCase STRATEGY. ShowCase STRATEGY is currently in beta and ShowCase plans to ship the product in the third quarter of 1996.

About Showcase Corporation

Founded in 1989, ShowCase Corporation's mission is to provide a total solution for end user access to information residing on AS/400 databases. The company has more than 120 employees around the world with annual sales exceeding $13 million. ShowCase products are installed at more than 7,000 sites in 50 countries. ShowCase Corporation sells products in the U.S. and Canada through direct sales offices in Rochester, Minn., and Chicago. Internationally, ShowCase operates an Asia-Pacific office and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and the Benelux region, as well as distributors worldwide.

About Arbor Software

Arbor Software Corporation (Nasdaq:ARSW) develops and markets client/server software for business planning, analysis and management reporting. Arbor's products are used by more than 700 corporations spanning a broad range of industries and business applications including Bank of Boston, Fidelity, Los Angeles Times, Neutrogena, Pennzoil, PEPSICO, Prudential and Sears. Arbor has over 100 application, services, tools and platform partners, including Comshare, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft. Arbor's products are sold direct, as well as through system integrators and VARs worldwide. Arbor's offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sunnyvale, Washington D.C., London and Paris. More information on Arbor products and services can be found on Arbor's World Wide Web (WWW) site at http://www.arborsoft.com.