NEC and Business@Web form joint development partnership; Combine expertise to provide universal workflow software that integrates and simplifies business transactions between companies

Business Wire, March 5, 1996

WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 1996-- In a move that promises to usher in a new era of streamlined business-to-business communication using private intranets and the public Internet, NEC Corporation and Business@Web Inc. today announced a joint development partnership. Under terms of the partnership, the two companies will build a next-generation workflow solution that automates and integrates intra-and inter-business processes with enterprise systems. The product will integrate workflow with enterprise transactions to simplify complex exchanges involving multiple companies and functions, such as the series of business events involved in delivering products and services to customers. The goal of the joint development is to provide a product that reduces the cost and accelerates the speed of intercompany transactions by leveraging investments in existing enterprise information systems and harnessing the high-capacity networking capabilities of the Internet.

NEC provides a workgroup-based software product, called Star Office, containing workflow components to more than 300,000 clients in Japan. Earlier this year, Business@Web began shipping its OpenScape line of component-based software development products for extending legacy and client/server business applications across the Internet. The new product stemming from the joint development agreement is expected to be introduced later this year and will be distributed in the U.S. and Japan.

"NEC's base of software customers has made major inroads in simplifying their business processes," stated Goichi Kanamori, vice president and executive general manager of the C&C Application Software Operations Unit at NEC Corporation. "Now, with the integration of our workflow technology and Business@Web's Internet and component software development expertise, companies will be able to extract far more value from their enterprise information systems." "CEOs of major corporations worldwide are seeking ways to simplify and link business processes and thereby reduce the 'chaos' in their organizations," added Klaus Besier, chairman and CEO of Business@Web. "While EDI (electronic data interchange) and workgroup applications have provided partial solutions, no one has combined the Internet's high-capacity, global network with reusable component software and automated workflow technology, to provide low-cost, efficient ways of conducting interactive transactions among business partners. Together, NEC and Business@Web will provide this solution, redefining and simplifying how companies operate in global business environments."

NEC Corporation is a world leader in computers, communications and semiconductors. Founded in 1899, the NEC group consists of 211 associated companies in 76 countries employing over 188,000 people worldwide. Global operations achieved consolidated net sales of 3.769 billion Yen (approximately $38 billion) in fiscal 1995 (April '94 - March '95). NEC achieved semiconductor sales of 930 billion Yen (approximately $9.5 billion) in the same period, a figure surpassed only by Intel. NEC is the world's largest producer of ASIC products.

Founded in 1994, Business@Web Inc. is a leading provider of technology and services for building, managing, deploying and maintaining component-based applications that span the enterprise and the Internet. A privately-held spin-off of Cambridge Technology Group Inc., Business@Web provides a range of solutions for companies seeking to harness the power of both private and low-cost public networks for developing mission-critical business transaction applications. The company's OpenScape line of component software development tools extend legacy and client/server applications across private intranets and the global Internet. For additional information about Business@Web, call (617) 876-0038, send email to info@busweb.com, or access the company's World Wide Web site at http://www.busweb.com.

CONTACT: Janice Rosen or Steve Diamond

The Weber Group

617-661-7900

email: jrosen@webergroup.com, sdiamond@webergroup.com