Elemental Software Teams With IBM to Put Web Application Development on the Fast Track

Business Wire, June 14, 1999

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 1999--

Drumbeat 2000 JavaServer Pages(TM) Addition for IBM's WebSphere

to Leverage Java Server Pages (JSP) Technology to

Speed the Path to E-Business

Elemental Software today announced a broad-ranging marketing and development agreement with IBM to provide companies with a much faster way to develop e-business applications.

As a result of this agreement, Elemental Software announced the immediate availability of Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) for IBM's WebSphere Application Server.

Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) provides an extensible development environment that is the fastest way to provide database-driven Web applications for WebSphere and eliminates the need for manual coding. Under this agreement, a developer copy of IBM's WebSphere application server will be shipped with Drumbeat 2000 (JSP), and Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) will be distributed through IBM resellers and business partners.

"WebSphere provides a multi-platform, Java-based application environment that is key to building e-business solutions such as intranets, e-commerce, Web self-service and knowledge management," said Paraic Sweeney, vice president, WebSphere Marketing for IBM. "IBM is pleased to welcome Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) to the WebSphere family, and looks forward to working with Elemental to drive e-business forward into the 21st century."

Today's announcement allows Elemental and IBM to bring e-business closer to companies and developers that are looking to leverage the power of the Internet to gain a competitive advantage. By eliminating the need for manual coding and providing ready made e-business applications, Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) for WebSphere offers a key business value proposition for smaller companies as well as corporate departments that may not have vast IT resources. This agreement also adds to both Elemental's and IBM's growing portfolios of e-business products and solutions, and highlights the importance of open, standards-based technologies in today's e-business arena.

Drumbeat to Leverage the Power of Java Through JSP

WebSphere and Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) both leverage the JSP interface and JavaBean object model, which enables developers to deploy powerful Web applications with sophisticated functionality on standard Web servers and components. Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) brings to the Java Platform the same speed and ease of application development that has gained widespread recognition for Elemental's Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP) versions of Drumbeat.

JSP and JavaBeans are key parts of IBM's overall strategy for providing open, Java-based solutions that allow customers to leverage legacy resources when building an e-business solution. IBM's WebSphere allows customers to utilize this technology to build and deploy scalable, secure e-business solutions across a wide variety of hardware platforms and delivers an optimum foundation to help companies utilize Java-based enterprise applications to extend their presence on the Web.

"We're pleased that IBM, the company that coined the term e-business and continues to set the standard for e-business solutions, recognizes the value of Drumbeat to WebSphere customers," said Peter Hirshberg, president and CEO of Elemental Software. "Today's announcement demonstrates the growing consensus about the kinds of e-business applications customers want to implement and the kinds of tools they need in order to deploy these capabilities at a competitive pace."

IBM and Elemental will undertake a multi-million dollar marketing campaign that promotes the power of IBM's WebSphere application servers and Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) for the rapid deployment of e-business applications in areas such as customer relationship management, supply chain management and e-commerce.

Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) Pricing and Availability

Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) will sell for an estimated street price of $399. Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) will be available for download beginning Tuesday, June 15 for a limited time for the introductory price of $249 from the company's Web site at http://www.drumbeat.com, or by calling 1-877-DRUMBEAT. In July, the boxed version of Drumbeat 2000 (JSP) will be available through Elemental Software and resellers for the introductory price of $269.

About WebSphere

The IBM WebSphere Application Servers, along with Lotus Domino, represent the industry's most complete range of Web application server environments that support business applications from simple Web publishing through enterprise-scale transaction processing. The WebSphere family integrates the Web server, transaction processing, Web commerce and distributed component technologies of IBM's WebSphere Application Servers, TXSeries, Net.Commerce and Component Broker products.

About Elemental Software

Elemental Software develops and markets software that enables developers to build Web applications in less time and use fewer technical resources. The company's flagship product, Drumbeat, offers IT departments and Web developers the fastest way to create powerful Web interfaces to databases and applications without having to write code.