Marathon Technologies Announces Partnership with Apropos Technology to Deliver Nonstop Call Center Solutions

Business Wire, March 2, 1999

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999--

Agreement Focuses on Delivery of Low Cost,

High Quality Solutions to the Call Center

Computer Telephony Show (Booth 241)

Marathon Technologies Corporation, the leader in assured availability for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system, and Apropos Technology, the leading provider of enterprise call center applications, announced today a partnership to deliver non-stop call center solutions. Apropos' enterprise call center applications, including the Apropos Version 4 Total Integration Management solution, will now be available on Marathon's Endurance(R) 4000 nonstop computing array.

Apropos Technology utilizes Marathon's Endurance 4000 nonstop array in various customer installations. "The ability for Apropos to deliver a reliable, integrated fault tolerant solution is key for customers with mission-critical or business-critical call centers," said Jody Wacker, vice president of marketing for Apropos Technology. "We currently have several Endurance-enabled systems deployed at key customer locations nationally which have experienced minimal downtime. We are very pleased with the overall product performance and we look forward to deploying additional solutions where there is a natural fit for these technologies."

"We are seeing an increased demand for our technology in the computer telephony industry," said Robert Glorioso, president and CEO of Marathon Technologies Corporation. "In operating a call center, downtime is unacceptable because it can cause customer dissatisfaction, excessive expense and lost revenue. Marathon's Endurance 4000 guarantees 99.999% uptime and is the perfect solution for call centers who absolutely cannot afford to experience downtime."

The Endurance 4000 array delivers nonstop processing, continuous data access, uninterrupted connectivity, and disaster tolerance, all with constant performance. Assembled from Intel-based components, Marathon's patented ComputeThru(tm) technology continues computing through all component failures and hot swaps. "No Touch Recovery" automatically assimilates new components into the array, thereby restoring full redundancy, without human intervention. The entire process takes place transparently to users. Users can "Load and Go" with shrink-wrapped application software and off-the-shelf Windows NT.

Apropos Technology develops and markets enterprise-class call center management applications that enhance the value of existing customer communication systems and native front and back office business applications through the seamless management of customer interactions and call center resources. Apropos' Total Interaction Management (TIM(TM)) system provides an integrated suite of switch-independent call center applications, including softACD, intelligent call and message distribution, interactive voice response (IVR), sophisticated CTI capabilities, real-time resource management and advanced decision support capabilities-all in an open standards-based Windows NT environment. Apropos, headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, has delivered more than 100 systems to major Fortune 500 companies around the globe. Additional information about Apropos and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.apropos.com.

Marathon Technologies Corporation, headquartered in Boxborough, Massachusetts, develops and markets systems and services used in creating Windows NT solutions which provide assured availability for revenue generating and other high value applications on which organizations increasingly rely. Marathon is privately held. For more information please call 800-884-6425 or visit online at www.marathontechnologies.com.

Endurance is a registered trademark of Marathon Technologies Corporation. Microsoft and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.