Tumbleweed Wins Network Magazine's Best Product of the Year Award; Secure Internet Communications Solution Selected as Best E-Mail Server

Business Wire, April 17, 2000

Business Editors

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2000

Tumbleweed Communications (NASDAQ:TMWD), a leading provider of secure Internet communication services, today announced Network Magazine selected the Tumbleweed Integrated Messaging Exchange(tm) (IME(tm)) as the best e-mail server for 2000 in their 13th annual Product of the Year Awards.

Each year, Network Magazine recognizes products that stand out as the best in their class. Products were considered for top performance, top combination of price and performance, ingenious use of a novel technology, expanding the appeal of a solution to a broader audience, and continuous improvement over a lengthy span of time.

"IME adds the highest level of security to an organization's existing e-mail system. It provides reliable delivery and tracking for interactive correspondence, document collaboration, automated transactions, and sensitive e-commerce applications," says Network Magazine.

"We are delighted that Network Magazine has chosen Tumbleweed IME to receive a product of the year award," said Jeffrey C. Smith, president and CEO, Tumbleweed Communications Corp. "With more than 200 person years and 600,000 lines of code in Tumbleweed IME, we're very proud of our achievement. Receiving this prestigious award from an acknowledged group of experts at Network Magazine is terrific recognition for all of us at Tumbleweed."

About Tumbleweed Communications Corp.

Tumbleweed Communications Corp. is a leading provider of advanced e-mail solutions for business communications. Our products and services enable businesses to create and manage secure online communication channels that leverage established e-mail networks and enterprise applications.Tumbleweed Integrated Messaging Exchange is a platform and set of applications for creating secure communications channels between a business and its customers, partners, and suppliers. Tumbleweed Messaging Management System is a comprehensive solution that extends internal e-mail systems to the Internet through centralized security, policy enforcement, filtering and archiving. Used together, Tumbleweed IME and Tumbleweed MMS automatically apply security policies and redirect sensitive e-mail for secure, trackable delivery. Companies that rely on Tumbleweed IME or MMS products include American Express, Chase Manhattan Bank, Datek Online, the European Union's Joint Research Council, the Food and Drug Administration, Northern Trust, UPS, Pitney Bowes, TD Waterhouse, and the United States Postal Service.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, particularly with respect to use and sale of Tumbleweed technology. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. For further cautions about the risks of investing in Tumbleweed, we refer you to the documents Tumbleweed files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly the Tumbleweed prospectus dated August 5, 1999, the prospectus/proxy statement dated December 30, 1999 and the Form 10-K filed March 30, 2000. Tumbleweed assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.

Tumbleweed is a registered trademark and Integrated Messaging Exchange and IME are trademarks of Tumbleweed Communications Corp.