Progress Software Rapidly Expanding in Latin America; Company Announces Expanded Operations in Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, ASP Successes

Business Wire, Jan 31, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2000

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), a leading supplier of application development, deployment and management products and services, today announced its plans to expand operations with three new subsidiaries in Colombia, Chile and Venezuela in 2000. Currently, Progress Software has a strong presence in Latin America through its subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and a network of distributors in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean.

&uot;We have experienced exceptional revenue growth of more than 400% in our Latin American region over the past five years. Our success in pursuing targeted business opportunities and our leadership in the emerging Application Service Provider (ASP) market are fueling the growth for our Latin American operations,&uot; said Manuel Marrero, vice president of Progress Software Latin America. &uot;For Progress Software, the year 2000 will not only bring increased presence in three new countries, but also expanded services and support to all of its new and existing customers.&uot;

Latin America is one of the fastest growing markets for Progress Software worldwide. &uot;Our continued expansion and investment plans highlight the company's commitment to the region and the fact that our Latin American customers are gaining competitive advantage with Progress Software solutions,&uot; Marrero said.

Key projects in Latin America during 1999 included: the automation of the Neuquen Province in Argentina, the complete management of the Presidential Elections System (Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones) in El Salvador, the implementation of a comprehensive distribution system for the drugstore chain Comercial Belloso C.A. in Venezuela and the reconfiguration of an integrated information system for PEMEX in Mexico. &uot;These customers are some of the most innovative across the region who chose Progress Software products and services because they deliver real business benefit.&uot;

Early ASP Success For Company In Region

Progress Software recently introduced its Application Service Provider ENablement (ASPEN(TM)) Program in Latin America, which enables Progress Software ISVs to quickly take advantage of the rapidly-growing ASP distribution model. The program offers business planning assistance, industry recognition, technology, services and partnerships to help ISVs easily transform Progress(R)-based applications into ASP-enabled applications. These new applications, available on a subscription basis and accessed over the Internet rather than purchased, allow organizations to more quickly and economically gain access to application functionality previously unavailable to them. ASP-enabled applications reduce traditional IT infrastructure costs because they are developed and maintained by service providers rather than an internal IT staff.

Carlos Atehortua, director of marketing and sales support for Progress Software Latin America, said the company has bolstered its ASP leadership position with the addition of Latin American ASPs. &uot;The ASPEN Program has yielded more than 30 ISVs in Latin America who are using Progress Software technology to rapidly become ASPs.&uot;

The ASPEN Program now boasts a worldwide membership of more than 150 partners from 20 different countries around the world, representing a wide variety of market segments including Accounting &Financial Services, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Human Resources &Payroll. Already growing fast, the ASP market is expected to curve exponentially. Industry analysts estimate the &uot;application rental market&uot; will generate between $4 and $6 billion in revenue by 2003. The first ASPs who enter this market will have an important grip on its future growth. For more information on the ASP market and Progress Software's ASPEN Program, visit www.ASPconnections.com.

About Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) is a global supplier of software products and services for developing, deploying and managing business solutions across all computing and network environments. Our products, which are installed in over 60% of Fortune 100 companies, include application servers, databases, development tools and application management products for Internet/Web, extranet and intranet applications.

Our customers operate in 100 countries, are supported by more than 1,300 employees worldwide, and deploy annually over $2 billion in Progress-based applications built by more than 2,000 independent software vendors (ISVs). For more information, visit www.progress.com or 1-781-280-4000.

Progress is a registered trademark of Progress Software Corporation. ASPEN is a trademark of Progress Software Corporation. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.