Prentice Expands ASP Product Portfolio Through Partnership With Optio Software; Leading Enterprise ASP Continues to Refine Hosted Application Offerings With Formidable E-Business Suite

Business Wire, March 10, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2000

Prentice Technologies, Inc., a market leader in the emerging Application Service Provider industry, and Optio(R) Software Inc. (Nasdaq NM: OPTO) have entered into Optio's first application hosting partnership.

Optio is a leading provider of software that enables organizations to extend their operations from paper-intensive commerce to e-business. "We selected Optio to fulfill the document management and distribution needs of our customers because of their proven track record and ability to add distinct value to the products in our existing enterprise application suite. The partnership underscores our commitment to continuously enhance our best-of-breed product portfolio," said Shawn Richmond, President/CEO of Prentice Technologies.

Optio's suite of e-business enabling solutions securely deliver business critical information such as order and shipment status, invoices and other B2B communications directly to their customers' desktops through industry-standard browsers. Optio e.ComPresent's "smart" notifications can also notify customers via wireless device or e-mail when new information is published, proactively alerting them to key updates and customized content. Additional products include OptioDCS (Document Customization Server) to tap directly into the information created by ERP applications and customize it to their specifications for web presentation and delivery. Information access is provided without having to re-engineer the applications or the business processes creating the information, resulting in reduced implementation times and overall cost savings. Additional enhancements can also include the ability for customers to execute transaction processes such as invoice payment online through direct bank debit.

"We are very pleased that Prentice has selected Optio's products to add an important, new facet to their suite of hosted applications," said C. Wayne Cape, Optio's Chairman and CEO. "As a leading ASP, Prentice affords Optio an important, new channel of opportunity for organizations seeking to leverage the Internet for the customization, delivery and exchange of enterprise information."

About Prentice Technologies

Prentice Technologies, Inc. is an accomplished Enterprise Application Service Provider (E-ASP). The Company specializes in application hosting services for J.D. Edwards (Nasdaq NM: JDEC) OneWorld(TM) and related business software, including application suites from Microsoft(TM), Optio(R) and other complementary offerings. Through focused efforts of implementing these solutions for over four years, Prentice has developed a broad client portfolio based largely on Fortune 1000 or similarly profiled enterprises throughout North America and Europe. Working closely with J.D. Edwards since 1996, Prentice was one of the first authorized partners in the firm's ASP channel program, now called JDe.sourcing. Forrester Research estimates that the overall market for outsourced packaged software applications was $2.3 billion in 1998 and will grow to over $21 billion in 2001, representing a 109% compound annual growth rate. Prentice is among good company in defining and leading the Enterprise ASP market space, including such notables as Breakaway Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: BWAY), Interliant, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: INIT), and USinternetworking, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: USIX).

About Optio Software, Inc.

Optio Software, Inc. provides software that enables organizations to customize and deliver information to a global network of digital destinations, including the Internet, e-mail, printers, faxes and wireless devices. Optio's software takes real-time information from enterprise applications, external databases and files, customizes it to suit business needs and delivers it to an organization's customers, suppliers and partners when, where and how they need it, without modifying the software or the business processes that created the original information. Optio has more than 3,800 customers, including The Home Depot, Schlumberger, Avery Dennison and Toys 'R Us.