PeopleSoft and Courion Deliver Integrated Password Management Solution

Business Wire, August 27, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

PLEASANTON, Calif. and FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2001

Self-Service Solution Reduces Support Costs, Increases Employee

Productivity, and Improves Customer Service

PeopleSoft(R) Inc. (Nasdaq: PSFT) and Courion(R) Corporation today announced a strategic alliance to provide customers with an integrated, enterprise-class solution for eliminating the most common support problem facing any internal or external support center - resetting forgotten and expired passwords. Under the terms of the agreement, Courion PasswordCourier(R), the industry's leading self-service password management solution, will be integrated with PeopleSoft 8 CRM HelpDesk to reduce the cost of supporting employees, business partners, and customers, while improving service and increasing security.

META Group estimates that 30% of all support calls are password-related. In the past, users who needed to reset forgotten or expired passwords had to wait on hold while support representatives asked authentication questions, opened help desk tickets, updated ticket data, and created new passwords on numerous e-business systems and applications. The integration between PasswordCourier and PeopleSoft 8 CRM HelpDesk will automate this process, and empower end users to solve this common problem on their own.

"As organizations continue to grant network and application access to business partners, customers, and geographically dispersed employees, the number of users increases, and as a result, so do the number of support and service calls," said John Grozier, PeopleSoft vice president of CRM Product Strategy. "Through the integration of Courion's self-service password and directory management products with our HelpDesk applications, organizations will be able to lower support costs through call avoidance while improving security and customer service."

The integration will enable security administrators to create the password policies needed for strong authentication without having to worry about overloading the help desk with password reset calls. Users will be able to use PasswordCourier to securely reset their own passwords from their Windows desktop, Web browser, or telephone, and ticketing in PeopleSoft 8 CRM Help Desk will be entirely automated. Customers will benefit from:

-- lower support costs - eliminating password reset calls, which cost an average of $15-30 to service manually, will provide immediate cost savings and fast return on investment.

-- improved service quality - cutting password reset times from an average of 15 minutes to less than 60 seconds will give employees faster access to enterprise systems and applications, and will give customers and business partners faster access to revenue-generating Web sites.

-- increased security - automating authentication and ticketing procedures will eliminate security holes caused by human error, and self-service password reset will enable stronger passwords.

"Raymond James has been using PasswordCourier for more than a year, and has seen its unique, self-service capabilities measurably reduce help desk call volume and improve overall security," said Lisa Huston, assistant vice president for Network Operations at Raymond James & Associates, member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. "As a user of PeopleSoft's help desk solutions, we look forward to tremendous benefit from the integration of the products to further streamline our password management processes."

"We're pleased to be working with PeopleSoft to deliver integrated self-service solutions that simultaneously increase security, improve productivity, and reduce costs," said Tom Rose, vice president of marketing at Courion. "PasswordCourier will enable enterprise and Web portal users to securely reset their own forgotten or expired passwords for faster access, and the ability to automatically open, update, and close tickets in PeopleSoft 8 CRM HelpDesk will ensure that every reset is tracked for more efficient service level and security auditing."

As a part of this software alliance, Courion PasswordCourier has been integrated with the latest releases of PeopleSoft Vantive Help Desk to automatically open, update, and close cases every time a user resets a password, ensuring accurate reporting and problem tracking. The integrated software is available immediately through Courion and Courion authorized resellers, and will be demonstrated today at the PeopleSoft Connect 2001 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

The integration with PeopleSoft 8 CRM HelpDesk will be available in December 2001.

About Courion

Courion Corporation provides self-service identity management solutions to more Fortune 500 enterprises than any other company. IT organizations and customer service centers choose Courion's self-service password and directory management software to reduce support costs, increase security and improve customer service. Courion's solutions fully integrate with existing IT infrastructures and corporate security policies, enabling companies to scale e-business operations and achieve fast return on investment. Companies that rely on Courion solutions include customers such as Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc., The Boeing Company, Cummins, Inc., Dell Computer Corp., Raymond James Financial, and Target Corporation, and partners such as Compaq Computer Corp., Unisys Corp., and Peregrine Systems. Courion's headquarters is in Framingham, MA. For more information call 508-879-8400 or visit www.courion.com.