IT FACTORY and Atos Origin Partner on ASP Solutions; Atos Origin and IT FACTORY to Bring Next-Generation ASP Solutions to Fortune 2000

Business Wire, Jan 15, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

Lotusphere

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 15, 2001

Atos Origin Selects IT FACTORY as Strategic Technology and

Marketing Partner in Full-Scale Effort to

Lead ASP Market among Large Enterprises

Atos Origin, Inc., a leading global e-business services provider and IT FACTORY, Inc., the leading supplier of collaborative e-business solutions, today announced a strategic alliance intended to bring the next generation of ASP solutions to Fortune 2000 enterprises. Atos Origin, is actively expanding its Enterprise ASP portfolio by offering prepackaged eBusiness solutions, which satisfy the needs for flexible customization, integration and security of large enterprises. The Enterprise ASP services form part of Atos Origin's eBusiness Solution Sets, focusing on Customers, Suppliers and Workforce. These full life-cycle services support customers in "Transforming their Enterprises into eCommunities."

IT FACTORY's suite of integrated Collaboration and eBusiness applications, called the ITF Business Suite, is available immediately as a standard Atos Origin Enterprise ASP service. In addition Atos Origin has adopted IT FACTORY's collaborative development framework for the integrated and customizable, hosted solutions, a platform that also allows for rapid development, customization and integration of other applications.

The eight components of ITF Business Suite include Customer Service; E-Commerce; Help Desk; Human Resources; Marketing Management; Office Automation; Project Management; Sales Force Automation software modules and a portal. These modules can be deployed as is, or -more important- can easily be customized to suit customers' individual requirements. Based on IT FACTORY's technology Atos Origin offers customers a unique solution that allows them to differentiate from their competition, which is a crucial point of distinction in the ASP marketplace.

This partnership enables Atos Origin to further expand its broad range of application outsourcing services based on the Lotus Notes/Domino platform. It builds upon its strength of being the recognized global leader in full life cycle Lotus Notes / Domino Messaging and Application Management services.

In essence, Atos Origin's Enterprise ASP service combines the advantages of dedicated managed application infrastructure services with those of the pure play ASP offerings. It provides companies with a secure, reliable and cost-effective alternative compared to dedicated solutions. The full life cycle ASP service greatly reduces the up-front costs of deploying enterprise applications and is offered at attractive usage based monthly fees. Atos Origin distinguishes itself by its global presence, uniform global management and support processes, end-to-end managed services capabilities and delivery of services against guaranteed service levels.

"Our partnership with Atos Origin represents a significant advance for the medium to large enterprises looking for a more cost effective IT outsourcing solution," said Lars Johansen, President and CEO of Cambridge-based IT FACTORY. "ASP's represent the fastest growing sales channel in the computer industry today, and Atos Origin is actively pursuing a leadership position in this emerging market. We are pleased to be working with such a competent partner that has a strong track record in providing IT services to large enterprises on a global basis."

"IT FACTORY technology enables us to provide a very compelling offering to the large enterprise customer, with the ability to rapidly deliver customized and integrated e-business solutions in an especially affordable cost model," said Ken Cameron, VP Managed Services (NA Board Member), Atos Origin. "Our alliance with IT FACTORY gives us a clear advantage over our competitors that are unable to provide this level of application customization and integration in an ASP model. Moreover, clients have robust applications available that are easy to use at known and predictable cost."

Summarizing, the Atos Origin/ IT Factory partnership offers best of breed Lotus Notes/ Domino based application solutions in a unique and compelling Enterprise ASP model that answers the need of today's businesses for simplicity, speed and maximum alignment with the business process.

About IT FACTORY

IT FACTORY is the leading global supplier of collaborative e-business solutions, supported by an award-winning development architecture and comprehensive set of software development tools. Four-time Lotus Beacon Award winner (and six-time finalist), IT FACTORY has a rapidly expanding installed base of more than 500,000 ITF product licenses worldwide. IT FACTORY distributes its technology through its 100-person professional services group and more than 250 highly qualified business partners, as well as through its on-line storefront, the Shop@IT FACTORY. The company's product line consists of the ITF Software Development Kit(TM), an advanced development architecture for Lotus Notes, the ITF Business Suite(TM), the ITF Plus Suite, and a set of related support and training services. With its more than 250 employees worldwide, IT FACTORY is the world's largest ISV in the collaborative technology industry. IT FACTORY is backed by international venture capital, allowing continued aggressive growth. The Company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with regional offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Raleigh, NC, Atlanta, GA, and Nashville, TN, and has international offices in Denmark, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Australia. Find out more at www.itfactory.com.