IONA and QNX Form Alliance to Target Next-Generation IP and Optical Networks; Alliance Extends Vendors' Platform Reliability and Success in Network Management

Business Wire, June 25, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

WALTHAM, Mass. & OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 2001

IONA(R), the leading e-Business Platform provider for Total Business Integration(TM) (NASDAQ: IONA), and QNX Software Systems, developers of the QNX(R) realtime operating system (RTOS), today announced an alliance to deliver advanced development solutions for next-generation broadband networks.

As part of the alliance, IONA recently announced the availability of ORBacus/E 1.1(TM) for the QNX RTOS. ORBacus/E 1.1 is a CORBA 2.3-compliant object request broker that enables embedded applications to collaborate with remote applications regardless of their language or platform. Available for C and Java, ORBacus/E provides a combination of high performance and high availability, while maintaining a small memory footprint. ORBacus/E 1.1 will be able to take advantage of QNX's industry-leading memory-protected architecture and run within its own memory-protected address space, further increasing the robustness of the entire system.

"Today's broadband networks consist of many different data and optical nodes, all running a variety of different services. IONA's ORBacus/E 1.1 helps customers seamlessly integrate applications running on the QNX RTOS with applications running on other platforms," said Linda Campbell, vice president of strategic alliances at QNX Software Systems.

"IONA has enjoyed great success in the telecommunications industry, and now with ORBacus/E, we are extending our reach to include network equipment", said Barry Morris, IONA CEO. "ORBacus/E and the QNX RTOS are a solid software foundation for implementing and managing gateways, routers, switches, and edge devices. We are delighted to extend our longtime relationship with QNX to address the needs of the embedded market."

About QNX Software Systems

Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems is the industry leader in realtime, microkernel OS technology. The company's flagship product, the QNX RTOS, provides a fault-tolerant platform for carrier-grade IP and optical products used in metropolitan and core networks, as well as storage networks. Scalable architecture, small memory footprint, and inherent reliability have made the QNX RTOS one of the most popular and trusted operating systems in the embedded market. QNX products are distributed in over 100 countries worldwide. Visit www.qnx.com.

About IONA

IONA is a leading e-Business Platform provider for Total Business Integration(TM). The IONA e-Business Platform provides users with a complete solution for end-to-end business integration inside and outside the firewall. IONA's e-Business Platform includes a J2EE-compliant application server, a mainframe and enterprise application integration suite as well as XML web services, Java and CORBA development tools, and a business-to-business integration (B2Bi) platform. Founded in 1991, IONA is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company had revenues of $153 million in 2000 and employs more than 1000 people in 30 offices worldwide. Please visit www.iona.com for more information.

IONA, IONA e-Business Platform, iPortal Application Server, IONA Enterprise Integrator, IONA Mainframe Integrator, IONA B2B Integrator, iPortal SureTrack, IONA XMLBus, Orbix, Adaptive Runtime Technology and Total Business Integration are trademarks or registered trademarks of IONA Technologies. QNX is a registered trademark of QNX Software Systems Ltd. SUN, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Java, and J2EE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc in the United States and other countries. CORBA is a trademark or registered trademark of the Object Management Group,Inc in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.