FireStar Software and Microsoft Team to Improve Development of ACORD and IAA Compliant Applications On .NET; Companies Announce Strategic Alliance at ACORD Conference

Business Wire, May 20, 2002

Business/Technology Editors

ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2002

FireStar Software, Inc., an innovative software company providing the industry's first out-of-the-box data service layer used to integrate new applications into distributed enterprise computing environments, today announced a go-to-market agreement with Microsoft, intended to assist enterprise developers implement industry-specific, model-based applications, supporting ACORD standards and IBM's Insurance Application Architecture (IAA). Under terms of the agreement FireStar Software and Microsoft and will be participating in joint marketing and sales activities targeting Insurance companies faced with issues of rapidly developing applications compliant with industry standards.

"This relationship with FireStar Software allows us to better satisfy the needs of companies who support ACORD and/or IAA and want to take advantage of the speed of development, cost containment and performance of the Microsoft platform," said Kevin Kelly, Managing Director, Financial Services for Microsoft. "FireStar Software's deep expertise with COM, .NET, Java and J2EE architectures combined with ObjectSpark's ability to work in all domains, make their tools and services offering ideal for legacy enterprise development shops looking to begin introducing .NET tools and development methods into legacy environments."

At the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD) conference being held May 19-21, 2002 in Orlando, Florida, FireStar Software and Microsoft are demonstrating, a .NET insurance application which complies with both the ACORD industry standards and IBM's Insurance Application Architecture (IAA) model.

FireStar Software's ObjectSpark(TM) is an infrastructure product with visual development tools used by organizations looking to integrate new applications into existing data infrastructures. It enables the customization of industry-specific data models, to fit enterprise and cross enterprise data infrastructure. The ObjectSpark data services layer provides a simple way to incorporate critical services into applications, such as transaction control and state management, while providing data/message components that are incorporated into applications that are written in today's leading development environments.

"We are excited about the kinds of productivity gains and performance developers are getting with .NET and about this agreement with Microsoft to jointly help Insurance companies deal with the complexity of their industry," said Kenneth Lord, CEO of FireStar Software. "ObjectSpark, together with .NET, provide insurance customers with a solid, fast development solution for leveraging ACORD standards and developing IAA compliant applications."

About Microsoft

Microsoft(R) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

About FireStar Software, Inc.

FireStar Software, Inc. is an innovative software company that provides the industry's first out-of-the-box data service layer used to integrate new applications into distributed enterprise computing environments. FireStar Software's flagship product, ObjectSpark(TM), facilitates application development and enables maintenance by insulating corporate IT infrastructure from enterprise applications; it drastically reduces costs by shortening development and maintenance cycles.

FireStar Software's customers include Fortune 500 companies in the financial services, oil and gas, transportation and healthcare markets. FireStar Software partners with systems integrators dedicated to best-of-breed implementation for their customers. As a member of the Object Management Group (OMG), FireStar Software helps drive the advancement of best practices in software development. Privately held, the company is headquartered in Acton, Massachusetts.

For more information about FireStar Software, visit http://www.firestarsoftware.com.

NOTE: FireStar Software is a registered trademark and ObjectSpark, the ObjectSpark logo and FireStar Software logo are trademarks of FireStar Software, Inc. All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.