GfK Group, Europe's Leading Market Research Company, Sets Web Services Strategy With SilverStream eXtend and Caribou Lake Software

Business Wire, May 20, 2002

Business/Technology Editors

BILLERICA, Mass. & MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2002

Nuremberg-based Company Chooses SilverStream eXtend as the Foundation

for its Information Intensive Employee Information Portal

SilverStream Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSSW) and Caribou Lake Software today announced that GfK Group, one of the world's leading market research companies with employees in 51 countries, has chosen SilverStream eXtend(TM), a visual integrated services environment, as the foundation for its Web services strategy. As a result, the company will be able to seamlessly share information across the organization using Web services to improve information flow and business process, and increase employee productivity.

Having grown rapidly through a number of acquisitions, GfK needed to streamline its international communications and provide centralized access to company policies, marketing materials, and client information. GfK sought a standards-based, Web services solution for its employee information portal that could be implemented rapidly and provide a foundation for future projects. After a comprehensive evaluation process supported by Caribou Lake Software, GfK chose SilverStream eXtend for its rapid time-to-market profile and compliance with the latest industry standards, including Web services. In just 14 weeks, Caribou Lake and GfK implemented the first phase of the project, developing and deploying a content-based portal using SilverStream eXtend.

"We thoughtfully decided to start early with the implementation of the Web-based knowledge platform 'GfK4u' for employees of the GfK Group, as part of our planned Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) and then expand it incrementally," said Rainer Ostermeyer, CIO of GfK Group. "In SilverStream, we have chosen a partner who offers a standards-based platform and technology for our EIP that is truly 'future-proof.' This reduces the investment risk considerably, and the rapid implementation of the first project stage proves that we have made a safe bet."

The 'GfK4u' employee information portal integrates the company's wealth of complex and disparate information systems worldwide to provide streamlined access to the information employees need to be productive. Caribou Lake Software worked closely with GfK to evaluate the priorities of the project and recommended SilverStream eXtend because it enables corporate application developers to quickly deliver highly interactive solutions that integrate existing business systems using Web services. In the second phase of the project, GfK, supported by Caribou Lake Software, will roll out the portal to GfK employees worldwide and start with knowledge communities within the portal to provide the different user-groups with special information.

"We performed in-depth interviews with the projects' key stakeholders, as well as conducting a thorough review of the existing infrastructure and staff skill sets," said John Holm, principle consultant at Caribou Lake Software. Our recommendation was based on project priorities including an aggressive project schedule, both integration and interaction capabilities, standards-compliance and company resources, among others. SilverStream eXtend was a natural choice for GfK, meeting both the technical and business requirements of the GfK4u portal."

About SilverStream eXtend

SilverStream eXtend is a highly productive visual integrated services environment for the rapid creation and management of enterprise information systems. SilverStream eXtend features breakthrough technology for XML integration to legacy systems, business process management, interactive applications, personalization, content management, user management, wireless device support, and more. In addition, SilverStream eXtend leverages the reliability, security and scalability of leading J2EE application servers, including IBM WebSphere, BEA WebLogic and the SilverStream eXtend Application Server, to offer customers' unparalleled choice and flexibility. For more information, please visit http://www.silverstream.com/eXtend.> About GFK Group

Preliminary figures indicate that the GfK Group, a leading international market research organization, has achieved total revenue of EUR 534 million in 2001 (2000: EUR 481 million) in its four business divisions, Consumer Tracking, Non-Food Tracking, Media and Ad Hoc Research. In addition to 16 German subsidiaries, the company has over 120 subsidiaries and affiliates located in 51 countries. Of a total of 4,750 employees, approx. 1,450 are based in Germany. For further information, visit the website www.gfk.com.

About Caribou Lake Software

Caribou Lake, a high-end system design consultancy focused on helping customers build premier, n-tier, eBusiness applications quickly and successfully, with a lower cost of ownership and increased scalability, reliability and manageability. Since their founding in 1996, they have quickly risen to national prominence helping companies like Federal Express, Coca-Cola, Guidant, and Seagate harness the power of their information infrastructures and the Internet. The results: Business solutions that reduce costs, increase revenue, better customer service, improve efficiencies, and provide competitive advantage. The worldwide customer research organization, GfK Group, based in Germany, holds a minority interest in Caribou Lake. For more information visit www.CaribouLake.com.