R&K Engineering Selects DataDirect Technologies to Facilitate DoD Application Development

Business Wire, Sept 14, 2004

BEDFORD, Mass. -- .NET Connectivity Components Drive Faster and More Accurate Facilities Management and Logistical Planning

DataDirect Technologies (http://www.datadirect.com), the leading provider of components for connecting software to data, today announced that R&K Engineering, has selected DataDirect Connect(R) for .NET for use in its latest product currently being developed for the Department of the Navy. DataDirect Connect for .NET enables R&K Engineering to build fast, scalable and secure applications for its clients' critical facilities management and executive information systems.

DataDirect Connect for .NET is the industry's only comprehensive suite of 100 percent managed code .NET data providers. This enables customers to get the fastest, most secure connection from their .NET application to any major database. R&K Engineering, which provides Web and Internet-accessible applications for a variety of federal government clients, selected the product after looking for a data connectivity component that would meet its rigorous performance and security requirements. The company implemented DataDirect Connect for .NET to provide more efficient handling of complex queries returning large amounts of data.

"DataDirect Connect for .NET is well suited for the applications R&K Engineering develops for the Department of Defense, which require efficient processing of significant amounts of data," said Thomas Flippin, systems director at R&K Engineering. "In addition, DataDirect Connect for .NET is built on 100 percent managed code and provides a direct database connection. After considering our data connectivity options, we found that DataDirect Technologies provided the most secure, reliable and high-performance solution. Its product went above and beyond all other options we considered due to its ability to efficiently handle large, complex queries."

DataDirect Connect for .NET delivers the industry's best performing and most secure .NET data providers. The product supports all major databases including Oracle, DB2, SQL Server and Sybase. Its advanced performance and security capabilities make it the ideal choice for critical commercial and government applications.

"R&K Engineering needs best-of-breed data connectivity to meet the Navy's complex and rigorous requirements because critical applications demand powerful, secure data access," said John Goodson, vice president of product operations at DataDirect Technologies. "As the only suite of data providers built with 100 percent managed code, DataDirect Connect for .NET lets customers like R&K Engineering take full advantage of the performance and security benefits of the .NET Framework."

About R&K Engineering

Established in 1984, R&K Engineering has more than 90 professionals skilled in computer science, engineering and military facilities planning. Its system development experience includes the complete design, development and maintenance of a wide range of client/server and Web-based facilities planning systems for the Department of Defense. Planning services include facility requirement analysis/validation, space utilization analysis/planning, facility condition analysis, reuse planning and master planning for long-range facility needs. With this range of planning experience, coupled with its computer programming expertise, the company is uniquely positioned to assist clients in IT solutions for complicated facility management issues. R&K Engineering maintains offices in Roanoke and Alexandria, Va. and San Antonio, Texas For more information visit http://www.rkeng.com.

About DataDirect Technologies

DataDirect Technologies is focused on standards-based data connectivity, enabling software developers to quickly develop and deploy business applications across all major databases and platforms. DataDirect Technologies offers the most comprehensive, proven line of data connectivity components available anywhere. Developers worldwide at more than 250 leading independent software vendors and thousands of corporate IT departments rely on DataDirect(R) products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources and using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC and ADO.NET. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a US$300 million global software industry leader. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., DataDirect Technologies can be reached on the Web at http://www.datadirect.com or by phone at 1-800-876-3101.

DataDirect and DataDirect Connect are trademarks or registered trademarks of DataDirect Technologies Corp. in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.