iRise Named 2005 Computerworld Honors Laureate; Nominated by Morgan Stanley, iRise Receives Medal of Achievement for Visionary Technology

Business Wire, April 25, 2005

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- iRise(R), the world's leading application definition software and services company, today announced that it was named a 2005 Computerworld Honors Laureate and received a Medal of Achievement at San Francisco City Hall on Sunday, April 3. Morgan Stanley, the global financial services company, nominated iRise for the prestigious Collection, which recognizes organizations for their innovative use of technology to benefit society.

Merritt Lutz, Advisory Director, Morgan Stanley, Chairman of MSIT Holdings, Inc., and member of The Computerworld Honors Chairmen's Committee, nominated iRise for inclusion in the 2005 Business & Related Services category. "This award is a unique honor, designed for companies and organizations with leading edge technologies. I was pleased to nominate iRise," said Lutz. The case study submitted by iRise as part of the nomination process now becomes a part of a collection of case studies from 54 countries.

The communication gap between business and IT has been a well known and fundamental problem associated with custom software development. To make matters worse, this endemic problem has long been believed to be unsolvable. With its application simulator platform, iRise is helping to bring business and IT organizations together in a truly new, unique and intuitive way -- by helping to drive growth, cut costs and provide everyone with a common language with which to innovate.

"Each year, Computerworld Honors identifies and recognizes individuals around the world whose visionary use of information technology produces and promotes positive social, economic and educational change," said Bob Carrigan, CEO and publisher of Computerworld, the "Voice of IT Management," and chairman of the Chairmen's Committee of the Computerworld Honors Program. "The innovators represented in this Collection have been recognized by the leading IT industry chairmen as true revolutionaries in their fields."

From more than 300 nominations submitted this year by the 100 industry chairmen and CEOs who serve on the program's Chairmen's Committee, 160 were honored as laureates at the April 3 ceremonies in San Francisco. Of these, 50 will be chosen by a panel of distinguished judges to attend the June 6, 2005, awards gala in Washington, D.C., where the ten world finalists will be announced.

Case studies from the 2005 Computerworld Honors Collection will be available at http://www.cwheroes.org, the official site of the Computerworld Honors Program, where the entire Collection is available to scholars, researchers and the general public worldwide. In addition, the Collection is distributed annually to the Honors Program's Archival Partners around the world. These partners include some of the world's finest research and scholarly institutions, each of which has generously agreed to include the Collection in its archives.

About iRise

iRise(R) is dedicated to bridging the communication gap between business and IT by improving the process of defining software. Global corporations like Agilent, CNA, CSAA, Health Net, Sprint, SunTrust and Wachovia use its market leading application definition platform to get requirements right -- the first time. iRise application simulations cut rework costs, accelerate time to market and reduce the risks associated with global development on mission-critical business systems initiatives. Unlike text-based requirements, visual iRise simulations are unambiguous and enforceable specifications that ensure the needs of the business are clearly understood and met. iRise simulations can be built by business experts and used in a collaborative global model to quickly iterate on stakeholder requirements with business people, dramatically improving project success. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., iRise is backed by Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and has sales offices across North America.

About Computerworld

Computerworld, the "Voice of IT Management," is the most trusted source for the critical information needs of senior IT management. Computerworld's integrated offerings form the U.S.-based hub of the world's largest (58-edition) global IT media network through its weekly publication, Computerworld.com Web site, focused conference series and custom research. In the past five years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 print and online awards for editorial and design excellence, surpassing its direct competition by an order of magnitude. Recognition includes the 2004 Magazine of the Year Award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and a Jesse H. Neal Award for "Best News Coverage." In print since 1967, Computerworld is the source for information technology management, with a guaranteed rate base of 180,050, a total print audience of 1,138,000 (IntelliQuest CIMS 2004 Business Influencer Study) and an online audience of over 1.5 million unique monthly visitors (DoubleClick).

Computerworld is a business unit of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading technology media, research and events company. A privately held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers, including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites, with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide, including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), DEMO(R) and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.