Sonic Software Fills Rotech Prescription for Service-Oriented Architecture with Sonic ESB

Business Wire, April 25, 2005

BEDFORD, Mass. -- Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)-Based Sonic SOA Suite(TM) Enables Home Healthcare Provider to Build Real-time Information Network and Deliver Improved Patient Care

Sonic Software (http://www.sonicsoftware.com), the inventor and leading provider of the enterprise service bus (ESB), today announced that Rotech Healthcare, Inc. (http://www.rotech.com), a leading provider of home respiratory care and durable medical equipment, is improving patient care with an enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA) built with the Sonic SOA Suite(TM). Rotech has deployed Sonic ESB(R), Sonic Orchestration Server(R) and Sonic XML Server(TM) to automate order management and enable near-real-time visibility of patient information across disparate systems.

"Rotech operates two very different business models to support our pharmacy and durable medical equipment businesses; we wanted a common IT infrastructure that could automate and support the various business processes of both," said Albert Prast, CIO of Rotech. "Using Sonic ESB, we now have a flexible SOA that is capable of meeting our demanding data management challenges today, while evolving quickly and easily to accommodate future strategic initiatives to improve patient care. This enables us to provide the highest level of customer service."

Coordinating a large number of doctors, pharmacies and medical equipment suppliers requires Rotech to accommodate multiple, disparate applications and systems. Rotech built a SOA to reliably and efficiently connect and share data between systems, using Sonic ESB, Sonic Orchestration Server and Sonic XML Server as the software infrastructure to provide flexibility, reliability and ease of management across their distributed environment. Rotech's infrastructure supports efficient transaction routing and a high level of transaction integrity, helping the company provide reliable information and service to patients, while also complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Operating through nearly 500 locations in 48 states, Rotech is a national leader in helping patients manage medical treatments at home so they can live more comfortable and productive lives. Rotech provides equipment and services, such as home medical equipment rentals and mail-order medication delivery. The company's Sonic-enabled SOA includes a system to input orders from each patient's physician, a clinical system to track equipment and medication delivery details, a mail-order pharmacy system, and customer call-center applications.

More information on how Rotech is benefiting from the Sonic SOA Suite can be found online at http://www.sonicsoftware.com/customers/docs/rotech.pdf.> About Rotech Healthcare

Rotech Healthcare Inc. is a leading provider of home respiratory care and durable medical equipment and services to patients with breathing disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). The Company provides its equipment and services in 48 states through over 500 operating centers, located principally in non-urban markets. Rotech's local operating centers ensure that patients receive individualized care, while its nationwide coverage allows the Company to benefit from significant operating efficiencies.

About Sonic Software

Sonic Software is the inventor and leading provider of the enterprise service bus (ESB). Sonic enterprise integration and messaging products deliver flexibility, scalability, and continuous availability through patent-pending innovations. Sonic Software enables over 700 customers to integrate their organizations from the department to the extended enterprise with a standards-based, service-oriented architecture (SOA).

Sonic Software is an independent operating company of Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), a US$300 million global software industry leader. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., Sonic Software can be reached on the Web at http://www.sonicsoftware.com, or by phone at 1-781-999-7000 or 1-866-GET-SONIC.

Sonic SOA Suite, Sonic ESB, Sonic Orchestration Server, Sonic XML Server, and Sonic Software (and design) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Software Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.