Micro Focus to Offer Single Development Environment Based on Microsoft Visual Studio; Extends Commitment to Visual Studio Industry Partner Program With Single IDE For All Major Deployment Platforms

Business Wire, Feb 7, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- Micro Focus International Ltd. announced today from Fawcette Technical Publications' VSLive! San Francisco that it has selected Microsoft Visual Studio as its single integrated development environment (IDE) for legacy application development targeting a wide range of deployment platforms. Integration with the Windows development environment enables customers to capitalize on the agility of the Microsoft Windows platform. Customers will be able to deliver mission critical applications that unlock the value of legacy assets regardless of their deployment platform. This announcement extends Micro Focus' commitment to the Microsoft Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) program and continues to strengthen the ties between legacy systems and the latest Microsoft technology.

Visual Studio, the leading development tool for creating next generation software applications allows developers to rapidly build applications for Windows, the Web and mobile devices. Micro Focus previously unveiled Net Express(R) with .NET to deploy COBOL applications to the .NET Framework using Visual Studio .NET 2003, and affirmed its commitment to Visual Studio 2005 for Net Express customers. Through the VSIP program, Micro Focus will now implement significant enhancements to Net Express, helping businesses take advantage of their legacy assets. With a single IDE for deployment to IBM mainframes, Microsoft Windows, UNIX and Linux, Micro Focus customers only need to learn one IDE regardless of their deployment choices. Customers will have seamless access to their chosen deployment platform for development and testing and will be able to manage all aspects of application development from a single workstation environment. Most importantly, developers will improve their productivity through best-of-breed Visual Studio tooling for composite applications that are deployed across multiple platforms.

"Microsoft is very excited that Micro Focus has invested in Visual Studio as the IDE of choice for its customers, and continues to recognize the value of membership in the VSIP program as an avenue to empower its customer base," said Marie Huwe, general manager of the . NET Developer Product Management Group at Microsoft Corp. "Through Micro Focus' solutions, developers are able to utilize the power and productivity of the Visual Studio development environment to extend the value of their legacy systems with XML Web Services built on Microsoft .NET."

"Strengthening our relationship with Microsoft is of continued importance to our customers who are seeking simpler and faster ways to build applications," said Tony Hill, chief executive officer at Micro Focus. "We believe that Visual Studio and our strategic commitment to VSIP will further bridge the gap between valuable legacy assets and contemporary platforms."

About Micro Focus

Micro Focus is the leading provider of legacy application development and deployment software for contemporary platforms. Micro Focus enables organizations to unlock the value of their legacy by reusing their business-critical assets with .NET, Java, XML and Web services, resulting in reduced costs, increased agility and minimal risk. Founded in 1976, Micro Focus is a global company with principal offices in the United Kingdom, United States and Japan. For more information, visit www.microfocus.com.

Micro Focus and Net Express are registered trademarks of Micro Focus International, Ltd. All other products mentioned in this announcement are trademarks of their respective owners.