Systems Management Software Pioneers Launch Spiceworks; New Company Formed to Simplify IT Management for Small Businesses; Recruiting Begins for Free 'Spice IT Up' Software Alpha Evaluation Program

Business Wire, May 15, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas -- Spiceworks(TM) Inc. today announced its official company debut. Formed to address the unique technical and budget challenges faced by smaller organizations, Spiceworks aims to dramatically simplify the day-to-day tasks needed to manage and run a small IT operation with a revolutionary IT management solution. In addition to its company debut, Spiceworks also announced the launch of an alpha program, dubbed "Spice IT Up," for individuals interested in helping to fine-tune the soon-to-be launched Spiceworks software. Ideal candidates are individuals charged with overseeing IT environments for smaller organizations. E[acute accent]The team from Spiceworks conducted extensive research of the small business market -- companies with 20-250 computers -- and discovered that most IT managers and administrators are dissatisfied with the disparate set of complex and expensive management solutions available on the market today. The research also found that most are confused by the vast array of information and best practices they receive from different sources -- including colleagues, experts and from the Internet -- making the sharing and coordination of best practices difficult. IT managers also felt they were left out of the loop with regards to product changes and enhancements made by their software vendors. E[acute accent]"We're excited to launch a company that is focused on addressing the issues IT managers in small businesses face by delivering a product that is powerful yet simple and easy to use," said Scott Abel, co-founder and CEO, Spiceworks. "More importantly, we look forward to jointly developing the product with our customers and letting them decide what's important versus having someone decide for them. Collaborating with technology revolutionaries at smaller organizations will help make this the best solution they've ever seen for managing their company's computer network." E[acute accent]"You would think with hundreds of vendors supplying IT management products today that every problem has been solved and that IT managers are thrilled with their tools. Unfortunately, that's not the case," said Jay Hallberg, co-founder and vice president of marketing for Spiceworks. "We've discovered that IT managers want to participate in defining products to make their jobs easier, simpler, and even -- dare we say -- more fun. This is a natural evolution of the open source movement and the innovations in the 'Web 2.0' market. We're thrilled that our early customers will help create what we believe will be the next evolution in IT management." E[acute accent]Spiceworks was founded by Scott Abel, Jay Hallberg, Francis Sullivan and Greg Kattawar -- software industry veterans with a track record in building leading technology and systems management products. Over the past 25 years they have started three companies and worked for industry leaders, including Tivoli, Apple and NeXT.

E[acute accent]Availability

E[acute accent]The free "Spice IT Up" alpha program commences immediately. Individuals can sign up to participate at www.spiceworks.com. For more information on Spiceworks, visit www.spiceworks.com.

E[acute accent]About Spiceworks

E[acute accent]Founded by network and systems management software pioneers, Spiceworks is a privately held company headquartered in Austin, Texas.

E[acute accent]Spiceworks is a trademark of Spiceworks Inc. All other names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.