Microsoft and Avinon Announce Strategic Alliance To Offer Advanced Web Services Solutions for Enterprise Customers

REDMOND, Wash., and SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. and Avinon Inc., a leading provider of business service management software, today announced a strategic alliance to offer a tightly integrated, advanced Web services solution that allows enterprise companies to quickly assemble and deliver their vital business services online. The two companies will work closely to integrate the Avinon NetScenario software with the Microsoft® .NET Platform, including .NET Enterprise Server products such as BizTalk™ Server and SharePoint™
Portal Server. These technologies will be combined to create a unified solution that dramatically reduces the time, cost and complexity typically associated with developing interactive, XML-based Web service applications.

Under the terms of the multiyear, multifaceted alliance, Avinon and Microsoft will coordinate their sales and marketing efforts to create functionally rich and robust .NET-based business solutions for enterprise customers. Initially, the integrated solution will be marketed by Microsoft’s global .NET Technology Evangelist team to develop both prototypes and fully architected Web service-based solutions based on the .NET Platform infrastructure. In addition, the strategic alliance provides for the deployment of resources from both companies to offer the tools, consulting and support required for enterprises to maximize their ability to provide critical business services online.

Avinon’s NetScenario Platform is unique in its ability to visually assemble market-facing business processes from Web service components that can be created with Microsoft’s SOAP 2.0 toolkit and its forthcoming Visual Studio® .NET development environment. The end result is a dynamic business service that can be deployed through multiple online channels, including corporate or partner Web sites, enterprise portals such as those enabled by the Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server, and rich e-mail messages.

The alliance will focus first on market opportunities within the financial services and manufacturing industries. Examples of applications to be developed for these industries include self-directed policy administration and claims adjuster services portals for large insurance carriers as well as warranty and other extended services marketing for high-tech product manufacturers.

“Avinon brings both immediacy and business relevance to the dialogue surrounding Web services, and is a great example of partners putting the .NET vision to work,”
said Sanjay Parthasarathy, vice president of Business Development for Microsoft.
“With its breakthrough capability to visually transform Web service components into dynamic, market-facing business services, Avinon’s NetScenario software further empowers our global customers to take advantage of .NET Platform technologies such as BizTalk Server to build next-generation Internet applications using the XML Web services paradigm.”

“Avinon’s vision and mission has been to create a business-focused, visual environment that empowers companies to create dynamic, innovative business services that differentiate their online presence,”
said Kamran Kheirolomoom, president and CEO of Avinon.
“Web services and the Microsoft .NET Platform lay the groundwork for a new collaboration model where business and IT become co-creators of online solutions that directly extend business value to enterprise customers and partners. Together, Microsoft and Avinon provide an optimal business service delivery platform that fulfills the promise of Web services today.”

The companies also will establish a joint engineering lab at Microsoft’s Redmond campus to benchmark and further optimize the NetScenario software on the .NET Platform. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Avinon

Avinon is a leading provider of business service management software that allows companies to quickly evolve their strategic, market-facing business processes into dynamic business services delivered over the Web. Leveraging a standards-based, Web services architecture, Avinon’s NetScenario Platform transforms vital business functions into modular online services that dramatically enhance enterprise agility, responsiveness and competitive differentiation. Founded in 1999 by an experienced team of enterprise software executives, Avinon is a privately held, venture-backed company and is headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.avinon.com/ .

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, BizTalk, SharePoint and Visual Studio are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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