NEON Systems and GemStone Systems Partner

NEON Systems Inc, a leading provider of eBusiness Integration, Security, and Subsystem Management software products, and GemStone Systems Inc, an industry leader in high-end Java application servers, announced a partnership to provide an application development environment for seamless access to System/390 mainframe data and transactions. In order to deliver this combined solution, NEON Systems' Shadow Direct and the GemStone/J Application Server technologies were certified for transparent integration. GemStone application developers can now extend legacy applications and develop new or composite Java applications with direct access to System/390 data and transactions.

"Today's organizations are faced with delivering new business value to customers, trading partners, suppliers, and employees," said NEON Systems CEO and President Joe Backer. "In order to do this, they must rapidly integrate existing applications and data into new Web-based applications. More than 70% of mission-critical data, such as DB2 for OS/390, CICS, and other mainframe data and transactional sources, reside on the mainframe. NEON Systems' Shadow Direct is the strategic choice of many Global 2000 companies to provide rapid deployment for eBusiness because it provides a rapid integration to the System/390 platform."

"GemStone/J Java Application Server combines a mix of unique technologies, providing today's platform for tomorrow's iCommerce applications and sites," said Ken Irinaga, GemStone Systems, Inc. CEO and president. "Our customers are using GemStone/J's technology in production today in all walks of the dot.com world. Combining the GemStone application server with NEON Systems' Shadow Direct eBusiness Integration technology will provide the development environment that they need to compete in the dot.com leapfrog industry."

To successfully participate in business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-initiatives such as Web-to-host data access, application renewal, Web and client/server application development, enterprise application integration, or business-to-business integration, one key element is essential to the successful deployment of the IT solution -- access to mainframe-based IMS, CICS, VSAM, ADABAS, or DB2 data. NEON Systems' Shadow Product Family costeffectively and quickly provides the sharing of mainframe-based data and transactions to every e-initiative level. Through an open and less complex architecture and partnering with popular application development and integration server providers, Shadow Direct is the strategic choice of many Global 2000 companies to provide direct access to System/390 data and transactions. Pricing for Shadow Direct starts at $36,300.

GemStone/J provides a secure application platform for business-to-business Internet commerce applications built in Java. The GemStone/J application server provides a robust foundation that meets the demanding requirements for security, scalability, performance, and reliability which are key to success in Internet commerce environments. GemStone/J is based on Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) technologies including Java 2, Java Security Architecture, JavaServer Pages (JSP), Java Servlets, and Enterprise JavaBeans. GemStone/J integrates these Java components with an all-Java CORBA ORB for interoperability and an Object Transaction Monitor (OTM) to enable coordinated business transaction processing.

The GemStone/J Persistent Cache Architecture (PCA) technology is key to providing high performance and coordinated business transactions for Internet commerce applications. GemStone/J's open architecture supports a wide choice of development tools, components, Web servers, client browsers and databases. GemStone/J is currently available on the Solaris 2.6/2.7 and Windows NT platforms.

About GemStone Systems

GemStone Systems Inc, a B2B software infrastructure technology leader, has today's platform for tomorrow's Business-to-Business applications and sites. GemStone's Java Success technology initiative provides e-businesses with faster time-to-market and enhanced competitive advantage for their Internet marketplaces. The GemStone e-business software solution incorporates industry standards in the most advanced, integrated architecture of any product in its class. Today, customers are using GemStone's Extreme Clustering technology to deploy production B2B environments in all walks of the dot-com world. GemStone's Java-based platforms are customer-tested and proven scalable, secure, adaptable, and reliable. Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, GemStone distributes and services its products worldwide through offices in the United States, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as through a network of distributors. For detailed product and company information, please visit www.gemstone.com.

About NEON Systems

NEON Systems Inc is a leading provider of eBusiness Integration, Security, and Subsystem Management software products for all industries. NEON Systems' eBusiness Integration solution delivers integrated, global information sharing in cross-platform, multi-functional environments via the Internet or client/server. Many Global 2000 companies have chosen NEON Systems software for the revitalization of legacy applications, e-commerce, enterprise application integration, and business-to-business integration. NEON Enterprise Security Management software products provide password synchronization for interoperable computing environments. NEON Enterprise Subsystem Management software products economically enhance and maintain the high availability, integrity, and performance of key CICS and IMS mainframe environments as the demand for existing and new applications increases. Headquartered in Sugar Land (Houston), Texas, NEON has sales, support, and distributor offices covering 25 countries around the world. NEON's Website can be visited at www.neonsys.com.

Contact Susan Allen Farrell of NEON Systems Inc, 281-634-8225, sfarrell@neonsys.com