Media Contacts:

Sara Green                                                                 Erica LeBorgne

On behalf of Micro Focus                                           Novarra, Inc.

(415) 986-9500 x249                                                   (847) 368-7807

sgreen@fitzgerald.com                                              eleborgne@novarra.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

MICRO FOCUS AND NOVARRA TEAM UP

TO PROVIDE WIRELESS ACCESS TO LEGACY SYSTEMS

—Partnership to offer customers a best-in-class legacy-to-wireless solution,

 achieving greater return on IT investments—

 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., and ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Jan. 28, 2002 ¾ Micro Focus International Ltd. (Micro Focus^Ò), a leading global enterprise development company, and Novarra, Inc., the innovator of instant wireless software, have partnered to extend legacy assets beyond the desktop to wireless handheld devices.  This collaboration allows organizations to leverage their existing mainframe applications while enhancing productivity by enabling employees to access critical business information in real-time, no matter where they are.

            The company’s complementary technologies, Micro Focus’s EnterpriseLink® with Component Generator, announced today, and the Novarra WirelessWeb Enterprise Suite™   together offer a fast and easy way for companies to take their applications from legacy to wireless, without a redevelopment effort.  “Micro Focus's software and services have helped Ramada Express manipulate our legacy systems to get the most from our existing technology investment,” said Jeff Tibbits, director of information systems at Ramada Express Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada.  “We're already seeing success from our

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Micro Focus and Novarra Partnership, p. 2

new Internet reservation system which was deployed last month, so our next step is to

implement EnterpriseLink Integration Server and Novarra WirelessWeb to make our operations even more efficient.”

This newest version of EnterpriseLink integrates and extends mainframe applications to e-business and the Web.  The software requires minimal programming and no changes to existing production systems.  Novarra WirelessWeb Enterprise Suite is a complete software solution that allows customers to achieve timely, seamless wireless access to enterprise applications.  With support for all the leading wireless networks and handheld devices including WAP phones and Blackberry, Palm, and Pocket PC devices, Novarra offers a single solution that provides flexibility for wireless end-users.  Together, Micro Focus and Novarra enable mobile workers to instantly and securely access legacy information in real-time, whether they are in the field, in the warehouse, on the plant floor, or in front of customers.

“Novarra and Micro Focus will provide customers with a next-generation solution that enables remote, real-time access to mainframe systems and critical business information,” said Art Roldan, president and chief executive officer of Novarra.  “Novarra’s software provides unmatched speed to wireless and end-to-end security for wireless interactions. Coupled with Micro Focus’s legacy transformation technology, we’re enabling enterprises to fully utilize their large investment in legacy systems while offering an avenue for improved worker productivity and customer service.”

“This partnership with Novarra is a natural fit for Micro Focus.  The goal of the EnterpriseLink software is to enable our customers to maximize their return on mainframe assets, and pairing our technology with Novarra’s allows an even better return on legacy investments,” said Craig Marble, Micro Focus’s product manager for EnterpriseLink.  “With Web services promising to provide excellent ROI for customers, Micro Focus is excited to provide this initial Web services product.”

The EnterpriseLink 5.0 and Novarra WirelessWeb support Microsoft Internet Information Server, Netscape Enterprise Server on Windows and Solaris, and iPlanet Web server on AIX.

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Micro Focus and Novarra Partnership, p. 3

About Novarra

Novarra, Inc. is the innovator of instant wireless software empowering mobile workers with real-time access to critical business information. Novarra’s next-generation wireless software instantly adapts and extends complete Internet and intranet applications to interact with wireless handheld devices - out-of-the-box and with a high-quality user experience.  For more information, please visit www.novarra.com.

About Micro Focus

Micro Focus is the industry leader in COBOL development solutions spanning traditional maintenance and program understanding to business rule mining, Web-enablement and user-interface transformation.  With 70,000 licensed users at more than 7,000 sites around the world, Micro Focus offers unsurpassed breadth of platform support, performance and scalability, and the most comprehensive suite of development and integration environments to help customers succeed in taking full advantage of the power of their legacy systems.  Founded in 1976, Micro Focus is a global company that employs more than 450 people worldwide, with principal offices in the United Kingdom and United States.  For more information, visit www.microfocus.com.

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EnterpriseLink and Micro Focus are registered trademarks of Micro Focus International Ltd.  Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.