Progress Software Announces Availability of OpenEdge 10.1 Platform for Developing SOA Business Applications

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2006--

Early Adopter Customers State Eclipse-Based IDE, Built-in Auditing Services, and Object-Oriented Extensions Increase Developer Productivity and Minimize Operating Costs

“The advantages of OpenEdge Architect are the ease of switching between the production and development environments, the tie-in to the database for auto-completion of tables, and the general feeling of having a complete environment directly available from within Eclipse”

Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a global supplier of application infrastructure software used to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, today announced the commercial availability of the Progress(TM) OpenEdge(R) 10.1 platform for simplifying the development and deployment of service-oriented business applications. OpenEdge 10.1 takes the complexities out of developing sophisticated, data-driven, highly scalable business applications by providing better component services, improved language capabilities, new tools and an Eclipse-based open source integrated development environment. The new features are intended to simplify the design and implementation of reusable service components and minimize operating costs by increasing developer productivity and application efficiency. (For more information about OpenEdge 10.1, please visit http://www.progress.com/products/openedge_10_1a/index.ssp)

According to Robin Bloor, partner at Hurwitz & Associates and founder of Bloor Research, "OpenEdge is the only integrated platform optimized for the development, deployment, integration and management of service-oriented business applications." This includes the new OpenEdge 10.1 Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE), OpenEdge Architect, which simplifies the complex aspects of writing software and automates many routine tasks, providing developers more time to concentrate on building business logic. OpenEdge 10.1 also offers built-in connectivity to messaging and integration components with the Sonic SOA Suite, allowing developers to easily connect OpenEdge applications with heterogeneous environments.

In maintaining its commitment to backward compatibility, all existing OpenEdge applications will run transparently in the new OpenEdge 10.1 environment and benefit from features such as the new failover/failback capabilities, combined with more online administration capabilities and streamlining of routine maintenance tasks. This delivers greater control over the data management environment and ensures a higher availability of business systems and data.

The addition of object-oriented extensions to the OpenEdge Advanced Business Language (ABL) speeds development and improves code reuse. Also new in this latest release is an auditing service feature at the application and database level that is delivered as a configurable service 'out of the box,' saving developers a significant amount of time and effort. The auditing service addresses the compliance needs of finance, healthcare and other industries traditionally affected by audit and compliance requirements.

Early Adopters Embrace OpenEdge 10.1

"A record 245 Progress application partners and customers actively engaged in our OpenEdge 10.1 early adopter program," said Niel Powers, vice president of OpenEdge products. "By working closely with our partners and customers to help them evolve their applications and take advantage of the latest technologies, we are positioning them for even greater market success and profitability."

Stephen Brailsford, development manager for UK-based CedarOpenAccounts, the award-winning enterprise-class suite of financial applications, said, "Progress continues to move in the right direction, keeping us equipped with the tools to improve development productivity and to advance to a componentized, service-oriented architecture in the future."

"The new auditing feature is not just database auditing as one would expect, but it also enables developers to do application auditing," said Patrick Elsen, research and development director for M-Soft, a leading European provider of ERP software for production and distribution. "And of course there are many, many more valuable features, such as the reading and writing XML documents and ProDataSets(TM), the enhanced log-manager that facilitates debugging and troubleshooting, and the automated OpenEdge(R) Replication failback option. This will really help us stay ahead. We are simply thrilled with the new Progress OpenEdge release."

"The advantages of OpenEdge Architect are the ease of switching between the production and development environments, the tie-in to the database for auto-completion of tables, and the general feeling of having a complete environment directly available from within Eclipse," said Ron Bruintjes of Medeco Security Locks, one of the world's leading producers of high security locks. "The IDE ties the different components of OpenEdge together in one solid, proven environment."

Progress Software continues to uphold its commitment to simplify the delivery of the world's best business applications by enabling its Application Partners and end-users to transform their existing applications easily, providing them all the benefits of every new feature, without compromise.

About Progress Software Corporation

Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq:PRGS) is a global industry leader providing application infrastructure software for all aspects of the development, deployment, integration and management of business applications through its operating units: Progress OpenEdge Division, Sonic Software, DataDirect Technologies, and Progress Real Time Division. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., Progress can be reached at www.progress.com or [phone].

Progress, ProDataSets, OpenEdge, Fathom, and Progress OpenEdge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.