Apprise Embeds Progress EasyAsk in its Distribution Software Package

Customers Gain Integrated Access to Critical Business Data and Operational Intelligence Through Easy-to-Use Natural Language Guided Search Capabilities

Bedford, Mass. — 05 Jun 2006 — Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a supplier of leading technology to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, today announced that Apprise Software, Inc. has selected Progress® EasyAsk® natural language data search and query technology for use within its Apprise® Distribution enterprise application. A leading provider of integrated software solutions for consumer goods distributors, and a Progress Software application partner since 1985, Apprise Software can now enable its customers to access up-to-date revenue, cost, profitability and other sales related information contained in its applications in order to support more timely and informed business decisions. The Apprise Distribution application runs on the Progress OpenEdge® v10 application platform, which is fully integrated and interoperable with the EasyAsk product.

"Our solutions help consumer goods distributors improve operational efficiency, anticipate and respond to customer demands, reduce costs and increase revenue," said Jeff Broadhurst, CEO of Apprise Software. "The ability to more quickly and easily query and interact with their application data will give our customers greater insight into their current business conditions and trends and enable them to respond more effectively to their dynamic business environments. The EasyAsk natural language data search and query product is the latest example of the innovative application infrastructure technology Progress delivers to help us meet our customers' needs."

Apprise Software's customers are predominantly medium-sized businesses, which tend to have constrained IT resources. With the EasyAsk product, Apprise Software can now extend its existing Business Intelligence (BI) platform with an integrated, self-service data search and query infrastructure for non-technical business users. These users can now input everyday questions and receive information vital to their jobs, without the need for IT assistance or custom programming. The EasyAsk technology strips the complexity out of querying multiple data sources, instantly delivers accurate answers to common business questions, relinquishes standard reporting constraints, and drastically reduces the burden on IT. The EasyAsk technology leverages and compliments existing BI tools, which means a business users can find and retrieve time-sensitive information and perform real-time operational reporting without the knowledge of complex query languages (e.g. SQL) or database structures.

In addition to using everyday English language terminology, the EasyAsk user dictionary can be continuously enhanced based on the vocabulary used in particular business areas or even by individual users. This enables business users, who are unsure of exactly what information they need and where the data exists, to converse with the Apprise Distribution application in their natural language, with queries such as "Which products had the highest unit sales in the Drop Ship Warehouse in 2005," "Show the growth in sales for each product line from 2005 to 2006," or "Show me a cross-tab of sales this year by location and product line."

The EasyAsk embedded data search and query technology has proven beneficial for application providers who wish to:

• Increase user satisfaction by granting the right people access to the right information at the right time through a single point of access
• Provide a superior self-service experience and up-to-the-minute visibility into mission critical and business performance data to make better, more informed decisions
• Allow business users to create and query new and existing reports without technical training or assistance
• Lower support costs and demands on IT, engineering and call center resources by putting greater functionality into the hands of business users
• Drive revenue through accelerated application adoption and enhanced brand awareness across the enterprise

"We are working closely with independent software vendors (ISVs) and Progress application providers, such as Apprise Software, to extend the value of their applications by providing a single point of access to business information," said Larry Harris, vice president and general manager, EasyAsk Division of Progress Software. "The ability to easily access business data through a unified view of accurate, relevant and complete information empowers users to go beyond keyword searches and retrieve real answers needed to make more confident and insightful decisions."

About Apprise Software

Apprise Software, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise-wide software for distribution companies as well as stand-alone financial applications. Founded in 1984, Apprise Software is headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, USA and services customers throughout the world, with the majority of those in North America. Apprise Solutions includes Financial, Distribution, Importing, Mass Merchant Management, EDI, EIS, RF and Warehouse Management modules. For more information please contact Apprise Software, Inc. at (908) 725-6000 or visit www.apprise.com.

About Progress Software Corporation

Progress Software Corporation (PSC) (Nasdaq: PRGS) supplies industry-leading technologies for all aspects of the development, deployment, integration and management of business applications. PSC, headquartered in Bedford, Mass., operates through the Progress Company, Sonic Software Corporation, PeerDirect Corporation, and DataDirect Technologies. PSC can be reached at www.progress.com or +1-781-280-4000.

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