DataDirect Technologies Launches Connectivity Components for Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Systems

DataDirect Connect XE Product Line Supports Teradata Data Warehouse Technology; Enables Users to Make Faster and More Informed Business Decisions

Bedford, MA — May 10, 2005 — DataDirect Technologies, the leading provider of components for connecting software to data, today announced the availability of DataDirect Connect XE for ODBC, with support for the latest version of Teradata's Enterprise Warehouse. A new line of drivers for high-end, transaction intensive platforms, the standards-based DataDirect Connect XE line provides unmatched performance, reliability and scalability to drive faster and more informed decision-making.

Promising clear advantages by reducing costs through the management and distribution of corporate information in real time, data warehouse and business intelligence (BI) tools have become a more integral part of enterprise IT. Without reliable data access, these systems run the risk of downtime and could have a significant impact on the course of business, inhibiting users' ability to see and react to changes as they occur.

DataDirect Connect XE provides flexible, reliable data connectivity which enables users to get fast, scalable access to their data warehouse. With support for Teradata, one of the leading decision-support databases in the high-end marketplace, DataDirect Connect XE offers the world's largest retailers, manufacturers and financial services institutions optimal access to the data that makes their businesses run. The new driver was developed in full cooperation with Teradata.

"Teradata's customers rely on high performance and massive scalability for mission-critical systems," said Paul Kirby, research director at AMR Research. "They have a pleasant surprise ahead of them. DataDirect's latest release of database drivers ought to translate into less time waiting for systems to respond and thus improved business user productivity."

"Customers using ODBC to connect to Teradata need fast, reliable connectivity," said Bob Zurek, vice president of advanced technologies and product management at Ascential Software, the leader in enterprise data integration. "DataDirect has long offered excellent ODBC products, and in keeping with our commitment to offer our customers choices, we're looking forward to offering their new Teradata driver in addition to our own leading native connectors."

As a third-party provider focused on data connectivity, DataDirect Technologies offers the most comprehensive, proven and technically advanced line of database drivers. Independent software vendors (ISVs) and corporate IT departments alike rely on DataDirect Technologies' products to save time and money when developing and deploying business-critical applications. Offering a level of performance and functionality absent from vendor-provided databases drivers along with award-winning product support, DataDirect Technologies is the industry leader in data connectivity.

"As developers at ISVs and corporate IT departments deploy data warehousing and BI solutions, it is important to understand the critical role that data connectivity plays," John Goodson, vice president of product operations for DataDirect Technologies. "DataDirect Connect XE is a robust solution to a real and important technology problem. It is ideally suited for the query-intensive nature of enterprise data warehouses, where performance, scalability and reliability are truly business critical."

About DataDirect Technologies

DataDirect Technologies is the software industry's only comprehensive provider of software for connecting the world's most critical business applications to data and services, running on any platform, using proven and emerging standards. Developers worldwide depend on DataDirect® products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC™ and ADO.NET, XQuery and SOAP. More than 300 leading independent software vendors and thousands of enterprises rely on DataDirect Technologies to simplify and streamline data connectivity for distributed systems and to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS). For more information, visit www.datadirect.com.

DataDirect and DataDirect Connect are trademarks or registered trademarks of DataDirect Technologies Corp. in the U.S. and other countries. Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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