WALNUT CREEK, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/12/06 -- Covalent Technologies(TM), the most trusted source for complete enterprise open source solutions, today announced it finished 2005 on a strong note, citing a record number of new and repeat customers, strategic reseller and channel relationships, as well as increased revenues and bookings for the second half of the year.

New customer adoption is up dramatically from the same period last year bolstered by increased demand for the company's enterprise-class open source solutions. Covalent signed more than 200 new and repeat customers, including Motorola, Washington Post, Abbott Labs, Boise Cascade, Eli Lilly, GMAC, and ESPN.

In addition, Covalent announced a strategic partnership with BEA Systems, Inc. for Apache Tomcat support; a strategic equity investment in WS02 to bring support for the Apache Axis Web Services Framework to the enterprise for the first time; an expanded partnership with Hyperic in the US and expanded international relationships through partnerships with SenseTraining, UPCO, and SoftPro Systems; and sponsorship of the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI). Covalent also maintained its astonishing support renewal percentage of 96%.

"I am very pleased with our second-half 2005 results as we execute on our strategic plan," says Mark Brewer, chief executive officer of Covalent Technologies. "Revenues and bookings continue to grow and we continue to receive strong interest from enterprise-class customers who are increasingly turning to open source technologies to improve operational efficiencies while reducing costs. I am looking forward to a very strong 2006."

A summary of second half highlights follows:

Global Enterprise Adoption for Open Source Solutions Continues to Grow

Corporations, government agencies, and universities on a global basis are embracing open-source technologies in order to build the flexibility and speed necessary to meet the changing needs of internal and external customers as well as reduce the complexities and costs associated with managing mixed-source enterprise Web infrastructures. For the second six months of 2005, Covalent signed more than 200 new and repeat customers, including: Bayer Business Services, Motorola, Transport for London, Washington Post, Abbott Labs, 3Com, American Institute of Physics, BNSF, Boise Cascade, Canadian Satellite Radio, City of San Francisco, Computer Sciences Corporation, Eli Lilly, Ericsson, GMAC, Northrop Grumman, Standard & Poor's, The Wrigley Company, US Geological Survey, Barclay's Bank, NBC, State of Massachusetts, Ameritrade, GE Commercial Finance, Random House, and ESPN, among others.

Strategic Partnership with BEA Systems

Covalent entered into a strategic partnership with BEA Systems, Inc., a world leader in enterprise infrastructure software. As part of a blended approach to mixing and matching open source and commercial software, BEA Systems plans to offer blended BEA WebLogic® management and deployment technologies. The technologies will be designed to provide automated management and production-level support for customers using Apache Tomcat. Instead of utilizing multiple management interfaces, or multiple vendors to resolve development and deployment issues, BEA customers will be able to have access to one of the world's first and only environments designed for blended Apache Tomcat and BEA WebLogic servers. As part of the support offering, Covalent will provide BEA with back-line support services for the Apache Tomcat Application Server, one of the most popular open source components in the world today.

Support for Apache Axis Web Services Framework and Partnership with WS02

Covalent announced a strategic equity investment in WS02, a new global startup venture formed by pioneers in Web services and open source to commercialize products and services utilizing Apache Axis, the open source framework for creating, integrating, and deploying Web service applications. The investment in WS02 enables Covalent to offer full commercial development and production level support and professional services for Apache Axis to enterprise customers for the first time. Support for Apache Axis complement's the company's industry leading support offerings for the Apache HTTP Web Server, and the Apache Tomcat Application Server.

Expanded Partnerships in US and Abroad

Covalent continued to expand relationships with existing strategic partners as well as forge new ones with additional partners particularly in Europe. Covalent expanded its partnership with Hyperic, a leading provider of application management frameworks for IT operations build on open source technology. Covalent now offers to its enterprise customers as an add-on support plan offering Hyperic HQ 2.1, the only downloadable management solution designed specifically for mission-critical open source applications. Covalent also continued to expand its international presence by signing strategic partnerships with UPCO, SoftPro Systems, and SenseTraining.

Covalent Sponsors Open Source Software Initiative (OSSI)

Recognizing the importance and burgeoning government marketplace as strong and growing consumers of open source technology, Covalent joined the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI), the non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the continued adoption and implementation of open source solutions within the US federal, state, and municipal government IT environments. The OSSI also announced that Covalent Chief Technology Officer Jim Jagielski was appointed as a member of the OSSI Advisory Board. Jagielski is a long-time participant within the Apache Software Foundation and currently serves on the ASF Board of Directors.

About Covalent Technologies

Founded in 1998, Covalent Technologies is the most trusted source for complete enterprise open source solutions. The leading provider of products and services for the Apache Tomcat Application Server, Apache Axis Web Services Framework, and Apache HTTP, the world's leading Web server, Covalent is one of the few sources for full commercial support for Apache, Tomcat, and Axis on a global basis. Covalent has been the trusted source that Fortune 1000 enterprises turn to when migrating to open source and when deploying new open source initiatives. Covalent currently supports more than 50% of Fortune 500 and 70% of Fortune 100 companies. Customers include, among others: SBC, Pfizer, Morgan Stanley, National Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Johnson & Johnson, British Telecom, Fidelity Investments, NASA, Hewlett-Packard, Siemens, General Electric, and Bear Stearns. Covalent has assembled the deepest talent pool of Apache experts in the industry and is proud to be one of the most distinguished supporters of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), the dominant community for usable open source, and the open source community in general. For more information, visit www.covalent.com.

Covalent Technologies and Covalent product names are trademarks of OS Group, LLC dba Covalent Technologies. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Charlie Purdom
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