"Thousands of users have come to understand the opportunity that a COBOL compiler on the Microsoft .NET platform represents through pre-release versions of Fujitsu's COBOL compiler," said Tom Button, vice president for the Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft Corp. "Having Fujitsu's COBOL compiler available for the Microsoft .NET platform delivers the technological innovations of the Microsoft .NET platform to companies that have heavy investments in COBOL."

NetCOBOL for .NET allows companies with existing COBOL assets to recompile their COBOL-85 programs and enhance them using the wealth of technologies available in the Microsoft .NET Framework. The ability to compile existing code enables a clear migration path for businesses wanting to move to a platform that can deliver the kind of cost savings and technological innovation necessary to give them a competitive edge. The Microsoft .NET platform supports an unprecedented level of integration between a variety of languages and technologies. NetCOBOL for .NET also takes advantage of the Microsoft .NET Framework's strengths in developing XML Web services, making it easier for COBOL programmers to expose their code as components.

NetCOBOL for .NET includes a new compiler targeting the Microsoft .NET Framework common language runtime, support for ASP.NET and XML Web services, and integration with the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment. The released product also includes preliminary support for the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Windows Forms designer, which supports a rich drag and drop design-time experience for developing rich client user interfaces using COBOL. Fujitsu is the only COBOL compiler vendor to provide direct support for the Microsoft .NET platform.

"We're pleased to be able to offer the kind of technology benefits that no other COBOL compiler vendor can offer, because of our tight integration with the Microsoft .NET platform," said Basim Kadhim, Chief Architect, Languages, Fujitsu Software Corporation. "For example, support of Microsoft ASP.NET, Windows Forms, and XML Web services is possible only because we have a compiler that targets the Microsoft .NET Framework directly."

For more details about NetCOBOL for .NET, visit the NetCOBOL Web site at http://www.netcobol.com.

About Fujitsu Software Corporation
Fujitsu Software Corporation, based in San Jose, California, is part of the Fujitsu Limited family. Fujitsu Software Corporation leverages Fujitsu's international scope and expertise in developing and providing information technology solutions. Fujitsu Software Corporation's products include INTERSTAGE™, e-business infrastructure software that includes the INTERSTAGE Application Server and INTERSTAGE i-Flow™, and NetCOBOL™. The INTERSTAGE Application Server enables enterprises to build and run mission critical applications. The INTERSTAGE i-Flow Business Process Management engine empowers enterprises to manage business processes and business process change. NetCOBOL is a COBOL development environment and suite of tools to build fast, mission-critical business systems on open platforms, including Microsoft's .NET Framework. For more information, visit http://www.fsw.fujitsu.com.
####

Fujitsu Software Corporation ("FSW") and Fujitsu Limited are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fujitsu Limited of Tokyo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
****