Adoption of Arena PLM Workgroup Edition Spreads Rapidly; Product Lifecycle Management Software Now Available to Manufacturers of All Sizes

On-Demand Product Lifecycle Management Software Leader Democratizing PLM by Delivering Robust PLM Solution to Wide Array of Manufacturers

Arena Solutions, the leading provider of on-demand product lifecycle management software for mid-sized manufacturers, today announced the overwhelming success of its Arena PLM Workgroup Edition offering. Since Workgroup Edition launched 4 months ago, more than 400 manufacturers have signed-on to use the free offering, further solidifying Arena Solutions' position as the most frequently chosen PLM solution. Arena PLM Workgroup Edition is facilitating the rapid democratization of PLM to manufacturers of any size and speeding overall adoption of PLM by allowing companies hands-on experience with the instantaneous deployment and ease of use of on-demand PLM. Arena Solutions' software as a service (SaaS) delivery model removes all barriers to adoption associated with traditional enterprise software -- no software installations or downloads, no maintenance, no costly deployments and no expensive upfront cash outlays.

Mid-sized manufacturers -- a primary growth engine for the U.S. economy -- had previously been precluded from adopting PLM because traditional enterprise applications are too expensive, difficult to use and cumbersome to deploy. According to data from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), mid-sized manufacturers comprise about 95 percent of all U.S. manufacturing firms, employ about half of all manufacturing employees in the country, and account for more than $1 trillion in yearly revenue. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve said in a recent report that manufacturers of this size "are an integral part of the economy. They account for about half of private-sector output, employ more than half of private-sector workers and provide about three-fourths of net new jobs each year." These companies drive the economy through product innovation and are most in need of PLM solutions to help fuel their exponential growth and competitiveness against established firms. Arena PLM Workgroup Edition enables these companies to observe an immediate and dramatic increase in operational efficiency as well as streamline intra- and inter-company communication between designers, engineers, operations and the extended supply chain.

The hundreds of manufacturers that have adopted Arena PLM Workgroup Edition represent a broad diversity of companies including a foreign-based bicycle manufacturer, a cardiac device manufacturer and a developer of homeland security products for cargo containers. These companies are not just taking Arena on-demand PLM for a "test drive," but are aggressively incorporating the product into their daily operations managing thousands of items in their bills of materials and collaborating with multiple supply chain suppliers and partners.

As adoption of Arena PLM Workgroup Edition spreads by word of mouth and companies experience the benefits that PLM delivered as a service provides to their organizations, many are taking steps to upgrade from the free, entry-level version to full deployment of Arena PLM Professional Edition, the company's comprehensive PLM offering for larger companies and development teams. Companies electing to upgrade from Workgroup Edition to Arena PLM Professional do so seamlessly, with no additional deployment or software installation required and no data migration.

"The increase in complexity of our products and doubling of the rate of new product introduction required that we use a best of breed PLM solution," said Gary Langerhans, Vice President of Operations of CoVi Technologies, the technology leader in high-definition video surveillance solutions. "The ability to test drive Arena PLM before purchase was a major selling point. With previous technology purchases we didn't really know what we had bought until after the sale and were often times disappointed. With Arena Workgroup, we were able to validate that the features we needed -- BOM management, item management, version control, supplier collaboration and more -- were available as advertised. Our engineers and document control professionals were able to experience for themselves how easy the application was to use. And the instantaneous deployment of Workgroup made us secure that we'd be up and running with Arena Professional quickly."

"Arena Solutions has gained considerable traction in the marketplace by offering our Workgroup Edition for free trial to manufacturers that were previously unaware that a PLM product even exists for them," said Michael Topolovac, CEO of Arena Solutions. "By providing product lifecycle management software as an on-demand service, we lower the cost of ownership and make PLM available to an underserved market of mid-sized manufacturers. SaaS applications are quick to deploy, easy to use and affordable. We believe so strongly in our ease of use and value proposition that we are willing to let prospects test drive the application prior to purchase. Our success validates that on-demand PLM and mid-market adoption will be a significant driver of PLM market growth to over $10 B in 2006 as predicted by IDC Research."

Arena PLM enables manufacturing companies to share -- in real time -- a single version of the product record, facilitating design and engineering collaboration in diverse industries such as high-tech electronics, medical devices and consumer products. With an easy-to-use application that can be accessed on-demand, everyone in the global outsourced supply chain -- from OEMs to their contract manufacturers, outsourced designers and suppliers -- is able to work more efficiently, speed time-to-market, and more capably address market pressures.

Organizations can access additional information about Arena PLM Workgroup Edition at http://www.arenasolutions.com/products/workgroup/register.html.

About Arena Solutions

Arena Solutions is the leading provider of on-demand product lifecycle management software for mid-sized manufacturers. Arena Solutions offers the only true on-demand PLM solution that is delivered over the Internet as a secure, rapidly deployed service, enabling a substantially lower cost of ownership. This is in stark contrast to client/server PLM applications, which are costly and cumbersome to deploy. Arena enables outsourcing, increases operational efficiencies and speeds time-to-market for product manufacturers that are managing complex products and global, outsourced supply chains. Offering the broadest suite of on-demand PLM solutions on the market today -- Arena PLM Workgroup Edition for entry-level PLM and Arena PLM Professional Edition for full-featured, advanced PLM needs -- Arena enables pervasive adoption of PLM across companies at all stages of development. Founded in February 2000, Arena Solutions is based in Menlo Park, California. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.arenasolutions.com. For press inquiries, please contact Doug Wyllie at 415-977-1930 or via email at doug@antennagroup.com.

About CoVi Technologies

CoVi Technologies Inc. (www.covitechnologies.com) is the technology leader in next generation video surveillance solutions. CoVi designs and manufactures HD quality video security products suitable for a wide range of environments. Created by veterans from the security, videoconferencing, storage, networking, broadcast, and streaming media industries, CoVi utilizes leading-edge, standards-based technologies to enable the industry's most powerful surveillance solutions. Our commitment: to provide Total Video Quality™ to our customers through superior products and solutions. CoVi Technologies, Inc. is located in Austin, Texas.

Arena Solutions, Arena PLM Workgroup Edition and Arena PLM Professional Edition are trademarks of Arena Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names are the property of their respective holders.

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