WALTHAM, Mass., June 15, 1998 ¾ Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America (ITA) and the Business Internet Division of Mitsubishi Electric America, Inc. (MEA) today are unveiling the Concordia Partners Program. The new program is designed for system integrators (SI), independent software vendors (ISV), value added resellers (VAR) and information technology (IT) departments that provide distributed software solutions to their clients.

Concordia is a mobile agent software technology that enables programs to move about networks efficiently to perform automated functions on behalf of users, such as collecting information, processing data, executing decisions or delivering information. Concordia’s Java-based framework is ideal for programmers developing software applications to support disconnected computing and synchronization of time sensitive data, as well as providing enhancements for legacy applications so they can interact with client/server applications or Internet-based applications.

The Concordia Partners Program provides two opportunities: 1.) Access to Mitsubishi Electric’s Concordia technology and resources to ensure successful implementation whether the customer is an ISV, SI or IT department, and 2.) Unparalleled business development support to "solution providers" using Concordia.

The technology access portion of the program, primarily supported by ITA, provides:

• Early access to Concordia technology
• Access to demonstration source code
• Developer support
• Product discounts on training, support, licensing and consulting
• Access to Concordia Developer’s Council

The business development support portion of the program, primarily supported by Mitsubishi Electric America's Business Internet Division, provides:

• Access to telemarketing resources
• Joint new business development
• Linkage to/from Concordia Web sites
• Tradeshow participation
• Joint public relations opportunities
• Partner’s membership directory
• Access to marketing/sales collateral
• Lead-sharing and lead-generation resources

Bill Brown, president of Virtual Services Corporation (VSC), explained: "VSC provides access to field service management and customer support software, hosted on our servers and accessed by our customers over the Internet. This service is available for a monthly fee instead of requiring customers to make large investments to purchase or lease hardware, software and networking, and to administer and support the application. We use Concordia to provide customers with secure data exchange and connectivity with third parties and internal legacy applications. Working as a partner with Mitsubishi Electric has proven extremely successful. With our partner, we have secured both technology and business development expertise and dedication to help us successfully address our market from the idea phase, during marketing and sales, and through the implementation process. Mitsubishi Electric has proven to be a dedicated and flexible partner in every sense of the word."

The new business development opportunities and telemarketing resources are key features of the Concordia Partners Program. Companies electing to take advantage of the new business development feature will be able to enter into close working partnerships with MEA and its affiliates to target and develop new markets. The telemarketing resources feature of the program makes MEA's telemarketing capabilities available to partners who wish to target and exploit specific markets for Concordia-enabled solutions.

For more information or to join the Concordia Partners Program visit the MEA Business Internet Division site at http://www.bid.mea.com or the Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America Web site at http://www.meitca.com/hsl/. Interested companies can also contact John Harrell of ITA at 408-523-6843.

Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America (ITA) is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. ITA is composed of three laboratories focused on information technology research and product development in the areas of Internet computing, advanced graphics, digital TV, multimedia and communications. Concordia is developed and supported by ITA’s Horizon Systems Lab (HSL) in Waltham, Mass. ITA is a recognized pioneer and world leader in technology for Social Computing. HSL performs applied research and advanced product development for and with various organizations of Mitsubishi Electric, both in the U.S. and in Japan. HSL is also partnering with companies outside of the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation family to increase its effectiveness at reaching the global marketplace.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan established Mitsubishi Electric America, Inc., headquartered in Cypress, Calif., in 1973 as the holding company for 11 U.S. subsidiaries. Operations include research, marketing, sales, engineering and manufacturing at more than 30 locations throughout the United States.

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