ATLANTA and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (July 28, 2003) — Inovis™, a provider of business commerce automation solutions and services, announced today it has acquired IPNet Solutions®, a leader in flexible supply chain connectivity. The acquisition positions Inovis as the premiere provider of a complete range of technology and services for supplier and partner commerce-related activities. The Inovis offering will include software, managed services, valued-added network (VAN), professional services and secure Internet-based transactions.

“After viewing the competition our thoughts were and still are that the Inovis solution is one to two years ahead in functionality, with the ability to do anything we want around UCC standards. Today, the combination of Inovis and IPNet provides us with the flexibility to connect with our trading partners using a multitude of connectivity options, most commonly FTP, AS1 and AS2 and the capability to scale across multiple platforms and document types,” said Brian Myatt, EDI development manager, Tandy Brands Accessories, Inc.

IPNet is an innovator in Internet EDI technologies and is the developer of the award-winning BizManager™ line of connectivity solutions. Under an existing reseller agreement, Inovis and IPNet have partnered with over 150 customers on secure data exchange (EDI/INT) initiatives, including those in Inovis’ target markets such as retail, technology and automotive manufacturing. Joint customers include K-Swiss, Memorex, Del Monte and Tandy Brands Accessories. 

"AS2 support (EDI/INT) is just the tip of the iceberg for organizations looking to modernize and extend their trading partner interaction capabilities,” said Janelle Hill, program director at META Group. “Increasingly, many end users seek our guidance on how to build a strategic and consolidated B2B infrastructure to address a broad range of trading partners whose needs reflect various IT skills, information latency requirements, industry standards and protocols and various B2B technologies (EDI, XML, file transfer, etc). This acquisition makes tremendous sense for Inovis as it expands its offerings to meet these emerging requirements and offer its clients one stop shopping for B2B integration infrastructure."

“With the acquisition of IPNET, we will aggressively pursue the largely underserved mid-market and those hubs in the adoption phase of AS2,” said Jim Schaper, chairman and CEO of Inovis. “IPNet’s technology and experience in standards such as AS2 and ebXML are the perfect complement to our existing offering and enable us to provide richer, more functional solutions. Specifically, we can offer customers a tightly integrated package of software and services that provides the flexibility to use our own VAN or the Internet to reliably and securely communicate with suppliers, customers and trading partners. No other vendor can do that.”

The acquisition will enable Inovis to further integrate its own solutions with IPNet technologies and provide AS2 connectivity to the Inovis TrustedLink™ products for iSeries (AS400), NT, Windows and Unix. It also allows IPNet to leverage strategic components in Inovis’ product platform and distribution reach. Most importantly, the combination of the companies creates broader solutions for both sets of customers as well as prospective clients in need of leveraging investments in legacy technologies.

“The acquisition of IPNet is a very sound strategic move that significantly adds to Inovis’ position in the marketplace,” said Shawn Willett, principal analyst at Current Analysis. “With this acquisition, Inovis gains important AS2 and UCCNet capabilities and is in the position to provide both hosted and Internet-based solutions in this area. This is great news for both existing Inovis customers and those companies looking to implement a business commerce automation solution.”

Inovis is committed to continuing to grow and develop the market-leading BizManager product line as part of its comprehensive software and managed service suites. The BizManager line allows business partners of any size to participate in B2B initiatives by offering server, PC, Java-client and browser options. IPNet’s patented technology helps companies migrate risk-free from legacy systems to the Internet and is AS1, AS2, ebXML and UCCnet certified. IPNet offices will remain in Newport Beach, Calif.

About IPNet Solutions
IPNet Solutions Inc. provides software that connects Global 2000 companies and their business partners enabling secure data exchange (EDI/INT). IPNet’s flexible and secure solutions support leading Internet standards, XML and legacy EDI systems. The IPNet BizManager line of products is certified eBusinessReady in AS1, AS2, CPFR and ebXML by the Uniform Code Council Inc. (UCC) and the Drummond Group Inc. (DGI).

About Inovis
Inovis™, Inc. helps companies to rapidly and cost-effectively implement business commerce automation solutions that facilitate efficient trading with customers, partners and suppliers. With over 18 years of experience and more than 20,000 customers, the company provides a complete line of software, managed services and professional services that enable companies to gain compliance with leading industry trading communities and standards.

Inovis is headquartered in Atlanta with offices in Dallas and the San Francisco Bay area. In Europe, Inovis operates through its wholly owned subsidiary Harbinger Commerce Limited in the U.K. For more information, go to www.inovis.com or call +1 877.4INOVIS.