ATLANTA and TORONTO — July 13, 2004 — Inovis, a leading provider of business commerce automation solutions, today announced at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference it has expanded its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solution to support the specific requirements of retail customers leveraging the Microsoft Business Network, Microsoft’s platform enabling small and mid-sized businesses to build trading communities with their networks of suppliers.

As part of the extended partnership agreement, Inovis will provide support for retail-specific connectivity standards such as Internet EDI (EDI-INT) using the Applicability Statement 2 (AS2) protocol, as required by major retail outlets conducting commerce with trading partners. Support for the AS2 standard will accelerate implementation of Microsoft Business Network for retail companies seeking to build retail trading communities with their small and mid-size consumer packaged goods suppliers.

"Partnering with Inovis guarantees Microsoft Business Network users can quickly and seamlessly engage with any trading partner for optimal profitability — from those mandating AS2 connectivity to others relying on traditional EDI for the majority of their transactions," said Julio de Villasante Guzman, group product manager, industry solutions, Microsoft Business Solutions. "Enabling users to establish retail trading communities with partners regardless of connectivity standards is critical to achieving rapid returns and business success."

With its proof of concept launched in March 2004, Inovis was the first Microsoft partner to provide Microsoft Business Network users with XML/EDI translation, a key step to facilitating trading partner collaboration for small and mid-size businesses. The proof of concept also resulted in establishing a secure and fault-tolerant link between the Inovis VAN and Microsoft Business Network.

With more than 750 retail trading hubs to its credit, Inovis brings an unparalleled level of expertise and industry knowledge to Microsoft Business Network’s retail users. Inovis’ robust and reliable technology infrastructure and flexible data transformation and communications solutions offer users the ability to seamlessly collaborate with any business partner regardless of existing technology or communications infrastructure.

The Microsoft Business Network is a combination of on-premise software integrated with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Business Solutions applications and Microsoft BizTalk® Server and hosted Web services. Microsoft Business Solutions designed Microsoft Business Network to help businesses more easily and effectively work with their trading partners. This network enables businesses to connect their entire network of suppliers and customers through a fully automated Microsoft .NET-connected solution, increasing efficiency with a deep degree of integration throughout their business applications and lowering the total cost of business-to-business collaboration.

"Inovis’ deep domain expertise in specific vertical industries has allowed us to extend our partnership with Microsoft, offering a reliable and easy-to-implement solution for retail customers," said Michael Croxton, senior vice president of marketing for Inovis. "We are committed to arming Microsoft Business Network users with the ability to simplify the complexity of their trading partner communities with data transformation solutions; accelerate implementations through community management services; and reduce network costs and increase efficiencies by facilitating secure, real-time data exchange."

About Inovis
Inovis is a leader in providing business commerce automation solutions that facilitate the effective management of retail, supply and manufacturing partnerships. With more than 20 years of experience and almost 20,000 customers, Inovis provides a complete line of B2B software and managed services. These solutions enable companies to optimize profitability through timely and efficient communications with their trading partner communities. For more information visit www.Inovis.com.

"Inovis" is a trademark of Inovis, Inc.

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