250 Percent Performance Increase Achieved by Re-architecting to J2EE on Sun Systems to Increase Scalability, Cut Costs, and Enable Store-level Demand Planning
SANTA CLARA, Calif., -- January 7, 2004 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) and Manugistics Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MANU) today announced a major performance improvement for Manugistics` Store-Level Replenishment Solution by re-architecting the application to the Java 2(tm) Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE[tm]) running on the Solaris(tm) Operating System on SPARC(R) technology. The solution now gives retail customers a critical competitive advantage by optimizing their business processes and enabling them to forecast demand at individual stores, rather than large distribution centers that feed many stores.
With a demonstrated 250 percent increase in performance over the previous version -- which was written in C/C++ -- the new J2EE technology-based Store-Level Replenishment Solution solves significant challenges facing the retail industry. Previously, systems could not handle the massive data processing needed to do accurate, timely demand forecasting throughout the complex network of individual stores, so retailers traditionally have done their planning based on large distribution centers that feed hundreds of individual stores. Consequently, the situation at the individual store is not precisely known, leading to spoilage of products, increased costs, and inefficiency.
In addition, as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is adopted by major retailers, orders of magnitude more data will be produced throughout the supply chain. The challenge for retailers will be to transform this data into useful business information. Thus, the more data that is produced, the greater the need for performance and scalability to extract critical business intelligence to enable a responsive supply chain. In an industry where margins are razor thin and market demand fluctuates unpredictably, retailers can gain significant competitive advantage by accurately forecasting at the store level, gaining control over inventory levels and supply chain processes, and controlling costs.
The key to the performance and scalability improvement in the Store-Level Replenishment Solution is the re-architecting of solution to J2EE -- the only standards-based platform for developing secure, robust, interoperable enterprise-class applications. The Sun and Manugistics engineering alliance demonstrates that the companies support the world`s largest retail customers with innovative solutions based on open standards running on the most highly scalable systems available.
The configuration used in the tests includes: Manugistics Store-Level Replenishment Solution, Sun Fire(tm) 6800 Server with 16 CPUs, Sun StorEdge(tm) 6320 System with 112 spindles and 8 GB cache, Solaris 9 Operating System, and Oracle9i Database v9.2.0.4.
Sun plans to attend the National Retail Federation (NRF) (www.nrf.com) Conference in New York from January 11-14, 2004, demonstrating technology to meet retailer`s needs for retail in real-time. Sun will also showcase its leadership around RFID. Visit Sun in Booth #1935. For on-site media or analyst briefings contact Evonne.Lum@ogilvypr.com. Manugistics will also attend NRF and will showcase its solutions at booth #553.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer[tm]" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at www.sun.com
About Manugistics Group, Inc.
Manugistics provides the industry`s most comprehensive, best-in-class demand and supply chain management solutions. Today, more than 1,200 clients trust Manugistics to help them drive profitable growth, unlock the value of their existing IT investments, and ensure the security and integrity of their global supply chains. Its clients include industry leaders such as AT&T, BMW, Boeing, Brown & Williamson, Cingular, Circuit City, Coca-Cola Bottling, Continental Airlines, Diageo, DuPont, Fairchild Semiconductor, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, McCormick, Nestle, Nissan, RadioShack and Unilever. For more information, go to www.manugistics.com . For additional information regarding this announcement, contact the Manugistics News Bureau Hotline at 301-255-5330.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties that include, among others, continuing economic and
political uncertainty, the timing and degree of business recovery,
anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues, potential
fluctuations in quarterly operating results, unexpected competition,
risks related to quarterly performance, risks of new business areas,
international expansion, business combinations and strategic alliances,
lengthening of sales cycles for software products and services, and the
effectiveness of the cost reduction efforts undertaken by Manugistics
and their impact on the company`s ability to operate its business. A
decreased demand for enterprise application software due to weakened
economic conditions could result in decreased revenues or lower revenue
growth rates. More information about factors that potentially could
affect Manugistics` financial results is included in Manugistics filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2003 and Quarterly Report
on form 10-Q for the period ended August 31, 2003. Manugistics assumes
no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in
this announcement.
Manugistics is a registered trademark, and the Manugistics logo, is a
trademark of Manugistics, Inc. All other product or company names
mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be
trademarks of their respective owners.
Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Sun Fire, Sun StorEdge, Solaris,
and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC
trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems,
Inc.
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