Penton’s Window’s IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine Names DataDirect Technologies’ DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET Best of TechEd 2006 Awards Finalist

Bedford, MA — May 15, 2006 — Penton’s Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine announced that DataDirectTechnologies’ Connect for ADO.NET data connectivity solution was chosen as a finalist in the Software Component and Middleware category for the Best of TechEd 2006 Awards. The winners will be determined after final judging at TechEd 2006 in Boston and announced the evening of June 14.

"The field included more than 250 entries. After technically evaluating all of the entries, we chose finalists based on the product's strategic importance to the market, its competitive advantages and the value to the customer," said Michael Otey, Technical Director for Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine.

DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET data providers enables developers using the most recent version of Microsoft’s .NET Framework to securely, quickly and efficiently access application-critical data from any major database.

The most recent version of DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET meets or exceeds the latest specifications for .NET version 2.0 and has added new functionality as well:

• Common Programming Model: Now that Microsoft has made generic its connection to databases, DataDirect is the only database connectivity vendor offering a completely database-independent ADO.NET solution. This enables seamless interoperability between applications and any database where critical information resides.
• Visual Studio 2005 Integration: One of the most popular development tools used to build .NET applications, Visual Studio 2005 provides drag-and-drop, graphically based capabilities to simplify .NET development. Now DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET adds development aids integrated into Visual Studio 2005, further improving developer productivity and software performance in one, easy tool.
• Metadata Management: Only DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET provides the most extensive level of support for developers to best understand and use their data sources. As ADO.NET 2.0 improves support for metadata management and use, DataDirect continues to provide the most comprehensive support for metadata for Oracle, DB2, Sybase and SQL Server.

DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET is the industry’s only comprehensive suite of ADO.NET data providers built on 100 percent managed code. This unique architecture eliminates dependencies on database vendor client library software and offers enhanced performance, reliability and security, as well as simplifying deployment. The product is available for Oracle, DB2, Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server.

About DataDirect Technologies

DataDirect Technologies is the software industry's only comprehensive provider of software for connecting the world's most critical business applications to data and services, running on any platform, using proven and emerging standards. Developers worldwide depend on DataDirect® products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC™ and ADO.NET, XQuery and SOAP. More than 300 leading independent software vendors and thousands of enterprises rely on DataDirect Technologies to simplify and streamline data connectivity for distributed systems and to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS). For more information, visit www.datadirect.com.

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