SYBASE BACKS CLIENT/SERVER INTEROPERABILITY INITIATIVE

Sybase One of First Vendors to Support NIICE Interoperability Initiative

EMERYVILLE, CA -- March 29,1995 -- Sybase, Inc., The Enterprise
Client/Server Company, today announced its endorsement of the New
Information Industry Cooperative Endeavor (NIICE), which will be supported
by X/Open. Sybase, whose Open Client and Open Server application
programming interfaces have long been published and available to third
party developers, was among the first of the major software companies to
sign on to this industry initiative. Five other major client/server
vendors have signed on as the initial NIICE participants, including
Computer Associates, Lotus, Microsoft, and Novell. Sybase believes NIICE
will result in increased interoperability for customers with multi-vendor
environments.

X/Open, the worldwide integrator for open systems and key client/server
software vendors, plans to provide centralized, coordinated administration
for NIICE and will work closely with the charter participants to develop a
plan that ensures the value of NIICE for customers.

"It is only natural that Sybase would be among the charter participants in
this important industry initiative," said Mark Hoffman, president,
chairman and CEO of Sybase. "Openness and interoperability have been
Sybase cornerstones since the company's inception. Our Enterprise CONNECT
interoperability architecture, which is based upon our long published Open
Client and Open Server interfaces, has been embraced by customers and
vendors alike, making it the de facto standard for enterprise
interoperability. The fact that these five industry leaders are now
cooperating to ensure that their products work together should make life
much easier for our customers, and that is what makes today's announcement
so significant."

Interoperability: An Absolute Business Requirement

Sybase believes that interoperability issues are integral to our business
since our customers work with many different vendors. Sybase believes that
one of the major benefits of client/server computing is that it offers
customers an opportunity to combine products from multiple vendors to meet
their business needs. Consequently, buyers should have confidence that
products from different vendors will work together and be well supported
by the vendors over time. Sybase hopes that as customers become aware of
the NIICE initiative, they will begin to ask their vendors if they endorse
the principles of NIICE, and make their purchase decisions accordingly.
"Enterprise interoperability isn't just an item on customer wish lists,"
added Michael H. Forster, president and CEO of MDI, a Sybase company.
"It's an absolute business requirement. Customers need to know that the
various technologies they choose in developing their client/server systems
will work together. They simply can't realize productivity gains and
achieve a competitive edge in the marketplace if they've got to spend time
cobbling these technologies and products together themselves."

"A strong commitment to open solutions and multi-vendor support has always
been fundamental to Powersoft's business philosophy," said Mitchell
Kertzman, CEO of Powersoft, a Sybase company. "As providers of
market-driven technologies, it is important for all client/server vendors
to maintain open lines of communication to ensure the success of our
mutual customers. The NIICE initiative provides a new forum for these
discussions and a process for delivering the product openness and
interoperability that customers require to implement successful
client/server solutions."

Sybase Encourages Broader Participation

In endorsing the NIICE initiative, Sybase encourages other industry vendors
to join the effort and to support the initiative's principles, including
the provision of product licenses and support by NIICE participants to
other NIICE participants. This will give vendors fair and equal access to
products and support regardless of their competitive status, and allow
their products to interoperate easily and efficiently. Sybase also
encourages customers to push for broader vendor participation and to make
their purchasing decisions with the demonstrated openness of the companies
participating in NIICE in mind.

Sybase, Inc.

Sybase, Inc., is the worldwide leader in client/server software. Sybase is
focused in the four major client/server categories: databases, tools,
database systems management and interoperability, providing desktop to
enterprise scalability. The company's mission is to provide its customers
with an open, adaptable information systems architecture that enables
rapid business change. Headquartered in Emeryville, CA, Sybase is the
seventh largest independent software company in the world.

Sybase Inc
6475 Christie Ave
Emeryville, CA 04608
510-596-3500;  Fax: 510-658-9441

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