Bull and JBoss Form Strategic Partnership

  
    
  
  
    
      Bull and JBoss, a division of Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT), today announced a 
      worldwide technology and business partnership to accelerate the 
      development and deployment of interoperable open source middleware 
      solutions for enterprise service-oriented architecture (SOA). The 
      partnership, which builds on Bull’s existing 
      alliance with Red Hat, is JBoss’ first 
      strategic partnership in Europe to include open source research and 
      development collaboration and demonstrates both companies’ 
      leadership and commitment to open source software innovation.
    
    
      The multi-dimensional agreement increases open source innovation, 
      interoperability, integration, delivery, and support capabilities. Bull 
      and JBoss will work together in three areas:
    
    
      
        R&D Collaboration: Bull becomes a contributor to the JBoss 
        community, following the same collaborative strategy it takes with 
        other communities such as Apache, Eclipse, and the ObjectWeb 
        consortium, which was co-founded by Bull. JBoss projects will benefit 
        from Bull’s expertise, especially in 
        security and business process management (BPM).
      
      
        System Integration (SI): Bull becomes a strategic SI partner 
        and will add the JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (JEMS) to its 
        portfolio of open source solutions, known as “Open 
        Energy.” Bull’s 
        400-plus open source software service and middleware specialists will 
        provide a broad range of system integration services including 
        consulting, application design, and tuning. Bull will deliver 
        JEMS-based solutions on its NovaScale and Escala range of servers 
        within the broad range of open source solutions it delivers on its 
        platforms. This capacity of delivery will leverage the Bull-Red Hat 
        OEM contract.
      
      
        Subscriptions: Bull will resell JBoss Subscriptions, which 
        includes support and access to the JBoss Operations Network (ON), to 
        its customers. Under the agreement, Bull will provide first- and 
        second-level support with Red Hat providing third-level technical 
        support.
      
    
    
      As part of the agreement, Red Hat will strengthen its involvement with 
      ObjectWeb, including working closely with Bull on the future development 
      and extension of ObjectWeb, codenamed ObjectWeb v2. In addition, Bull is 
      committed to working on interoperability between the JBoss community and 
      the ObjectWeb consortium.
    
    
      “For years, Bull proved as a leading open 
      source software integrator and contributor to numerous communities,” 
      said JP Barbéris, General Manager of Bull 
      Services and Solutions. “By adding to our 
      long term commitment to ObjectWeb a strategic partnership with JBoss, we 
      enforce the cross-fertilization and interoperability of open source 
      middleware developments. As Architect of an Open World, we offer 
      enterprises a unique capacity on the market to deploy and support the 
      flexible, interoperable SOA-based business applications that will drive 
      next-generation computing.”
    
    
      Marc Fleury, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the JBoss 
      division, Red Hat, commented: “We welcome 
      Bull into the JBoss community and look forward to many contributions 
      from them, particularly in the areas of security and BPM. Our planned 
      interoperability work underscores Red Hat’s 
      focus on driving customer value through a flexible, standards-based, 
      open source SOA platform, which we believe offers customers a more 
      extensive choice of technology. As a partner, Bull extends our ecosystem 
      and brings strong integration capabilities to support enterprise-class 
      JEMS-based solutions in the global market.”
    
    
      Accelerating the shift to SOA with open source
    
    
      Enterprises have recognized the value of SOA in improving business 
      processes and unlocking better performance and responsiveness, but their 
      main challenge remains a budgetary issue. Today, companies must choose 
      between pricey, proprietary, monolithic platforms or “roll 
      your own” solutions that can be costly to 
      build and maintain over time. Through this expanded partnership, 
      enterprises can accelerate their move to SOA through low-cost, proven 
      open source middleware backed by consulting and integration services 
      from a global IT company with over four decades of experience solving 
      computing challenges.
    
    
      About Bull, Architect of an Open World
    
    
      As one of the leading European IT companies, Bull delivers open, 
      flexible and secure information systems. The group helps public and 
      private sector customers transform their information systems, applying 
      its know-how and expertise in three main areas:
    
    
      
        Capitalizing on its extensive mainframe experience, Bull designs and 
        produces robust, innovative and open servers, based on 
        industry-standard technologies;
      
      
        Building on its alliances with leading ISVs, Bull develops and 
        implements flexible and interoperable application infrastructures 
        which give business processes the freedom to evolve;
      
      
        Bringing together recognized expertise in end-to-end IT security, Bull 
        secures data and exchanges that are so critical in preserving 
        customers' business integrity.
      
    
    
      Bull has a particularly strong presence in the public, healthcare, 
      finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and defense sectors. Its 
      distribution network and business partners cover more than 60 countries 
      worldwide. For more information visit: http://www.bull.com.
    
    
      About Red Hat, Inc.
    
    
      Red Hat, the world’s leading open source and 
      Linux provider, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with satellite offices 
      spanning the globe. CIOs and other senior-level IT executives have 
      ranked Red Hat as the industry’s most valued 
      vendor for two consecutive years in the CIO Insight Magazine Vendor 
      Value study. Red Hat is leading Linux and open source solutions into the 
      mainstream by making high quality, low cost technology accessible. Red 
      Hat provides operating system software along with applications, 
      management, and middleware solutions, including JBoss Enterprise 
      Middleware Suite (JEMS). Red Hat is accelerating the shift to 
      service-oriented architectures (SOA) and enabling the next generation of 
      web-enabled applications running on a low-cost, secure open source 
      platform. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services 
      to its customers worldwide and through top-tier partnerships. Red Hat’s 
      open source strategy offers customers a long term plan for building 
      infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source technologies 
      with focus on security and ease of management. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com.
    
    
      Forward Looking Statements
    
    
      Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute 
      "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private 
      Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements 
      provide current expectations of future events based on certain 
      assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to 
      any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially 
      from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of 
      various important factors, including: risks related to the integration 
      of acquisitions; the ability of the Company to effectively compete; the 
      inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the 
      potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to 
      third party intellectual property; risks related to data and information 
      security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, 
      the Company's growth and international operations; adverse results in 
      litigation; the dependence on key personnel as well as other factors 
      contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of 
      which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission's 
      website at http://www.sec.gov), 
      including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and 
      "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results 
      of Operations". In addition, the forward-looking statements included in 
      this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this 
      press release and these views could change. However, while the Company 
      may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in 
      the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. 
      These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as 
      representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date 
      of the press release.
    
    
      LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT and JBOSS are registered 
      trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the US and other countries. All other 
      names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
    
  
Bull and JBoss, a division of Red Hat (NASDAQ:RHAT), today
announced a worldwide technology and business partnership to
accelerate the development and deployment of interoperable open source
middleware solutions for enterprise service-oriented architecture
(SOA). The partnership, which builds on Bull's existing alliance with
Red Hat, is JBoss' first strategic partnership in Europe to include
open source research and development collaboration and demonstrates
both companies' leadership and commitment to open source software
innovation.

   The multi-dimensional agreement increases open source innovation,
interoperability, integration, delivery, and support capabilities.
Bull and JBoss will work together in three areas:

   --  R&D Collaboration: Bull becomes a contributor to the JBoss
        community, following the same collaborative strategy it takes
        with other communities such as Apache, Eclipse, and the
        ObjectWeb consortium, which was co-founded by Bull. JBoss
        projects will benefit from Bull's expertise, especially in
        security and business process management (BPM).

   --  System Integration (SI): Bull becomes a strategic SI partner
        and will add the JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (JEMS) to
        its portfolio of open source solutions, known as "Open
        Energy." Bull's 400-plus open source software service and
        middleware specialists will provide a broad range of system
        integration services including consulting, application design,
        and tuning. Bull will deliver JEMS-based solutions on its
        NovaScale and Escala range of servers within the broad range
        of open source solutions it delivers on its platforms. This
        capacity of delivery will leverage the Bull-Red Hat OEM
        contract.

   --  Subscriptions: Bull will resell JBoss Subscriptions, which
        includes support and access to the JBoss Operations Network
        (ON), to its customers. Under the agreement, Bull will provide
        first- and second-level support with Red Hat providing
        third-level technical support.

   As part of the agreement, Red Hat will strengthen its involvement
with ObjectWeb, including working closely with Bull on the future
development and extension of ObjectWeb, codenamed ObjectWeb v2. In
addition, Bull is committed to working on interoperability between the
JBoss community and the ObjectWeb consortium.

   "For years, Bull proved as a leading open source software
integrator and contributor to numerous communities," said JP Barberis,
General Manager of Bull Services and Solutions. "By adding to our long
term commitment to ObjectWeb a strategic partnership with JBoss, we
enforce the cross-fertilization and interoperability of open source
middleware developments. As Architect of an Open World, we offer
enterprises a unique capacity on the market to deploy and support the
flexible, interoperable SOA-based business applications that will
drive next-generation computing."

   Marc Fleury, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the
JBoss division, Red Hat, commented: "We welcome Bull into the JBoss
community and look forward to many contributions from them,
particularly in the areas of security and BPM. Our planned
interoperability work underscores Red Hat's focus on driving customer
value through a flexible, standards-based, open source SOA platform,
which we believe offers customers a more extensive choice of
technology. As a partner, Bull extends our ecosystem and brings strong
integration capabilities to support enterprise-class JEMS-based
solutions in the global market."

   Accelerating the shift to SOA with open source

   Enterprises have recognized the value of SOA in improving business
processes and unlocking better performance and responsiveness, but
their main challenge remains a budgetary issue. Today, companies must
choose between pricey, proprietary, monolithic platforms or "roll your
own" solutions that can be costly to build and maintain over time.
Through this expanded partnership, enterprises can accelerate their
move to SOA through low-cost, proven open source middleware backed by
consulting and integration services from a global IT company with over
four decades of experience solving computing challenges.

   About Bull, Architect of an Open World

   As one of the leading European IT companies, Bull delivers open,
flexible and secure information systems. The group helps public and
private sector customers transform their information systems, applying
its know-how and expertise in three main areas:

   --  Capitalizing on its extensive mainframe experience, Bull
        designs and produces robust, innovative and open servers,
        based on industry-standard technologies;

   --  Building on its alliances with leading ISVs, Bull develops and
        implements flexible and interoperable application
        infrastructures which give business processes the freedom to
        evolve;

   --  Bringing together recognized expertise in end-to-end IT
        security, Bull secures data and exchanges that are so critical
        in preserving customers' business integrity.

   Bull has a particularly strong presence in the public, healthcare,
finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and defense sectors. Its
distribution network and business partners cover more than 60
countries worldwide. For more information visit: http://www.bull.com.

   About Red Hat, Inc.

   Red Hat, the world's leading open source and Linux provider, is
headquartered in Raleigh, NC with satellite offices spanning the
globe. CIOs and other senior-level IT executives have ranked Red Hat
as the industry's most valued vendor for two consecutive years in the
CIO Insight Magazine Vendor Value study. Red Hat is leading Linux and
open source solutions into the mainstream by making high quality, low
cost technology accessible. Red Hat provides operating system software
along with applications, management, and middleware solutions,
including JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (JEMS). Red Hat is
accelerating the shift to service-oriented architectures (SOA) and
enabling the next generation of web-enabled applications running on a
low-cost, secure open source platform. Red Hat also offers support,
training and consulting services to its customers worldwide and
through top-tier partnerships. Red Hat's open source strategy offers
customers a long term plan for building infrastructures that are based
on and leverage open source technologies with focus on security and
ease of management. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com.

   Forward Looking Statements

   Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
provide current expectations of future events based on certain
assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to
any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially
from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of
various important factors, including: risks related to the integration
of acquisitions; the ability of the Company to effectively compete;
the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and
the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or
relating to third party intellectual property; risks related to data
and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of,
and control over, the Company's growth and international operations;
adverse results in litigation; the dependence on key personnel as well
as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and
Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov), including those
found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations". In addition, the forward-looking statements included in
this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of
this press release and these views could change. However, while the
Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some
point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation
to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon
as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the
date of the press release.

   LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT and JBOSS are
registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the US and other countries.
All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.