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DataDirect Technologies Announces Expert Series Architect Tutorials 2008 and Celebrates 10 Years of Design Previews

Multi-City Event Provides Software Architects with Data Connectivity Design Considerations for Navigating the Complexities of SOA

BEDFORD, Mass. – Sept 23, 2008 – DataDirect Technologies, the unparalleled leader in data connectivity and mainframe integration and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), today announced the schedule and agenda for its bi-annual Expert Series Architect Tutorial events. Co-sponsored by the service-oriented architecture (SOA) research and advisory firm ZapThink LLC, the free seminar series is designed to provide software architects and software developers with thought-provoking information and actionable best practices for optimizing data access within SOA and virtualized environments.

The half-day educational seminar series will explore the practical implications of data access choices in software development and system design with particular attention on SOA.  Presentations will address how SOA initiatives can fail to realize the development savings and application performance, flexibility and reliability goals if a sound data services strategy is not designed into the foundation of the application architecture.  Attendees will gain valuable insights from the industry’s foremost data access experts who will highlight design considerations for successful architectural approaches in both SOA applications and virtual environments.  The seminar will provide attendees with the information needed to navigate the complexities of data access technologies and the practical know-how to enhance application performance, flexibility and capability immediately.

The Expert Series seminars provide useful information for architects designing for Java™, .NET and other development platforms.  Sessions will address how best to handle a heterogeneous mix of data within the enterprise – whether relational, XML, EDI or proprietary data formats that reside on a combination of different platforms including Windows, Unix, Linux and the mainframe.  The program agenda follows:

• Data Services Update with Industry Experts from ZapThink
• Designing Data Access in a SOA Environment
• The New Reality:  Data Access for Virtual Environments

Dates and locations for the fall 2008 Expert Series Architect Tutorials follow:

• Oct. 1 at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue in Seattle
• Oct. 21 at the Hilton St. Louis Frontenac in St. Louis
• Oct. 28 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto

In addition to the Architect Tutorial series taking place this October, DataDirect Technologies will also host the 10th Annual Expert Series Design Previews in Palo Alto, Calif., Oct. 2 and Boston, Oct. 16.  Like the Architect Tutorial events, Design Previews are free, informational and educational seminars for developers, application architects and DataDirect customers.  During these sessions, DataDirect provides technology updates on industry standards, best practices and other issues which may impact the DataDirect® product delivery cycle and customer implementations.  With an emphasis on DataDirect customers, Design Previews offer users a rare opportunity to speak directly with the decision-makers at DataDirect and influence the product development cycle.

“DataDirect Expert Series events are designed to provide practical information on data access techniques and best practices for architects and developers, led by the top technical experts in the industry,” said Charles Gold, vice president of worldwide marketing at DataDirect Technologies.  ”Event content is based on the issues we hear from our customers every day.  For ten years, attendees have given DataDirect high marks for quality, depth of content and real-world applicability.”

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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DataDirect, DataDirect XML Converters, DataDirect XQuery, and Stylus Studio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries.  Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.  Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.