Maintenance subscribers can now increase productivity through on-line WebEx training, allowing for a more rapid deployment of the features and technology in each new GerbTool release.

Newberg, OR, March 2^nd, 2004: WISE Software Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of PC-based CAM software and services, today announced the Next Generation in Software Maintenance through its introduction of on-line training via WebEx. While on-line training is not something totally new to the industry, WISE believes it is the first vendor to include proportionate levels of training with each level of their products’ annual maintenance contracts. This on-line training will help users better leverage new features as they are introduced in the GerbTool product line.

“We are continually working to offer new technology that allows GerbTool users to perform their jobs faster and more accurately,” states Jeff Miller Vice President of Sales & Marketing for WISE Software. “By offering on-line training with our annual maintenance contracts, we are not only adding value to our maintenance but we are helping our users to become proficient with the latest that GerbTool has to offer. The faster users learn how new features work, the faster they can then reap the benefits of those features,” Miller states.

WISE also announced that, in addition to their enhanced maintenance contracts, they will offer a new upgrade policy for GerbTool as well. Upgrades allow users of past versions, who have not stayed current on maintenance, to quickly bring their software up to the latest version for a nominal fee. Upgrades are not intended to replace maintenance -- rather they are intended to provide occasional users and/or those users that do not see the value in maintenance a means for keeping their products current.

“There are any number of reasons why a user may or may not decide to go with software maintenance,” says Chris Hernandez, North American Sales Engineer for WISE Software. “Many users have been tainted by past experiences with other vendors where they never received anything for their maintenance fees, and now are inherently against maintenance in general. Whatever their reason might be, we want to make sure that we have an upgrade path for everyone,” states Hernandez.

Maintenance Training Details: WebEx training shall be included with each annual maintenance agreement on a proportional basis. Listed below is a break-down on the training time to be included with each product level:

GT-Fabricator = 3 Hours
GT-Designer = 2 Hours
GT-Inspector = 1 ½ Hours
GT-Communicator = 1 Hours

Users may use their WebEx training time as they see fit; WISE will track the time internally and notify the user once they have reached the limit of their allocation. Additional WebEx training time can be purchased per normal WISE price policies for WebEx training. Any current maintenance user that requests WebEx training will receive the training that befits their product level, so long as the term of their maintenance has not expired. If the customer’s maintenance expires, they are no longer entitled to any unused training time. When a customer renews their maintenance, they are entitled to the WebEx training time allotted to their product, but cannot “rollover” or accrue training time from one year to the next.

Note: The above applies to new maintenance agreements. Customers who are currently on maintenance that was purchased prior to March 2, 2004 will have their training time prorated. The amount of time depends upon when you purchased maintenance. Please contact WISE at for details.

About WISE: WISE Software Solutions, Inc. (http://www.wssi.com), a privately held corporation, is a leading provider of Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software and services that enable Designers and Fabricators to streamline the process of manufacturing Printed Circuit Boards. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Newberg, Oregon, WISE has OEM relationships with key vendors such as Cadence, Mentor Graphics, Electro Scientific Industries, Electronics Workbench, Mivatec GmbH, and Cimnet Systems. It has major installations within companies such as Intel, Motorola, Nokia, Texas Instruments, Robert Bosch GmbH, Plexus, Fuji Xerox (Japan), Zuton PCB (Taiwan), and Sanmina. In addition, WISE also has a network of international distributors that represent the GerbTool product in over 45 countries, as well as direct sales and key distributor partnerships in the United States.