For Immediate Release
MAY 5, 2000
METRO TECHNOLOGIES LANDS EXCLUSIVE NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS TO
COVETED MERANT MAC OBDC DRIVERS
GURNEE, ILLINOIS. Metro Technologies, L.L.C. a national, full-service
consulting and development firm, announced today that they will begin
offering MERANT's DataDirect ODBC products for both domestic and
international sales starting May 15, 2000. Among the MERANT (NNM: MRNT;
LSE: MRN) products to be distributed by Metro Technologies are the highly
sought-after DataDirect Connect ODBC drivers for Macintosh and the
complete end-to-end middleware technology -- DataDirect SequeLink 4.51 for
Macintosh. With this agreement, Metro Technologies will be the exclusive
authorized reseller in North America for MERANT's new ODBC Macintosh
products and will also provide support to its customers for such products.
The MERANT DataDirect product line covers a wide range of standards,
platforms, and data stores, ensuring the flexibility and reliability needed
for critical business systems. More than four and a half million customers
and over 500 leading vendors, including Computer Associates, Microsoft, Sun
Microsystems, Oracle and Sybase, IBM, and Informix have established MERANT
DataDirect as a standard for quality, support, and technology leadership.
Now they bring this same standard to the Mac community.
Metro Technologies is the fastest growing team of database driven Web
Application developers in the nation, demonstrating superior strengths in
an wide array of cross-platform programming and scripting skills, including
Visual Basic, Java, JavaScript, C++, HTML, DHTML, XML, FileMaker, Lasso,
SQL, ColdFusion and others.
"We are extremely excited to be the sales and support organization for
MERANT's new Macintosh ODBC product line and look forward to working with
the Mac community to satisfy this crucial need," says Gary Dotzlaw,
Executive Vice President of Metro Technologies.
MERANT is a leading supplier of enterprise application development
solutions, enabling organizations to transform existing applications into
the technology required for their e-business environments. "Metro
Technologies joins the more than 500 technology companies that have
partnered with MERANT worldwide," says Michael Consoli, MERANT senior vice
president and general manager of Enterprise Data Connectivity. "With this
significant partnership, companies can now leverage the Macintosh
environment, accessing and integrating critical information from
industry-leading databases."
About MERANT
Founded in 1976, MERANT is a leader in Enterprise Application Development,
providing the products, people and processes to accelerate the customer's
business through the application of innovative information technology. The
MERANT Egility framework empowers organizations to transform their
enterprise applications for the changing technology and business
requirements of the e-business environment, manage the application
development process, and provide integrated data connectivity across the
enterprise, from the mainframe to the Internet. A global organization with
approximately $370 million in annual revenues and nearly 2,000 employees,
MERANT has 500 technology partners and more than 5 million licenses at over
35,000 customer sites - including the entire Fortune 100 and the majority
of the Global 500. For additional information on MERANT and its solutions,
visit the MERANT Web site at www.merant.com.
About METRO TECHNOLOGIES
METRO TECHNOLOGIES, LLC (http://www.fmpsoft.com and
http://www.metrotechnologies.com) is a full-service, national consulting
firm. In addition to FileMaker Pro database and Web development, Metro
Technologies is a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider and also provides
cutting edge e-Commerce, Java, JavaScript and Visual Basic solutions, as
well as a full range of Technology Integration services, including off-site
Support Desk Services. Metro Technologies is a strategic partner with
Allaire Corporation, AT&T, TeamSoft, Dell Affiliates, and Gateway, and most
recently has been named both an Apple Select Development Partner and a
FileMaker Solutions Alliance (FSA) Partner. Metro Technologies,
headquartered in Gurnee, Illinois, is a privately held company and was
founded in 1998.
