BackWeb Push Application Server Wins Crossroads 2001 A-List Award

Award recognizes the Best, Newly Proven Technologies for Today's Business Challenges

SAN JOSE, Calif. — January 29, 2001 — BackWeb® Technologies (Nasdaq:BWEB), a leading provider of push communication infrastructure for e-business, today announced its Push Application Server (PAS) has been named a winner in the Open Systems Advisors, Inc. (OSA) Eighth Annual Crossroads A-List Awards. The awards identify the best newly proven products and services that meet today's critical business challenges in the enterprise.

"We selected BackWeb's Push Application Server because it represents a revolutionary shift in how important information will reach users and gives e-business innovators the opportunity to deliver mission-critical information proactively," said Nina Lytton, president of OSA and editor of the Crossroads A-List Awards.

BackWeb's Push Application Server is designed to enable companies to use a single communication infrastructure to deliver content or notifications to any user, whether by BackWeb Polite™ Push, email, wireless, fax, or voicemail. Providing a modular, flexible architecture, the BackWeb Push Application Server allows companies to specify the use of any delivery method via a single software interface and single reporting system. The Push Application Server will route deliveries to any appropriate delivery method and escalate or change delivery methods based on easy-to-define business logic. For example, if a user is not at his desk to receive a time-sensitive notification at his PC, the content would be automatically re-routed by the Push Application Server to his handheld device or mobile phone, based on the user's or administrator's pre-defined specifications.

"It is an honor to receive this prestigious Crossroads A-List Award, said Eli Barkat, chairman and CEO of BackWeb Technologies. "This is a testament to our most important reference group, our customers. It further validates our industry wide Universal Push initiative, our understanding of market needs, and also demonstrates the market demand for proactive, subscription-based communication over the Internet that will deliver the right information, to the right people, at the right time."

About the Crossroads A-List Awards
The Crossroads A-List Awards clearly outline the business benefits, concisely summarize the technology differentiators, validate solutions with real customer experiences, and provide a basis for informed dialogue between business and technology partners.

The Crossroads A-List Awards focus on enterprise computing, the integrated system supporting the business process from the supply chain through the back office all the way to customer interaction. Winners are determined after a detailed review of the vendors' products or services and strategies. In-depth, confidential interviews with experienced customers are the cornerstone of the judgment process.

Eighth Annual Crossroads Conference
Winners of the Crossroads 2001 A-List Awards and their customers will be recognized at the Crossroads Conference to be held March 18-21, 2001 at the Wigwam Resort in Phoenix, AZ. Additional information on the conference can be obtained by contacting Meleena Erikson at 617.859.0859 or merikson@crossroads-osa.com

About Open Systems Advisors, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Open Systems Advisors, Inc. (OSA) provides a real-world perspective on using new technology in business. OSA's research is based on an ongoing and in-depth dialogue with hundreds of seasoned IT executives and business leaders who are using emerging technologies to achieve business results. OSA reports the Crossroads Decisions, confers the Crossroads A-List Awards and produces the Crossroads Conferences. For additional information on the Crossroads Research program and conference, contact the company at: Open Systems Advisors, Inc., 268 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116, 617/859-0859; www.crossroads-osa.com