BackWeb Announces Support for IBM WebSphere Platform

BackWeb's Polite push technology enabled for IBM WebSphere Application Server will allow e-businesses to create new push-enabled applications and services

SAN JOSE, Calif. — July 12, 2000 — BackWeb® Technologies (Nasdaq: BWEB), a leading provider of push technology for e-business solutions, today announced it is enabling BackWeb's patented Polite push technology to work with the IBM WebSphere software platform for e-business. By supporting WebSphere, BackWeb will enable customers to create Web-based applications and servers that automatically deliver customized content and information to targeted users.

"BackWeb is committed to enabling its popular push infrastructure to work with the WebSphere software platform for e-business," said Eli Barkat, chairman and CEO of BackWeb Technologies. "The combination of BackWeb's Polite push technology and IBM's WebSphere software platform for e-business creates a scalable, get-it-done environment that enables the creation of applications that proactively deliver business-critical content and information."

"IBM's WebSphere software platform for e-business delivers on its promise as a flexible and open platform on which to build next-generation e-business applications," said Paraic Sweeney, vice president, Business Transformation, IBM Software Group. "With BackWeb's technology enabled for IBM WebSphere, BackWeb customers now can take advantage of the breadth of IBM solutions."

About BackWeb's Polite Push Technology
Fast becoming a de facto Internet standard, BackWeb's patented Polite push infrastructure allows companies to create truly proactive e-business applications and services that automatically and seamlessly deliver targeted, one-to-one content - no matter how media-rich or time-sensitive. With BackWeb, companies can deliver multimedia-rich digital packages of any size or format, including audio, video, graphics and HTML. BackWeb's Polite Agent avoids disrupting the consumer by using only available bandwidth and politely delivering the information in the background. In addition, BackWeb's unique attention management tools - including multimedia Flashes that automatically appear on the user's screen - instantly alert users to the arrival of new or time-sensitive information. With BackWeb technology, users also need not be online to view new content once it has arrived, which is particularly helpful for mobile or extranet users.

About IBM WebSphere software platform for e-business
IBM WebSphere's customizable family of products provides the industry's most scalable e-business software foundation and application services, and delivers a flexible and open platform on which to build next-generation e-business applications. Based on WebSphere Application Server, the WebSphere software platform supports business applications from simple Web publishing through enterprise-scale transaction processing. Through modular, integrated application services, such as Lotus Domino for rich collaboration capabilities and WebSphere Commerce Suite for high-performance, scalable commerce sites, the WebSphere platform transforms the way businesses manage customer, partner and employee relationships. Tightly integrated business and Web content development tools and Web site management capabilities deliver the most advanced and productive end-to-end application development, deployment and integration for sophisticated e-business solutions. Information about the complete WebSphere software platform is on the Web at http://www.software.ibm.com/websphere.

About BackWeb Technologies
BackWeb Technologies is a leading offline Web software company. BackWeb extends the value of technology investments by offering mobile and remote employees offline access to portals, intranets and other Web-based applications and content. The company's products reduce network costs and improve the productivity of an increasingly mobile workforce. At the core of BackWeb's products is its patented Polite® synchronization technology that can distribute large amounts of data even over narrow bandwidth connections. BackWeb® customers include market leaders such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Centocor, Eastman Kodak, GE Healthcare, Guidant, HP, KLA Tencor, Lam Research, Pfizer and more than one hundred other companies. BackWeb also has strategic reseller alliances with software industry leaders: Plumtree, SAP and IBM. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. and Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel. For more information, visit www.backweb.com or call (800) 863-0100.

Statements in this news release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities laws, including statements of beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, the ability of BackWeb software to allow customers to gain mobile, disconnected use of their portals and help increase field sales and field service productivity, the integration of BackWeb software with BEA products will help developers extend portal applications for offline use without changing the way they work, and the ability of the resulting applications to help field sales and service organizations realize maximum productivity, cost savings, and process acceleration gains while disconnected from the network. Actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include unforeseen technological issues related to use of the BackWeb software, deployment issues related to implementation, unforeseen software errors, competitive factors and business and expense factors that may affect the perceived efficiencies from use of BackWeb's products, and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in BackWeb's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. BackWeb assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release.