Retail Giant, Rite Aid Selects BackWeb to Provide Knowledge Distribution Solutions for its Corporate Intranet

San Jose, Calif., (July 27, 1998) -- BackWeb Technologies announced today that its enterprise knowledge distribution technology has been chosen by one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE, PSE: RAD), to be a key component of the retailer's satellite communication network. The sales agreement further entrenches BackWeb as the leader in enterprise knowledge and data delivery systems. "Rite Aid selected BackWeb because of its leadership in effective push technology," said Martin L. Grass, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We were seeking a technology that would allow quick and effective Intranet communications to every field associate in every store, and BackWeb clearly offered the best solution. Rite Aid considers BackWeb's technology key to our intranet."

"This is a powerful win for BackWeb," said Eli Barkat, BackWeb's chief executive officer. "It represents a tremendous vote of confidence in both our technology and our business strategy, and we look forward to being a part of Rite Aid's growth."

With this deployment, BackWeb becomes an integral part of the Rite Aid store satellite system, which uses SkySurfer technology (a product of Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd.), and is the fourth largest business satellite communication network in the US. The network provides non-stop support to more than 4,000 Rite Aid stores and 20,000 computers, cash registers and electronic devices. Rite Aid will deploy BackWeb's Polite Server and Infocenter server to distribute mission-critical information to Rite Aid stores via the SkySurfer based network.

The BackWeb Infocenter 4.0 distributes relevant enterprise information directly to the desktops of the appropriate knowledge workers by pulling information from corporate reservoirs, including legacy systems, RDBMS, ERP systems, the Web and intranets. This delivery mechanism ensures employees receive critical information in a timely manner. Moreover, the BackWeb Infocenter allows users to sort and receive information in a variety of formats, to search and filter information, and receive alerts to new and updated information.

BackWeb's Infocenter will complement the new SkySurfer network by delivering to Rite Aid's associates the most recent product information, including training guidelines, software, and multimedia applications, enabling Rite Aid to strengthen the impact of new product announcements and promotions, and increase customer service.

Rite Aid will also leverage the BackWeb Infocenter to distribute critical corporate information, including benefits changes and policy and procedure updates, ensuring associates nationwide receive the latest, information from headquarters in a timely manner, and can immediately begin to leverage it.

"By keeping Rite Aid employees informed about current merchandising and marketing programs, Rite Aid will better serve its customers," said Kent Whiting, Rite Aid's Senior Vice President of Information Systems. "Moreover, by effectively communicating with store associates, Rite Aid will be more flexible in taking advantage of current business trends."

More than 250 corporations currently use BackWeb for knowledge distribution including, Compaq Computer Corporation, Computer Associates, Samsung, Fidelity Investments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3Com and Network Associates.

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.