Leading Accounting Firm In The United Kingdom Selects Unify VISION To Improve Time Controls, Billing, And Access To Business Data.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 11, 1998--

Grant Thornton UK(1) chooses enterprise management application

built with Unify VISION from UK's Star Computer Group

Today Unify Corporation (NASDAQ:UNFY), a leading provider of application server solutions, and Star Computer Group, one of the UK's leading system integration companies, announced that Star's PMS for Windows, developed with Unify's VISION(R), has been selected by the United Kingdom's sixth-largest accounting firm, Grant Thornton UK.

Grant Thornton UK will deploy this enterprise networked application throughout their 41 offices with 2,500 employees using the system that has a client/server architecture based on Windows. Grant Thornton UK had two primary reasons for moving away from their previous solution. First, they needed to produce invoices based on recorded time more quickly and efficiently, and second, Grant Thornton UK needed flexibility in the way it viewed and analyzed business data. Star Computer Group's PMS for Windows was chosen after an extensive review of options available to the company.

"Our goal is to provide imaginative and profitable business solutions to the SME sector. Automating the process part of our job is a practical and progressive way forward allowing our partners to concentrate on customer service," said Clive Bennett, partner at Grant Thornton UK.

Star Computer Group first developed PMS for Windows in Unify's ACCELL, and they have redeveloped the product using Unify VISION. The new product benefits that appealed to Grant Thornton UK were the ease of use and functionality. PMS for Windows continues to be the leading product for practice management for the chartered accountancy profession in the UK. Forty-three of the top 100 UK accountancy firms use Star software for practice management.

"Unify is working very closely with us to deliver the additional functionality that Grant Thornton UK wants. As a VAR, we want to work as a team with our suppliers," said Ivan Stillwell, Director, Star Computer Group. "Unify VISION has provided us with the opportunity to give PMS for Windows additional benefits that are appreciated by our customers."

About VISION AppServer and AppBuilder

Unify VISION AppServer is an open, standards-based application integration server that enables IT organizations to bridge legacy, custom-built and packaged applications with the Internet. Its universal client architecture enables users to access any application, anywhere, anytime. Unify VISION AppServer's Parallel Dynamic Scaleable Architecture delivers a high level of performance, availability and scalability by offering server replication, load balancing, fail-over and recovery, and publish-and-subscribe capabilities, all based on a high performance, fully asynchronous messaging architecture. Integrated application management services lower total cost of ownership by allowing organizations to effectively manage their applications from a single point of control.

Unify VISION AppServer's companion product, VISION AppBuilder, is an object oriented, repository-based component framework that enables developers to rapidly create and easily modify application components. Its powerful, pre-built components shield developers from the complexities of the underlying technology, enabling them to focus on the business components and processes that make up the heart of their applications.

Unify VISION AppServer and AppBuilder support Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 95 and all leading UNIX server platforms. Client support includes leading Web browsers running HTML or Java, and standard desktop applications. Unify VISION AppServer supports native database connectivity to all major RDBMS products.

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton is a leading financial and business advisor to owner-managed businesses and their owners. Grant Thornton assists companies to realize their business goals locally, nationally, and internationally via a network of 41 offices and an international network with representation in over 93 countries.

About Star Computer Group

Star Computer Group was founded in 1973 and pioneered the development and supply of turnkey minicomputer systems to the accounting profession. In 1984, Star was one of the first systems houses to adopt open systems and 4GL programming techniques. Today it is a leading exponent of client/server systems and object-oriented software technology. Star operates in an international context and has specialist subsidiaries, Star Computers and Pinnacle Computer Systems. Star Computer Group has more than 200 staff and supports in excess of 1,000 customers in the accounting and financial markets.

About Unify Corporation

Unify Corporation provides application server solutions that enable corporations to deliver enterprise networked applications by integrating legacy, custom-built, and packaged applications with the Internet.

Unify's professional services organization provides a full range of services to help customers successfully deliver their application initiatives. Unify's product line includes Unify VISION AppServer, Unify VISION AppBuilder, ACCELL/SQL and the Unify DataServer product family.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Unify has direct sales offices throughout North America, Europe and Japan, with a network of distributors, VARs, OEMs, and systems integrators worldwide. Unify has over 375,000 users worldwide, including leaders in telecommunications, financial services, commercial industries and government. Unify product and service information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.unify.com.

(1) This press release refers to Grant Thornton in the UK only.

Note to Editors: Unify VISION, Unify VISION AppServer, Unify VISION AppBuilder, Unify ACCELL, ACCELL/SQL, Unify DataServer, and the Unify logo are trademarks of the Unify Corporation. Other brands or product names shown are trademarks of their respective owners.