Riposte chosen as platform for Australia Post's growth projections for Year 2000 and beyond

Cambridge, Mass. - June 30, 1997 - On June 27, 1997, Australia Post officially announced the decision to upgrade post office counter technology with Escher Group's Riposte system. Australia Post joins a rapidly growing number of international post offices basing automation solutions on Riposte. Riposte is a complete end-to-end post office automation solution which includes distributed message-oriented middleware, a graphical, touch-screen application development environment, and flexible mail, agency, and banking applications.

The announcement described Riposte as "leading edge technology to ensure fast and accurate customer service," and disclosed that "the system was selected after extensive appraisal of other postal automation systems." "Riposte will increase flexibility and reduce operating costs," stated the official announcement, released from the office of Cordell Short, Chief Finance Officer, Australia Post.

Australia Post's stated goals include the use of Riposte to "handle around 1 million transactions and management functions daily from 6500 counter terminals." In addition to managing over-the-counter financial transactions, Riposte will also support over 220 agency transactions, including 10 banks and building societies, as well as sophisticated stock control and critical retail management functions.

Riposte is a complete networking and application development system that provides an end-to-end solution for Post Office automation. Designed to use the advanced security and heterogeneous networking capabilities of Windows NT, Riposte offers both a message-based distribution infrastructure and an object-oriented application development environment. Built on Microsoft's COM and ActiveX architecture, Riposte enables robust rapid application development and release management across a distributed network.

Australia Post hosts the largest electronic network in the nation and has experienced over 130% growth in over-the-counter financial transactions since 1991. "Riposte was designed specifically for large, distributed networks that span both urban and remote areas," said Martin McAdam, Manager, International Software Marketing, the Irish Post Office's Riposte consulting group. "Countries who standardize on Riposte will see increased revenue opportunities internationally." Riposte is currently under contract in 4 countries, including Ireland, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, and Singapore.

Michael J. Murphy, President of Escher Group, commented, "We are extremely pleased to be working with the Australian Post Office. This agreement strengthens Escher's competitive position in the international post office community, and we are confident that Riposte will allow Australia Post to expand their business and to meet growing competitive challenges to the Post Office."

About Escher Group, Limited

Escher Group Limited is a leading provider of distributed transaction processing and data management solutions and services. The company offers a business-to-business XML-based transaction management environment, used in thousands of locations worldwide. Since its introduction in 1993, Riposte®, Escher's flagship messaging solution, has grown to become the market leader in post office counter automation.

Trademarks: WebRiposte and Riposte are trademarks or registered trademarks of Escher Group, Limited in the United States and/or other countries. All other product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact Information:

Escher Group Limited
info@eschergroup.com