Olivetti peripheral drivers will be integrated into Escher's peer-to-peer messaging and data management platform

Boston, Mass. - February 27, 2002 - Escher Group, Ltd, a leading provider of peer-to-peer messaging and data management solutions, today announced that it is working with Olivetti Tecnost, a leading European provider of specialized printers for a broad range of banking and retail applications, to develop peripheral drivers that are compatible with Escher's WebRiposte™ product. With this integration, Escher Group's customers will benefit from a wider range of dedicated peripherals.

"Partnering with a leading provider of post office automation solutions such as Escher Group highlights Tecnost Sistemi's focus in developing advanced specialized terminals for the post office market," said Vincenzo Rosselli, chief operating office of Tecnost Sistemi, the company of the Olivetti Tecnost Group that develops vertical solutions. "Thanks to this activity of mutual integration, the prestigious Escher customers can take advantage of the counter printers and automatic franking system of the Olivetti product offering."

WebRiposte is designed to support the development and deployment of e-business solutions both within the enterprise and over the Internet and is ideal for high-volume transaction-processing environments. WebRiposte and its predecessor, Riposte®, have been adopted by postal administrations around the globe and currently process over 15 million transactions per day, amounting to a value of $225 billion annually. In addition to its reliability and scalability, WebRiposte's standards-based, messaging and data management platform dramatically reduces the total cost of ownership for customers by simplifying functions such as backup and recovery, content and software distribution, and integration with existing systems.

"This relationship exemplifies our commitment to work with the best companies worldwide in order to meet the postal industry's needs for powerful, scalable infrastructure solutions," a spokesperson for Escher commented. "As a leading provider of peripheral technologies, Olivetti Tecnost is well-positioned to expose Escher Group to new markets where our technologies are not yet recognized."

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