Autoweb Teams With UGS to Provide a New Collaboration Offering and Extend Its Data Exchange Capabilities Based on Teamcenter(R) and JT 3D Data Format

New Solutions Will Reduce Time-to-Market Through Improved Collaboration Among Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Suppliers and Extend Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Benefits to Small and Medium Size Organizations

Widespread Use of Autoweb Services Reinforces Leadership of Teamcenter and Lightweight 3D JT Data Format in Global Automotive Industry

PLANO, Texas and ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., Feb. 7 -- UGS, a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, and Autoweb Communications, Inc., the global leader in business-to- business data exchange for the automotive industry, today announced Autoweb has adopted UGS' Teamcenter(R) software, the de facto standard for PLM, to serve as the foundation for its new visualization and collaboration service offering and its extended data exchange capabilities.

The companies expect these new offerings, along with the global reach and widespread use of Autoweb's services, to further expand the leadership of UGS' Teamcenter and the popular 3D JT data format -- on which Teamcenter's visualization offering is based -- as the most widely used solutions of their kind in the automotive industry.

Leading up to today's announcement, UGS and Autoweb have worked together to establish a mutually beneficial relationship.

"By teaming with UGS Autoweb will be able to enhance product development collaboration among automotive OEMs and suppliers while extending UGS' PLM benefits to small and medium size organizations," said Nino DiCosmo, Autoweb chairman, president and CEO. "The on-demand flexibility of the offering will bring significant value to the industry supply chains."

Enabling benefits with industry-leading technology

Separately, the companies announced today that Autoweb has become the latest member of JT Open, the global initiative to promote the proliferation and advancement of the JT data standard (http://www.ugs.com/autoweb-open ). JT is a common 3D data format for enabling product visualization and information sharing between PLM software applications. The robust functionality and lightweight nature of JT technology makes it possible to view and share product data, manufacturing information and interactive images worldwide, in real-time and throughout all phases of the product lifecycle.

The Autoweb solution establishes a setting in which the global automotive engineering community can significantly reduce vehicle development times through enhanced data sharing and improved visual collaboration. Through Teamcenter, OEMs and suppliers will work in Autoweb's safe environment that promotes secure multi-company data sharing with the flexibility to select from two data sharing service levels -- with or without 3D product visualization capability.

OEMs rely heavily on multiple suppliers from all over the world to serve as an integral part of their extended product development teams. These teams typically use a wide variety of product design, manufacturing and data management software applications establishing an environment consisting of multiple data formats. The Teamcenter-based Autoweb solution provides a visual collaboration environment that is ideal for solving the data incompatibility problems inherent in globally dispersed, multi-organizational development programs and delivers it in a form that is easy to deploy on every desktop across the extended enterprise.

"Autoweb has earned its excellent reputation within the automotive community over the past 10 years by enabling the OEMs and more than 2,500 suppliers that use our services to securely exchange computer-aided design (CAD) and engineering standards data over the Internet," said DiCosmo.

As a result of today's announcement, Autoweb's clients can now establish communities enabling them to securely collaborate on vital product data -- including lightweight and dynamic 3D images -- delivered in the widely-used JT format. Consequently, OEMs and suppliers -- even those using incompatible CAD software -- will be able to use the Internet to conduct real-time digital design reviews, specification development, joint packaging analysis studies and project and program administration tasks in a seamless and secure environment right on their desktops.

The offering is a natural extension of the Autoweb core Data Exchange service offering that further integrates the automotive supply chain and reduces lag time by virtually bringing together groups working across multiple locations. By driving down the average vehicle development timeframe, this service helps to reduce a client's overall expense. Furthermore, the go-to- market model provides companies the flexibility to select an offering that best suits their short- or long-term needs and provides cost-effective access to the benefits of Teamcenter for companies where a dedicated solution may be impractical.

"Autoweb will help its clients significantly reduce their costs and time- to-market by leveraging Teamcenter's widespread industry acceptance and the ubiquitous standards that underlie its implementation," said Chuck Grindstaff, executive vice president of PLM Products, UGS. "Teamcenter is the overwhelming choice within automotive and aerospace companies for tasks such as product development collaboration and data management, and because Teamcenter 3D visual collaboration is based on the open JT format, it provides instant compatibility with the more than 600,000 existing JT users worldwide. Finally, since Teamcenter is built on top of Microsoft(R) desktop and enterprise technologies, users on every desktop are provided easy accessibility."

Teamcenter

Teamcenter, from UGS, connects people and processes -- creating, capturing, and sharing product knowledge to power innovation and productivity, through an integrated portfolio of proven solutions built on Teamcenter's open PLM foundation. Teamcenter is the de facto standard for PLM, delivering modular, out-of-the-box solutions to fit every company's PLM vision.

About Autoweb

Autoweb is a leading global provider of data exchange services connecting the engineering supply chain via a secure, reliable, traceable communication medium. With supply chain integration of 2,500+ companies with over 8,000 users operating in more than 30 countries Autoweb increases the secure sharing of proprietary information throughout the global manufacturing community. Headquartered in Rochester Hills, MI, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Communications. For more information on Autoweb products and services, visit http://www.autoweb.net/ .

About UGS

UGS is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services with nearly 4 million licensed seats and 42,000 clients worldwide. The company promotes openness and standardization and works collaboratively with its clients in creating enterprise solutions enabling them to transform their process of innovation and thus begin to capture the value of PLM. For more information on UGS products and services, visit http://www.ugs.com/ .

Note to editors: UGS and Teamcenter are trademarks or registered trademark of UGS Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders. Autoweb is a trademark or registered trademark of Autoweb Communications, Inc. in the United States.