IONA Iona Technologies Adr (MM)

IONA� Technologies (NASDAQ: IONA), a world leader in distributed service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure solutions for performance-demanding IT environments, today announced that Milestone Group, a specialist supplier of next generation fund processing and investment analytic software to investment managers, banks, life companies, custodians and hedge fund administrators, has selected IONA�s Artix� Data Integration solution to extend the messaging and integration capabilities of their pControl funds processing platform. Milestone Group will deploy Artix Data Integration solution, including Artix Data Services and Artix ESB, as part of the next release of pControl�s Data Management module scheduled for roll-out in the second quarter of 2008. Artix Data Services will provide real-time data validation and transformation services for financial services message types, specifically SWIFT, SWIFTNet Funds and FIX, as well as other message types as required. By utilizing Artix Data Services, Milestone Group can offer richer and more cost effective pControl deployments with the broadest support for industry standards without the need for costly additional development resources. Artix ESB will provide enhanced integration of pControl within client environments regardless of the underlying technologies, middleware or messaging transports. �Our customers operate within a highly regulated environment where compliance with industry standards is a non-negotiable requirement,� said Geoff Hodge, Chief Executive, Milestone Group. �We see IONA as a clear leader in the financial messaging space with an established blue chip customer base that includes leading global financial institutions. The deployment of Artix Data Services within pControl will allow us to extend pControl�s reach to support the broadest set of financial messaging standards �out of the box�. At the same time, IONA�s Artix ESB extends pControl�s data management capabilities to meet enterprise customer requirements for enhanced integration, particularly where multiple technology or middleware platforms exist. IONA�s support for global industry standards and their technology neutral approach to integration made Artix an obvious OEM choice for pControl.� Artix is IONA�s advanced SOA infrastructure suite which offers an alternative to the proprietary and centralised based approach of other integration vendors. Artix Data Services offers the broadest support for financial services standards, message types and validation rules, including SWIFT, SEPA, FpML, TWIST, ISO 20022, CREST and FIX, with the ability to model any data format for complete compliance. Customers can reduce development time and costs associated with maintaining regulatory compliance with pre-built and �out of the box� support of messaging and processing standards. Artix ESB is IONA�s multi-platform and multi-protocol integration solution that reliably connects diverse application endpoints without an expensive and cumbersome centralized server. �Compliance with multiple and frequently changing business-critical messaging and technology standards is a challenge for any financial services organization and can very quickly drain the resources of in-house development teams,� said Peter Zotto, CEO, IONA Technologies. �Companies such as Milestone Group understand the benefit of offering their customers an �out of the box� high performance data validation and processing solution that addresses the challenges of today�s highly regulated financial services environment. We look forward to working with Milestone Group to deliver world leading business application and integration solutions to our joint financial services customers.� About IONA For more than a decade, IONA� Technologies (NASDAQ: IONA) has been a world leader in delivering high-performance integration solutions for Global 2000 IT environments. IONA pioneered standards-based integration with its CORBA-based Orbix� products. IONA's Artix�, an advanced SOA infrastructure suite enables customers to leverage service-oriented architecture to streamline and modernize IT environments. The FUSE� family of open source distributed SOA infrastructure products allows customers to take advantage of the economic benefits associated with the use of open source software. IONA is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts and offices worldwide. For additional information about IONA, visit our Web site at http://www.iona.com. About Milestone Group Milestone Group is a leading specialist supplier of fund processing and investment analytics software to Investment Managers, Banks, Life Companies, Custodians and Hedge Fund Administrators. Milestone Group products embrace the latest technologies (SOA, BPM, BI), and represent a breakthrough in true end-to-end processing. In addition to market leading business functionality, our products provide superior operational efficiency, control and business agility. Milestone Group software is unique and low risk, enabling complex business functions to be automated without replacement of existing core technologies. Milestone Group is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with regional operations in London, United Kingdom, and Boston, Massachusetts. For more information about Milestone Group, visit our Web site at http://www.milestonegroup.com.au About pControl pControl is a funds processing platform that is unique in its ability to integrate end-to-end process control of key business functions with event based processing of complex fund structures. pControl allows users to achieve breakthroughs in efficiency levels, operational risk management and rapid time-to-market for new investment products. pControl provides automated end-to-end processing for NAV pricing; price and asset level validations; cash processing and unitised order management; investor record keeping; fund accounting and tax processing.