PALO ALTO, Calif., July 20, 2004 -- TIBCO Software Inc. (Nasdaq: TIBX), a leading enabler of real-time business and the world's largest independent business integration software company, today announced that it has been selected as "Best Middleware/Web Services" provider in a survey of Waters readers across Europe and North America. TIBCO topped the annual survey with 33.9% of the reader vote with IBM falling a distant second with only 18.5% of the vote. Survey results represent the financial services industry's sentiment toward the vendor community and underscore TIBCO's leader position in the financial services sector.

"We appreciate the feedback from Waters readers and are honored to be chosen as the best middleware/Web services provider," says Ram Menon, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at TIBCO Software Inc. "TIBCO software powers the communications infrastructure for the world's top financial institutions and we are committed to offering standards-based solutions that address the mission-critical needs of the market."

Waters readers ranked TIBCO far ahead of any other vendor because TIBCO provides the business process infrastructure for many of the world's top financial institutions. Five of the top ten brokers have standardized on TIBCO's standards-based real-time messaging platform, TIBCO Enterprise Message Service(TM). TIBCO helps financial institutions:

-- Improve client visibility, service levels, retention and revenues per client

-- Gain operational efficiencies by reducing manual intervention and exceptions, and simplifying communication

-- Improve data quality and reduce cost of data acquisition for better decision-making

-- Identify and lower operational risk, and improve risk management

-- Implement regulatory compliance

-- Achieve maximum benefits from existing IT investment while providing flexibility and scalability for future investment.

A flexible real-time technology infrastructure built on TIBCO helps financial services firms gain operational efficiencies, enhance customer service and quickly adapt to changing business conditions. TIBCO products are widely used in the financial services sector because financial services customers demand solutions that are reliable, standards-based, scalable and high-performance.

For more information on TIBCO's solutions for the financial services industry, visit: http://www.tibco.com/solutions/financial_services .

About waters magazine

Waters covers the practical implementation of technology in the securities industry. Since its launch in 1993, waters has been relied on by financial technology professionals worldwide for focused, in-depth coverage of financial market data and technology. The financial services industry spends more on technology than any other. Banks and investment banks -- whether global or regional -- rely on technology to help keep their traders ahead of the competition. As firms trade up their systems, waters defines the challenges that the top global financial services confront, be they old school issues like trading room systems and operations or new business propositions like consortia portals and e-commerce spin-offs. waters also examines fundamental issues like talent retention and compensation (see our annual salary benchmark every December in our careers issue). Regular contributions from industry experts provide exclusive insights from some of the world's most highly respected IT professionals, allowing readers to hear from those making the decisions on how technology is changing the world of financial services. waters also profiles the financial services firms who are breaking in new technologies, as well as new vendor solutions which could provide the next big leap.

About TIBCO Software

TIBCO Software Inc. is the leading independent business integration software company in the world, demonstrated by market share and analyst reports. In addition, TIBCO is a leading enabler of Real-Time Business, helping companies become more cost-effective, more agile and more efficient. TIBCO has delivered the value of Real-Time Business, what TIBCO calls The Power of Now(R), to over 2,000 customers around the world and in a wide variety of industries. For more information on TIBCO's proven enterprise backbone, business integration, business process management, and business optimization solutions, TIBCO can be reached at +1-650-846-1000 or on the Web at http://www.tibco.com. TIBCO is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.

NOTE: TIBCO, the TIBCO logo, The Power of Now and TIBCO Software are trademarks or registered trademarks of TIBCO Software Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other product and company names and marks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned for identification purposes only.

SOURCE Web Site: http://www.tibco.com