Metagon Technologies and Decision Support Inc., Join Forces Advanced technology start-up in data integration software marketplace gains firm footing with proven reporting software and services provider Matthews, NC- October 1, 2001 - Decision Support Inc. (www.decisionsupport.com) , a key provider of customized reporting software and services, and Metagon Technologies, the enterprise data access innovator, announced today that the two companies have merged operations. The move will solidify the close association the two companies have maintained since 1998, when Metagon was formed as a spin-off from Decision Support to develop and promote DQpowersuite®, a suite of sophisticated data access middleware. The DQpowersuit e provides rapid and comprehensive data access, integration and reporting capabilities for multiple data sources resident in such disparate platforms as Unisys, Unix, IBM, Sun Solaris, Linux, and NT. Herb Verbesey, founder and CEO of Decision Support said, "Decision Support will now be marketing the entire DQpowersuite of data access and integration tools formerly offered by Metagon. These tools will enable us to provide meaningful data access and integration solutions that complement our existing professional services. Although our roots began in serving the Unisys market, our customers' needs have expanded well beyond the Unisys platform. DQpowersuite extends the range of our data access and reporting tools and services to include a whole range of platforms, which will enable us to continue to serve our existing customers while expanding into new markets." The DQpowersuite provides simultaneous access to islands of mainframe and relational data previously trapped within disparate data platforms, and features DQbroker®, a fully-distributed cross-enterprise data access engine that enables enterprise-level metadata to be universally shared and dynamically managed across the enterprise. Other tools in the DQpowersuite include DQagent®, DQtransform®, DQadmin®, and DQview®. Decision Support had developed DQvista® using Metagon's DQ technology, and will now incorporate it into the total DQpowersuite. Founded in 1984, Decision Support established strong roots in the Unisys LX/NX/A-series market. It has been the leader in reporting tools in that segment for most of its history, with clients in more than 20 countries, including manufacturers, banks and credit unions, healthcare providers, and government agencies. Its latest generation of browser-based reporting solutions, DQvista, incorporates the data access technology developed by Metagon, and provides on-demand real-time queries as well as standard scheduled reports. Jim Shelton, director of information services for multi-billion-dollar petroleum marketer Global Companies, said, "My company has had a long-term relationship with Decision Support, which began when they were supporting our old Unisys platform. DQpowersuite is a logical offering for them because it provides a superior set of data access and reporting options extending across many platforms. At Global, we use DQpowersuite for real-time access to critical sales data from several different platforms." Decision Support Account Executive, Chris Bush, noted, "Customer feedback about the re-organization has been overwhelmingly positive. They love the robust data access technology and the way it works to solve their business problems, but Metagon's newness as a company was perceived as an obstacle. Decision Support has a solid 17-year history of product developmen t, services and customer support. Merging the operations will marry the strengths of each company, and affirm our commitment to our current customer base as well as our prospects." About Decision Support Inc. Based in Matthews, NC, Decision Support Inc. (www.decisionsupport.com) provides intelligent data access and reporting solutions for enterprises in more than 20 countries with thousands of end users. Its clients represent a diverse range of businesses, including financial institutions, manufacturing facilities, healthcare providers, and government agencies. From fast-access historical reports to up-to-the-minute transaction queries, accessing data from mainframes to most of today's platforms and database management systems, Decision Support's software and services puts the user in control of data-to-information delivery. _________ DQvista is a registered trademark of Decision Support Inc. DQpowersuite, DQagent, DQtransform, DQadmin, DQview, and DQbroker are registered trademarks of Metagon Technologies. All other brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners, and are used with no intention of infringement on the trademark. ####