Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), a provider of leading application infrastructure software to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, today announced that Forrester Research, Inc. named Progress(R) Actional(R) a leader in SOA and Web Services Management in its October 2007 report, "The Forrester Wave(TM): Standalone SOA and Web Services Management Solutions, Q4 2007."

The Forrester Research report evaluated two key aspects of SOA management: core SOA management, focused on ensuring the performance and availability of SOA-based services; and overall SOA management which includes core SOA management as well as security, generalized policy management, and certain aspects of SOA governance.

The report found that:

• The Actional product received the top scores in Current Offering and Strategy;
• "The Progress Software SOA management solution includes Actional for Continuous Service Optimization (CSO), which is the core SOA management product; a security product called Actional for Active Policy Enforcement (APE); and, Actional for SOA Operations, which provides a subset of the CSO's functionality for buyers that want to start smaller;"
• The Actional products have consistently strong feature-function as measured by the Forrester Research criteria. Their most unique strengths are the active management features and extensibility.

Forrester evaluated the current offering, strategy, and market presence from Progress Software for standalone SOA and Web services against approximately 100 criteria. View a graphic of the results at www.actional.com/forresterwave.

"Progress' solution for core service-oriented architecture (SOA) management provides consistently strong functionality in one integrated product," wrote Randy Heffner, vice president and analyst at Forrester Research. "Particular strengths include visibility into service implementations, performance and availability management, alert and event specification, autoresponse features, core solution architecture, SDKs for customization, problem diagnostics, and process discovery."

In evaluating capabilities beyond core SOA management, Heffner noted "Progress' solution adds a security product, giving the solution strong security functionality integrated into core SOA management..." and that "Particular strengths for extended SOA management include identity management integration, production governance, and custom policies oriented around business data."

"We're pleased that Forrester, by clearly segmenting the SOA Management space, has recognized that buyers should be able to easily evaluate and separately purchase products that target and solve their needs," said Dan Foody, vice president, Actional Products, Progress Software.

Heffner noted that Actional "is an especially good fit for buyers that need to quickly implement comprehensive SOA management" but, with a range of products, Actional is also a good fit "for buyers that need the flexibility to develop customized solutions for the deepest SOA management."

For the report, Forrester examined three Actional products that can be deployed independently or together to address a range of requirements:

To download a copy of the report, "The Forrester Wave(TM) Vendor Summary: Progress Software's Depth And Extensibility Lead In Standalone SOA Management Solutions," visit: http://www.actional.com/forresterwave.

About Progress Software Corporation

Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS) provides application infrastructure software for the development, deployment, integration and management of business applications. Our goal is to maximize the benefits of information technology while minimizing its complexity and total cost of ownership. Progress can be reached at www.progress.com or +1-781-280-4000.

Progress and Actional are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.