Modularis, Blackwell Consulting Services Form Joint Partnership

CHICAGO, IL September 24, 2002 - Modularis, a leading provider of enterprise software tools for the Microsoft platform, and Blackwell Consulting Services (BCS), a premier provider of technology consulting with a focus on .NET enterprise solutions, today announced a joint partnership in which BCS would use Modularis' products and services to design and implement enterprise applications for its clients.

"We have been looking for a way to develop applications quickly," said Art Hopkins, director of application development at BCS. "The Modularis Enterprise Framework provides us with another arrow in our quiver that we can use to more efficiently develop the customized Microsoft .NET applications our clients are asking for. We really did not see any other enterprise framework product that could do the job."

"We are very excited about this partnership," said Scott Duncan, vice president of product development for Modularis. "BCS has a solid track record in developing enterprise solutions, and we know BCS will do a great job using our products to add value for their clients."

"We think this collaboration between two of our Microsoft Partners is ideal for companies seeking the power of .NET solutions for their enterprise," said Adam Rice, Partner Account Manager for Microsoft. "This BCS/Modularis offering is a great example of how our partners embrace and extend the powerful .NET platform to provide a compelling alternative to the expensive total cost of ownership of Java-based enterprise solutions."

BCS and Modularis are currently converting two Java (J2EE) websites to Microsoft's .NET platform for a Fortune 100 client. Hopkins said "our partnership with Modularis gives us access to the right resources to ensure best practices in our current and future .NET development."

BCS is using Modularis Enterprise Framework version 4.1 for .NET. This product, said Duncan, slashes the learning curve for .NET, allowing developers to be productive with C# or VB.NET programming languages quickly. It generates optimized .NET code for enterprise applications, including Web Services and Wireless support. This eliminates the need for developers to learn it all immediately.

about Modularis

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Chicago , Illinois , Modularis, Inc. is doing for software, what automation and robotics has done for manufacturing. Modularis leveraged its expertise in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and automation to build Modularis Accelerator 6, an Architected-RAD environment without equal on the Microsoft .NET platform.

Accelerator enables Modularis customers to build scalable, available, and maintainable .NET applications at a fraction of the risk, time, and cost typically associated with custom software development. For more information about Modularis Accelerator, call Gery Knapp at (312) 648-1740 x208, or visit us on the web at www.accelerating.net.

about blackwell consulting services

Blackwell Consulting Services is a full-service, full life-cycle management and information technology consulting firm. Headquartered in Chicago, it is the largest minority-owned IT consulting company in the Midwest. BCS is a privately held company with over 200 full-time consultants and technical professionals, with remote offices in Atlanta; Bloomington, Ill.; and Cincinnati, OH. For more information about BCS, call Alex Bell at (312) 873-5231, or visit us on the web at www.bcsinc.com.

Modularis is a trademark of Modularis, Inc. in the United States. Microsoft and Microsoft Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.