Niku Announces General Availability of Open Workbench 1.1 Project Sche

Niku Announces General Availability of Open Workbench 1.1 Project Scheduling Tool

    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors

    REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2005--

Certified Release Offers Improved Usability and Resource Management, in addition to Compatibility with Microsoft Project and Niku Clarity 7.5
    Niku Corporation (Nasdaq: NIKU), the global leader in IT Management and Governance (IT-MG) solutions, today announced general availability of Open Workbench(TM) 1.1, the first enterprise-class, free-of-charge alternative to Microsoft(R) Project. Version 1.1 delivers the ability to import Microsoft Project schedules, as well as improved usability and greater ease of project resource management. Niku also announced general availability of its recently introduced Clarity 7.5 solution, which is fully compatible with Open Workbench 1.1.
    Since the introduction of Open Workbench in August 2004, corporations, government agencies, non-profit groups, and project management professionals in more than 80 countries have downloaded more than 28,000 copies of the software. The community of users continues to grow -- spanning continents and countries from Australia to Austria, the U.S. to the Ukraine, and South Africa to Switzerland.
    "Niku is pleased with the progress of the Open Workbench initiative," said David Hurwitz, Niku's vice president of marketing and strategy. "We've worked with highly talented developers from our partner and user communities to bring a powerful, intuitive solution to project management professionals around the world. This open source effort represents an entirely different delivery and development model in the enterprise applications space, and we believe it offers a welcome change from proprietary solutions."

    About Open Workbench 1.1

    Open Workbench is an open source desktop application that provides robust project scheduling. Version 1.1 key features include:
    Improved Compatibility with Microsoft Project: Users can import Microsoft Project files saved in XML format, allowing an easy transition to Open Workbench. Open Workbench files can be saved to and opened from a standard XML file format, making it possible to develop links with other systems.
    Exceptional Usability: A user interface with new icons and Windows XP-style dialog boxes provides a working environment that is consistent with popular office applications. Print-to-Fit allows users to create well-formatted project reports. The Work Breakdown Structure supports interactive outlining, allowing users to focus attention on particular activities or tasks.
    Complex Resource Management: Users can assign a single resource to multiple roles in a project plan, making it easier to manage team resources in complex projects.
    Multiple Baseline Functionality: Users can create multiple project schedule baselines at any time and compare these snapshots to either the plan or actuals during the life of the project to understand variances.
    For more detailed information on these enhancements and to download Open Workbench 1.1, please visit www.openworkbench.org.

    About Niku

    Niku Corporation (Nasdaq: NIKU) is the global leader in IT Management and Governance (IT-MG) software solutions and winner of the Gartner PPM Summit "Best Vendor" award. More than 400,000 users at industry leaders such as Avon, BT, Cesky Mobile, Columbia House, Harrah's Entertainment, HSBC, Kas Bank, Manpower, Mueller Milch, Nissan, Philips, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, SingTel Optus, Skandia UK Group, and Unilever depend on Niku software to maximize their 'Return on IT.' Niku is a publicly held company with global presence.
    For more information, contact info@niku.com or visit www.niku.com.

    Niku and the Niku logo are registered trademarks, and Open Workbench and Project Workbench are trademarks of Niku Corporation in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks, trade names, and/or product names are used solely for the purpose of identification and are the property of their respective owners.

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CONTACT: Niku Corporation Heike Stabenow, 650-298-4620 (Media) hstabenow@niku.com or Kickstart Consulting for Niku Corporation Jill Hara, 310-559-7746 (Media) jhara@kickstartconsulting.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE PRODUCT SOURCE: Niku Corporation

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