Singapore (9 Jul 2001) - Ecquaria Limited (www.ecquaria.com), announces today that it will officially launch the Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™ (SOP) Version 2.0, a fully integrated platform for quick deployment of Web Services at the E-Gov 2001 Expo (Sun Microsystems Booth #1140) held at Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC from 10th-11th July 2001. Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™ is a fully J2EE compliant Web Services platform for rapid development, deployment and management of Web Services. This platform is a commercialized product that Ecquaria developed as a result of the Singapore Government Public eServices Infrastructure (PSi).

Based on a recent report on global E-government from a leading consultancy firm, Singapore was recognized as an "Innovative Leader" together with Canada and the United States. According to the Singapore E-Government Action Plan, the Singapore Government has an ambitious goal to be a leading E-Government to better service the nation in the digital economy. To this end, the Government has set aside more than US$800 million for E-Government initiatives up to 2003. As part of this plan, PSi was initiated to enable the large-scale deployment of citizen-centric electronic public services and the Government intends to launch at least 200 new eServices before the end of Dec 2001.

Common Infrastructure For Seamless Communication

Ecquaria was part of a consortium commissioned by the Singapore Government to design and deploy a scalable component-based software infrastructure platform that the government agencies or their appointed vendors could develop and deploy robust Web Services rapidly, efficiently and securely for use by the public.

Previously, each government agency developed its services on different technologies and architectures. That was not only costly but also caused difficulties in implementing and streamlining new services that integrate across multiple agencies. PSi allows the different government agencies to share common components such as payment gateways, electronic data exchange that helps link new services to existing data sources (service syndication), authentication, and other security features in the development of services instead of rebuilding such features for each new service. This reduces both the incremental cost for implementation of new services as well as the time needed for design and development. It also retains the flexibility to change business requirements in services easily, in addition to offering services via multiple concurrent channels. The Land Transport Authority of Singapore, one of the Government agencies, has rolled out eight new online applications on the One Motoring website in less than three months using PSi.

"Our vision is to enable governments to quickly deploy Web Services that integrate effortlessly and seamlessly with two most important entities in any economy: businesses and citizens. Government service delivery should be citizen-centric and citizens should not be expected to have to find out which government department is responsible for offering which service. The Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™ aims to enable this "utopian" scenario and the Singapore Government is already taking a big step towards this with the implementation of PSi." Wai Keong FOONG, President & CEO, Ecquaria Limited.

The Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™ Version 2.0 provides a complete Web Services platform with horizontal Web Services such as payment, security, user management, electronic data exchange and a graphical user interface for development of vertical service development and integration. It simplifies Web Services development, deployment and management for large-scale infrastructures and massive services deployment. It is now shipping and marketed globally to governments intending to implement Web Services that need to be deployed rapidly, efficiently, and securely but also need flexibility as future services are added. This is the future of all Web services; the ability to quickly modify or add services leveraging already established applications and data sources on top of a proven service delivery platform.

About Ecquaria Limited

Ecquaria develops and provides the Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™ to enable governments and organizations worldwide to rapidly develop, deploy and manage Web Services on demand. Whatever business you are in, Ecquaria has the platform and expertise to help your organization transform into a Service-Oriented Organization. For more information, please e-mail us at info@ecquaria.com or visit our web site at www.ecquaria.com.

For all public relations and corporate communication matters, please contact our PR department at pr@ecquaria.com.