Mitsui and BladeLogic Announce Distribution Agreement

Mitsui’s E3 Networks to Become First BladeLogic Reseller in Japan

HostReview.com
Tuesday, April 20, 2004; 12:00 AM

Waltham, MA, April 20, 2004—BladeLogic, Inc., the leading provider of data center automation software, and Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: MITSY), one of the largest companies of Fortune’s Global 500, today announced a major partnership bringing BladeLogic to customers across Japan. The agreement with Mitsui marks BladeLogic’s growing global presence and entry into Asia-Pacific’s IT market, which was estimated at $175 billion in 2003 by IDC, an IT industry research firm.

Under the terms of the agreement, Mitsui & Co. will market, sell and support BladeLogic Operations Manager™, a suite of data center automation software, in Japan through its wholly-owned E3 Networks, Ltd., a strategic subsidiary specializing in IT management. According to IDC, more than 800,000 servers were sold in Japan in the last two years and an additional 1.95 million servers are expected to ship between 2004 and 2007.

“Upon extensive evaluation of data center automation software, we found that BladeLogic offers the most compelling and innovative solution for our customers,” said Taro Ishiguro, President and CEO of Mitsui’s E3 Networks. “As BladeLogic’s first distributor in Japan, we are pleased to provide our customers with the cost savings and efficiencies realized by BladeLogic customers in the United States and Europe.”

BladeLogic Operations Manager utilizes patented technology to enable organizations of any size to provision, configure and manage large distributed server environments more efficiently for dramatically reduced data center costs, improved responsiveness and enhanced server security.

“Mitsui’s E3 Networks provides BladeLogic with tremendous access to Japan, and BladeLogic automation will allow Mitsui’s customers to achieve the highest levels of quality and security in their data centers,” said Dev Ittycheria, President and CEO of BladeLogic. “This partnership is a testament to the value our software brings to enterprises across all industries and geographies.”

About Mitsui & Co. Ltd.
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: MITSY) is one of the world’s foremost general trading companies with more than 1,000 international subsidiaries and 225 offices in 90 countries. The company operates through five main business groups: (1) chemicals; (2) consumer products and services; (3) energy; (4) machinery, electronics, and information; and (5) metal products and minerals. Ranked as the 11th largest company in the Global Fortune 500 with net sales of over US$108 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2003, Mitsui offers comprehensive, integrated and high-value-added services that meet the evolving needs of companies in all types of business. For more information about the company, visit www.mitsui.co.jp.


About E3 Networks
Mitsui & Co. established E3 Networks, Ltd. (E3) as a Strategic Subsidiary Specializing in IT Management. E3 utilizes its network of more than 20 principal sub-distributors to expand its Software Solution and Service business which includes Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), OPNET Technologies (NASDAQ: OPNT), NetScout Systems (NASDAQ: NTCT) and BladeLogic. For more information about the company, visit www.e3net.co.jp/e3networks/english/index.html.

About BladeLogic
BladeLogic is the number one provider of data center automation software with a large installed base of Fortune 500 and other leading customers, including General Electric, IBM, Microsoft, Priceline, Sprint, SunGard, Qwest, VeriSign, Walmart.com and WebEx. BladeLogic Operations Manager™, a suite of enterprise-class data center automation solutions, enables organizations of any size to provision, configure, and manage large-scale, distributed server environments more efficiently, resulting in dramatically reduced data center costs, improved responsiveness and enhanced server security. BladeLogic, a privately held company, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.bladelogic.com.