CrystalTech Launches ASP.NET 2.0 Beta 2 Hosting Plan

April 21, 2005; 10:11 AM

Phoenix, AZ, April 21, 2005 - CrystalTech Web Hosting Inc, a subsidiary of Newtek Business Services (NASDAQ: NKBS) and a leading provider of Windows-based web hosting, is pleased to announce the launch of their free ASP.NET 2.0 Beta 2 hosting plan.

ASP.NET 2.0, code named Whidbey, features a substantial number of new features that streamline the process of building ASP.NET web applications. Along with the multiple new features, Microsoft has improved the functionality of many of the existing controls already found in the platform and added many enhancements and additions that .NET developers have been requesting for the last few years. 

CrystalTech's close relationship with Microsoft allows the hosting company to provide developers and web designers an opportunity to test out the newest version of this popular platform before its official launch to the public. The company was also recently one of a select few web hosts that participated in offering hosting plans for the beta test of ColdFusion MX 7.0, code named Blackstone. Both of these hosting plans demonstrate the strong partnerships CrystalTech has with leading software vendors and gives CrystalTech the ability to provide its customers access to the latest and greatest technologies before their major release to the public.

"We are proud to offer our continued support to the .NET developer community with this free beta Plan and look forward to bringing the newest technology to our customers faster and more affordably than any other host in the industry," said Tim Uzzanti, CEO of CrystalTech. "CrystalTech was started by and for developers, and it has always been our desire to bring the latest technologies to our customers quickly and affordably. This new beta hosting plan is the logical progression of our business model."

CrystalTech has made it easy to sign up for the ASP.NET 2.0 Beta 2 Plan. To apply, interested developers and web designers can visit http://www.crystaltech.com/dotnet20developer.htm where they will not only be able to sign up for the free plan but also download Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition, a free editor for .NET 2.0.

"By providing both the .NET framework, as well as the tools needed to develop applications with the framework, Microsoft is truly opening up .NET to a much wider audience. For our part, CrystalTech is pleased to be a part of the distribution of a stable, reliable and extremely powerful development environment," continued Mr. Uzzanti.

About CrystalTech
Founded in 1992, CrystalTech Web Hosting, Inc. is one of the largest Windows-based web hosting companies in the world, hosting customers in over 100 countries, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 corporations. CrystalTech is responsible for hundreds of millions of visits each day on the Internet and uses a state-of-the-art data center that includes redundancy throughout core systems like power, air conditioning, network connectivity, network transportation, as well as a secured environment for their network operations center. CrystalTech is a subsidiary of Newtek Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: NKBS), a premier provider of business services and financial products to small and medium-sized businesses. For more information about CrystalTech, please contact 877-323-4678 or visit http://www.crystaltech.com.

About Newtek Business Services, Inc.
Newtek Business Services, Inc. is a direct distributor to the small to medium-sized business market. According to the SBA, there are over 23 million small businesses in the United States which in total represent 99.7% of all employers, generate 60-80% of all new jobs annually and generate more than 50% of non-farm GDP. Since 1999, Newtek has helped these business owners realize their potential by providing them with the essential tools needed to manage and grow their businesses. Newtek focuses on providing its 45,000 customers with access to financial, management and technological resources that enable them to better grow and compete in today's marketplace. Newtek's products and services include:
 
• Newtek Small Business Finance: U.S. government-guaranteed small business lending services;
• Newtek Merchant Solutions: electronic merchant payment processing solutions;
• Newtek Insurance Agency: commercial and personal insurance;
• CrystalTech Web Hosting: domain registration, hosting and storage;
• Newtek Financial Information Systems: outsourced digital bookkeeping; and
• Newtek Tax Services: tax filing, preparation and advisory services.