Open Source IT Management Validated

Belmont, CA — April 8, 2005 — Today Red Herring announced that GroundWork Open Source Solutions has been named one of the two hundred Finalists for the Red Herring 100 Private Companies of North America award program. GroundWork provides open source products that enable enterprises to monitor their network and application infrastructures at a fraction of the cost of commercial software alternatives.

Over nine hundred nominations were submitted for consideration. The Red Herring 100 winners will be unveiled at the Red Herring Spring 2005 conference, May 17-19, 2005 in Monterey, CA. Dedicated to celebrating the most exciting private North American companies, the three-day conference will feature keynote speeches, lively dialogue and company presentations by the CEOs of the Red Herring 100.

“There were many strong candidates for the Red Herring 100 list this year, so making it onto the list is quite an achievement,” said Joel Dreyfuss, Editor-in-Chief of Red Herring. “In the post-bubble era, North American technology companies have focused on making sure management is strong and that the business model makes sense.”

“We’re always pleased to received additional outside validation about the potential and promise of open source IT management,” said Robert Fanini, CEO of GroundWork. “This nomination, combined with the closing of our 50th customer, is strong evidence that enterprises are looking for more flexible and cost-effective solutions to management their network environments.”

The two hundred finalists will be evaluated to determine the Red Herring 100 that embody innovation, technology and strategy. The Red Herring editorial team has completed a thorough analysis of business model, competitive advantage, alliances, customers and technology for each company.

Companies selected to the Red Herring 100 award program will present their business model and technology at the Red Herring Spring 2005 conference. The awards ceremony will take place during the Welcome Dinner on May 17. The three-day intimate event is themed “The Dynamics of Disruptions” and will shine its light on the business of technology, featuring keynotes and roundtable discussions. A complete overview and agenda can be found at http://www.redherring.com/rhspring05. Red Herring Spring conference is an invitation-only gathering for CEOs, venture capitalists, and select senior executives.  To request an invitation, please contact Sean Raman at 650.428.2900 or via email at [email protected]

About GroundWork Open Source Solutions

GroundWork Open Source Solutions, Inc. (www.groundworkopensource.com) develops, integrates and enhances leading open source software to deliver comprehensive open source IT monitoring solutions. With GroundWork solutions, enterprises leverage the flexibility and low cost of open source tools to achieve enterprise-level availability, performance and operational efficiency at a fraction of the cost of commercial software. GroundWork is based in Emeryville, Calif. and its investors include Mayfield and Canaan Partners.

About Red Herring

Red Herring covers technology innovation, venture financing, and the deals that make a difference.  Its award-winning journalists go deeper, providing a comprehensive, critical analysis of what’s new and why it matters. Red Herring covers the business trends with insight that counts, serving today’s entrepreneurs and the technology of tomorrow. Head to www.RedHerring.com for articles, newsletters, and research reports that matter. To subscribe to the Red Herring Magazine call 866.311.9582 or email [email protected]