Content Management Innovator Recognized in Two Categories:
Best Content Management Solution and Best Software as a Service

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (January 7, 2003) -- CrownPeak Technology, the software service innovator in content management, announced today it has been named as a finalist in the 18th annual Codie Awards, sponsored by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). CrownPeak is a finalist in two categories: Best Content Management Solution and Best Software Service.
The 2003 Codie Awards showcase the software and digital content industry's finest products and services and honor excellence for corporate achievement and philanthropic efforts.

"The digital code and content industry is as innovative and vibrant as ever," said Ken Wasch, SIIA president. "For a company to make the cut as a finalist is a terrific achievement. Simply put, each finalist is a leader in its field.  We are extremely proud to recognize the creativity and hard work that has brought them to this point."
 The Codie Awards finalists represent a range of companies from emerging start-ups to traditional industry powerhouses.  The Codie Awards provide the only peer-recognition program in the software and information industry, a unique venue where companies compete for the praise of their competitors.  The 2003 Codie Awards will be presented at a black-tie gala on May 6 during the SIIA 2003 Annual Conference at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

"As a peer recognition program, the Codies truly are the software industry's Oscars®, and there simply is no higher honor in our business," said Jim Howard, CEO, CrownPeak Technology.  "We're especially gratified to be recognized in two categories, since our business model - delivering software as a service - is inseparable from our content management technology. 

"The value proposition we've offered the market since our inception - that a world class content management system (CMS) can be made available as a service to organizations of all sizes and budgets - is now resonating throughout the industry," Howard said.  "We've pioneered quick, risk-free CMS deployment, rapid ROI and a feature set equal to or better than any enterprise package on the market - complete with end user templates and developer tools that empower business users and technology specialists alike.   We've helped transform the content management segment because software-as-service makes strategic and economic sense."

More than seven years ago, the team that eventually formed CrownPeak first came together as W3-design, then the leading web design firm in Los Angeles.  The team remained cohesive and productive through incarnations as part of USWeb/CKS and marchFIRST, respectively, before setting off to found CrownPeak in 2000.  The team pioneered one of the first content management applications in history, for The Hollywood Reporter, and in the 1990s led companies like NBC, Kaiser Permanente, and 20th Century Fox successfully onto the Web.

The Software & Information Industry Association is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education, and intellectual property protection to more than 800 leading software and information companies. For more information, its Web address is http://www.siia.net.

About CrownPeak Technology
Based in Marina de Rey, Calif., CrownPeak Technology is the first company to provide world-class content management as a service, so that secure, feature-rich, enterprise level technology can be made available economically. As the premier hosted application provider, CrownPeak offers in Advantage CMS a feature set that is helping to redefine the content management space. The company's comprehensive developer environment, industry-leading service levels and "risk-free" outsourcing options have made CrownPeak one of the fastest growing companies in its sector.

Press contact:
Erin Lumley
SHIFT Communications
elumley@shiftcomm.com
415.591.8414