Southborough, Mass. - October 23, 2003 - ViryaNet (NasdaqSC: VRYA), a leading provider of integrated mobile and Web-based software applications for workforce management and the automation of field service delivery, today announced that AltaGas Utilities Inc., a natural gas utility headquartered in Leduc, Alberta, Canada, has chosen ViryaNet Service Hub for Utilities to automate the activities associated with workforce and asset management.
The Canadian-based company, which distributes natural gas to customers throughout Alberta, intends to automate the dispatch management and field activity reporting of its field workforce using ViryaNet Service Hub for Utilities.
Under the terms of the contract, AltaGas Utilities, which purchased the ViryaNet license from a ViryaNet partner focused on expanding ViryaNet's presence in the utilities market, expects to derive significant operational efficiencies through increased automation by deploying ViryaNet Service Hub for Utilities. ViryaNet Service Hub for Utilities will be used to dispatch AltaGas field operating personnel
with the right information, equipment, and customer data; capture logistics and labor activity at the source; and monitor, report, and measure field activity through key performance indicators. In addition, ViryaNet Service Hub for Utilities will improve many service business steps with automated workflow as well as integrate with the existing AltaGas Customer Information System to improve customer-interfacing and billing activities. "ViryaNet technology will support our commitment to
improve the quality and efficiency of the service we provide to our customers," said Earle Tuele, Director, Operating Services, AltaGas Utilities. "This application will be an integral component of our strategy to dispatch work to our field employees in a way that will help them manage their work better and deliver a higher level of customer support. It will also help us to manage our assets and equipment more effectively". "Our partner network continues to expand the
ViryaNet footprint across the globe," stated Win Burke, president and CEO, ViryaNet. "Our customers and prospects are impressed not only with the functional robustness of ViryaNet Service Hub for Utilities, but also the strength of the combined ViryaNet and partner implementation teams. We are extremely pleased to welcome AltaGas Utilities to the growing number of ViryaNet's utility customers."
About AltaGas Utilities, Inc.
AltaGas Utilities is a public utility distributing natural gas to approximately 58,000 residential, rural and commercial customers in over 90 communities across Alberta, Canada. AltaGas Utilities Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AltaGas Services Inc., one of the top-ten Canadian processors of natural gas and the fourth largest Canadian midstream company by capacity. Original operations date back to 1947
when the Company distributed natural gas to three service areas. Today, AltaGas Utilities distributes natural gas in 14 service areas that are dispersed over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) north to south and 500 kilometers (300 miles) east to west. The largest service area of the company is the Leduc Area, with approximately 14,000 customers. AltaGas Utilities operates more than 19,000 kilometers (11,400 miles) of pipeline to deliver natural gas to its customers.
About ViryaNet
ViryaNet is a provider of software applications that improve the quality and efficiency of an organization's service operations. ViryaNet's flagship product - the award-winning ViryaNet Service Hub - combines the power of the Internet, the freedom of wireless technologies, and the resources of ViryaNet's deep service expertise to help companies improve workforce scheduling, dispatching, and
activity reporting; customer contract and entitlement automation; and asset, logistics, and depot repair management. Customers in the utility, telecommunications, grocery and retail, high-technology manufacturing, HVAC, and other industries use ViryaNet Service Hub to transition complex service business processes into a manageable, scalable Internet operation, with the goal of increasing service revenues, decreasing service costs, and maximizing customer satisfaction.
Safe Harbor Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding ViryaNet's expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies regarding the capabilities of its
products, its relationships with its customers, and its customer purchases. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based upon information available to ViryaNet Ltd. as of the date hereof, and ViryaNet Ltd. assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to ViryaNet's business include
market acceptance of and demand for the Company's products, risks associated with a slow-down in the economy, risks associated with the financial condition of the company's customers, risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures, risks associated with increases in costs and operating expenses, risks in technology development and commercialization, the risk of operating losses, risks in product development, risks associated with international sales, and other risks
that are set forth in ViryaNet's Form F-1, as amended, declared effective by the SEC on September 19, 2000, and the other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date hereof. ViryaNet disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on
which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.