Wheat Ridge, Colorado, November 10, 2003 Aspen Systems, Inc., a leader in the custom design, manufacture and service of a wide array of Linux(R)-based high performance computing solutions, announces today a distribution partnership with MandrakeSoft. Aspen Systems will enlarge its technology portfolio and will have the right to market, support and sell the MandrakeClustering Linux operating system in the United States.

As the MandrakeSoft U.S. Distributor, Aspen Systems provides full support of the operating system backed by support from MandrakeSoft’s original development team. This allows customers access to the years of development and expertise of both companies. Aspen Systems’ experienced integration and technical support team will receive specific training and technical support from MandrakeSoft, delivering Aspen Systems’ customers powerful solutions and top-of-the-line support for Beowulf clusters.

Steve Spring, CEO and Founder of Aspen Systems, states, "We believe that MandrakeSoft is one of the best choices for Linux-based operating systems on the market for high performance computing. Their technical expertise, support, and commitment to evolve and maintain MandrakeClustering OS is highly compatible with Aspen Systems’ ‘best-in-class’ products and technical support for our Beowulf cluster solutions. Offering MandrakeClustering software will allow us to deliver the best possible solutions for our customers' needs.”

“We feel that Aspen Systems and MandrakeSoft will leverage each other's strengths to provide customers with the latest in Linux-based high performance computing solutions. Together we will ensure that customers receive a revolutionary end product," stated Francois Bancilhon, CEO of MandrakeSoft. “The stability, reliability and advanced Beowulf clustering features of the MandrakeClustering software will provide Aspen Systems’ customers with powerful, well-supported, high performance computing solutions, featuring a standard platform for the creation and deployment of advanced Beowulf clustering applications."