NetSTAR

TOKYO May 13th, 2008

NetSTAR Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Noboru Ogahara; hereinafter “NetSTAR”), the leading company in the Japanese web filtering industry, and SO-TEN, Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tatsuji Ashibe; hereinafter “SO-TEN”), a developer of agent-free PC asset management systems, hereby announces the signing of a technical collaboration agreement on PC asset management for small and medium businesses. The two companies will incorporate SO-TEN's client PC asset management technology and NetSTAR’s URL lists into an agent-free PC asset management ASP service with web access control features, and conduct trials towards a full-fledged business expansion.

With the so-called “Japanese SOX Act” now in effect, large businesses are required to strengthen their internal control, and are actively adopting products and services for managing and monitoring their information assets. While the small and medium businesses are not directly subject to the said regulation, due to their financial and/or business ties with the larger businesses, they too are often driven to overhaul their information asset management systems.

Such small and medium businesses are in need of PC asset management solutions that demand minimal effort for introduction and operation. A system, for example, that does not require a full-time system administrator. There is also a strong demand for a simple solution for controlling web access by the employees. Web access control functions provided by traditional PC asset management products were questionable in terms of their effectiveness, yet required considerable administration effort, such as specifying keywords for judging web sites based on their titles.

Over the years, in addition to filtering technologies provided to its partners, NetSTAR has also been providing its “Site Umpire” router-embedded filtering service for small and medium networks. SO-TEN, on the other hand, has been providing its “LogVillage” agent-free PC asset management system to small and medium businesses.
The technical collaboration agreed upon by the two companies will allow us to utilize our experiences and expertise to develop an ASP service that will better serve the small and medium businesses as they work to improve their information asset management structures. As a first step of our collaborative effort, NetSTAR and SO-TEN will begin offering trial services to the target businesses. Feedbacks from our clients will be used to improve and enhance our service as we make advances towards the actual rollout of our new service.

SO-TEN is planning a reference exhibit of our new ASP service at the “5th INFORMATION SECURITY EXPO” (http://www.ist-expo.jp/en/), to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from May 14.

■ About SO-TEN, Inc.
SO-TEN, Inc. is known for its team of engineers highly-skilled in the designing of OS core components and large-scale database systems. Using its proprietary technology as the foundation, SO-TEN develops and markets package software for performance analysis/improvement of server and database systems. It also offers consultation services.
Since its establishment in 2003, SO-TEN has developed a series of products, including its “LogVillage” client monitoring/management software, “Searchlight” unauthorized access detection software, and “GASAIRE” resource management software.
To reinforce its product development and marketing framework, SO-TEN has allocated new shares to third parties as follows:
Feb 2007
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd. / Two venture capitals under Hurray, Inc. / Visual Processing Japan, Inc. (system integrator for production environments for digital contents, i.e. DTP and post-production)
Apr 2007
Resona Capital Co.,Ltd. / The Shoko Chukin Bank / Computer Institute of Japan, Ltd.(independent software developer)
Jun 2007
Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.
For more information, visit http://www.so-ten.co.jp/.

■ About NetSTAR, Inc.
NetSTAR specializes in the development of URL filtering engine, and in the collection, categorization, and delivery of URL lists. Its URL lists boast the largest market share in Japan for corporate filtering products, at well over 40%, and are also used widely for home filtering services. In the mobile industry, in which filtering services are gaining recognition as a measure for juvenile protection, NetSTAR’s services are adopted by all mobile phone operators in Japan.
For more information, visit http://netstar.jp.

■Contact Information for ASP Services
NetSTAR, Inc.
Azuma, Services Promotion
Email: azuma@netstar-inc.com

SO-TEN, Inc.
Abe, Sales Group
Email: abe@so-ten.co.jp