Scottsdale, Ariz.– January 15, 2004 – Frost & Sullivan named Canto as the 2004 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year at last night’s Excellence in Information & Communication Technology Awards Banquet.

As one of the first companies to enter the Digital Asset Management (DAM) market, Canto has played a defining role from the very beginning. Canto’s sound business strategies effectively countered stiff competition and helped it remain one of the few profitable companies in the market.

Canto’s DAM solution, Cumulus, has progressed from being a desktop solution for professional photographers to one that supports over 130 file formats, with the ability to be integrated with most publishing software and storage solutions.

Cumulus can now scale up to the workgroup or enterprise level supporting hundreds of users. This feature-rich product comes at extremely affordable prices. Its 5.5 version includes a varied set of features including Internet publishing, slideshow presentation, hierarchical categories, cross-platform support, palette view, writing IPTC data back to the original file, remote administration, and server/client asset transfer.

Canto’s release of the Embedded Java PlugIn (EJaP) technology marks a critical phase in its technological transition. This technology allows system integrators to build DAM solutions – stand-alone or as part of a workflow, overall Enterprise Content Management (ECM), or Portal solution – at a fraction of the cost compared to using other development tools.

By revising and streamlining its product line, Canto has been able to target system integrators for both mid-range and high-end solutions. Having sold more than 11,000 client/server systems over the past few years, it seems clear that Canto has achieved a high degree of product uptake.

"Given the completion of the technology transition to enable Cumulus to be a core component of the enterprise infrastructure, it is ideally positioned to find widespread acceptance in the corporate world," says Mukul Krishna, senior analyst with Frost & Sullivan.

With corporations across the world adopting cautious spending policies, Canto’s technologically innovative and attractively priced solutions seem poised to gain even wider acceptance among customers. Important technology enhancements in the pipeline include developing a robust engine capable of supporting video and audio more extensively. Canto has recently released Cumulus version 6 that delivers ease-of-use as a central feature by simplifying creation, management and deployment of Digital Assets.

Frost & Sullivan presents this award every year to the company that has exhibited true entrepreneurial skills in identifying a unique and revolutionary product solution that has substantial market potential. The award further commends the recipient’s combination of courageous innovation and keen marketing strategies to deliver leading edge technology at highly competitive prices to its customers.

Held in Scottsdale, Ariz., the Frost & Sullivan banquet honored world-class companies for outstanding performance and achievements in the information and communication technology industry. An annual event, the banquet recognizes the quality and merit of these distinguished individuals and companies.

Founded in 1990, Canto is the leading supplier of Digital Asset Management products and services with over 1 million Cumulus licenses sold and more than 11,000 client/server systems installed worldwide. Canto is committed to deliver world-class solutions at an inexpensive price to the creative arts, publishing, corporate communications, and other industries. The company's product line "Cumulus" is designed to manage and archive all types of digital assets used in production, publishing, communication, and other workflows. The Cumulus product line offers cross-platform and Internet technology that scales completely from Enterprise to Single Users.

Founded in 1961, Frost & Sullivan is recognized as a global leader in growth consulting. Frost & Sullivan Awards are presented to companies that demonstrate excellence in their industry, commending the diligence, commitment, and innovative business strategies required to advance in the global marketplace. Frost & Sullivan rigorously analyzes specific criteria to determine award recipients in a vast variety of market industries and landscapes. For further information, visit www.frost.com.

Contact:

Jamie Frizzell
210.247.2496
jfrizzell@frost.com