NEC, NEC System Technologies to Distribute VMware Products

PALO ALTO, Calif., February 10, 2003-- Building on a successful joint development agreement announced last year, VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual machine software for industry-standard systems, today announced a distribution agreement with NEC Corporation ("NEC") (NASDAQ: NIPNY, FTSE: 6701q.l, TSE: 6701) and subsidiary NEC System Technologies, Ltd.

Under the agreement, NEC will have the right to distribute VMware ESX Server on all NEC industry-standard servers. VMware ESX Server is enterprise-class virtual machine software for consolidating and partitioning servers in high-performance environments. The product provides unprecedented scalability and fully dynamic resource controls that adapt to the needs of mission-critical applications. The combined offering of VMware ESX Server on NEC's industry-standard servers will enable IT organizations to maximize management efficiency of their server systems while minimizing the total cost of ownership of their IT infrastructure.

As part of the agreement, the NEC global support team will provide seamless support to their customers for all combinations of operating systems and the associated applications running in VMware virtual machines.

Also under the agreement, NEC System Technologies, a systems integration and IT platform development company, will resell and offer support for VMware GSX Server and VMware Workstation. VMware GSX Server is enterprise-class virtual machine software for consolidating and partitioning servers in business-critical environments. The product easily integrates into any environment to maximize server management efficiencies. VMware Workstation is powerful virtual machine software for the desktop that enables multiple operating system environments to run simultaneously on a single computer. The product is used to streamline development and testing, ensure application compatibility and OS migration, facilitate training and sales demos, and improve help desk and technical support.

NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of broadband and mobile Internet solutions dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its diverse and global base of customers. Ranked as a Global Fortune 500 company and one of the world's top patent-producing companies, the NEC group delivers tailored solutions in the core technologies and services required in a networked world, ranging from advanced semiconductor solutions, to high-speed, large-capacity mission critical systems, system integration, and broadband and mobile technologies. The NEC group employs more than 140,000 people worldwide and had net sales of approximately $39 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2002. For additional information, please visit the NEC home page at www.nec.com.

NEC System Technologies, Ltd.

NEC System Technologies, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, is one of the biggest systems integration and IT platform software development arms in NEC group. With over 3,000 skilled engineering professionals, NEC System Technologies offers van-global systems integration services with deploying the best technology gained through rich experience in IT platform software development business, and striving to become the "System Technology Innovator" as a technology-oriented global IT solution provider. For more information, please visit the NEC System Technologies homepage at www.necst.co.jp.

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, Inc. is the global leader in virtual machine software for industry-standard systems. With more than 5,000 customers worldwide and 80% of the Fortune 100, VMware provides companies with a proven set of enterprise products and solutions to consolidate their server infrastructure, improve software lifecycle management and provide application compatibility in mixed operating system environments. Based on the company's patented technology, VMware's products enable companies to flexibly scale and control their infrastructure to quickly respond to business demands, improve return on investment and dramatically reduce total cost of ownership. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

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