Open Text co-operates with RCK in Washington DC to provide Web site that provides teachers, students, parents easier access to district's public education system

Issued by Global Research Partners for Open Text

Johannesburg, 07 Oct 2009

Complementing the announcement by the District of Columbia Public School's (DCPS) new Teaching and Learning Framework's chancellor, Michelle A Rhee, RCK Corporation and Open Text, working for and with the Office of the CTO of Washington DC (OCTO) and the DCPS, successfully completed the district's first agency Web site, http://www.dcps.dc.gov/, to undergo installation of the new enterprise content management system (CMS).

The new DCPS Web site gives teachers, students and parents superior access and easier navigation to everything the public education system has to offer.

Chancellor Rhee continues to provide a model of what is possible when students are considered first, and faculties and families are given the tools they need to provide a supportive environment for DCPS students. Web site visitors should now be able to find what they are looking for within three clicks or less. DCPS is also looking to add RSS feeds and social bookmarking, so users can directly receive information and easily revisit particular pages on the site.

RCK Corporation successfully completed its first 90-day development and delivery requirement with the release of the DCPS Web site. Updating a Web site with time-sensitive information is a long and difficult process that has been greatly enhanced by RCK Corporation, Open Text, OCTO and DCPS. The new CMS allows DCPS to edit and publish more efficiently and with less need for OCTO assistance.

"I hope by now that all of you have discovered the DC Public Schools' new Web site, dcps.dc.gov, which is the first phase of a new Web site that better serves our parents, teachers, the DC community and ultimately students," commented Chancellor Michelle Rhee. "As with every other aspect of this reform, I expect that this Web site and the way we use it to inform, communicate with and listen to our communities in order to support student achievement, will set a standard for other school districts."

"Open Text is proud to deliver our Vignette Web Content Management solutions to enable the District of Columbia Public Schools to create a comprehensive and innovative online experience for its constituents," added Scott Bowen, Senior Vice-President at Open Text. "We applaud the DCPS for its vision and RCK Corporation for its expertise in executing on this vision."

"The success of this project can be attributed to the innovation and responsiveness of DCPS, backed by the professionalism and execution of the RCK Corporation and Open Text team," continued Roy Kime, President and CEO of RCK Corporation "The public school system is an important and valuable resource and we're glad to have worked with such an excellent administration."

"There is no reason why this model cannot be repeated in other countries, and in particular, for our local education systems," concluded Rob Shaw, Country Manager for Open Text SA.

DC Public Schools

There are 120 schools and approximately 44 000 students in the DC public school district. Under Chancellor Rhee's leadership, the school system serves as a model for transparency, accountability and excellence in public school education. Major initiatives include, but are not limited to, the Teaching and Learning Framework, the Effective Schools Framework, and Out-of-School Time Programs.

RCK Corporation

Headquartered in Washington DC, and with offices in Northern Virginia's technology corridor and New York's Capital Region, RCK Corporation specialises in providing technology services, legacy modernisation processes, and world-class consultants to the public and private sectors. The RCK Corporation primary mission is to provide our clients with the best practical solutions, teams and support needed to meet strategic IT business process goals and objectives. In the face of a rapidly changing and continuously evolving business environment, one aspect of RCK Corporation remains steadfast - our unwavering commitment to on-time and on-budget delivery of high-quality and effective solutions, consulting services, and project management designed to meet the specific needs of our clients. Established in 1996, RCK Corporation is a Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) in the District of Columbia.

For further information, please contact Rob Shaw: tel +27 83 626-3811, fax +27 86 646-4178, e-mail rshaw@opentext.com.

Open Text

Open Text, an enterprise software company and leader in enterprise content management, helps organisations manage and gain the true value of their business content. Open Text brings two decades of expertise supporting 50 million users in 114 countries. Working with our customers and partners, we bring together leading content experts to help organisations capture and preserve corporate memory, increase brand equity, automate processes, mitigate risk, manage compliance and improve competitiveness.

In southern Africa, Open Text's business partners are Accenture, Business Connexion, Datacentrix, Lava Systems, IA Systems and SAP Africa; and, its customer base includes organisations from across both the private and public sectors such as Alexander Forbes, Anglo Platinum, BMW, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Distell, Engen, Exxaro Resources, Mittal Steel, Office of the President, Provincial Government of the Western Cape, SABMiller, Sasol, Telkom SA and Toyota.

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This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the success of any of the company's strategic initiatives, the company's growth and profitability prospects, the benefits of the company's products to be realised by customers, the company's position in the market and future opportunities therein, the deployment of Open Text ECM Suite and our other products by customers, and future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, the failure to develop new products, risks involved in fluctuations in currency exchange rates, delays in purchasing decisions of customers, the completion and integration of acquisitions, the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with deployments, the continuous commitment of the company's customers, demand for the company's products and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2009. You should not place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which are based on management's beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligations to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's beliefs or opinions change.

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