SAN FRANCISCO and MANCHESTER, NH -- Micromuse Inc. (Nasdaq: MUSE), the leading provider of service and business assurance software, and GraniteSystems, the leading communications software provider of Service ResourceManagement (SRM) solutions, today announced the general availability of aNetcool® Ready solution for Granite Systems' Xpercom®. The integratedsolution integrates Micromuse's flagship Netcool/OMNIbus application withGranite's Xpercom network inventory and configuration management systemthrough a Netcool/Impact Data Source Adapter (Netcool/Impact DSA).Texas-based broadband company Grande Communications recently completed itsimplementation of the Netcool/DSA for Granite Xpercom. "We chose tointegrate our Netcool/OMNIbus and Xpercom applications to enhance ourcustomer management capabilities and operational efficiencies," said HenryJacobsen, Grande Communications CIO/CTO. "Superior customer service is ournumber one goal and the integrated solution helps us see how network faultsrelate to the customers and services that are affected by them. This allowsour operations teams to effectively prioritize and respond to faults andhelps ensure more effective management of service level agreements (SLAs).""The day has passed when carriers had to choose between the superiortechnology of point solutions and the convenience of an integrated productsuite," said John E. P. Borden, CEO of Granite Systems. "Carriers now haveaccess to tightly integrated point solutions, enabling them to reap thebenefits of greater operational functionality, integrity and automation.Integrating superior point solutions such as Xpercom and the Netcool® suiteprovides a fast path to OSS efficiency and more profitable operations."In a separate release:MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Granite Systems, the leadingcommunications software provider of Service Resource Management (SRM)solutions, today launched XngNET, its extranet for users and alliancepartners. Unveiled in preparation for the spring 2002 general availabilityof Granite's Next Generation Xpercom® Solution (Xng), XngNET provides theresources Granite community members need to efficiently implement andoperate Granite's award-winning solutions.XngNET features a Template Library that enables consistent, fasterequipment and service modeling in the Xpercom and Xng databases.Additionally, XngNET offers product datasheets, overviews of partnerintegrations, whitepapers and presentations that describe SRM bestpractices."Xpercom's rapid and flexible implementation is further enhanced with thetools made available on XngNET. We're committed to providing our users andpartners with the tools, services and support to get the most from theirXpercom investment, resulting in maximum performance and ROI," stated JohnE. P. Borden, CEO of Granite Systems.Granite Systems Inc.Micromuse Inc.