Cheltenham, UK – 9th June 2008. Artisan® Software Tools, the worlds largest independent developer of industrial-grade, collaborative modeling tools for complex, mission-critical embedded systems and software, has acquired the operating business of High Integrity Solutions (HIS) based near Southampton in the UK. The acquisition is part of Artisans accelerated growth strategy and gives the company full ownership of VdsTM (V-Design System), a fully integrated, collaborative engineering framework for the trouble-free deployment and maintenance of best-in-class tools for mission and safety-critical systems and software development. The core Vds engineering and support team will also join the Artisan fold, taking responsibility for the products ongoing development, support and maintenance.

“We are extremely excited by this acquisition as it is highly synergistic with our existing business,” said James B. Gambrell, President and CEO of Artisan Software Tools. “Vds perfectly complements our vision of enabling large and often geographically dispersed teams of analysts, systems and software engineers to Work as OneTM, modeling systems and software for the complete project lifecycle from conception to implementation and ongoing support. Artisan Studio®, our flagship Model-driven tool suite, which provides complete support for UML®, OMG SysMLTM, and Architectural Frameworks in a single, integrated environment, is also one of the best-in-class engineering tools already supported by Vds. Furthermore, both companies have many customers in common.”

The Vds environment is currently marketed as a managed service providing customers and their sub-contractors with access to best-in-class systems and software engineering tools from various leading third party vendors, including Artisan, Aonix, IBM/Telelogic, LDRA, Mathworks, Praxis High Integrity Systems, Serena, Sparx and Vector amongst others, in a single, integrated environment. While intending to continue delivering this approach, Artisan believes that Vds will provide the basis of an industry-wide consolidation framework for innovative, independent embedded tool vendors to easily and seamlessly integrate their products into existing best-of-breed tool chains.

“This acquisition clearly strengthens our position as the embedded industrys second largest supplier of development tools,” added Jeremy Goulding, Chief Commercial Officer of Artisan Software Tools. “Customers, particularly in the safety and mission-critical space, need to be assured of ongoing, active development of their chosen tools, usually for decades to come. This acquisition not only ensures continuity with regard to Vds but also broadens customers options into the future.”

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About Artisan Software Tools

Artisan Software Tools is the largest independent supplier of premium-quality, industrial-grade, collaborative modeling tools for complex, mission-critical systems and software. Artisans standards-based tool suite, Artisan Studio, provides comprehensive support for the leading industry standards, including OMG SysML, UML and Architectural Frameworks. It delivers on the promise of an integrated collaborative development environment - allowing systems and software engineering teams to work as one - from concept through to delivery and maintenance. Artisan has delivered a stable, robust working environment to thousands of users across an extensive range of complex applications in demanding sectors including Military, aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, telecommunications and electronics, and medical. Founded in 1997 with extensive venture capital backing, Artisan is headquartered in the USA and UK with offices in Germany and Italy, supported by a global distributor network. For more information visit: www.ArtisanSoftwareTools.com.