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Illinois Tool Works Selects Mirapoint Messaging Platform
Mirapoint Solution Provides Fastest ROI & Dramatic Long-Term Cost Savings for the Fortune 200 Enterprise

SUNNYVALE, Calif., February 24, 2003 - Mirapoint, a leading provider of messaging solutions, today announced that Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) has chosen Mirapoint's messaging platform to improve communications across the corporation's multiple business units. As part of an enterprise-wide Virtual Private Network rollout, Mirapoint's messaging systems will be the basis for securing ITW's email traffic and delivering hosted message storage and access services.

Mirapoint will initially be deployed for approximately 6,000 users to provide Web and desktop access to email, calendaring and address book services. Furthermore, ITW has the potential to direct all of its incoming email traffic, including over 400 email domains, through Mirapoint systems for spam filtering and virus protection. The number of employees using Mirapoint messaging services is expected to increase as more internal servers are replaced and consolidated on Mirapoint's platform. Illinois Tool Works, a multi-billion dollar Fortune 200 company, consists of over 600 decentralized business units in 43 countries, with over 50,000 employees.

"We previously utilized a combination of free-mail, ISP hosting and Exchange servers as our in-house solution, but found Mirapoint's dedicated email servers to be more cost-effective by a three-to-one margin," said Gary Anton, Vice President of Strategic Sourcing at Illinois Tool Works. "Mirapoint's security functionality and proven reliability also provides us with the peace of mind that we've selected a system that will work seamlessly with our VPN investment, as well as grow to meet our constantly-evolving messaging needs. In addition, Mirapoint provides us with key features like Outlook connectivity and personalized anti-spam filtering that gives our users more control over their in-box."

Mirapoint's Message Server M4000 and Message Director MD400 will also enable ITW to provide multiple language support for international web and wireless clients, as well as integrated email virus protection and anti-spam filtering, including powerful heuristics, and white and black lists. Ultimately, Mirapoint's solutions, deployed by implementation partner Prescient Development, will allow ITW to communicate consistently and securely between all business units around the world.

"The ITW engagement is a testament to the increasing traction Mirapoint is experiencing within the enterprise market," said Satish Ramachandran, chairman and chief executive officer of Mirapoint. "Providing an organization of the size and scope of ITW with the security and scalability needed to build a truly unified solution proves that Mirapoint is the most efficient alternative for messaging services. Not only does Mirapoint offer ITW improved messaging capabilities, but the economics of scale inherent in our model will provide a tangible and measurable return on investment within six months of implementation."

About Illinois Toolworks, Inc.
Illinois Toolworks, Inc. (NYSE: ITW) is a $9.3 billion diversified manufacturer of highly engineered components and industrial systems and consumables. The company consists of approximately 600 decentralized operations in 43 countries and employs some 52,000 people. For more information, visit www.itw.com.

About Mirapoint
Founded in 1997, Mirapoint is the market leader in appliance-based solutions for secure message networks in enterprise, service provider, and education organizations, with more than 115 million mailboxes served and secured worldwide. Customers use Mirapoint appliances to build the messaging infrastructure that intelligently serves, secures and manages email. Mirapoint is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information on Mirapoint, visit its Web site at www.mirapoint.com.

2007 Mirapoint, Inc.  All rights reserved. All company and product names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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