Ekkon Announces MerchantSpace Commerce 3.0, Enterprise e-Commerce
Software Built With a Service-Oriented Architecture Leveraging Open
Source Technologies

VANCOUVER, BC, 10/18/2004 -- Ekkon Technologies, the developer of
MerchantSpace Commerce, today announced a major update of its leading
Java-based enterprise e-commerce software.

Re-built from the ground up, MerchantSpace Commerce 3.0 now offers a
full MVC-2 based service-oriented architecture for enterprise
e-commerce initiatives. Utilizing the power and reliability of Java, it
leverages open source components such as Velocity, Struts, and
Hibernate -- something unique among enterprise e-commerce software
vendors. This allows MerchantSpace to be deployed within nearly every
environment permutation, either proprietary, open source, or a mix of
both.

"We feel with MerchantSpace Commerce 3.0, senior-level IT personnel now
have the ability to take control of the technologies they utilize,"
said Harry Chemko, CEO, Ekkon Technologies. "The service-oriented
architecture allows technology layers to be swapped with current
best-fit technologies or technologies not even developed yet."

To date, nearly all enterprise vendors have restricted deployment of
their e-commerce solution to large, complex, and proprietary enabler
applications. MerchantSpace has moved beyond this barrier and is
available on Unix, Windows, BSD, Linux, Solaris, and Mac; nearly all
major J2EE application servers including JBoss, Apache Tomcat, BEA
WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, Oracle 10g, and various others; and five major
databases including IBM DB2, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and
PostgreSQL.

Some notable changes found within version 3.0 are: a fully redeveloped
service-oriented architecture, an advanced attribute management system,
customer groups & personalization, a promotions engine, a full asset
manager, import manager, returns management, and fully indexed internal
search capabilities.

Some early adopters of the 3.0 framework include: 24 Hour Fitness,
JBoss, Random House, and Sunoco.

Priced at $12,995 USD per CPU, MerchantSpace includes everything
necessary for deploying and managing online sales initiatives with
all-inclusive licensing for production, staging, and development.
MerchantSpace Commerce 3.0 is available immediately.

About Ekkon Technologies

Ekkon is the developer of MerchantSpace Commerce, leading enterprise
e-commerce software that leverages open source to develop and advance
online sales channels. MerchantSpace is based on Java technology, has a
service-oriented architecture, comes with full source code, and can be
deployed on virtually any platform, application server, and database.
Companies such as Sunoco, Procter & Gamble, 24 Hour Fitness, McKesson,
JBoss, Random House, and Lexmark have licensed an open standards
e-commerce solution based on proven open source technologies.

Ekkon is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. For more
information on MerchantSpace, please call 1-800-942-5282 or visit
www.merchantspace.com.

Contact:
Jason Billingsley
VP, Marketing
Phone: (604) 408-8078 ext 226
Fax: (604) 408-4079

Ekkon Technologies
305-1505 West 2nd Ave
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6H 3Y4
http://www.merchantspace.com