Director, Communications & Public Relations

Contacts: Art Swift Director, Communications & Public Relations Northern Virginia Technology Council 703 904 7878 or [email protected]

Jayna Kliner Vice President Welz & Weisel Communications 703 218 3555 or [email protected]

Northern Virginia Technology Council Announces Finalists and Winners of Annual Hot Ticket Awards Program

Greater Washington Region Companies Recognized for “Hot” Achievements

(HERNDON, VA, June 26, 2008) – The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), the largest technology council in the nation, last night announced the finalists and winners of its seventh annual Hot Ticket Awards, recognizing local entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies for achievements that make them "hot" – great vision, superior ability to implement and deliver, innovative management approaches, and overall success. Award categories included: Hall of Fame, Hottest Bootstrap, Hottest Buzz, Hottest Exit, Hottest Management Team and Hottest VC Deal.

The award ceremony was attended by more than 450 Capital region technology entrepreneurs, business leaders, media and special guests.

The judges for the 2008 Hot Ticket Awards included: Jonathan Aberman, Amplifier Ventures; Mike Avon, Columbia Capital; Steve Balistreri and Jennifer Trax, Argy, Wiltse & Robinson, P.C.; John Hurley, DLA Piper; Mary MacPherson, M2Works; and Sever Totia, Edison Venture Fund.

Winners and finalists of this year's Hot Ticket Awards are:

Hall of Fame Award, sponsored by FedResults . WINNER: Vocus, Inc. (www.vocus.com)

Hottest Bootstrap, sponsored by Valhalla Partners . WINNER: LeverPoint (www.leverpointinc.com) . Distributive Networks (www.distributivenetworks.com) . Gratis Internet (www.gratisinternet.com) . KZO Innovations (www.kzoinnovations.com) . South 49 (www.south49.com) . Strategic Enterprise Solutions (www.sesolutions.com)

Hottest Buzz, sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank . WINNER: Clearspring (www.clearspring.com) . iBelong (www.ibelongnetworks.com) . Mixx (www.mixx.com) . Visual CV (www.visualcv.com)

Hottest Exit, sponsored by Ernst & Young . WINNER : ServiceBench (www.servicebench.com) . Athena Technologies (Aquired by: www.rockwellcollins.com) . Cloakware (www.cloakware.com) . K12, Inc. (www.k12.com) . RealOps (www.realops.com)

Hottest Management Team, sponsored by AH&T Insurance . WINNER: Parature (www.parature.com) . Criterion Systems (www.criterion-sys.com) . NetWitness Corporation (www.netwitness.com) . StackSafe, Inc. (www.stacksafe.com) . Vocus, Inc. (www.vocus.com)

Hottest VC Deal, sponsored by Comerica Bank . WINNER: Zenoss (www.zenoss.com) . ARPU (www.arpuinc.com) . Fishbowl Marketing (www.fishbowllocal.com) . GlobalLogic, Inc. (www.globallogic.com) . Mobile Posse, Inc. (www.mobileposse.com)

“The Northern Virginia area is home to some of the most dynamic and innovative technology companies in the world,” said Bobbie Kilberg, President and CEO of NVTC. “The annual Hot Ticket Awards offers us an opportunity to honor companies for their exceptional achievements representing different aspects of business from stellar VC funding deals to all-star management teams. As always, the nominations were numerous and outstanding, which continues to validate Northern Virginia as one of the preeminent tech hubs in the country.”

Once again, the Hot Ticket Awards were held poolside at the home of NVTC President & CEO Bobbie Kilberg in McLean, Va. Jennifer Trax of Argy, Wiltse & Robinson, P.C. and John Hurley of DLA Piper emceed the night’s festivities and sponsors included: “Smoking Hot Sponsors” Argy, Wiltse & Robinson, P.C. and DLA Piper and “Steaming Hot Sponsors” Base Technologies, Inc.; Bowne Financial Communications; Cyveillance; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP; Harris Information Technology Services; Principal Financial Group; Transformation Systems, Inc.; and Welz & Weisel Communications.

To view the NVTC Hot Ticket Awards online media kit, visit: www.nvtc.org/media/062608.php#kit

The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) is the membership and trade association for the technology community in Northern Virginia and is the largest technology council in the nation. NVTC has 1,050 member companies and enterprises representing approximately 186,000 employees. Its membership includes companies from all sectors of the technology industry and the service providers that support these companies, as well as universities, foreign embassies, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. NVTC is recognized as the nation's leader in providing its technology community with networking and educational events, specialized services and benefits, public policy advocacy, branding of its region as a major global technology center, initiatives in targeted business sectors and in the international, entrepreneurship, workforce and education arenas, the Equal Footing Foundation that focuses on venture philanthropy and public/private partnerships, and The Entrepreneur Center @NVTC to mentor new technology entrepreneurs. Visit NVTC at www.nvtc.org.