PROVO, Utah — July 15, 2003 — In only a few months, WPS Resources Corporation went from offering its customers simple "brochure-ware" over the Internet to secure online access to personalized account information and resources using a Novell Nsure secure identity management solution. The holding company for energy-related subsidiaries with operations in Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Ontario and Quebec, Canada, has seen more than 500 customers a month sign up for online access to their accounts since launching its customer portal; and employees now have more convenient and secure access to company resources through the company's intranet.

"We chose Novell products because security and stability are crucial," said Dan Zmek, technical support manager at WPS Resources Corporation. "Novell eDirectory is mature and scalable, giving us full confidence to use it as our primary source of user information and authentication as we grow our online customer base."

The goal of the WPS Resources Corporation's identity management project was to provide customers with online access to view energy usage, pay bills and access other services, and give its more than 3,000 employees secure access to the company's intranet whether working in the office, at home or on the road. The resulting Nsure solution features a combination of Novell eDirectory to provide the identity foundation, Novell iChain to provide the secure front-end to all Internet and intranet applications, and Novell DirXML to synchronize user information across multiple directories and applications, such as PeopleSoft.

As a result of the Nsure solution, WPS Resources has greatly improved the functionality of its customer portal and intranet. Customers and employees can now access the WPS Resources portal and intranet, respectively, with a single ID and password, and the system's scalability will allow WPS Resources to enhance its Web-based services with minimal administration.

"With Novell, we now have a secure and scalable solution to accommodate tens of thousands of online users," Zmek said.

For more information on Novell Nsure secure identity management solutions, please visit www.novell.com/nsure.

Press Contacts:
Shawn Dickerson
Novell, Inc.
Phone: 801-861-2932
Email: sdickerson@novell.com