Micromuse Inc. (Nasdaq: MUSE), the leading provider of ultra-scalable, realtime business and service assurance software, and Open Technologies, a premier Russian systems integrator, today announced that they have successfully deployed Netcool® solutions for OAO Uralsvyazinform, the leading regional telecommunications operator in the Urals Federal District and Perm region of Russia, and part of the SvyazInvest Group. Micromuse’s Netcool software is being used as the primary business service management and security monitoring platform and will manage OAO Uralsvyazinform’s enterprise IT infrastructure, as well as its main information storage center, which has been developed together with the implementation of an Oracle E-Business ERP suite.

Micromuse’s Netcool solutions enable the continuous control of OAO Uralsvyazinform’s information systems and manage the performance of all data processing center network resources in realtime. This allows users to visualize all infrastructure components including, servers, data storage system, data transmission network, services, and devices, to ensure the reliability and security of services and information. Netcool also allows staff to forecast, pinpoint, and prioritize possible emergency situations which could affect the end user’s service level.

“Micromuse’s Netcool solutions are helping us to monitor our infrastructure services and engineer systems, and we are working to set up an information security complex for the data center, which will mean expanding the functionality of the core monitoring system,” says Mikhail Krymskiy, Deputy General Director of OAO Uralsvyazinform. “We plan to use the Netcool solution for monitoring of the complete corporate data network, the main part of multi-service network, as well as other technical networks and IT services. All of this will enable our company to significantly increase the level of service provided, raise control over business processes, and consequently, improve the competitive power of OAO Uralsvyazinform on the market.”

“We are pleased that Micromuse’s Netcool solutions are being used by one of the largest telecom operators in Russia to help ensure the unified control and assurance of its enterprise systems,” said Richard Lowe, Micromuse’s Senior Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Micromuse’s Netcool technology continues to support organizations seeking to reduce operational costs, consolidate service, systems, applications and security management and provide the intelligence to ensure business-critical services are available for revenue generation 24 hours a day.”

Sergey Dryagin, Deputy General Director of Open Technologies, adds, “Uralsvyazinform was seeking a robust enterprise software solution that could automate complex tasks such as fault management, while still providing scalability, adaptability, data security and visibility of the entire IT infrastructure and engineer systems. Micromuse’s Netcool solution is an industrial standard for the major carriers and service providers worldwide, and it complies with all the requirements of Uralsvyazinform.”

About Uralsvyazinform
Uralsvyazinform is the leading regional operator of telecommunications services in the Urals Federal District and Perm region. The capital stock of Uralsvyazinform amounts to RUR 4.816.166.797 and is shared by approximately 22 thousand stockholders. As of January 1, 2005, 41.4% of the stock is owned by Svyazinvest. Institutional investors held 28%; 8.2% of shares were distributed among individuals, 5.2% belonged to management. Federal Property Fund owned 4.7% and American Depository Receipts holders – 12.5%. The company’s shares are traded at the Russian Trading System and Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange. 10.11% of Uralsvyazinform’s common and preference stock is registered under Level 1 ADR program, deposited with JPMorgan Chase Bank. ADR are traded at Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges, as well as on the USA over-the-counter stock market.

Uralsvyazinform’s regional market share of local communications is 86%, long-distance communications – 80%, mobile communications – 41%, data transmission and Internet – 43%, new services(cable television, intelligent networks) – 23%. Uralsvyazinform and its subsidiaries hold licenses and offer mobile communication services in GSM-900/1800, DAMPS-800 and CDMA standards.

About Netcool
Micromuse’s Netcool® software solutions provide businesses with the assurance that their applications and services are up and operating. By allowing our customers to see what’s happening throughout the infrastructure in realtime, Netcool applications enable them to respond to problems before revenue-supporting services are affected.

Netcool applications install out-of-the-box, deploy rapidly and scale to the largest environments. Micromuse’s flagship, Netcool/OMNIbusâ„¢ application, includes a library of off-the-shelf software modules that allow our customers to collect and consolidate information from more than 1,000 environments spanning applications, systems, voice and IP, cable/broadband, switches and routers, and enterprise management systems.

About Micromuse
Micromuse Inc. (Nasdaq: MUSE) is the leading provider of ultra-scalable, realtime business and service assurance software solutions. The Netcool® software suite provides organizations with the assurance that their IT systems are supporting and driving profits 24 hours a day. Unlike traditional infrastructure management systems, Netcool solutions provide realtime end-to-end visibility and accurate troubleshooting from a business perspective. Such business intelligence allows organizations to respond to problems quickly, streamline workflow processes and improve business uptime. Micromuse customers include BT, Cable & Wireless, Deutsche Telekom, EarthLink, ITC^DeltaCom, JPMorgan Chase, MCI, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Headquarters are located at 650 Townsend Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103; (415) 568-9800. The Web site is at www.micromuse.com.