EPAM becomes stronger in both client facing and delivery capabilities as well as in senior management capacity across North America, Europe, and the former Soviet Union region

Lawrenceville, NJ and Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/02/2006 --EPAM Systems, Inc. (http://www.epam.com), a leading global software services company, independently recognized as the #1 IT outsourcing provider in Central and Eastern Europe for the last two years, and Vested Development, Inc. (http://www.vdiweb.com), one of the Top 5 Russian Software Outsourcing vendors, have announced a strategic merger.

The combined company, which will operate under the EPAM Systems name, will employ over 2,200 software professionals across eight countries and exceed a $70 million revenue run rate. By combining the operations of the companies, EPAM becomes stronger in both client facing and delivery capabilities as well as in senior management capacity across North America, Europe, and the former Soviet Union region.

Arkadiy Dobkin, EPAM Chairman, CEO and co-founder, who will continue leading EPAM’s operations, said: “This merger enhances EPAM’s position as the leader in Central and Eastern Europe and allows EPAM to offer the strongest alternative to the current mainstream outsourcing destinations. For many years it was anticipated that the CEE region would provide a sizeable and scalable global player. This expectation has finally materialized, and we are proud that EPAM leads this wave. Critical for staff retention in an increasingly global employment market this will present even broader and larger professional growth opportunities for our employees.”

Anatoly Gaverdovsky, VDI CEO, who will be heading EPAM’s operations in Russia, commented on the agreement: “By combining our separate but complimentary areas of specialization and by broadening the geo-diverse talent pools, the merged company will significantly boost scalability for delivering complex software engineering projects, enhance expertise in vertical and horizontal solutions, and grant greater access to the entire regional resource pool for all our clients worldwide. For example, our office in Boston will compliment EPAM’s client facing capabilities in New Jersey and Minnesota, and provide additional client and delivery support for one of the most important IT focus regions in the United States today, while our deep and highly experienced client facing operation in Moscow will better position EPAM to apply its expertise accumulated in the US and Europe to serve the increasing number of multinational companies operating in Russia and the CIS as well as large Russian corporations.”

“Within the Western European markets, EPAM was already established as the #1 “NearShore” provider, but the addition of VDI’s multiple Russian development locations combined with the new but rapidly growing Ukrainian operations of both EPAM and VDI, represents not only the largest resource pool available to European clients, but far and away the most balanced distribution of resources across CEE countries” – added Karl Robb, Executive VP of EPAM Systems and President of EPAM’s EU business unit. Mr. Robb continued to add: “This makes EPAM the only company with significant development capacities in Hungary, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine providing all of our clients with unmatched access to the best resources across the entire region and also the most effective risk mitigation against potential localized inflation, resource shortages or geo-political risks, all of which are considered critical issues by the largest clients when evaluating which global vendors to work with”.

About EPAM Systems
EPAM Systems is a global provider of software engineering outsourcing services. In January 2006, for the second consecutive year, EPAM was named No.1 of Top 5 IT Outsourcing providers in Central and Eastern Europe on the "Global Services 100" list by CMP-CyberMedia's Global Services Magazine and neoIT. Founded in 1993, EPAM maintains North American headquarters in Lawrenceville, NJ, and European headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, as well as support and delivery operations in the UK and Germany. EPAM software development centers are located in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Hungary.

EPAM's customer base includes industry leaders such as Reuters, London Stock Exchange, Colgate-Palmolive, British Telecom, Empire and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Schlumberger and Halliburton and technology leaders such as SAP, Hyperion, BEA Systems and Microsoft.
www.epam.com

About Vested Development Inc.
Vested Development, Inc. (VDI) is a global onsite/offshore software development services firm with over eleven years experience in partnering with technology providers like Microsoft, IBM, and Hummingbird, as well as vertical corporations like Nestle, Mars, and many others to accelerate software development using ISO 9001-certified process methodologies.

With extensive vertical industry experience, VDI collaborates with clients to ensure development of quality business solutions. Over 400 highly skilled development resources, located across North America, Russia, and Ukraine, enable VDI to take full advantage of multiple time zones to compress delivery cycles and reduce costs while simultaneously improving quality, flexibility, and time to market.
www.vdiweb.com

For further information, please contact: press@epam.com