Burlington Coat Factory Chooses Red Hat to Support Linux-Based Solutions

Top Retail Vendor Benefits from Red Hat's Unmatched Linux Expertise for Nationwide Deployment of Official Red Hat Linux on Dell Servers

DURHAM, N.C.--September 7, 1999--Red Hat©, Inc. (NASDAQ: RHAT), a leading provider of open source Linux-based operating system (OS) solutions today announced that Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation (NYSE: BCF) has purchased support services from Red Hat for its nationwide Linux deployment.

Under the agreement, Red Hat Services will provide telephone-based support to more than 260 Burlington Coat stores nationwide (including subsidiaries). Red Hat will configure, install and provide ongoing maintenance for customized Dell OptiPlex (R) PCs and PowerEdgeÆ servers running factory installed Red Hat Linux. The Red Hat Linux OS-based systems will host Burlington Coat Factory's Gift Registry and will facilitate all other in-store functions, such as inventory control and receiving.

"We believe that no one understands open source development and Linux better than Red Hat. Red Hat's OS and technical support talent will help us streamline and accelerate our nationwide deployment of Linux-based business systems," said Michael Prince, CIO, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation.

"Burlington Coat Factory is a clear example of a business-critical retail operation that needed the power, flexibility and stability of the Official Red Hat Linux OS and Red Hat's unmatched technical support expertise to accelerate deployment nationwide," said Carolyn Sporano, Business Unit Manager, Services, Red Hat, Inc.

The financial terms of the support contract are not being disclosed by either company.

Open source momentum
International Data Corp. (IDC) research states that Linux was the fastest-growing server operating environment in 1998, growing more than 212 percent in that year alone and capturing more than 17 percent of new licensed shipments of server operating systems.

Red Hat's numerous alliances with industry leaders and the demand for Linux-based applications has created open source support from the industry's leading software and hardware manufacturers, including CompaqÆ, Computer Associates, Corel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Netscape, Novell, OracleÆ and SAPÆ. Linux runs on Intel, Alpha and Sun SPARC platforms and will soon run on PowerPC systems.

About Red Hat, Inc.
Founded in 1994, Red Hat (NASDAQ: RHAT) is the market leader in open source operating system (OS) software and services. Along with its award-winning open source Red Hat Linux OS, Red Hat offers a full line of services, including telephone support, on-site consulting, developer training, certification programs and priority access updates, making Red Hat a leading and complete resource for knowledgeable, innovative, mission-critical open source solutions.

Red Hat shares all of its software innovations freely with the open source community under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Official Red Hat Linux OS and related services are available directly from the company and through its partner, distributor and reseller programs, which include top PC and server manufacturers such as Compaq, Dell, Gateway, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics.

Red Hat and the Official Red Hat Linux OS have received industry praise. Recent accolades include: Red Herring's Top 100 Companies of the Electronic Economy, Upside's Hot 100 Companies, Network World's 10 Companies to Watch, Federal Computer Week's Government Best Buy, Software Development's Jolt Award and InfoWorld's Product of the Year for three years in a row. Red Hat was also voted a "LinuxWorld Favorite" by the attendees of the two most recent LinuxWorld Expos, winning Best Server Distribution at the August show.

Red Hat is based in Durham, N.C. and has offices worldwide. Visit Red Hat on the Web at http://www.redhat.com/.

LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-looking statements
Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release that are not strictly historical statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding current or future financial performance, management's plans and objectives for future operations, product plans and performance, management's assessment of market factors, and statements regarding the strategy and plans of Red Hat and its strategic partners, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with Red Hat's dependence upon an open source business model, reliance upon independent third-party Linux developers, management of growth, reliance upon strategic relationships, expansion of Red Hat's business focus and operations, the possibility of undetected software errors, the enforceability of the GNU General Public License and other licenses under which Red Hat's products are developed and licensed, the scarcity of Linux-based applications, the risks of economic downturns generally, and in Red Hat's industry specifically, the risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures, the viability of the Internet, year 2000 compliance efforts of Red Hat and of third parties on which Red Hat depends, and other risks detailed in Red Hat's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be accessed through the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov/.