MORRISTOWN, NJ - March 31, 2006 -- Ranjini Poddar, Artech President, was recently named as one of New Jersey's Best 50 Women in Business out of 3,000 nominations. The inaugural award program, produced by NJBIZ, New Jersey's premiere business news publication is sponsored by Wachovia Bank, Withum Smith + Brown and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

The Best 50 Women in Business award program honors New Jersey's most dynamic women business leaders who have been making headlines in their field. The awards recognize the impact women business owners and business leaders have in creating jobs and building communities in New Jersey.

I am thrilled to receive this award, Ms. Poddar said. Women have excellent opportunities to thrive in the business arena within New Jersey. More corporations are opening doors enabling minority businesses to thrive and business laws are also changing to embrace women business efforts as we become more recognized for our significant contributions to the economy.

NJBIZ is honoring this year's 50 winners with an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 23 at the Ocean Place and Resort in Long Branch, New Jersey. In addition, winners will be highlighted in a special supplement to NJBIZ on March 27, 2006.

We are truly fortunate to have the opportunity to recognize this outstanding group of women, said David A. Shankweiler, CEO of Journal Publications, parent company of NJBIZ. As business and community leaders, they are constantly redefining success within and outside the business arena."

An independent panel of judges selected the top 50 candidates based on dedication to business growth, professional and personal accomplishments, community involvement, and advocacy for women in business.

To qualify, a nominee had to meet the following criteria:

• A female resident of New Jersey, or be employed in the state.

• An owner, partner, president, chief executive officer, board chair, in a senior executive management level position, or a woman with significant authority in decision-making in a business or company.

For more information on the Best 50 Women in Business program, please visit www.njbiz.com/events.

Since 1992, Artech's solutions have been designed to address all areas of critical needs in managing clients' strategic eBusiness and I.T. investments. Some of Artech's services include I.T. consulting and staff augmentation, turnkey project management, infrastructure management, eCommerce and eBusiness, and business process outsourcing.

Based in Morristown, New Jersey, Artech has regional offices in Fremont, California and Vienna, Virginia as well as a Level 4 SEI-CMM compliant and ISO 9001 certified offshore development facility and numerous field offices throughout the United States. Artech is a certified Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise. For more information, connect to www.artechinfo.com.