Microsoft Presents Industry Solution Awards in Accounting At SoftEx Trade Show

ATLANTA, Sept. 10, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. last night presented the 1997 Industry Solution Awards (ISAs) in Accounting to Platinum Software Corp. in the category of best functionality and to State of the Art Inc. for best technology integration. The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with the SoftEx in Accounting and Finance Conference.

“Microsoft® technologies, such as the Microsoft BackOffice® family, enable developers to build and deploy powerful solutions that offer the most compelling accounting applications in the industry,” said Holly Henson, group manager, accounting and ERP at Microsoft. “Both Platinum Software and State of the Art have exhibited best-of-breed solutions for running mission-critical, compute-intensive and high-bandwidth applications.”

The ISAs are given annually to recognize software companies demonstrating superior solutions in financial accounting for the Microsoft Windows NT® Server network operating system and the Microsoft SQL Server
™
database. All entries were judged on six criteria: business benefits for accounting organizations, scalability of the solution, ease of adoption into the business process, relationship with the customer, architecture used in developing the solution, and technical challenges faced by the solution developer. The winners were selected from six finalists who demonstrated their products for the judging panel at the SoftEx show on Tuesday.

The judging panel included Eric Cohen, CPA, founder of Cohen Computer Consulting; Stewart McKie, president of PinPoint Inc.; and Elaine Watson, CPA, vice president, Soft Resources LLC. The finalists were CODA Inc., Geac Computer Systems, Great Plains Software Inc., Platinum Software Corp., State of the Art Inc. and Success Technology.

“The increased participation in the ISA contest reflects the fact that more and more vendors of accounting software recognize the value that the Microsoft BackOffice platform adds to their applications,” McKie said. “The industry is responding to customer demand for robust, innovative accounting solutions that are easier to set up and maintain than previous generations. By working with Microsoft, accounting software vendors can increase their opportunities and deliver more functional applications to their customers.”

Platinum Software is a leading provider of high-performance client/server financial accounting and business applications for the middle market. Platinum SQL, the first accounting software product to receive the Designed for BackOffice logo, is a comprehensive suite of highly adaptable accounting applications that provide customers with cost-effective solutions that are standards-based and easy to use and maximize system performance.

“Platinum SQL’s full suite of integrated financial accounting applications has delivered very high reliability, volume transaction performance, ease of customization and seamless integration to over 900 customers worldwide,” said Bill Pieser, senior vice president, marketing and business development for Platinum Software Corp. “We are honored to receive the Microsoft award for best functionality. First-place recognition independently validates Platinum SQL as the leading accounting software product in the middle market.”

State of the Art (SOTA) offers accounting solutions that suit the needs of a variety of business types and sizes. Its 32-bit client/server solution, Acuity Financials, is designed exclusively for Microsoft SQL Server and Windows NT environments. Microsoft and State of the Art plan to continue bringing to market tightly integrated business solutions that are easy to use and improve productivity.

“Validation of the strength and versatility of Acuity’s technology infrastructure by an independent panel of industry experts is a tremendous vote of confidence,” said Mark Richardson, director of product strategy for Acuity applications at State of the Art. “This award proves that SOTA provides customers with the foundation required to build fully featured and intuitive business solutions using the latest technology from Microsoft.”

For more information about these companies and Microsoft solutions in accounting, please visit the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/industry/acc/ .

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, BackOffice and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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