Solomon Software Moves to an All-Microsoft Product Platform, Embeds SQL Server 7.0 in Solomon IV

FINDLAY, Ohio, and REDMOND, Wash., April 20, 1999 — Solomon Software Inc., a leading provider of midmarket financial and business management systems, and Microsoft Corp. today announced a sweeping refinement that boldly simplifies Solomon’s product offerings by unifying its award-winning Solomon IV® exclusively around a single product and a single database. The product line, which is written using the 32-bit Microsoft® Visual Basic® development system, is now optimized exclusively for the Microsoft SQL Server™ 7.0 database and the Microsoft Windows NT® Server operating system and BackOffice®
family.

Under the product unification strategy, the Solomon IV product family (formerly Solomon IV for Windows® and Solomon IV for BackOffice) becomes a single product line called Solomon IV. Solomon IV version 4 includes financial, distribution, project management, service management, light manufacturing and e-commerce applications. Solomon Software has also signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft which will enable the company to embed SQL Server 7.0 in future shipments of the Solomon IV product line.

“Solomon has simplified the equation for small and midsize businesses that need unparalleled flexibility in their business management systems,”
said Michael S. Rupe, president and CEO of Solomon Software.
“By offering our award-winning Solomon IV product line exclusively on SQL Server 7.0, midmarket customers will benefit from an innovative, proven and reliable suite of core business applications, based entirely on a Microsoft platform. Customers will immediately benefit by reducing their risk, increasing their return on technology investments, and improving their productivity due to the increased synergies between Solomon and Microsoft. It’s a breakthrough announcement with breakthrough implications for midmarket businesses worldwide.”

“Building a smoothly functioning business in a competitive environment requires the power and scalability of Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and Windows NT Server,”
said Jeff Raikes, Microsoft Corp. group vice president, Sales and Support.
“The new Solomon IV product line enables Solomon’s customers to build their businesses on a reliable, scalable platform that ensures low cost of ownership and the functionality needed to remain competitive.”

Solomon IV: The Power of One

With this announcement, Solomon Software becomes the only major midmarket business management software vendor to focus 100 percent of its development efforts on Microsoft technology platforms. Solomon’s product unification strategy offers the following:

  • One customer segment (midmarket with two key segments; small and midsize businesses)

  • One product line (Solomon IV) with two editions and multiple price points

  • One core platform (Microsoft Windows NT)

  • One development environment (Microsoft Visual Basic)

  • One database (Microsoft SQL Server 7.0)

  • One report writer strategy (Seagate Crystal Reports & FRx)

  • One point of distribution (channel partners)

Unlike competitive approaches that offer multiple products using multiple sets of code, databases, report writers and development tools on multiple platforms, Solomon’s Microsoft-centric approach simplifies customer choices, reduces risks and increases customer return on technology investments. Customers from small and midsize businesses looking to find a financial and business management system can have these unique benefits with Solomon IV:

  • Learn only one product, with the flexibility to add new applications as a business grows or changes – without having to upgrade from one product line to the next.

  • Benefit from higher product and service quality, performance and flexibility, since Solomon and its business partners focus exclusively on Microsoft platforms and technologies.

  • Have the flexibility of a wide range of choices in application modules, editions and price points, enabling customers to get started with Solomon IV within their budget and manage their Solomon IV investment to fit their unique business needs – even when they change over time.

  • Reduce deployment time and risk by leveraging the expertise of the world’s largest pool of trained resellers, consultants and systems integrators that specialize in Microsoft technologies: Windows NT Server, Microsoft SQL Server, BackOffice and Visual Basic.

  • Experience increased flexibility and additional product breadth choices as more independent developers actively create third-party products based on Solomon’s single product and single database, which enables customers to amortize their investments over the large middle customer segment.

For current Solomon IV customers, a comprehensive migration plan has been developed to assist with the smooth migration to Solomon IV version 4 on Microsoft SQL Server 7.0.

Solomon IV: Two Editions, One Code Base, One Database

The Select Edition of Solomon IV is priced and targeted to companies with 20-100 employees, revenues of $2 million to $20 million or less complex financial, project, service, distribution, manufacturing or e-commerce needs. The Select Edition consists of a selected group of application modules, and includes the mainstream functionality needed by most typical small installations. The Select Edition includes all the architecture to support the addition of the Premier Edition at a later date, if the customer chooses.

The Premier Edition of Solomon IV is targeted to companies (or locations within larger organizations) with 100-1,000 employees, revenues between $10 million to $250 million or more complex financial, project, service, distribution, manufacturing or e-commerce needs. The Premier Edition consists of the entire suite of application modules, an additional suite of applications with advanced feature sets and functionality for more complex customer requirements.

Product Availability

Solomon IV offers midmarket businesses a single, complete Microsoft SQL Server-based financial and business management system that ranges from $3,500 (for small businesses) to over $200,000 (for midsize businesses), depending on the number of users and the number of modules purchased. The Premier Edition Financial Series modules are currently shipping. The Select and Premier Edition Financial and Project Series modules will be available in mid-May. The Select and Premier Edition Distribution modules will be available in mid-June. Modules in Solomon’s E-Business Series will be available beginning in mid-May.

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0

Created by a world-class development team, Microsoft SQL Server is a leading
Windows NT Server-based database, bringing business advantage and improved decision-making to all levels of the organization through the power of data warehousing, industry solutions and its interoperability with Microsoft Office.

About Solomon and Microsoft

Solomon Software Inc., a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider Partner, is a leading worldwide supplier of midmarket business management systems exclusively optimized for

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 on the Windows NT and BackOffice platforms. Solomon designs, markets and supports the award-winning Solomon IV, a widely used financial and business management system for small and medium-sized organizations, installed in more than 11,000 customer locations worldwide. Solomon’s products and services are sold and implemented by its extensive network of independent sales and support organizations throughout the world.

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, Visual Basic, Windows NT, BackOffice and Windows 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.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. For more information about Solomon Software, please visit http://www.solomon.com/ , send e-mail to [email protected] or call (800) 4-SOLOMON [476-5666] or (419) 424-0422.

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