Microsoft Names Winners of the 2000 Industry Solution Awards

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the winners of the 2000 Industry Solution Awards in a special ceremony in the Microsoft Partner Pavilion at COMDEX/Fall 2000. Award winners Great Plains Software Inc., Knosys Inc., ON!contact Software Corp., Onyx Software Corp., Pivotal Corp., Plumtree Software Inc., Sourcesmith Industries Inc. and Webridge Inc. were selected from among 27 finalists for best solutions in Customer Relationship Management, Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management and Enterprise Applications.

An independent panel of judges selected the winners based on their use of Microsoft technology, specifically Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server™
and the Microsoft enterprise platform, to provide the most tangible business benefits to customers. Participants were tested on a range of measurable business-benefit scenarios and were asked to demonstrate how their customer solution offered the best features and functionality.

“Each of the winners and finalists deserves recognition for the benefits provided by the solution they have developed,”
said Stan Julien, director of Customer-Centric Solutions at Microsoft.
“It’s exciting to see the results that are accomplished when the agility, speed and enterprise-level reliability of Microsoft technology is coupled with the independent software vendor’s approach to a specific business issue. We’re proud to see this competitive spirit spawn such innovative and scalable applications.”

Winners by Category

Following are the winners in the nine Industry Solution Awards categories specific to Customer Relationship Management, Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management and Enterprise Applications:

Customer Relationship Management

Best Customer Relationship Portal Solution

  • Onyx Software Corp. — Onyx Employee Portal enabled ByeByeNOW, a vacation travel service, to develop its interactive Web site that offers real-time access to travel consultants.

Best Customer Service Solution

  • Onyx Software Corp. — Onyx 2000 enabled Columbine JDS, a Denver-based software and consulting firm, to more effectively share information between partners and customers, building greater customer loyalty by providing enhanced customer service.

Best Integrated Customer Relationship Management/E-Business Solution

  • Pivotal Corp. — Pivotal eRelationship 2000, used by resort developer and operator Intrawest Corp., provides personalized customer service and an online sales engine for 13 of the company’s resort properties.

Best Mobile Sales/Service Solution

  • ON!contact Software Corp. — Client Management Software (CMS) was used by Foremost Insurance to automate its communications with its mobile sales force, uniting all front-office operations under a single application and greatly reducing postage, travel and support costs.

Business Intelligence

Best Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Solution

  • Knosys Inc. — Knosys ProClarity provides intuitive and powerful business analysis designed to help decision-makers clearly see and analyze the factors that drive their business.

Knowledge Management

Best Document/Search and Publish Solution

  • Plumtree Software Inc. — Plumtree Corporate Portal helped Connecticut-based Ames department stores develop PlanetAmes.com, a portal that delivers up-to-date market news, sales reports and product information to 43,000 sales associates nationwide.

Best Collaboration Solution

  • Webridge Inc. — Webridge Private Exchange was used by IronSpire JobSite to create a project management
    “dashboard”
    for general contractors that speeds communications, minimizes mistakes and delays, and helps with scheduling and financial reporting.

Best Workflow and Tracking Solution

  • Sourcesmith Industries Inc. — Olympic Equipment Management Systems enabled NBC Olympics to manage its supply chain, including purchasing, expediting and inventory control, and provides the finance and operations teams with the information they need to pay suppliers, reconcile accounts and transfer equipment within NBC, and track all the assets required for the production of the 2000 Olympic Games.

Enterprise Applications

Best Financials Solution

  • Great Plains Software Inc. — Great Plains eEnterprise is an integrated solution for midsize enterprises that consists of financials, distribution, enterprise reporting, project accounting, e-business, human resources management, manufacturing, sales and marketing management, and customer service and support.

Award Selection Committee

A preliminary panel of industry executives selected finalists in each of the categories. The following judges selected the winners:

  • Eric Cohen, PricewaterhouseCoopers

  • Gregg Gerdau, Angara E-Commerce Services Inc.

  • John Hart, K Solutions Consulting

  • Donald Heisler, Deloitte & Touche LLP

  • Claudia Imhoff, Braun Consulting Inc.

  • Alan Kay, Knowledge Management magazine

  • Kishore Ponnavolu, McKinsey and Co.

  • Matt Purdue, destinationCRM.com

  • Scott Stein, Internosis

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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