Winners of European Retail Application Developer Awards Announced

LONDON, April 22, 2003 — The winners of the fourth annual Microsoft European Retail Application Developer (RAD) Awards were announced last week at a ceremony in Paris, co-sponsored by EMC Corporation and Intel Corporation.

Regarded as a major event in retail technology circles, the RAD Awards recognize innovation and excellence in the use of Microsoft technologies to achieve quantifiable business value for retailers.

An independent panel of retail industry experts judged a record number of entries from 19 countries. Finalists included entries from Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US.

“It is genuinely exciting to see the breadth and intensity of the competition, the quality of the entries, and the value attached to the RAD Awards by entrants,” says Gary Cooke, Retail Industry Marketing Manager for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “The retail community clearly benefits from the excellent work of all RAD Awards competitors.”

Winner within the “Retail HQ Applications” division, KSS CEO Iain Cockburn says “This award further validates our commitment to provide retailers with the very best technology and outstanding ROI. The award is a significant honor for KSS in that it recognizes our continued innovation and excellence to our customers, and reinforces the value of Microsoft .NET in providing truly enterprise class retail platforms.”

NCR, who collected awards for both their RealPrice and FastLane Self-Checkout applications, was equally delighted with its association with the RAD Awards.

“We are honored to be a Microsoft RAD winner for a fifth year,” says Alberto Camuri, vice president of NCR’s Retail Solutions Division for EMEA. “Since the introduction of self-checkout in Europe, we have established a clear leadership position with installations with six retailers in four countries and installations due with a further four retailers.

“Through NCR RealPrice electronic shelf labels, we are also enabling European retailers to reduce costs and compete more effectively through price promotions and other information,” Camuri says. “Both RAD awards are confirmation of NCR’s commitment to leadership and innovation in these exciting areas of growth for retail solutions.”

The importance of the RAD Awards to retailers was further emphasized by Eqos, winner of the Supply Chain award for its Order Management & Logistics Solution. “The RAD Awards are highly regarded in the industry and both Debenhams and Eqos are delighted that our collaborative work has been recognized in this way” says Mike Quinn, CEO of Eqos.

Winners of three awards, US-based MenuLink Computer Solutions has rolled out its Back Office Assistant.Net (BOA.Net) at a number of major European restaurateurs.

“We’re extremely proud to win these three very important awards from Microsoft for Hospitality Food Service, Greatest Business Impact and Best Use of Open Internet Technology,” says Terri Williams, MenuLink’s Executive Vice President. “Our focus on ease of use for restaurant managers and our ability to help our customers control their expenses has always been important. Keeping our product technically state-of-the-art using Microsoft .NET tools is the key to our success.”

The full list of 2003 winners:

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