Software AG's Year-Old Open Data Warehouse Program Wins Its Second Award for Technology and Partnering Excellence; Software AG and the State of Minnesota Win Datamation's QUEST Award in Data Warehousing

Business Wire, Dec 4, 1995

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 1995--Software AG, a dynamic leader in the growing data warehouse market, today announced that its Open Data Warehouse Program received a Datamation QUEST Award for Data Warehousing (Quality and Excellence In Service and Training) for its work with the State of Minnesota. This is the second award that the one-year-old Open Data Warehouse Program has received since the program was launched in October 1994. Last May, Software AG received the DB/Expo RealWare Award for Data Warehousing for its collaboration with The ERTL Company, Inc.

The Datamation QUEST Awards honor those IS organizations that have made the most effective use of information technology service providers. The award was presented to the State of Minnesota for its work with Software AG to build a data warehouse for the Information Access component of the Statewide Systems Project (SSP). The State's new data warehouse provides end-users with easy access to accurate and timely information, which, in turn, has helped speed up the decision-making processes.

Software AG consultants provided the State's IS staff with instant access to expertise and rapid implementation based on a methodology designed to provide results in 90-day increments, thereby speeding up the development process. The State was able to save money by utilizing Software AG's tools and services to automate some functions and to streamline data extraction, data filtering, rules transformation, data reformatting, and output creation. The State's data warehouse includes information from new PeopleSoft human resources and payroll systems, Minnesota Accounting and Procurement System (MAPS), with future plans to include data from the Biennial Budget System (BBS).

"Data warehouse technology has provided our end-users with easy access to mission-critical information," said Greg Dzieweczynski, technical manager, State of Minnesota. "Working with Software AG gave us the expertise and tools that we needed to build the data warehouse quickly and efficiently."

"Software AG has always been committed to working with companies to help them find innovative ways to meet their information needs," said Richard Rist, director of Software AG's Open Data Warehouse Program. "We pride ourselves in tailoring data warehouse solutions that are truly open and are easy to use."

Software AG's strategic partnerships offer customers a complete solution that covers all areas involved in the complex data warehouse architecture. These partners include: Carleton Corporation, developers of Passport(a), an industry-leading data extraction tool, and MicroStrategy, Inc., developers of industry- leading decision support software for OLAP applications. Passport, DSS Agent, DSS Architect, DSS Server and DSS Executive, Esperant, SourcePoint and other Software AG offerings provide the industry's most comprehensive line of products and services for building and maintaining a complete data warehousing solution.

Software AG and The ERTL Company, an international toy manufacturer with sales of over $200 million, won the DB/Expo RealWare Award for their entry in the category, "Data Warehousing to Provide New Business Opportunities." ERTL's data warehouse provides users with easy access to up-to-date market information, which assists the company in making informed business decisions. The DB/Expo RealWare Award recognizes excellence in IT solutions for innovative use of technology, efficient use of resources, and delivery of measurable results to the user.

Software AG is the 10th largest independent software firm in the world with dual headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany and Reston, VA. With 26 years of successful enterprise-wide experience, the company develops and markets open, multi-platform product solutions to Fortune 500 companies in more than 80 countries worldwide. Software AG's products include: Entire for developing and deploying distributed computing solutions; Natural, MIDRANGE Systems Buyer's Choice Award, for application engineering; award-winning Esperant, a state-of-the-art SQL query and reporting tool; and Adabas for database management. Founded in 1969, Software AG reported revenues of $533 million (US) in 1994. -0-

(a) All starred products are available through Software AG by agreement of their respective owners: Passport from Carleton Corporation, DSS Agent, DSS Architect, DSS Server and DSS Executive from MicroStrategy Inc. Adabas, Entire and Natural are registered trademarks of Software AG. Esperant is a trademark of Software AG. DSS Agent, DSS Architect, DSS Server and DSS Executive are registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Inc. Passport is a trademark of Carleton Corporation.

ESPERANT Awards: 1994 PC Week Labs "Top Products of the Year" and a 1994 Datamation "Editor's Choice Award."

Note to Press: Additional product information can be obtained by calling 1-800-423-2227 ext. 738 or accessing Software AG's Home Page at http://www.sagus.com.

CONTACT: Jennifer Jackson/Pat Arcand