Viewlogic becomes world's first ISO 9001-certified CAE vendor

Business Wire, Sept 11, 1995

MARLBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 11, 1995--Viewlogic Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: VIEW) today announced that it has achieved ISO 9001/TickIT registration after a two-year corporate effort.

Viewlogic is the first Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software company in the world and one of only a few United States software companies to achieve registration to ISO 9001/TickIT, the most comprehensive of the ISO quality standards. Viewlogic was awarded ISO 9001/TickIT registration for two of its product groups, the PC Group and the Powerview/Systems Group, as well as all corporate functions located at its world headquarters in Marlboro, Mass., including marketing, manufacturing, purchasing, service, sales and order processing.

ISO 9001 requires a substantial commitment from management. At Viewlogic, the president and chief executive officer, Alain Hanover has been the driving force behind ISO registration. "Given the rising worldwide expectations for quality products and services, I view this as a critical investment in our future," says Hanover. "The work of the ISO team coupled with the enthusiastic support of every employee has, in two years, brought us the continuous process and quality improvements that resulted in our ISO 9001 registration. Not only does ISO 9001 improve Viewlogic's internal operations, customers definitely benefit from the higher quality products and better support that the ISO process helps develop."

According to a 1994 Survey of Quality and Productivity Programs conducted for the American Electronics Association, 67 percent of high technology companies are using ISO 9000 criteria. This survey made it obvious to Viewlogic that the company must pursue quality with the same vigor as many of its customers. "As software markets mature and become global, they face the same competitive pressures as companies in other industries. Viewlogic needs to compete not only on the latest technology, but on quality and service as well," said Joseph Campagna, quality program manager for Viewlogic.

Viewlogic's investment in ISO 9001 has been paying dividends internally as well. For example, the engineering, marketing and support groups now work closer than ever, within a newly-defined, five-phase, product development process. "We've re-engineered many of the core business processes to ensure that we get maximum value out of the ISO 9001 implementation," noted Campagna. "Many hours went into defining new ways of doing business and ensuring that employees were qualified and adequately prepared to perform their responsibilities."

Viewlogic has always been a leader and early adopter of industry product standards. With ISO 9001/TickIT registration, that commitment is now extended to international quality assurance standards. ISO 9001 is the most comprehensive international quality assurance standard published by the International Organization for Standardization, also commonly referred to as "ISO". The organization is based in Geneva, Switzerland and has over 90 member countries, including the United States, Japan and much of the European Community.

TickIT is an accreditation scheme developed by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the British Computer Society (BCS) for registration bodies practicing in the fields of software and information technology. Using TickIT accreditated auditors during the ISO 9001 Registration process assures a comprehensive audit where the unique needs of a software company are recognized and understood.

Although there are many Registrars qualified to grant ISO 9000 registrations, Viewlogic chose the British Standards Institution (BSI) because of its outstanding world reputation and its unmatched experience in the field of software and information technology. After the registration audit, BSI auditors noted that, "The overall impression of Viewlogic's business is that this is a professional organization that fully supports an effective, well-implemented quality system."

Through the use of surveillance audits, BSI will continue to audit Viewlogic every six months, ensuring the continued adherence to the standards of ISO 9001/TickIT. Viewlogic plans on having its remaining two product groups registered to ISO 9001/TickIT in 1996.

Founded in 1984, Viewlogic Systems Inc. is a worldwide supplier of electronic design automation (EDA) software.. The company's design tools enable electrical engineers to design state-of-the-art electronic products more efficiently, while reducing both development costs and time to market. The company offers software for both UNIX- and Windows-based computing platforms, along with a broad range of support services. For more company information, the Internet home page address for Viewlogic is http://www.viewlogic.com. -0-

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CONTACT: Viewlogic Systems Inc.

Karen Wills, 508/480-0881