QAD'S MFG/PRO For Windows NT Launched on Oracle Database Server

Business Wire, June 30, 1998

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1998--

QAD Delivers Mid-Size Manufacturing ERP Solution that Enables Manufacturers Using Windows NT to Leverage the Power of the Oracle Database

QAD (Nasdaq:QADI), a leader in supply chain-enabled ERP software, Tuesday announced that its MFG/PRO(R) for Windows NT software now runs on the Oracle(R) Database Server.

Reflecting extensive collaboration between QAD and Oracle's Design and Migration Services Group within the Oracle Alliances organization, MFG/PRO for Windows NT running on Oracle enables manufacturers using NT to leverage the power of Oracle databases.

Preliminary performance measures of MFG/PRO for Windows NT, conducted by QAD, have been very promising.

"Initial benchmark tests show very comparable performance of MFG/PRO for Windows NT when stacked up against its UNIX counterpart. In the case of online transaction processing, there was just a slight reduction in speed -- well under one second. With thenew generation of powerful NT servers, we expect even better results," said Vince Niedzielski, QAD executive vice president of production.

MFG/PRO for Windows NT on Oracle provides customers in QAD's target markets - - automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial, and medical -- with the complete range of advanced ERP and supply chain applications in the latest release of MFG/PRO, Version 8.6.

MFG/PRO consists of modular, component-based applications that allow manufacturers to flexibly implement ERP processes in manufacturing, distribution, planning, financials and customer service and support.

Oracle databases can now be leveraged both by these core MFG/PRO for Windows NT applications and by the wide variety of industry-specific software applications from QAD and third parties, which provide customers with optimal ERP functionality and fast implementation.

MFG/PRO for Windows NT on Oracle is targeted to a broad marketplace in which Windows NT is making headway as an enterprise computing platform and Oracle has the leading market share among database vendors.

According to a recent survey of 50 Fortune 1000 executives conducted by Forrester Research, 84 percent expect to use Windows NT as a server for enterprisewide business applications by the year 2001, up from 54 percent today. Separately, a recent Dataquest Alert, "1997 Database Market Preview," identified Oracle as the leading database vendor on the Windows NT platform with a 41 percent market share.

QAD's migration of MFG/PRO for Windows NT to the Oracle Database Server follows a year of solid growth in the Windows NT market for QAD. MFG/PRO for Windows NT, which has until now run only on the Progress database, accounted for 30 percent of all MFG/PRO licenses sold in 1997, more than double its share of QAD's 1996 licenses.

"With an Oracle implementation of MFG/PRO for Windows NT, we expect to further accelerate our growth in the NT market," said Rita Foley, executive vice president of sales and marketing for QAD.

"Customers in the manufacturing midmarket, which continues to be a QAD stronghold, are increasingly moving to Windows NT to gain the benefits of enterprisewide standardization, ease of use and administration, and lower costs. At the same time, they want the capabilities that Oracle is so well known for -- support for very large databases and high transaction processing performance. They now have the best of both worlds with MFG/PRO."

Foley added that, beyond their collaboration in migrating MFG/PRO for Windows NT to the Oracle Database Server, QAD and Oracle are also working together to simplify the installation and administration of Oracle under MFG/PRO for Windows NT.

"Ease of use is one of the chief attractions of Windows NT for midrange manufacturers because their IT resources and expertise are typically limited, especially at globally dispersed locations," Foley said. "The installation and administration facilities we are developing with Oracle will provide a solution that automates and streamlines the processes for interfacing MFG/PRO for Windows NT with the Oracle Database and for making them work together productively.

"By helping companies to quickly implement a state-of-the-art ERP environment that leverages their investment in Windows NT and Oracle, these installation and administration features will enable MFG/PRO for Windows NT to make further inroads into the ERP midmarket, where we have always been a leader."

John Hall, vice president of Oracle's Global Alliances, said, "The Oracle-based MFG/PRO solution on NT is a technology that will help mid-sized manufacturing companies easily adopt NT platform ERP applications while utilizing the scalability, reliability and high performance of the Oracle database."

MFG/PRO for Windows NT on Oracle Database Server facilitates flexible distributed operations. Foley noted that MFG/PRO for Windows NT on Oracle will play an important role in the distributed ERP and internal supply chain operations of many companies. QAD's MFG/PRO, which runs on UNIX systems, and MFG/PRO for Windows NT are built with a distributed architecture that flexibly supports distributed client/server environments.