Business Services Industry

BST and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. Announce Strategic Alliance to Deliver Enterprise e-Business Solutions to North American Professional Services Organizations

Business Wire, August 16, 2000

Business Editors/Technology Writers

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 16, 2000

BST Consultants Inc., a leading Professional Services Automation (PSA) provider of e-Business software solutions, and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S., a leading provider of strategic information technology solutions, today announced a strategic North American alliance. This partnership will provide Professional Services Organizations (PSOs) with comprehensive software, systems integration and technology solutions that will improve project, resource, financial and employee time & expense management throughout the entire enterprise, which will ultimately help clients increase profitability while enhancing business relationships with customers.

"Over the last decade, the rapid expansion of the global economy and technology has driven PSOs to demand increased efficiencies and profitability throughout the enterprise," said Delmar Warnock, Director of Business Development for BST. "In recognition of this evolution, PSOs are rapidly adopting enterprise Professional Services Automation solutions to maximize the management of people and projects. The combined experience of BST and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. in the software and information technology industries will empower PSOs to meet their dynamic business challenges and opportunities through best of breed integrated e-Business solutions and services."

BST will provide e-Business applications training and on-going system support. Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. will deliver project management, systems integration, data conversion and application rollout as part of the overall offering. The BST Enterprise solution features fully integrated project, resource, financial and employee time & expense management. Project management capabilities include project initiation and budgeting, project revenue management, project billing and project financial management. Resource management capabilities include employee time & utilization management. Financial management capabilities include comprehensive multi-national accounts payable, accounts receivable and general ledger management. Employee time & expense management capabilities include a workflow enabled time entry and approval process.

"Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S. is delighted to have formed this strategic alliance with BST for the North American market," said Rick Bugby, Account Executive for all BST activities. "We believe BST is a major player in this key area for PSOs. The mix of our two teams fits perfectly to provide a solution to clients that allows both flexibility and depth to meet client need under many circumstances."

About Cap Gemini Ernst & Young

Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is one of the largest management and IT consulting firms in the world and is publicly traded on the Paris Bourse. The company offers management and IT consulting services, systems integration, and technology development, design and outsourcing capabilities on a global scale to help traditional businesses and "dot companies" continue to explore growth strategies in the new economy. The newly formed organization employs more than 57,000 people worldwide and reports global revenues of 7.7 billion euros (1999). Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, U.S is a subsidiary of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. More information about individual service lines, offices and research is available at www.usa.capgemini.com.

About BST

BST Consultants Inc. is a leading Professional Services Automation (PSA) provider of e-Business enterprise software solutions to Professional Services Organizations (PSOs). The Company's integrated applications facilitate the management of projects, financial processes, resources and employee time & expense across the global enterprise.

BST's software product, BST Enterprise, is a highly scalable web based solution that has leveraged Microsoft's Windows Distributed iNternet Architecture (Windows DNA), methodology and tool sets to deliver an e-Business solution. BST Enterprise computing environment includes Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft SQL Database, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), and Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS.)

Founded in 1978, BST Consultants Inc. is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA. Additional information can be obtained by contacting the Company at (1) 813-886-3300 or 1-800-726-3300, or via the Internet at www.BSTConsultants.com.