CARF Selects Pivotal for CRM and Partner Relationship Management; Human Services Accreditation Commission to Increase the Level of Customer Service

Business Wire, July 17, 2002

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

Pivotal Corporation (NASDAQ:PVTL) (TSX:PVT.TO), the leading provider of sensible customer relationship management (CRM) software for mid-sized enterprises, today announced that CARF, an independent, not-for-profit accreditation commission, has selected to implement Pivotal for its CRM and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) strategy. The company develops and maintains practical and relevant standards of quality for human services organizations such as adult day services, assisted living residences, behavioral health programs, employment and community services and medical rehabilitation programs. Using Pivotal, CARF will manage its professional relationships with more than 3,700 customers and 1,000 surveyors throughout the United States, Canada and Western Europe.

"Consumers of human services are demanding higher standards and greater accountability from service providers," said Brian J. Boon, Ph.D., president and CEO of CARF. "CARF is a not-for-profit accrediting body that is addressing this problem by establishing customer-driven standards to help providers measure and improve the quality, value and outcomes of their services. To manage the vast and growing demands for our accreditation, CARF has selected Pivotal's CRM and PRM software - a complete suite that is cost-effective, fast-to-deploy and easy-to-customize."

To date, more than 28,000 programs and services at more than 3,700 provider organizations across the United States, Canada and Western Europe have earned CARF accreditation - and business continues to grow. According to Boon, "Pivotal is the ideal fit for our growing business. The company's technology, services and business style are all designed to make the promise of CRM attainable for organizations like ours. Pivotal's responsive approach to doing business makes us feel like a person and not just another number. The company is 100 percent committed to our success."

Streamlining the Application Process for Accreditation

CARF has selected Pivotal's CRM software to create a single, unified system that will enable effective communication across the company, customers and surveyors. CARF will use Pivotal to streamline the application process for accreditation. Soon, customers will be able to access CARF's Website to easily submit profiles, specify business requirements and complete the initial accreditation application. Once this information is submitted, the Pivotal system will automatically identify an account services professional for the customer's region. Then, a survey team of human services professionals will be selected to work on site with the customer to assess the service provider's conformance to the CARF standards.

Empowering Surveyors through the Power of Technology

CARF contracts a network of more than 1,000 surveyors to ensure the accrediting body's professional standards are met before awarding accreditation. The entire accreditation preparation and survey process can take more than eighteen months and requires stringent process management and consistent team communication.

Using Pivotal Partner Relationship Management, CARF is cost-effectively streamlining the accreditation process, enhancing surveyor productivity and improving customer satisfaction. CARF is using the system to create a collaborative inter-company framework to exchange knowledge, manage data and synchronize transactions across the organization. The company's extensive network of surveyors can effectively manage the various stages of the accreditation process, easily track a provider's conformance to the CARF standards and share accreditation progress across the company. In addition, CARF staff members will use the system to better study patterns in conformance to CARF standards, identify programs of excellence and pinpoint areas in which standards and training should be refined.

According to Bo Manning, president and CEO, Pivotal, "CRM and PRM technologies are changing the way accreditation organizations like CARF manage vast consumer and surveyor networks to fulfill significant public mandates. CARF's innovative strategy is significantly raising the bar in the accreditation field - not only by simplifying the accreditation process, but also by improving consumers and surveyor management."

About CARF

CARF is an independent, not-for-profit accreditation commission promoting quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons receiving services. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, the accrediting body is now known as CARF.

In 2002, CARF Canada was established as a separate, not-for-profit organization providing accreditation services to the human services providers in the country's ten provinces and three territories.

CARF establishes customer-focused standards to help providers measure and improve the quality, value, and outcomes of their services. At present, the CARF family of organizations has accredited more than 3,700 providers in the United States, Canada, and Sweden in the areas of adult day services, assisted living, behavioral health, employment and community services, and medical rehabilitation. CARF began accrediting workforce development services in 2001 and one-stop career centers in 2002.