ADERANT Rebrands Leading Practice Management System; CMS.Net Changed to ADERANT Back Office to Better Reflect Evolving Collaboration, Integration, and Technology Needs of Professional Service Firms

Business Wire, August 18, 2005

ATLANTA -- ADERANT, a global provider of business and financial management software for professional services organizations, today announced that effective immediately the company has changed the name of its industry-leading financial and practice management solution, CMS.Net, to ADERANT Back Office.

The rebranding reflects an ongoing restructuring of ADERANT's product offerings that more effectively addresses the evolving business needs of law firms, accounting firms, and professional services organizations and that better reflects the new solutions the company has introduced recently, including ADERANT Front Office and ADERANT Executive Office.

"Practice management systems play an essential role in firm operations, serving as a central repository for a wealth of transactional business data," said Michael J. Simmons, Chief Executive Officer of ADERANT. "To maximize the value firms get out of this data, they must be able to leverage it in next-generation solutions designed specifically for the needs of executives and front-office personnel. By renaming CMS.Net to ADERANT Back Office, we are clarifying the role of our practice management system and emphasizing that it is just one element of our more comprehensive and integrated solution offering."

Integrating Front and Back Offices

ADERANT's product strategy addresses one of the professional service industry's largest business issues -- the lack of integration between software applications. For example, according to the International Legal Technology Association's (ILTA) 2004 Large Firm IT Spending Survey application integration was a top issue among IT leaders at law firms with more than 200 lawyers. 86 percent of survey respondents said they wished the software packages they used could be integrated more easily.

The ILTA survey shows the growing importance of seamlessly integrated software as professional services firms of all sizes struggle with the costs -- both budgetary and business performance -- of maintaining disparate point solutions and multiple silos of information.

This problem has been compounded as firms have invested in new technologies over the years to cope with a rapidly changing business environment. Facing stiffer competition, they invested in client relationship management solutions to help them win new clients and keep existing ones. In an attempt to maximize their profitability, they purchased business intelligence solutions to analyze their operations and improve their performance. And, in an effort to improve the level of service they provide their clients, they implemented practice automation solutions to improve the productivity and responsiveness of their professionals.

These new technologies have blurred long-established definitions of what practice management systems are and the business processes they address. The value and role of these new professional service solutions become clearer when they are defined by their target users and the business processes they improve.

"ADERANT Back Office is the cornerstone of a modern professional service firm's technology strategy," continued Simmons. "Powered by CMS.Net, it automates and streamlines traditional back office activities -- such as accounting, billing, and more -- while providing firms with a solid foundation for the new solutions they need to improve the performance and maximize their profitability."

ADERANT Back Office is seamlessly integrated with the company's other solutions, including ADERANT Executive Office and ADERANT Front Office. The solution is also designed to be open, so it can be easily integrated with a firm's existing technology infrastructure.

Built on Microsoft Technologies

All ADERANT solutions are built on a common database, Microsoft SQL Server, and are powered by a single integration platform, Microsoft.NET. These advanced Microsoft technologies and products ensure that ADERANT's solutions are tightly integrated and can grow with the needs of our clients. ADERANT is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner.

About ADERANT

ADERANT, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is a leading provider of software for services organizations. The global software company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions, consisting of financial, resource and practice management software that enables services organizations of all sizes to maximize operational efficiencies. ADERANT provides solutions to the world's largest and most prominent service organizations -- including HP, Computer Sciences Corporation, KPMG LLP, Manugistics, American Express, Deloitte Consulting, Macleod Dixon LLP, Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP, Skadden Arps and Winston & Strawn. ADERANT also has offices in Asia Pacific and Europe. More information about ADERANT is available at www.aderant.com.

Editors Note: The correct usage of the ADERANT name is all capitals.

Javelan and Novient are registered trademarks, and CMS.Net, ADERANT Back Office, ADERANT Executive Office, ADERANT Front Office, Keystone and all ADERANT product logos are trademarks of ADERANT Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the properties of their respective owners.