UNIT4 Promotes Route to 'Independence' Through Enterprise Software Agility/Interoperability

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Dec 01, 2010, 08:00 ET

SLIEDRECHT, The Netherlands and BOSTON, December 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Introduces New Products, Plug-ins and Cloud Options for Optimizing Business Change

UNIT4, the world's leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial management software for fast changing organizations, today announced that it is releasing a new array of software products, partner plug-ins and cloud deployment options for both its Agresso Business World ERP solution and its Coda financials software line over the next two years. With these products, UNIT4 is promoting a new global technology strategy called 'Independence', aimed at helping corporate and government agencies transform business change into business opportunity.

UNIT4 has more than 6000 customers using its Agresso and Coda software solutions in more than 100 countries and is well known for architectural strengths that are well suited to a segment of the market the company describes as "Businesses Living IN Change" or BLINC(TM). The Independence strategy builds on the post-implementation change capabilities of Agresso's Vita(TM) architecture, and the interoperability strengths inherent in Coda's Link(TM) architecture. UNIT4 primarily targets mid-market organizations facing frequent change. Its mission is to help these organizations embrace change, both by reducing the costs associated with software changes needed to support business change, and by using the technology to react faster and more efficiently to business opportunities that typically accompany changing circumstances.

As part of the Group's Independence strategy, UNIT4 is planning three key product announcements:

    - A new cloud deployment option for Coda Financials, called 'Coda Cloud
      Rebel'.
    - A radical new product release roadmap for the Agresso Business World
      ERP line, branded 'Route 66;' and,
    - A new BLINC e-learning partner plug-in for both the Agresso and Coda
      Financials products, named 'Topaz,' which will be part of UNIT4's
      next-generation compatibility program entitled 'Color Your App'."

All three announcements fundamentally address the dissatisfaction expressed by a fast-growing segment of enterprise software buyers who are not comfortable with gambling their entire business success on the "all or nothing" approaches of ERP giants Oracle and SAP. "The reason why UNIT4 license revenue is growing faster than the market giants is because executives at mid-sized companies are turning away from these behemoths," explains Ton Dobbe, who heads UNIT4's global product strategy and product marketing. "Software buyers' past experiences with these companies has clearly shown that changing circumstances - such as merger/acquisition activities, new financial/tax regulations, reorganizations/restructurings, etc. -- are not healthy experiences for customers on other ERP architectures."

The Agresso Vita architecture has always provided business users the ability to easily perform needed ERP software changes themselves, without IT support, as often as necessary after the initial installation. UNIT4's new Independence strategy continues to widen the competitive differentiation between UNIT4, which allows "post-implementation" software change, and other ERP offerings that focus primarily on addressing "agility" before and during implementation.

Coda's Link architecture provides limitless freedom of choice for companies wanting to combine Coda's best-of-class financials with superior interoperability to other best-of-class solutions. For 30 years, Coda Link has been the benchmark of the optimum architecture for linking and optimizing data storage, flows and processes to operate harmoniously with other solutions -from specialist software packages to in-house developments. Coda's new Cloud Rebel deployment option again extends the freedom of choice for its customers.

About UNIT4

UNIT4 (http://www.unit4.com/) is a global business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic organizations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls 'Businesses Living IN Change' (BLINC)(TM). The Group incorporates a number of the world's leading change embracing software brands including Agresso Business World and Coda financial management software.

Agresso Business World ( http://www.unit4.com/products/agresso-business-world) is our flagship ERP suite for mid-sized services intensive organizations. It is widely acknowledged for delivering ongoing, post-implementation changes without the typical external IT costs and services that cost firms huge sums of money each year. This is achieved thanks to its powerful VITA(TM) architecture which is unmatched in the ERP world.

Coda Financials (http://www.unit4.com/products/coda) is our award-winning suite of best-of-class financial management software designed to integrate with your industry- and company-specific applications. Coda's LINK(TM) architecture sets it apart from ordinary accounting systems by providing a financial information backbone for companies with fast-changing and mixed application environments. It is a global accounting solution for mid-to large sized organizations, offering a "no compromise" approach to financial modeling, process control and application choice.

UNIT4 is a top six mid-market ERP software player globally and the 2nd largest European ERP supplier. With offices in 17 European countries, as well as 7 countries across North America, Asia Pacific and Africa and sales activities in several other countries, a revenue of EUR379.4 million was realized in 2009. UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands. The company has 4,160 employees.

UNIT4 is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext and is included in the Amsterdam Midcap Index (AMX). For more information on UNIT4 or any of its operating companies, please visit the website at http://www.unit4.com.

    For more information, please visit: http://www.unit4.com, or contact:

    Emma Hoyle
    Group PR Manager
    UNIT4
    +44-1423-537-977
    [email protected]

SOURCE UNIT4