ORLANDO, Fla. /PRNewswire/
-- Best Software CEO, Ron Verni, today announced the
company's plan to deliver a series of "Best Suites"
for a range of industries, all designed to advance
the company's drive to service the industry-specific
needs of its vertical market customers. Best Suites
include solutions for accounting practices,
construction, distribution, manufacturing,
nonprofit, and real estate. Verni unveiled the
company's plans in his keynote address to nearly
3,000 business partners attending Best Software's
Insights 2004 conference.
"Business owners today want business management
applications that are highly integrated and that
work the way their industries work," Verni said.
"Through our aggressive program of product
acquisition, integration and internal development,
we are able to deliver Best Suites for a range of
industries representing clear solutions to answer
those needs. Our customers can now select a wide
variety of modules from a complete Best Suite that
is
right for their work processes, industry, and
business size. The suites provide not only the best
business applications, but will also offer out-of-
the-box integration to deliver data seamlessly
throughout an enterprise."
With each Best Suite, customers begin with a
recommended core accounting package, then can select
additional applications such as CRM, HR, and others
as their business needs dictate, and as their
businesses grow. Using this linked building-block
approach, customers can readily think in terms of a
complete business solution, rather than purchasing
isolated applications, to
create an integrated end-to-end business process.
Integration of the Best Suites product portfolios is
made possible by two Best Software technologies:
Best Software Integration Framework and Best
Software Common Desktop.
Best Software Integration Framework provides a common
protocol that enables data and process integration
between Best Software front- and back-office
applications and third-party solutions. Integration
Framework is a proven technology that is based on
Microsoft .Net and XML standards. Initial
implementations of Integration Framework are being
shipped in Europe, integrating SalesLogix with Line
100, an accounting product marketed by Best Software
parent, The Sage Group, plc.
Further unifying the company's solutions and vertical
industry
initiatives, Best Software Common Desktop offers a
single point of entry for users to organize and
access Best Software applications. The Common
Desktop will provide a common interface across Best
Software applications, providing users with
solutions that deliver best-of-breed functionality
for their respective industries, coupled with
usability standards that are shared by all of those
applications. In addition, using HTML, the Common
Desktop will
deliver unique user content, such as software
maintenance, updates and product enhancements, based
on the customer's products and versions.
Best Software's current initiatives extend its solid
foundation of
established industry expertise gained through
company acquisitions, including Timberline for
construction and real estate, both the MAS and
ACCPAC product lines, which have deep roots in
manufacturing and distribution, MIP for nonprofit
organizations, and CPASoftware for accounting
professionals.
The company will begin to roll out its vertical
initiatives over the next 12-24 months, as it
implements Common Desktop and Integration Framework
into its products.
About Best Software, Inc.
Best Software offers leading business management
products and services that give more than 2.3
million small and mid-sized customers in North
America the insight for success throughout the lives
of their businesses. Its parent company, The Sage
Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 4.3 million
customers worldwide. Its first half revenue run rate
for FY 2004 was the equivalent of
over $1 billion in annual revenues. For more than 25
years, Best Software has delivered easy-to-use,
scalable and customizable applications through its
portfolio of leading brands, including Abra, ACCPAC,
ACT!, BusinessVision, CPASoftware, FAS, MAS 90, MAS
200, MAS 500, MIP, Peachtree, SalesLogix,
Timberline, among many others. For more information,
please visit the Web site
at http://www.bestsoftware.com/moreinfo or call
(866) 308-BEST.
CONTACT: Pete Kent of Best Software, Inc.,
+1-503-439-5919, mobile: +1-503-351-4203, or
pete.kent@bestsoftware.com
05.11.04 
