Sage Receives Recognition for Top Quality Customer Support

Sage Software's Herndon and St. Petersburg Support Teams Earn Second Consecutive Support Center Practices (SCP) Certifications

Prestigious Certifications Recognize Top Quality Customer Support Provided by Sage Abra HRMS, Sage Carpe Diem, Sage FAS Fixed Assets and Sage TimeSheet Teams

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/17/2005 -- Sage Software today announced that customer support teams for its Sage Abra HRMS, Sage Carpe Diem, Sage FAS Fixed Assets, and Sage TimeSheet products have achieved re-certification under the prestigious Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program, after extensive audits of the company's St. Petersburg, Fla., and Herndon, Va., support centers. The Herndon and St. Petersburg support centers first received SCP certification in 2004.

The SCP program is a comprehensive audit of support procedures, practices, service levels to customers, and all internal department processes. In addition, the SCP program reviews how a company treats its customers, its ability to work closely with other departments, such as research and development (R&D), quality assurance (QA), product management (PM), and sales, and its programs to develop and motivate its people.

"The SCP re-certification underscores the investment and commitment we have made to serve our customers and develop employee talent," said Ray Jimison, senior vice president and general manager for Specialized Business Solutions at Sage Software. "Our support professionals continuously receive high marks for customer satisfaction and loyalty, and we are proud of their service accomplishments."

Sage Software's Irvine, Calif. (Sage MAS 90/200, Sage MAS 500 and Sage PFW ERP) and Atlanta (Peachtree by Sage) support centers have held SCP certifications since 1998 and 2001, respectively. Additionally, the company's Sage BusinessWorks Accounting support center (Rocklin, Calif.) has held the certification since 1999, and the Sage Timberline support center (Beaverton, Ore.) since 2001. Sage Software's Atlanta center supporting Timeslips by Sage achieved SCP Certification in 2004.

SCP Certification defines best practices for delivering world-class technology support. The program quantifies the effectiveness of customer support, establishes a foundation to build on existing quality processes, and provides a clear focus on measurable results. SCP Certification requires comprehensive on-site audits to confirm that companies meet the requirements of the over 100 business elements defined in the program. Certified organizations must demonstrate their continued commitment to high performance standards through annual re-certification audits.

"By once again passing the rigorous requirements for SCP Certification, Sage Software makes clear its dedication to world-class customer support," said Kristin Robertson, SCP auditor for the Sage Software customer support teams. "During the SCP Certification audit process, Sage Software demonstrated a clear commitment to customer satisfaction and continuous improvement in their support operations."

In addition to Sage Software, other leading technology companies have achieved the prestigious and sought-after SCP Certification, including Lockheed Martin Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Mentor Graphics Corporation, Network Appliance Incorporated, Quantum Corporation, and Xerox Corporation, among others. Currently more than 200 technology support organizations around the world participate in the SCP program.

About Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification

SCP Certification is an internationally recognized standard created by Service Strategies Corporation and a consortium of leading technology companies around the world. The program quantifies the effectiveness of support, establishes a foundation to build on existing quality processes and provides a clear focus on measurable results. The world's leading service and support providers use SCP Certification as a roadmap for service excellence and a measure of success. For more information, visit www.scpcertification.com, e-mail info@servicestrategies.com, or call (800) 552-3058, toll free in North America.

About Sage Software (formerly Best Software)

Sage Software offers leading business management software and services that support the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.4 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports 4.5 million customers worldwide. For more than 25 years, Sage Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software for accounting, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking and the specialized needs of accounting practices and the construction, distribution, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (800) 517-9099.

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