Sage Software's Sage Abra HRMS Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant in 2006 Magic Quadrant

Sage Software's Sage Abra HRMS Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant in 2006 Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket Human Resource Management Systems Evaluation Based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- 01/30/2006 -- Sage Software announced today that Sage Abra HRMS, its award-winning, fully-integrated HR, payroll, compliance, employee self-service (ESS), and online benefits enrollment solution, has been positioned in the Leaders quadrant in Gartner, Inc.'s 2006 Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS).

"We believe being named to Gartner's Leaders HRMS quadrant for 2006 confirms what our customers already know," said Ray Jimison, senior vice president and general manager for Specialized Business Solutions at Sage Software. "Sage Abra is valued for its large mid-market HRMS installed base and strong functionality at reasonable price points, which maximize return on investment and minimize total cost of ownership. In addition, Sage Software has diverse product and service offerings outside of HRMS, such as Sage Payroll Services, and a financially strong parent company."

Sage Abra is Sage Software's flagship HR/payroll offering from its portfolio of complementary front- and back-office solutions, including accounting, fixed asset management, and customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, among others, as well as solutions especially for specific vertical industries, such as manufacturing, distribution, nonprofit, accountants, construction, and real estate. In addition to its best-of-breed status, Sage Abra integrates with the company's Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP, Sage MAS 500 ERP, and Sage MIP Fund Accounting products, among other solutions for the mid-market.

*For its U.S. Midmarket HRMS Magic Quadrant, Gartner evaluates vendors across a range of criteria and positions them in the Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries, or Niche Players quadrant based on their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. According to Gartner, U.S. Midmarket HRMS Leaders are "vendors whose performances excel in the U.S. for midmarket HRMS solutions. They are able to deliver breadth and depth of HRMS functionality, as well as demonstrate a strong vision to capitalize on emerging market trends. Leaders successfully articulate a business proposition that resonates with buyers, supported by the viability and operational capability to deliver."

In addition to the Magic Quadrant positioning, Abra Workforce Connections, the self-service component of Sage Abra, recently received a Top HR Product award from the editors of HR Executive magazine.

For more information about Sage Abra HRMS, contact (800) 517-9099 or visit www.cmshris.com.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted January 25, 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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 2.5 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (LSE: SGE.L), supports 4.7 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.cmshris.com or call (800) 517-9099.

*Gartner Research "Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket HRMS, 2006" by James Holincheck and Kirsten Recknagel. January 26, 2006

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