February 24, 2004—FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Sage Group Acquires ACCPAC International

Recently, UK-based Sage—better known as Best Software, Inc. in North America—announced that it has acquired ACCPAC International, a subsidiary of Computer Associates.  ACCPAC is internationally known for developing customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, warehouse management, and e-commerce business solutions.  Though acquisitions of this nature can lead to confusion during the transitional phase, ACCPAC executives believe that the sale will prove to be successful.  Prominent ACCPAC product reseller David Boos, President of Cornerstone Consulting, Inc. is confident that this is a decision that will enhance service to small-and medium-sized businesses. 

Best Software, Inc. programs are currently comprised of desktop solutions.  Their product line includes Peachtree, ACT, Sales Logix and Best Fixed Assets.  Through this acquisition, Sage plans to expand their products to incorporate ACCPAC’s Advantage Series, Pro Series, CRM, Exchange, HR Series, browser-based systems and end-to-end business management applications.  Sage will expand its customer base with additional middle-market clients (companies that earn between $2 million and $50 million in revenue).  As neither ACCPAC nor Sage have plans to downsize personnel, the merger is expected to be completed by late February.

Executives at Computer Associates believe that this decision is crucial to their exit strategy from the business applications market.  Of the sale of ACCPAC, Computer Associates’ CEO Sanjay Kumar recently stated "CA has committed itself to addressing the enterprise management challenges in our core management software markets. The sale of ACCPAC to Sage supports that focus, while providing opportunities for ACCPAC employees and transitioning customers to a company that is ideally positioned to care for them."

Best Software, Inc. has thrived in North America for over 25 years and has made fifteen acquisitions in the past fifteen years.  Gaining ACCPAC will not only strengthen Sage’s North American position, especially in Canada, but also improve its access to other foreign markets.  Regarding the predicted effect of the acquisition on Sage’s overall competitiveness, Paul Walker, Sage CEO, stated, “Acquiring ACCPAC has not only strengthened our North American market position by establishing a position in Canada, but has added to our product offering in the Southern Hemisphere.”  This is due to the fact that Sage will inherit access to South African and Australian markets as well as gain a strategic entrance into Asia via Singapore. 

Cornerstone Consulting is one of the most prominent ACCPAC resellers in Florida.  David Boos founded Cornerstone in 1983 with an aim to serve the PC-based accounting software market.  Since David was an expert Visual FoxPro programmer, the decision to expand his business to include the ACCPAC Pro Series accounting software proved to be logical and prosperous.  As Dave’s business grew, so did ACCPAC’s product offerings.  Not only was ACCPAC’s accounting software superior, their business applications offered unsurpassed attributes and exceptional performance.  The success of selling the ACCPAC Pro Series product was also due to the accessibility of the program code, which enabled the “out of the box” product to be customized in any manner that a client desired.  Cornerstone’s team of programmers modified client’s technological processes as the businesses changed and expanded.  Boos and his staff of skilled MIS/IT professionals are confident that both the superiority of ACCPAC programs and the solid reputation of Best Software, Inc. products will prove to be beneficial to clients.

About Cornerstone Consulting, Inc.

Founded in 1983, Cornerstone Consulting, Inc. is a privately-owned company that provides a full suite of information technology products and services for small, mid-sized, and large companies. Cornerstone’s services include: system integration for LAN, WAN, VPN, wireless and Internet networks, Custom Programming, E-commerce, Website Design and Hosting, Security, Networks, Hardware and Software, Remote Monitoring, as well as Custom Web Application Development.  Headquartered in Clearwater, FL at 2600 McCormick Dr., Suite 210, owner David Boos can be reached at (813) 321-1300.  For further information about our company visit www.Cornerstone1.com

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