CBUY.L Regulatory News (CBUY)

2 Dec 2009 07:00



@UK PLC

("@UK" or the "Company")

 Key position in emerging Platform as a Service sector

@UK (AIM:ATUK.L) is a provider of spend analysis, eCommerce and eProcurement software solutions that combine into a comprehensive eMarketplace used by government, health and private sectors. The Company's software solutions and platform, marketed as Platform Generator, together with its active cumulative announced user accounts, provides the Company with a key position in the Platform as a Service ("PaaS") sector of cloud computing.  

@UK PLC's platform had over 987,000 users on 1 December 2009 and on this basis, the directors believe that @UK PLC's Platform Generator system is one of the largest active PaaS platforms (measured by cumulative user accounts to date). The Directors intend to develop the Company's customer base further within the PaaS sector.

Cloud computing consists of 3 levels: 

The lowest level is infrastructure as a service. This is the business of shared use of common infrastructure on a rental basis.

Software as a service is the provision of shared software on a shared infrastructure under a managed service and sold on a rental basis.

Platform as a service is the provision of a shared platform on shared infrastructure under a managed service and sold on a rental basis. The platform is a development environment that allows customers to quickly and cost effectively build software as a service applications that can be used by the other members of the platform.

The directors believe that @UK PLC's Platform Generator software has a number of advantages over other cloud platforms including.

As organisations look to reduce costs and take new software products quickly to market, the directors believe that Platform Generator is well placed to market to information technology decision-makers as it has an established track record. Platform Generator modules are currently used by Fortune 500 organisations, the UK National Health Service (NHS) and UK Government along with leading UK Companies.

Platform Generator is priced at a similar range to other high end software development environments and the directors believe has a significant advantage over many existing development environments since it provides both a live user base and connectivity for applications developed on the Platform, at an affordable price for large organisations. Platform Generator has live connections to the following systems:

- Finance systems:

- Other marketplaces

Users of these systems have a seamless connection into Platform Generator, and can return with shopping baskets along with the exchange of orders, invoices and other business documents.

The Platform Generator platform has a significant population of other users, that are able to immediately connect to software applications developed on the Platform Generator platform and assist organisations that deploy their software using Platform Generator to achieve more rapid project implementation.

For further information please contact:

Notes to Editors

@UK PLC is the UK market leader in Platform as a service using Platform Generator.

Platform Generator provides a leading UK electronic marketplace, has formed over 190,000 companies using the Platform Generator SiteGenerator ecommerce engine and is providing ecommerce to NHS Suppliers as part of NHS Cat with NHS Supply Chain. @UK PLC's SiteGenerator ecommerce, part of the Platform Generator, allows suppliers to trade with all major finance systems, @UK PLC's marketplace and other leading marketplaces.

@UK PLC has an OGC Buying Solutions framework contract for the provision of its new "Spend Insight™" Spend Analysis services,

@UK's Platform Generator software provides a secure internet eMarketplace enabling buyers such as local authorities, schools and hospitals to buy online from commercial suppliers ranging from large corporations to small to medium enterprises (SMEs). This allows buying and selling to take place with no paperwork and a reduced chance of errors through transposition, achieving major savings throughout the supply chain. @UK PLC also offers services to new businesses, including incorporation, company secretarial services and filing annual returns.

@UK is included in the Software and Computer Services Sector (9530). For further information please visit www.uk-plc.net