SPE.L Regulatory News (SPE)

24 May 2005 06:00

Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs Tuesday 24 May 2005 SOPHEON PLC (`Sopheon' or `the Company') SOPHEON INTRODUCES ACCOLADE VERSION 6.0 New release extends Sopheon's market leadership In enabling successful adoption of best-practice new product development process Sopheon, the international software and services company, today introduced thelatest version of its flagship Sopheon Accolade‚® product portfolio and processmanagement system. Based on extensive research involving customers, partnersand industry experts, the nearly 30 new features being introduced in Accolade6.0 are focused on eliminating the administrative, communication andknowledge-sharing impediments to successful adoption of best practice productdevelopment process methodology, and improving the quality and efficiency ofportfolio decision-making. They include: * Dashboard on the Desktop - integrates Accolade with the user's existing personal productivity tools. Reduces one-off training, avoids duplication in administrative tasks and reduces need for behavioral change. * Instant deliverables - helps create gate-meeting presentations, reports and other process-related materials in minutes, freeing up time to focus on the intellectual and strategic challenges of product development. * Enhanced portal access - makes it possible for users to find and retrieve information related to their projects without having to look inside multiple applications. * Alignment monitoring - easy evaluation of how well day-to-day project activities align with the performance standards and strategic priorities of the organization. Dr Robert Cooper, president of the Product Development Institute and developerof the Stage-Gate‚® product development methodology, said: "One of Accolade'sprincipal strengths is the way in which it clearly, simply lays down the stepsof the Stage-Gate‚® process, automates them, and takes the administrative burdenout of executing them. These advantages encourage team members and executivestakeholders to try the system. When they do, they quickly see its value, andtrial turns into adoption. Many of the features being introduced in this latestversion of Accolade will reduce the time and effort needed to successfullyimplement Stage-Gate‚®. Accolade will help ensure that your process is reallyused."One of Sopheon's central goals in continuing to evolve Accolade is to createthe most user-friendly, efficient product development environment possible.This includes looking for ways to link Accolade to productivity tools that arealready available and familiar to Accolade users. For example, key aspects ofthe enhanced functionality being introduced in Accolade 6.0 were created byintegrating widely used Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft‚® OfficeProject Server 2003 and SharePoint‚® Portal Server 2003. "We initially choseSopheon as a partner in our collaborative product development initiativebecause we recognized that they are the industry leader in expertise andsolutions related to product portfolio and process management," said Tim Low,senior product manager, Microsoft. "What excites us about the partnership todayis that it has resulted in an application that uniquely and effectively focusesMicrosoft technology on the critical front-end of the product developmentprocess and the challenge of product innovation. With tight integration to theMicrosoft‚® Office Enterprise Project Management platform and SharePoint‚® PortalServer 2003, Accolade 6.0 gives product development teams and executives theability to access and share project-related information from enterprise-widesystems and use that data to make faster, better portfolio managementdecisions."Parker Hannifin, the $7 billion global market leader in motion and controlsystems, has a first-hand perspective on the positive impact that Accolade canhave on process implementation success. "One of the principal reasons weselected Accolade was our belief that it would help ensure successful adoptionacross 122 business units and 8 operating divisions," said Bob McAdoo, directorof IT applications for Parker. "We rolled out Accolade six months ago inconjunction with the introduction of our Stage-Gate‚® process. Not only is thesystem being used, adoption levels companywide have exceeded our expectations.With the enhancements being introduced in the newest version of Accolade, weexpect use rates to continue to escalate."Other industry leaders such as BASF, Cadbury Schweppes, GlaxoSmithKline,Revlon, Cargill, and Pfizer, as well as a broad mix of mid-market companies,have implemented Accolade to improve innovation, cut product development wasteand accelerate idea-to-commercialization cycles. Users have reported achievingup to 40% increases in revenue from new products and 20-30% reductions intime-to-market.For further information contact:Barry Mence, Chairman Sopheon plc Tel : + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 Arif Karimjee, CFO Adam Reynolds Hansard Communications Tel : + 44 (0) 207 245 1100 Andrew Tan + 44 (0) 7957 203 685 Floor Van Maaren Citigate First Financial Tel : + 31 (0) 205 754 010About SopheonSopheon (LSE:SPE) is an international provider of software and services thathelp organizations improve the business impact of product development. TheSopheon Accolade‚® product development system automates gate- or phase-basedproduct development (PD) processes and provides strategic decision support thatallows companies to improve innovation, cut product development spending wasteand shorten time to market. Sopheon is listed on the AIM market of the LondonStock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For more information,please visit www.sopheon.com.Sopheon Accolade‚® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc.Stage-Gate‚® is a registered trademark of the Product Development Institute,Inc.Microsoft‚® and SharePoint‚® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective ownersENDSOPHEON PLC