Sage Software and Palo Alto Software Partner for Small Business Success

ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 9, 2007 -- Sage Software announced today an alliance with Palo Alto Software that will assist small businesses in kicking off 2007 with the right tools to help them be successful for years to come. Together, the products offered through this partnership cover the range of capabilities that new small businesses need to effectively manage their operations.

Through the partnership between Sage Software and Palo Alto, businesses purchasing Palo Alto's Business Plan Pro 2007 or Marketing Plan Pro 2007 from Palo Alto Software can receive a discount on Peachtree by Sage Pro Accounting 2007 and ACT! by Sage 2007. In addition, small businesses that purchase Peachtree by Sage Complete Accounting 2007 through selected retail stores and resellers through March are eligible to receive Business Plan Pro for free; or those who purchase Business Plan Pro are eligible for a free copy of Peachtree by Sage First Accounting 2007.

"Business Plan Pro is the leading business plan software on the market, and Sage Software is a world leader in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) business management software market," said Sabrina Parsons, director of marketing communications, Palo Alto Software. "We are excited to partner with Sage Software to help small businesses pull together all of the necessary tools to make the right start."

As small businesses get up and running, they need several things: strong business and marketing plans, the tools to manage their new customer bases, and a strong back-end accounting system to manage their finances and payroll. With this new alliance, Sage Software and Palo Alto are making all of those tools readily available to small businesses to help them stay on course at an affordable price.

"Accounting software is just as critical to a new business as their business plan; contact management can be the catalyst that pushes a new business to success and assists with the implementation of the marketing plan," said Kevin Thornton, senior vice president, channel sales, Sage Software. "Small businesses need all of these things, which is why we are working with Palo Alto to bring these bundled capabilities to up-and-coming small businesses."

These bundles are available direct from Palo Alto Software, through the Palo Alto e-store, or through select Sage Software/Palo Alto resellers. Free Business Plan Pro and Peachtree First Accounting products are offered to qualifying buyers after mail-in rebate. More information is available at: http://www.paloalto.com.

About Palo Alto Software

Palo Alto Software, Inc., founded in 1988, develops, publishes and markets software products for use with personal computers. BUSINESS PLAN PRO is the best-selling business planning software in the U.S. retail market, according to NPD Intelect (formerly PC Data). Palo Alto Software's other products include, BUSINESS PLAN PRO, and MARKETING PLAN PRO®. Palo Alto Software's product line offers "know how" solutions that have made it the market leader in its category. Palo Alto Software's award-winning site, www.bplans.com, continues to be one of the highest trafficked sites in the small business arena, offering numerous business planning resources. Palo Alto Software is a privately owned corporation based in Eugene, Oregon. More information about Palo Alto Software products is available on the company website, www.paloalto.com.

About Sage Software

Sage Software supports the needs, challenges, and dreams of more than 2.7 million small and mid-sized business customers in North America through easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software and services. Our products support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Sage Software is a subsidiary of The Sage Group plc, a leading international supplier of accounting and business management software solutions and related products and services for small and mid-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now has 5.2 million customers and employs over 13,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Joanne Hogue 410-658-8246 Joanne@lva.com Aimee Ertley 770-724-4556 aimee.ertley@sage.com