Sage Software Named 2008 CRN Channel Champion in SMB Software Suites

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwire - March 11, 2008) - Sage Software announced today that is has been named a 2008 CRN Channel Champion in the category of SMB Software Suites. The CRN Channel Champion award program, now in its 17th year, is sponsored by CMP Channel's CRN, the number one destination for technology vendors and marketers looking to reach the $390 billion sellers of technology channel.

The CRN Channel Champions study measures overall Solution Provider perceptions of vendor products and services. The survey is the largest and broadest-based technology integrator market study in the industry. The result is a premier resource used by VARs and technology integrators throughout the industry to evaluate vendors and their programs.

Sage Software was evaluated against Microsoft® and Oracle®, and was ranked #1 in the following categories: Configurability or Customization Tools, Price For Performance, Post-sales Support, Pre-sales Support, Relevance of Channel Program, Efforts To Manage Channel Conflict, ROI Of Vendor Relationship, and Services Attach Rate.

Sage Software achieved the highest overall Program & Support Satisfaction, and Financial Satisfaction ratings, which garnered the overall SMB Software Suites Channel Champion crown for the company. Complete results will be published in the April 28th issue of CRN.

"Being named the 2008 CRN Channel Champion in the SMB Software Suites category exemplifies the mutual success of Sage Software and our business partners," said Nina Smith, Sage Software president, Business Management Division. "Our broad product portfolio, marketing and sales tools, and strong service and support set us apart."

"Our work with Business Partners isn't focused on the technology alone, but also on how to help them develop stronger businesses," said Doug Meyer, Sage Software president, Industry & Specialized Solutions Division. "A great example is our Leadership Academy that gives partners new skills for expanding their business and a network of like-minded leaders they can share ideas with. The Channel Champion award bears out the value of bringing these innovations to our Business Partners."

The survey rated more than 100 vendors in 29 key product and service categories. In addition to the SMB Business Software Suites category, which Sage Software won, the categories included: Client & Server Processors; Client Security Software (Firewall, Anti-Spam, Anti-Virus); Collaboration Software; Data and Information Management; Enterprise Business Software Suites; Enterprise Networking Hardware (excluding wireless LANs and Voice); Enterprise Wireless LANs; External Data Backup; Flat Panel Displays 19-30"; Flat Panel Displays 30"+ (includes Large Screen TV's); High Capacity Hard Drives (300 GB & Above); Infrastructure Integration Software/SOA; Midrange Servers ( > $25,000); Multifunction Printers; Network Security Appliances; Network Security Software; Network Storage (SAN or NAS); Notebooks/Mobile Computers; Projectors; (SIEM) Security Information and Event Management; SMB (Small and Midsize) Wireless LANs; SMB (Small and Midsize) Business Software Suites; SMB (Small and Midsize) Networking Hardware (excluding wireless LANs and Voice); SMB Volume Servers ( < $25,000); Storage Management Software; Systems and Network Management Software; UPS Data Center Power Management; Voice-over-IP Technology; and Workgroup Color Printers.

"For the last 17 years Solution Providers have come to rely on the CRN Channel Champions study as a way to evaluate the leading technology vendors in the Channel today. We congratulate Sage Software and all of the other winners for delivering high quality solutions that satisfy business partners," said Robert C. DeMarzo, senior vice president and editorial director, CMP Channel.

About Sage Software

Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of nearly 2.8 million small and medium-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 global supplier of business management software and services to small and medium-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989. Sage Group now has 5.5 million customers and employs over 13,900 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the web site at www.sagesoftware.com or call (866) 308-2378.

About CRN (www.crn.com)

CRN provides solution providers and technology integrators with the crucial information and analysis they need to drive their company's sales. As an advocate for and voice of the IT channel, solution providers turn to CRN first for immediate information. With nearly 25 years of experience, CRN is the most trusted source for channel professionals. CRN can be found on the web at http://www.crn.com.

About CMP Channel (www.cmpchannel.com)

CMP Channel is the one stop shop customers turn to in order to meet their global sales channel objectives from access to execution. Through use of its family of channel solutions which include CRN and VARBusiness, the ChannelWeb network, XChange Events, Online Services and the Institute for Partner Education & Development (IPED), vendors are able to accelerate sales through the channel. CMP Channel provides a worldwide answer to advertising, branding and marketing services, lead generation, market intelligence, branded and custom events, education and workflow tools for solution providers and vendors.

About CMP

CMP (http://www.cmp.com/) is a media and marketing solutions company serving the technology industry. With the leading online, event and print brands in all technology market categories, and with services and tools that reach beyond traditional advertising, CMP shapes and influences the technology industry worldwide. CMP publishes highly respected media brands such as TechWeb, InformationWeek, ChannelWeb, CRN, EE Times and TechOnline; produces major industry events such as Interop, Web 2.0 Expo, XChange, Game Developers Conference and the Embedded Systems Conferences; and provides business information and marketing services such as the International Customer Management Institute, Semiconductor Insights and Second Life consulting for technology marketers. CMP is a subsidiary of United Business Media (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/), a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $3 billion. For more CMP news, go to cmp.com/news.

© 2008 Sage Software. All rights reserved. The Sage Software logo and the Sage Software product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software or its affiliated entities.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Mark Priscaro Director, Public Relations Sage Software (925) 931-7048 mark.priscaro@sage.com Dan Neel CMP Channel (516) 562-7236 dneel@cmp.com