ASG Selected as United Way of Collier County Pacesetter; Software Firm Raises Funds for Several Health and Human Services Agencies in Collier County, Florida.

Business Editors

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003

ASG, a worldwide enterprise software and professional services provider to Global 500 companies, this week kicked off its 2003-2004 United Way of Collier County (UWCC) fundraising campaign. This is ASG's fifth consecutive role as a Pacesetter. Last year, ASG contributed nearly $40,000 to the charity organization. This year, ASG hopes to raise $45,000 in donations through internal pledges, payroll deductions, events, drawings, and employee-related activities.

"As a company, ASG will donate $25,000 toward the campaign, and we anticipate raising significantly more through other ASG and employee-sponsored events," ASG President and CEO Art Allen said. "United Way provides critical services to our employees, and to the community where many of us live."

United Way of Collier County Executive Director Ernie Bretzmann said, "A United Way Pacesetter begins their campaign early, and sets an example for other local businesses to emulate."

Employees stay abreast of ASG's United Way campaign activities through regular e-mail updates and their employee newsletter, In the Loop. Employees access the newsletter through the ASG-Business Information Portal(TM) -- a Web-based hub of core business applications and information marketed by the 17-year old company. "Our friends at ASG have imaginative, fun ways to raise money for local human service agencies," said Shannon Anderson, UWCC campaign director.

"Many ASG employees pledge a percentage of their income to United Way. Internally, ASG fundraising includes several contests and drawings and a "Pay-to-Dress-Casual Day" when, for a $5 contribution, jeans, flip-flops, funny hats and t-shirts are acceptable business attire," said ASG Employee Relations Specialist and UWCC Board Member Amy Orr. "Each year, we create new ways to generate the funding that is so well-deserved by the local agencies of United Way."

About ASG

ASG's business is to partner with clients to improve productivity and significantly enhance performance through the intelligent use of technology. Founded in 1986, ASG is a privately-held global enterprise software and professional services firm that provides a full range of software solutions in the Security Management, Applications Management, Operations Management, Information Management, Performance Management, and Infrastructure Management arenas -- including business re-engineering, systems integration, and systems development. ASG has 900 employees, $175 million in revenues, 7,000 customer sites, and 18,000 software licenses worldwide. ASG is headquartered in Naples, Florida, USA, with 40 offices throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia/Pacific. For more information, visit ASG at http://www.asg.com.

About The United Way of Collier County

UWCC's mission is to improve lives through funding carefully selected human services agencies, increasing awareness of needs in our community and providing donors an informed opportunity to direct their charitable giving. Last year, UWCC raised over $2 million in Collier. As one of the largest generators of philanthropic giving for health and human services, such as affordable day care, marital and mental health counseling, medical care for the uninsured working poor, shelter for the homeless and for abused women. Unlike most United Way communities, United Way of Collier County receives no government funding. Campaigns experienced growth in every geographic region. Based on campaign results in 2000-2001, the largest growth by region was experienced in the South Central region (up 5.4 percent) and in the Southeast region (up 4.4 percent) over the previous year.