Applix Business Intelligence Solutions Help Government Contractors Accelerate the Business of Government.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2003

Increase in Government Programs Force Contractors to Better Manage Program Budgeting, Forecasting and Reporting; Government Contractors Realize Improved Analytics with Applix TM1 and Adonix Business Intelligence Software

Applix, Inc. (NASDAQ: APLX), a global provider of Business Intelligence (BI) and Business Performance Management (BPM) solutions, announced today that it has been selected by an increasing number of government contractors looking for ways to accelerate financial reporting, centralize planning and forecasting and better manage contracts.

In related news, Applix also unveiled the results of an independent study that showed a near 100 percent return on investment (ROI) and payback in just over a year for its TM1 software deployed at NCI Information Systems, Inc. (NCI) (www.nciinc.com), a leading IT government contractor and systems integrator based in Reston, VA. Applix partner Adonix, Inc., (http://www.adonix-inc.com), one of the Washington DC area's top resellers of accounting systems, budgeting and forecasting, business intelligence, and customer relationship management solutions, managed the deployment.

Government contractors, particularly those concentrated in the Washington, DC metro area have been attracted to the TM1 platform to help improve contract budgeting and forecasting processes. Many of these contractors have seen a significant leap in productivity and improved reporting and analysis capabilities after implementing TM1. The adoption of business intelligence solutions are being driven by the difficulty these companies have creating timely reports and analyzing data stored in Deltek, a common accounting system for government contractors.

"CFOs at government contractors have told us that their financial analysts are spending up to 80 percent of their time maintaining spreadsheets and re-keying data generated from their Deltek systems to produce the required financial reports," said David Menninger, vice president of worldwide marketing, Applix, Inc. "Having the financial analysts spending all their time on administrative tasks meant that bigger picture issues such as contract profitability and cost overruns were not being monitored properly. TM1 with our partner Adonix is helping government contractors accelerate business decisions by improving their program budgeting and forecasting processes dramatically."

One government contractor that has benefited from the TM1 system is PlanetGov (http://www.planetgov.com). With more than 300 employees and $400 million in annual revenues, PlanetGov is a fast growing government contractor that counts the Treasury Department, Veterans Administration, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as customers. Chief Financial Officer Mark P. Noftsinger stated PlanetGov was able to redeploy more than 600 man-hours per year of manual data entry into useful financial analysis after implementing TM1."

"The transformation in our reporting and analytical processes has been amazing," said Noftsinger. "For example, the TM1 application stores historical data, providing the capability to view reports from prior months. This enables managers to easily perform trend analysis and period comparisons, which helps us understand if our programs are on track."

Michael Mahoney, CEO and President of Adonix, Inc., commented, "Applix TM1 is the perfect solution for government contractors who are having difficulty maintaining the budgeting and forecasting process. Contractors that manage their programs using Microsoft Excel are continuously overwhelmed by the inefficient nature of this process. We've seen remarkable improvements in productivity and swift return on investment by contractors who have implemented TM1."

Return on Investment Came Early for Government Contractor NCI

Government contractors using TM1 have been able to see rapid return on their investments. According to an independent analysis prepared by Nucleus Research (http://www.nucleusresearch.com), the leading provider of bottom-line focused technology research, NCI has been able to realize direct savings in personnel costs and increases in working capital through quicker access to up-to-date and consistent financial data. According to the Nucleus study, NCI will realize a 97 percent annualized return on its investment in TM1 and a payback in less than 15 months.

NCI is one of the fastest growing IT organizations in the U.S. with more than 60 locations and 1,400 employees. With its broad range of core competencies and devotion to complete customer satisfaction, systems integrators and federal, civilian, and Department of Defense customers alike regard NCI as the "partner of choice." NCI's award-winning expertise encompasses areas critical to its customers, including enterprise services, security, systems development and integration, information management, and engineering and technical services.

Prior to using Applix's TM1, NCI's financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting processes relied upon spreadsheets, manual effort, and multiple homegrown systems. Following the deployment of TM1, tasks such as financial reporting and budgeting have significantly improved from speedier creation of routine and ad hoc reports, as well as the ability to monitor and manage financial transactions more effectively. These improvements have made it faster and easier for the NCI Finance Department to provide contract and program managers the data they need to understand how their contracts are performing.

Specifically, NCI experienced:

-- Improvements in working capital

-- Savings in personnel costs

-- Increased productivity of financial managers and analysts

-- Increased efficiency of program managers

"TM1 and Adonix have made it possible for the finance department to provide proactive financial support to operating managers," said Judy Bjornaas, NCI Vice President of Finance. "Our financial analysts now spend the majority of their time analyzing reports instead of manually generating reports. Automating financial planning reduced the time it takes to prepare a budget, eliminates spreadsheet input and linking errors, and reduces preparation and consolidation time."

"Nucleus Research's independent analysis simply quantifies what we've always known - TM1 quickly delivers a positive ROI for our customers," said David Mahoney, CEO, Applix, Inc. "The success of NCI, along with the thousands of other successful deployed solutions from Applix clearly demonstrates how our business intelligence solutions can generate a positive ROI in a short timeframe."

About Adonix, Inc.

Adonix products and services help companies accelerate business decisions. The company's deep understanding of accounting systems, budgeting and forecasting, business intelligence, and customer relationship management software and related services has made it the solution provider of choice for government contractors, associations, and high-tech firms. Located in the heart of Washington DC's high-tech corridor, Adonix is a leading supplier of Microsoft and Applix software and consulting services. Adonix is an Inc. 500 company. Adonix can be reached at www.adonix-inc.com or 703.860.6945.

About Applix

Applix (NASDAQ: APLX) is a global provider of Business Intelligence and Business Performance Management solutions. These solutions enable the continuous management and monitoring of performance across the financial, operational, customer and organizational functions within the enterprise. More than 1,700 customers worldwide user Applix's adaptable, scalable and real-time solutions, delivered by Applix and by a global network of partners, to manage their business performance and respond to the marketplace in real-time. Headquartered in Westborough, MA, Applix maintains offices in four countries in Europe, North America and the Pacific Rim. For more information about Applix, please visit www.applix.com.

(C)2003 Applix, Inc. All rights reserved. Applix and TM1 are registered trademarks of Applix, Inc. All other trademarks and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.