Best Software Customer Support Center Receives SCP Certification for Fifth Consecutive Year.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2002

Considered the Technology Industry's Benchmark for Quality, SCP 

Certification Represents the Height of Customer Service and Support

Best Software today announced that its Mid-Market Division has achieved certification for the fifth consecutive year under the Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program.

The division was certified after an extensive audit of its Customer Support Service (CSS) center in Irvine. SCP Certification quantifies the effectiveness of customer support based upon a stringent set of performance standards and represents best practices in the industry. SCP Certification represents one of the highest levels of recognition available for excellence in support center practices.

Support Center Practices Certification, an internationally recognized program created by the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) and a consortium of leading technology companies, defines best practices for delivering world-class technology support. SCP Certification requires comprehensive on-site audits to confirm that companies meet the requirements of more than 100 business elements defined in the program.

The Best Mid-Market Customer Service and Support (CSS) center in Irvine met the certification requirements in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and this year, making the company one of few to receive the distinction for five consecutive years.

"This is a notable achievement," said Dennis Fukuyama, SCP program auditor, in his executive summary. "SCP certification has been established as the global standard for service quality and is being rapidly adopted by leading technology companies. Best Software can be proud to be among the industry leaders in service excellence by attaining this mark of excellence."

Companies seeking certification under the SCP program must undergo stringent onsite audits of their business practices. The program measures factors such as corporate commitment and strategic direction, customer satisfaction, performance metrics, research and development interface and other strategic areas of the support operation.

Certified companies must continue to demonstrate their commitment to excellence and high performance standards through annual re-certification audits.

Overall, the Best support team had strong showings in the areas of Customer Feedback, Customer Relationship Management, Training Programs, Productivity Tools, Electronic Service Delivery and Sales Interface.

In addition to achieving SCP certification for the past five years, Best Software Mid-Market Division has also been honored by the SSPA with STAR (Software Technical Assistance Recognition) awards for the past five years. In October 2001, Best was inducted into the SSPA Lifetime Achievement Hall of Fame, a distinction earned by only four other companies.

Like SCP certification, the STAR Award represents the height of customer service and recognizes superior performance in the delivery of technical support to customers.

One of six divisions forming Best Software U.S. Operations, Best's Mid-Market Division publishes MAS 90, MAS 200, MAS 500 (formerly Best Enterprise Suite), Platinum for Windows by Best, BatchMasterPFW and BusinessWorks Gold. Best U.S. Operations also includes Small Business, CRM, Specialty Products, Government/Non-Profit and Accountants divisions.

About Support Center Practices Program

The Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification program was developed to address service quality issues that affect the rapidly growing technology support industry. The SSPA and 35 of its member companies created the program along with Service Strategies Corp. These companies contributed their insight and perspective into defining the key elements required for delivering World Class support.

The SSPA represents more than 17,000 service executives in more than 2,200 support centers worldwide. SSPA gives service and support professionals opportunities to share ideas, discuss developing trends and network with their peers. For more information about SSPA, visit http://www.theSSPA.com.

Service Strategies is responsible for administering the SCP Certification program and conducting on-site certification audits. For more information about SCP Certification, contact Service Strategies at 858/674-4864, e-mail [e-mail] or visit http://www.scpcertification.com.

About Best Software

Best Software offers leading business management products and services that give more than 1.6 million small and mid-sized customers in North America the insight for success throughout the life of their business. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (LSE:SGE.L), supports nearly 3 million customers worldwide and has revenue of nearly $700 million.

For more than 25 years, Best has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable applications through its portfolio of leading brands, including Abra, ACT!, CPASoftware, FAS, MAS 90, MIP, Peachtree and SalesLogix, among many others. For more information, visit the Web site at www.bestsoftware.com/moreinfo or call 866/308-BEST.