CRM Triple Crown! Pivotal Wins Third Top Microsoft Award; Pivotal Awarded 'Best Overall Customer Management Solution' Over Other Finalists Aurum and Onyx.

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1998--Pivotal Software Inc. and Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq:MSFT) announced today that Pivotal has been awarded 'Best Overall Customer Management Solution' in Microsoft's prestigious customer management Industry Solutions Awards for 1998.

The judges for this awards competition were leading CRM industry analysts and experts and the rigorous judging criteria was based on proving tangible, real-world customer benefits such as ROI, increased productivity and improved performance of sales, marketing, and customer service operations.

In winning this award, Pivotal Relationship(TM) beat out solutions from finalists Onyx Software and Aurum/Baan, as well as other industry rivals such as Siebel Systems and Vantive Corporation.

The judges evaluated Pivotal against a range of critical business metrics including delivering customer ROI, product scalability, ease of deployment, integration with other applications, and technical architecture.

The "Best Overall Customer Management Solution" was awarded for a production implementation of the Pivotal Relationship 360(degree) Customer Relationship Management application suite at Government Computer Sales, Inc., a leading reseller of computer equipment for public sector enterprises.

The Pivotal Relationship solution at Government Computer Sales has resulted in margin increases of nearly 50 percent, greater penetration of customer accounts and decreases in training costs and customer support overhead. This solution has also allowed GCSI to become better aligned with the unique needs of its individual customers.

"No CRM industry accolade is more prized and hard-fought than Microsoft's 'Best Overall Customer Management Solution'," said Norm Francis, president and CEO, Pivotal Software.

"As a three-time Microsoft award winner, we challenge any vendor in our class to match Pivotal's customer success and product leadership on the Microsoft platform. While numerous CRM software vendors like Siebel and Onyx continually promote 100 percent customer satisfaction, we are extremely pleased that an eminent, impartial industry panel has again singled out Pivotal as superior when it comes to delivering irrefutable customer benefits. An award like this is worth a thousand slogans."

"This award stands as testimony to the powerful benefits Pivotal has delivered to our business," said John Powers, vice president of marketing at Government Computer Sales, Inc. "We were eager to have our Pivotal CRM system evaluated for this award because it has so dramatically delivered on the promise of 360 degree customer relationship management. It has helped GCSI to increase sales, unify our front office operation, and better anticipate our customers' needs. Pivotal Relationship is having a strong, positive impact on our business and we're delighted to have supported Pivotal in this awards competition."

"Industry awards, such as this one, speak volumes about a company's ability to create innovative solutions and deliver real value to the marketplace," said Chris Fletcher, senior analyst, Aberdeen Group and judge for the Microsoft Industry Solutions Awards.

"The independent panel of judges, conducted an exhaustive evaluation of competitive customer management solutions from dozens of participants and concluded that the innovative, powerful combination of Pivotal and GCSI deserved industry top honors."

About Pivotal Software Inc.

Named one of Upside's Hot 100 Companies and Red Herring's Top 50 Privately-Held Companies, Pivotal Software Inc. develops and markets integrated, 360(Degree) application software products for customer relationship management.

Its flagship product, Pivotal Relationship 99/SQL7, is the leading CRM software application for mid-enterprise business units standardized on the Microsoft BackOffice platform, with over 25,000 users licensed worldwide.

Pivotal's mid-enterprise business unit focus allows its products to coexist with high-end sales automation systems from Siebel Systems (Nasdaq:SEBL), The Vantive Corp. (Nasdaq:VNTV), SAP, Inc. (NYSE:SAP), Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq:ORCL), and Aurum Software, a subsidiary of The Baan Company N.V. (Nasdaq:BAANF; ASE:BAAN).

In November 1998, Pivotal announced the Pivotal eRelationship(TM) application suite for eCRM, enabling companies to develop Internet Relationship Hubs(TM) for collaborating with business partners and customers on Web sites.

Pivotal is a privately held corporation that reported year-to-year revenue growth of 185 percent for the quarter ending in Sept. 30, 1998. The company's investor partners include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Integral Capital Partners, Ventures West and Oak Investments.

As of October, 1998, the company has over 200 employees and 355 customers worldwide, including Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP), Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE:KMB), USG Corporation (NYSE:GYP), Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN), The Principal Financial Group and Sun Healthcare Group (NYSE:SHG).

Pivotal is a global organization with sales offices around the world and an international alliance network of value-added resellers, systems integrators and distributors. Pivotal products are sold in 26 countries from more than 40 offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, India, China, Japan and Australia/New Zealand.

For more information about Pivotal, Pivotal Relationship 99/SQL7 and Pivotal eRelationship, visit Pivotal Place(R) at www.pivotal.com.

Note to Editors: Pivotal, Pivotal Relationship 99/SQL7, Pivotal eRelationship, Internet Relationship Hub, 360(degree) Customer Relationship Management, and Pivotal Place are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Pivotal Software Inc. Microsoft, Windows, BackOffice and Outlook are either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trade names mentioned are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.